BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its 2023 football awards Monday and 11 Gustavus student-athletes received All-Conference recognition. Jake Breitbach and Carson DeKam headlined the postseason awards for Gustavus, as the two seniors were named MIAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. Outside of the Mike Stam Lineman of the Year, Breitbach and DeKam earn Gustavus's first two MIAC Player of the Year honors in program history. 

Gusties earning All-Conference Offense include Breitbach, George Sandven, Rohee Konde, Matthew Carreon, Zachary Claassen, and Sam Stafsholt. All-Conference Defense honors went to DeKam, Javier Gratacos, and Isaiah Chambers, while River Wood and Andrew Abegglen were named All-Conference Special Teams. 

Breitbach earns his third consecutive All-MIAC selection, and second straight first team honor. Breitbach led the Gustavus offense this season as the team's leading receiver, posting record numbers in his senior year. He finished the regular season with 1,599 receiving yards, 110 receptions, and 13 receiving touchdowns. Breitbach posted four games with 200 yards or more and eight with more than 100 yards, and finished the season second in all NCAA Divisions (FBS, FCS, DII, DIII) for receiving yards per game (159.9), receptions per game (11.0), and total receiving yards (1,599). In the ninth game of the season, Breitbach broke two program records, passing a 16-year old record for single season receptions with 104, and an eight-year old record for single season receiving yards (1,518). Breitbach also shares the program record for receiving touchdowns in a single game (4) which he collected in the first game of the season. He earned conference athlete of the week honors twice this season and national team of the week honors once. 

Sandven, in his second year as the Gusties' starting quarterback, earned his first MIAC All-Conference honor. The junior finished the year 221-of-334 (66.2 percent) with 31 touchdowns, ranking second in the MIAC in both categories. Sandven threw for 3,273 total yards, which ranked third in the Division III regular season, while his passing yards per game (327.3) ranked fourth in the nation. Sandven finished the season with eight different NCAA DIII top-20 statistics, and helped the Gusties maintain their reputation of being a premier passing offense, finishing seventh in DIII for passing offense.

Konde, a 2022 All-Conference selection, led the Gustavus rushing attack this season with 92 carries for 472 yards (7th/MIAC) and three touchdowns. Konde averaged 47.2 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry with a long of 51 after playing in all 10 games. 

Carreon earns the first All-Conference honor of his career after posting the second most receiving yards on the team with 786 (9th/MIAC), including 10 touchdowns. Carreon hauled in 46 catches, averaging 17.09 yards per reception and 78.6 yards per game.

Stafsholt, now a two-time All-MIAC selection, and Claassen blocked for an offense that averaged 35.9 points and 447.2 yards per game, ranking second and third in the league, respectively. In the passing game, the Gusties averaged 332.1 yards per game and posted a 169.4 efficiency, which ranked first in the MIAC and 18th in NCAA Division III. 

DeKam is the ninth Gustie to earn first-team All-Conference honors in three consecutive seasons. The senior led the MIAC with a career-high 93 total tackles. DeKam also had eight tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries, a pass breakup, an interception, and a forced fumble. 

Gratacos captured his second consecutive All-MIAC honor after starting in all 10 games with 29 tackles, including three tackles for loss and two sacks. Gratacos also had a pass breakup, two quarterback hurries, and a blocked kick.

Isaiah Chambers garnered his second All-Conference selection as well, adding 28 tackles, 0.5 for loss, 0.5 sacks, two interceptions, and four pass breakups. 

Wood was first on the team in kickoff returns with 17 for 355 yards. Wood averaged 28.8 yards per return (6th/MIAC) with a long of 37 yards. The senior was also second in the rushing game for the Gusties, totaling 403 yards on 82 carries with four touchdowns. 

Abegglen, who earned his second MIAC All-Conference honor, broke the 25-year-old program record for points by kicking. Abegglen surpassed Gustavus Athletics Hall of Famer Ryan Boutwell's record of 202, and finished his career with 214 points. Abegglen graduates with seven program kicking records. The senior made 38-of-41 extra points and converted on 4-of-9 field goals for 53 points this season. He also handled the bulk of the kickoff duties with 56 kickoffs for 3,139 yards (56.1 yards per kick), including nine touchbacks.

Jack Swanson and Darius Howard were also named to the MIAC Football Honorable Mention team. Swanson totaled 26 tackles, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup, fumble recovery, and three quarterback hurries in 10 games played. Howard was fifth on the team with 39 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and a pass breakup.