CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today that former Loras College cross country and track & field standout Timothy Sevcik (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) has been named the Duane Schroeder A-R-C Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2017-18 academic year. The award, the highest individual honor from the conference, goes to an alumnus from the previous academic year.
 
Voted team captain during his junior and senior year, Sevcik was a four-time All-Region cross country runner for Loras College and earned All-America accolades in 2017. As a member of the outdoor track and field team, Sevcik was a two-time All-Region performer in the 5000-meter. Sevcik’s efforts helped the Duhawks to four-straight cross country conference titles (2014-2017). During his sophomore and senior campaigns, Sevcik finished second at the conference championships.
 
In addition to Sevcik’s athletic accomplishments he graduated Maxima Cum Laude, double majoring in biology and Spanish, with a minor in chemistry. He was twice named CoSIDA Academic All-American and earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors three times. Additionally, he was a three-time Academic All-Conference honoree in cross country and track.
 
Sevcik’s efforts extended past the classroom and track, as he was heavily involved on the Loras campus and within the community. He was a four-year member of the Praise & Worship Choir and a musician for mass at Christ the King Chapel on the Loras campus. Sevcik was also a trombone player in the Loras Wind Ensemble. In the community, through the Loras Honors program, he worked on a group project that emphasized cultural competency and community-based learning.  His project addressed the lack of women and minorities in STEM careers.  They hosted chemistry carnivals for area students and families and did an after-school program at an elementary school that the Loras Chemistry Club continues to host. Sevcik also studied abroad in Santiago De Compostela, Spain in the spring of 2016.  He had an internship there with OELS.  On his trip he taught English to students of all ages and helped prepare them for CEFR and other accreditation exams. Sevcik also volunteered in the pediatric unit of the local hospital while in Spain.

"Our Faculty Athletic Representatives are challenged every year to choose one individual from among an accomplished group of young men," said American Rivers Conference Commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen. "Timothy Sevcik has the rare honor of being a key part of a four-time conference championship team at Loras. Couple that with a Maxima Cum Laude academic career, his musical contributions on campus, and his study-abroad experience, and you can see why he was the candidate who rose to the top."

Athletics Achievements:

• 2017 Cross Country All-American - 36th place
• 2014 Cross Country All-Central Region
• 2015 Cross Country All-Central Region
• 2016 Cross Country All-Central Region
• 2017 Cross Country All-Central Region
• 2014 All-Conference Cross Country Runner - 9th-place
• 2015 All-Conference Cross Country Runner - Runner-up
• ?2016 All-Conference Cross Country Runner - Runner-up
• 2016 Cross Country Central Region Team Champions
• 2017 Cross Country Central Region Team Champions
• Cross Country Conference Team Champions (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) 
• 2017 Outdoor Track All-Central Region 5k
• 2018 Outdoor Track All-Central Region 5k
• 2017 Outdoor Track All-Conference 5k
• 2018 Outdoor Track All-Conference 5k
• Outdoor Track: Team finishes at Conference Championships 2015 3rd place, 2017 3rd place, 2018 3rd place

Scholarly Achievements:

• Dean's List (every semester)
• Cross Country Academic All-Conference 2015-2017
• Track Academic All-Conference 2017-2018
• USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Academic 2015-2017
• 2017 Third-Team Cosida Google Cloud XC/TF Academic All-American
• 2018 Second-Team Cosida Google Cloud XC/TF Academic All-American 
• 2015-2018 - STEM Honors project - Completed the Honors degree at Loras which included participation in a three-year cultural interdisciplinary project. The project included academic research, cultural competency training, and community engagement.
• Graduated Maxima Cum Laude, Deans Top 20 

Community / Campus Service:

• 2015-2018- Praise and Worship Choir
• 2015-2018 - CTK Cantor/Musician
• 2017 - Proteus Health Aide Paid Internship - Provide primary health care for migrant farm workers in greater Des Moines area
• 2016 - Hospilandia (Study Abroad) - Volunteer in pediatric unit in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• 2016 - OELS (Study Abroad) - Taught English and prepare for CEFR and other accreditation exams

