Van Wieren Named WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year
UMD Bulldogs "ALLETE" Moments: Classroom
Throughout this year, UMD Athletics is partnering with Minnesota Power, ALLETE to highlight the Bulldogs accomplishments in the 3 C's: Classroom, Competition, Community.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced Thursday what people close to the University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team already knew – Clara Van Wieren is exceptional both on the ice and off it.
Van Wieren was named the 2023-24 WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, an award presented annually to the league's top student-athlete who excels on the ice and in the classroom. A native of Okemos, Mich., Van Wieren also keeps the award in Bulldogs hands – Emma Soderberg was awarded the honor one season ago.
The alternate captain and double major in political science and philosophy, Van Wieren has had a 4.0 every semester of her collegiate career and been on the Dean's List at UMD for the past three years. A member of the university's honors program, Van Wieren is a UMD Department of Political Science Scholarship recipient, as well as the UMD Women's Hockey Books Scholarship recipient. A three-time teaching assistant for Political Theory, Philosophy of Dialogue and Debate and Freshman Seminar, Van Wieren is a Curriculum Committee Student Representative and the President and Equity Chair of Department of Athletics Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (2022-23, 2023-24) – just to name a few of the organizations the senior has been involved in.
A two-year President of PreLaw Club and a UMD Student Athlete Advisory Committee DEI Representative, Van Wieren was also the President of Political Science Association in 2022. Van Wieren is a two-time AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar and a three-time WCHA Scholar Athlete. The center has also been named to the WCHA's All-Academic Team three times.
On the ice, Van Wieren has scored a career-best 13 goals so far this season with 24 points. The alternate captain now has 85 career points on 38 goals and 47 assists, including 11 game-winning goals -- five which have been scored this season.
"Clara Van Wieren is a major in political science with a goal of attending law school, and she is a very high performer in her class work and leader in the program," Dr. Cynthia Rugeley, associate professor of political science and head of the Political Science Program at UMD said. "Her GPA lands her clearly in the top 1% of all students in the program. Also, she serves as president of the Pre-Law club and has helped rebuild the club after it went dormant during the Pandemic."
Dr. Joseph L. Staats, professor of political science at UMD, added his insight into Van Wieren's success as a student-athlete. "Clara Van Wieren is a student of outstanding talent and intellect who works hard at everything she does. She is a delight to be with and is an exceptional candidate to be chosen as WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year."
Van Wieren is the eighth student-athlete – a WCHA-high – from UMD to earn the prestigious honor for the league.
UMD's WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Selections --
2004-05 Caroline Ouellette, F, Sr.
2005-06 Riitta Schaublin, G, Jr.
2006-07 Riitta Schaublin, G, Sr.
2010-11 Jocelyne Larocque, D, Sr.
2016-17 Lara Stalder, F, Sr.
2017-18 Catherine Daoust, D, Sr.
2022-23 Emma Soderberg, G, Sr.
2023-24 Clara Van Wieren, F, Sr.
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Players Mentioned
- G
- 5' 7"
- Graduate Student
- F
- 5' 10"
- Junior
Players Mentioned
- 5' 7"
- Graduate Student
- G
- 5' 10"
- Junior
- F
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