CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference has concluded its 2018-19 regular season calendar. For the 17th-straight year, Wartburg College finds themselves atop the Combined All-Sports Championship Trophy standings, recognizing the conference's top overall program. The Knights also won the Marjorie Giles Women's All-Sports Championship Trophy for the 16th time in school history and the Elmer Hertel Men's All-Sports Championship Trophy for the 22nd time.

Spring Recap

Wartburg powered its way to a sweep of the three A-R-C team trophies with team wins at the conference’s outdoor track and field championships. The Knights, who were first in both genders after the winter season, also got a T-2nd finish from its softball team. That squad went on to NCAA regional play. This year’s Marjorie Giles Women’s All-Sports Trophy is made even more special by the passing of Ms. Giles on May 5 (Click HERE for obituary). More bio information is found at the bottom of this release, but the conference is honored to keep her legacy alive with this annual award. The women’s standings didn’t change from the winter tally. Loras was third in the outdoor track and field championship and held onto third in the women’s sports results. Central won the conference softball championship and finished fourth in the standings. Central jumped two spots to third place in the men’s standings with a second-place finish in golf and a third-place ranking in tennis. Luther climbed a spot to fifth in the men’s standings with a second-place finish in men’s tennis and a T-2nd effort in baseball. The men’s tennis team wound up winning the conference tournament and the accompanying NCAA automatic qualifying berth. Nebraska Wesleyan won the men’s golf championship on its home course, but it fell one spot in the final men’s all-sports standings.

   
Elmer Hertel Men's All-Sports Trophy

School	Points
Wartburg	63.5
Loras	55.6
Central	49.5
Nebraska Wesleyan	48
Luther	46.1
Coe	43.7
Dubuque	41.4
Simpson	33.5
Buena Vista	23.7

After finishing second a year ago, the Wartburg men collect the school's 22nd Elmer Hertel Men's Trophy with 63.5-points. The Knights claimed fall championships in cross country and football, while adding winter titles in indoor track & field and wrestling. The spring saw Wartburg pick up an outdoor track & field championship. Additionally, Wartburg tied for third in soccer during the fall and basketball during the winter. Hertel Trophy winners a year ago, Loras totaled 55.6.-points in 2018-19 to earn second. The Duhawk's runner-up finish was led by a conference championship in soccer and runner up finishes in cross country, basketball and wrestling. The outdoor track and field team's fourth place finish was Loras' highest of the spring. Central jumped from fifth after the winter championships to a final finish of third (49.5-points). During spring, Central's golf team finished second and the tennis squad earned third. The winter season saw the Dutch wrestling team pick up a fourth-place finish and football’s tie for second marks Central’s highest fall finish. Nebraska Wesleyan finished in fourth place (48-points), collecting A-R-C titles in golf and basketball. The Prairie Wolves also earned third place finishes in cross country indoor and outdoor track & field. Luther's fifth place finish (46.1-points) was led by a runner-up finish in soccer during the fall and strong spring finishes by tennis (2nd), baseball (t-2nd) and golf (3rd). The spring season saw Coe pick up conference titles in tennis and baseball, making up 18 of their final 43.7-points, placing them sixth in the standings. The Kohawk's third place finish in wrestling during the winter added seven points to their overall total. Dubuque's second-place tie in football and runner-up finish in outdoor track and field helped them to 41.4-points and a seventh-place finish. The Spartans also picked up fourth-place finishes in golf and indoor track and field. Simpson used a second-place tie in football, a third-place tie in soccer and a fourth-place finish in basketball to help them bolster 33.5-points, placing them eighth in the standings. Buena Vista placed ninth place with 23.7-points. The Beavers top finish in 2018-19 was a tie for second in Baseball.  

At the conclusion of the 2018-19 sports seasons, Wartburg earned the program's 22nd Elmer Hertel Men's Trophy. Central has won the trophy 13 times while Luther owns 11 trophies, Loras three and Simpson one.
Marjorie Giles Women's All-Sports Trophy

School	Points
Wartburg	66.2
Luther	49.5
Loras	44.5
Central	43
Dubuque	39
Coe	36
Nebraska Wesleyan	34.8
Simpson	29.1
Buena Vista	17.9