Leadership Service:

• Cross country and track and field captain for 2016-2017 & 2017-2018 school years.
• 2017-2018 - Male section leader - praise and worship choir
• 2015-2018 - Trombone player in Loras Wind Ensemble
• 2017-2018 - FOCUS Bible Study Leader
   

What They Said About Timothy Sevcik:
Bob Schultz, Cross Country Head Coach, Loras College
"Aside from Timothy’s accomplishments as a runner, what stands out equally is his involvement on the Loras College campus and in the Dubuque community. In my 25-plus years of coaching he is one of the most outstanding young men that I have had the privilege to work with and was a coach’s dream!"

Erin VanLaningham, Associate Professor of English/Honors Program Director, Loras College
"Tim exhibited extraordinary self-discipline and motivation in his work as an Honors student in the community and with his peers. He reflects what it means to be an "honors student''-a motivated, talented student who uses his talents and leadership for the common good. Tim Sevick embodies the highest levels of scholarship, leadership and community engagement reflected in this award."

Kate A. McCarthy-Gilmore, Associate Professor of Spanish, Loras College
"Through his intellectual curiosity and comportment in class, Tim truly demonstrated academic excellence and leadership in his Spanish major. Tim is a student leader both in sports and in academics and I fundamentally believe he embodies the scholastic and personal qualities represented by this award." 

Sevcik, and this year’s female honoree – former Luther College softball player Anna Strien – will be honored Monday, June 10, 2019 at the conference’s annual awards banquet. This year, that event takes place at Coe College.
 
Also nominated for the 2017-18 Duane Schroeder A-R-C Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year were former Central College cross country and track & field runner Mark Fairley and former Wartburg College basketball player Nate Woeste. For more information on these nominees, click here for the January 26, 2019 nominees / finalists release.

About the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards
The American Rivers Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were first presented in December 2001 for the 2000-01 academic year. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete shall have graduated or exhausted their athletic eligibility during the academic year for which the award is given. The nominee must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership. Both awards were named for former Wartburg and Conference sports information director Duane Schroeder in May 2002. The women’s award was renamed in December 2013 for former Luther College student-athlete Johanna Olson – the inaugural winner of the women’s award – who lost a courageous battle with cancer in January 2013.
 
Previous recipients of the Duane Schroeder Male Scholar Athlete of the Year include Tim Vinyard (2000-01, Coe College football and baseball), Dale Biser (2001-02, Cornell College football and track & field), Jesse Harris (2002-03, Simpson College basketball), Brent Showalter (2003-04, Wartburg College track & field), Garrett South (2004-05, Luther College wrestling), Adam Duerfeldt (2005-06, Central College baseball), Adam Bohach (2006-07, Luther College cross country and track & field), Kyle Duchman (2007-08, Wartburg College football), Alec Bonander (2008-09, Luther College wrestling), Tyler Burkle (2009-10, Coe College wrestling), Ryan Schisler (2010-11, Coe College baseball), Michael Zweifel (2011-12, University of Dubuque football), Wyatt Hanus (2012-13, University of Dubuque football), Kyle Freischlag (2013-14, Central College tennis),  Daniel Bonthius (2014-15, Wartburg College track & field), Zach Frey (2015-16, Loras College track & field), Pat Gray (2016-17, Central College football).
 
About Duane Schroeder
The American Rivers Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is named in honor of the late Duane Schroeder, former sports information director (SID) at Wartburg College. Schroeder served as Wartburg’s SID for 43 years until his retirement in 2000. Upon his retirement from his sports information duties, he was named SID Emeritus and served as Wartburg’s News Director until 2001. During much of his four decades at Wartburg, Schroeder served as the Conference’s information director and secretary/treasurer.
 

---