CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference announced that Loras College women’s cross country runner Kassie Rosenbum (Guttenberg, Iowa/Clayton Ridge) and Luther College men’s tennis player Grant Morton (Port Elizabeth, South Africa/The Hill) have been named American Rivers Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, September 22, 2019. The Conference also announced Performers of the Week in men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, and volleyball.  
Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Cross Country – Runner of the Week
Kassie Rosenbum, Loras College
So., Guttenberg, Iowa/Clayton Ridge

• In a field of 158 runners, Rosenbum finished fourth at the National Catholic Championship in a time of 17:57.48.
• The sophomore runner was the top non-DI finisher, crossing the finish line behind three runners from the University of Notre Dame.
• Rosenbum set a new school record for 5K races by more than eight seconds.
• The Duhawks placed sixth overall as the top DIII team in the field.
• Rosenbum earned All-American honors in 2018, finishing 31^st at the NCAA Division III Championships.
• The Guttenberg native also earned All-Conference honors a season ago, finishing third at the Conference Championships.
• This is Rosenbum’s second Cross Country Runner of the Week honor (9/23/19, 9/2/19).

 
Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Tennis – Player of the Week
Grant Morton, Luther College
Sr., Port Elizabeth, South Africa/The Hill

• Morton was crowned the American Rivers Conference A-Singles champion at the league’s individual men’s tennis tournament.
• Seeded third in the A draw, Morton outlasted teammates Nyathi Motlojoa in the semis and second-seeded Cole Schneider in the final (6-2, 4-6, 10-6).
• Morton teamed with Brook Norwood in the A-Doubles flight, where the duo finished fourth.
• Morton is now a two-time Player of the Week award winner (9/23/19, 5/6/19,

 
Men’s Cross Country – Runner of the Week
Joe Freiburger, Wartburg College
Jr., Holy Cross, Iowa/Western Dubuque

• Freiburger finished third in a field of 198 runners at the Bradley Intercollegiate Invite over the weekend.
• He ran the 8k course in a time of 25:30, 24 seconds behind first place.
• The Knights finished second of 19 teams with 41 points.
• This is Freiburger’s second Runner of the Week accolade (9/23/19, 9/9/19).

 
Football – Defensive Player of the Week
Hunter Semelroth, Coe College
Sr., DB, Atkins, Iowa/Benton Community

• Semelroth recorded 12 tackles in the Kohawks 24-7 win at Loras.
• In the conference-opener win he recorded interception, and currently leads the conference with three INTs on the season.
• Additionally, he added two pass break-ups to disrupt the Loras passing game.
• This marks Semelroth’s second Defensive Player of the Week honor (09/23/19, 09/23/18).

 
Football – Offensive Player of the Week
Jonathan Curti, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Sr., QB, Colorado Springs, Colo./Palmer

• Curti threw for 441 yards in Nebraska Wesleyan’s come-from-behind win at Buena Vista, 37-16.
• Curti’s performance through the air was NWU’s second highest single game passing total in school history.
• He threw four passing touchdowns in the win and ranks second in Division III with 14 TDs on the season.
• It marks the fourth best passing game in Division III this season.
• This makes Curti’s second career Offensive Player of the Week award, his first coming 09/10/17.

 
Football – Special Teams Player of the Week
Mason Ackerson, Simpson College
Fr., P, Gowrie, Iowa/Southeast Valley

• Ackerson totaled 209 yards in five punts in the 21-14 win at Dubuque.
• The first-year punter had a long of 62 yards to flip the field in the fourth quarter and give Dubuque the ball on their own 23-yard line with less than two minutes to play.
• He averaged 41.8 yards for punt in the game.
• This is Ackerson’s first Special Teams Player of the Week award.

 
Women’s Golf – Golfer of the Week
Morgan Kranz, Luther College
Jr., Sauk Centre, Minn./Sauk Centre

• Kranz won the Luther Fall Invitational last weekend at Oneota Golf & Country Club in Decorah, Iowa.
• She finished with rounds of 77-79-156, finishing seven strokes ahead of the second-place finisher.
• Helped lead her team to a first-place finish in a field of six teams.
• Kranz has posted top-10 finishes in all events this year.
• This is the junior’s fourth Golfer of the Week award, and third this season (9/23/19, 9/16/19, 9/10/19, 9/24/17).