Wartburg extended its 11.7-point winter lead to 16.7-points at the conclusion of the 2018-19 sports seasons, earning them the Marjorie Giles Women's Trophy for the 16th time. The Knights compiled 66.2-points, adding an outdoor track and field title to their basketball championship from the winter and fall titles in tennis and volleyball. The tennis championship was the first in program history. To go along with their three titles, Wartburg claimed second-place finishes in cross country, soccer, indoor track & field and softball, while also earning a third-place finish in golf. Luther maintained its winter position, finishing the year in second-place with 49.5-points. The Norse were led by a runner-up finish in tennis and a third place in soccer, while also earning a tie for third in volleyball. The Norse softball team picked up a fourth place finish during the spring, adding to previous fourth place finishes by basketball, golf and cross country. Loras, who took home a women's soccer conference title in the fall and runner-up finish in basketball during the winter, tallied 44.5-pionts to finish third. The Duhawks also own third-place finishes in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. American Rivers Conference titles in golf and softball helped Central to a fourth-place finish (43-points). The Dutch also took fourth-place in tennis. Fifth-place belongs to the University of Dubuque with 39-points. The Spartans were paced by runner-up finishes in golf and volleyball during the fall and fourth-place finishes in indoor and outdoor track & field. The spring saw Coe tie for second in softball, giving them their highest finish of the year. The Kohawks also earned a third-place finish in tennis and tie for third in volleyball during the fall, helping them to 36-points and a sixth-place finish. Winning their third-straight cross country title and their second indoor track & field championship, Nebraska Wesleyan combined for 34.8-points to own seventh. During the Spring, NWU picked up a second-place finish in outdoor track and field. 
Simpson has totaled 29.1-points to earn eighth, with their best finish being third, in basketball.  A tie for fifth in Volleyball led the way for Buena Vista who earned 17.9-points, finishing in ninth.

Wartburg, the winner of the 2018-19 Marjorie Giles Women's Trophy, leads all schools with 16 total trophies. Luther owns a conference second-best, 10. Central is third with nine. Simpson has won four trophies and Loras owns one.
Combined All-Sports Trophy  

School	Points
Wartburg	18
Loras	15
Luther	13
Central	13
Nebraska Wesleyan	9
Dubuque	8
Coe	8
Simpson	4
Buena Vista	2

With all 19 American Rivers Conference Championships decided, Wartburg College claims their 17th consecutive All-Sports trophy with 18-points. Wartburg captured nine league championships, four second place finishes and three third-place finishes. The Knights' conference titles were earned in women’s basketball, men's cross country, football, women's tennis, men’s indoor track & field, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, volleyball and wrestling.  With 15-points Loras earned second in this year’s standings. The Duhawks claimed conference titles in men’s and women’s soccer. Central and Luther tied for third in the final standings. The Dutch picked up league titles in women’s golf and softball while the Norse were paced by four second place finishes. Fifth place went to Nebraska Wesleyan with nine-points. NWU raised conference championship trophies in women’s cross country, women’s indoor track & field, men’s basketball and men’s golf. With eight points each, Coe and Dubuque tied for sixth place. Coe picked up league titles in men’s tennis and baseball while the Spartans were led by three second place finishes. Finishing in eighth place with four points was Simpson, followed by Buena Vista in ninth with two points.

Wartburg has won or shared all 17 of the conferences Combined All-Sports Trophies which began in 2002-03. Luther College shared the All-Sports Trophy with Wartburg in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
ABOUT THE TROPHIES
Each school's finish in each sport is determined and given a numerical worth by inverting the finish (i.e. first place is worth nine points, second place is worth eight points, third place is worth seven points, etc). In case of ties, the worth of all places involved are totaled and divided by the number of teams in that tie. Each school's finish in all sports is then totaled, and the school with the largest number of points shall be awarded the respective Championship Trophy. The Marjorie Giles Women’s All-Sports Trophy, first awarded in 1982-83 (at the time named the Women's Sports Championship Trophy), is presented annually to the Conference member that accumulates the most points in women’s sports. The Elmer Hertel Men's All-Sports Trophy was first awarded in 1970-71 (at that time named the Men's Sports Championship Trophy) and presented to the Conference member that accumulates the most points in men's sports. The school displaying overall excellence in men's and women's sports is awarded the American Rivers Conference All-Sports Championship Trophy.

Marjorie Giles is a former Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) from Central College serving from 1981-98. During her tenure as a FAR, she participated in writing of the Conference Constitution to include women’s athletics and to establish women’s Championships. She was the first female to serve as President of the Conference and was actively involved with the NCAA serving on several committees and on the Management Council.

The Elmer Hertel Men’s Sports Championship Trophy was renamed in 1981 to honor the former Wartburg College coach. Dr. Hertel served as the Conference secretary-treasurer from 1944-1981.