CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference announced that Nebraska Wesleyan University men’s basketball player Nate Schimonitz (Omaha, Neb./Creighton Prep) and Loras College women’s track & field athlete Gabrielle Noland (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic) have been named American Rivers Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, February 9, 2020. The Conference also announced Performers of the Week in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s tennis, and wrestling.
Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Indoor Track & Field - Track – Performer of the Week
Gabrielle Noland, Loras College
Sr., Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic

• Noland bested her national-leading mark in the 60-meter dash on Saturday at the North Central College Invitational, running 7.56.
• She won the 400-meter dash (57.62) and also helped the 4-by-400-meter relay team (Noland, Alexis Alt, Elayna Bahl, Stevie Lambe) win the event with the second-fastest time in Division III (3:55.67) and third fastest in Loras history.
• Noland owns the No. 1 time in the 60, 200 and 400-meter dashes among all Division III competitors.
• The No. 8-ranked Duhawks won the meet with 167 points--second place team was North Central with 134.5 points.
• Noland was named the league’s Most Valuable Indoor Track Performer in 2018 and 2019.
• This is Noland’s 10th career Track Performer of the Week accolade (2/10/20, 1/20/20, 2/25/19, 2/4/19, 1/21/19, 12/10/18, 2/25/18, 1/14/18, 12/3/17, 12/4/16).

 
Male Athlete of the Week - Men’s Basketball – Player of the Week
Nate Schimonitz, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Sr., G, Omaha, Neb./Creighton Prep

• Nebraska Wesleyan secured their fourth straight regular season conference title with a 95-65 win at Luther Saturday.
• The Prairie Wolves got all they could handle from Coe College for the 2^nd time this season, escaping with an 84-78 win in Cedar Rapids behind Schimonitz’s 33-point performance.
• At Luther, he scored 23 points while shooting 55.3% from the field.
• He scored 56 points in the two games, while tallying 15 assists and eight rebounds.
• The senior also surpassed 1,900 career points this last week, while averaging 28 points and 7.5 assists.
• This is Schimonitz’s tenth career Player of the Week honor, and his fifth this season (2/10/20, 1/20/20, 12/15/19, 11/18/19, 11/11/19, 11/26/18, 11/19/18, 2/25/18, 2/5/17).

 
Women’s Basketball – Player of the Week
Jenna Taylor, Simpson College
Sr., F, Creston, Iowa/Creston

• In their lone game last week, Simpson extended their winning streak to 38 straight games over the Dutch with a 95-63 win.
• Taylor tallied her second double-double of the year with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
• The senior went 7-for-15 from the field and 5 -for-10 from behind the 3-point line.
• This is Taylor’s fourth career Player of the Week award (2/10/20, 12/17/18, 11/19/18, 11/12/18).

 
Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Field – Performer of the Week
Brock Lewis, Central College
So., Lathrop, Mo./Lathrop

• The Dutch competed at the Bearcat Open in Maryville, Mo. hosted by Northwest Missouri State.
• The Lathrop, Mo. native finished 6^th out of 36 competitors (23 feet, .75 inches/7.03 meters).
• He was 13^th in the Triple Jump (44 feet, 6.25 inches/13.58 meters).
• Lewis moved up to No. 22 nationally in the long jump and second in the A-R-C.
• This is the sophomore’s first career Field Performer of the Week.

 
Men’s Indoor Track & Field - Track – Performer of the Week
Patrick Mikel, Loras College
Sr., Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East

• The Duhawks competed at the North Central College Invite this last weekend.
• Mikel remains the No. 1 runner in the 400-meters dash and lowering his national mark to 48.53.
• The 4x400-meter relay team (Tyson Morrison, Mike Jasa, Josh Smith, and Patrick Mikel) won the event, while posting the fastest time in NCAA Division III (3:17.93).
• The quartet also ranks second in Loras program history with that time.
• Loras finished as runners-up to the host, North Central, with 114 team points.
• This is Mikel’s seventh career Track Performer of the Week award (2/10/20, 1/20/20, 2/25/19, 1/28/19, 12/10/18, 2/4/18).

 
Women’s Indoor Track & Field - Field – Performer of the Week
Terrianna Black, Loras College
Sr., Milwaukee, Wis./Messmer

• Competing at the North Central College Invite on Saturday, Feb. 8, Black won the long jump in addition to finishing second in the triple jump and 60-meter dash (7.70).
• In the long jump, she leapt to 17’ 8”, good for 44^th best in NCAA DIII this season.
• Black bounded to a mark of 36’ 11” in the triple jump, a mark that now ranks third in Loras program history.
• Her triple jump distance also ranks 33^rd in NCAA Division III this season.
• The No. 8-ranked Duhawks won the meet with 167 points, 32.5 points better than second place North Central College.

 
Men’s Tennis – Player of the Week
Cole Schneider, Luther College
Jr., Coralville, Iowa/Iowa City West

• The Norse opened the spring season with three wins, beating North Central (5-4), Carthage (5-4), and Concordia (Wis.) (7-2).
• Schneider and his partner, Nyathi Motljoa, went 3-0 in doubles contests, defeating Colton Way/Andy Hinch of North Central (8-4), Andre Antreassian/Daniel Moore Carthage (8-3), and Nolan Rademacher/Logan Snyder Concordia (8-5).
• The junior went 2-1 in singles defeating Daniel Moore of Carthage (6-4, 5-7, 6-3) and Christian Doctor of Concordia (Wis.) (6-4, 7-6, (10-8)).
• This is Schneider’s third career Player of the Week (2/10/20, 3/18/18, 2/18/18).

 
Wrestling – Wrestler of the Week
Eron Haynes, Nebraska Wesleyan University
So., 133lbs., Omaha, Neb./Omaha Central

• Haynes and the Prairie Wolves competed at the Don Parker Open hosted by Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
• He was named the most outstanding wrestler at 133 lbs.
• Haynes won his first round with a technical fall win over Jackson Wenberg of Ellsworth Community College (19-3).
• The sophomore beat Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Brandon Murphy with a 10-3 decision.
• The Omaha, Neb. native won the 133lbs. bracket with a decisive 14-5 major decision over DII opponent Ashton Clark of St. Cloud State.
• This is the sophomore’s second career Wrestler of the Week accolade (2/10/20, 11/4/19).