 
Men’s Soccer – Defensive Player of the Week
Manuel Aguilar, Buena Vista University
Sr., GK, Sioux City, Iowa/West

• Aguilar picked up five saves and posted his first shutout of the season as the team picked up its first win of the year.
• Aguilar’s efforts in goal gave BVU its first shutout victory since September 13, 2017 (5-0 at Mt. Marty).
• BVU is now 1-0-2 at home this season.
• This is Aguilar’s first Defensive Player of the Week award and the first for the Beavers since September 18, 2016 (Matt Tennyson).

 
Men’s Soccer – Offensive Player of the Week
Nolan Dillon, Nebraska Wesleyan University
So., F., Fremont, Neb./Freemont

• Dillon scored four goals this week, helping the Prairie Wolves go 2-0 with wins over Crown College and Cornell College.
• He recorded a hattrick in the 9-2 win over Crown.
• Dillon scored the game-winning goal against the Rams of Cornell.
• This is Dillon’s first Offensive Player of the Week honor, first NWU athlete to win it since October 29, 2017 (Cade Miller).

 
Women’s Soccer – Defensive Player of the Week
Liz Wolf, Nebraska Wesleyan University
So., GK, Omaha, Neb./Omaha South

• Posted shutouts in both Prairie Wolves games last week, helping the team go 2-0.
• Wolf recorded nine saves in the two victories over the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Grinnell College.
• On the season, NWU has six shutouts and have outscored their opponents 26-2.
• This is Prairie Wolves’ first career Defensive Player of the Week award.

 
Women’s Soccer – Offensive Player of the Week
Sydney Schroder, Coe College
Jr., F, Iowa City, Iowa/City High

• Schroder led the Kohawk offense with three points on the week, helping the team go 1-0-1.
• She picked up the assist on the game tying goal against Augustana.
• In Coe’s contest with UW-La Crosse, Schroder scored a goal in the 89th minute to send the game to overtime where Coe came away with the 2-1 victory.
• She leads the Kohawks in assists this season (3) and ranks second in total points (9).
• Her nine points on the year rank seventh in the league.
• This is Schroder’s first Offensive Player of the Week accolade.  

 
Women’s Tennis – Player(s) of the Week
Devon Bourget/Shelby Cook, Luther College
Bourget, Jr., Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial
Cook, So., Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy

• The duo advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Midwest Regional in A-Doubles.
• They defeated Emily Ottenson and Greta Prokosch of St. Olaf (8-0) in the opening round;
• In the second round they defeated Jo Carlson and Hayley Trebil of Gustavus (8-2).
• The third round saw them upset No. 5 seeds Paige Nierman and Sabrina Palvra of UW-Whitewater (8-5).
• Their tournament run came to an end in the quarterfinals when they were eliminated by No. 4 seeds Paige McLeod and Taylor McLeod of St. Thomas (8-4).
• Bourget is earning her fourth Player of the Week honor (9/23/19, 9/16/19, 4/22/19, 9/23/18) and Cook is now a three-time Player of the Week award winner (9/23/19, 9/10/19, 4/8/19).

 
Volleyball – Defensive Player of the Week
Katie Foster, Wartburg College
Jr., DS, Charles City, Iowa/Charles City

• Foster recorded 113 digs in 18 sets played last week, including 34 in the Knight’s lone loss last week.
• Averaged 6.28 digs/set
• Helped lead the Knights to a 4-1 record on the week, including a sweep to open A-R-C play over Luther.
• Foster is now an 11-time Defensive Player of the Week (9/23/19, 9/16/19, 9/10/19, 10/29/18, 10/15/18, 10/8/18, 9/3/18, 11/5/17, 10/29/17, 9/24/17, 9/3/17).

 
Volleyball – Offensive Player of the Week
Krissa Larson, Central College
So., RS, Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock

• Larson had 15 kills in the conference opener against Simpson, making it her season-high thus far.
• She had 34 kills on the week in the four Dutch matches.
• Named to the all-tournament team at the Central-Grinnell Invitational as she helped the Dutch go 3-0 at the tournament and 4-0 on the week.
• Maintained a hitting percentage of .370 on the week.
• This makes Larson’s first career Offensive Player of the Week honor, and the Dutch first since 09/20/15 (Emily McDonald).