CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference announced that Loras College men’s basketball player JT Ford (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) and Luther College women’s basketball player Sarah Holtz (Austin, Minn./Pacelli Catholic) have been named American Rivers Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, February 2, 2020. The Conference also announced Performers of the Week in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, and wrestling.
Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Basketball – Player of the Week
Sarah Holtz, Luther College
Sr., G, Austin, Minn./Pacelli Catholic

• Holtz posted two double-doubles this past week helping Luther to wins over Simpson, 73-63 and Buena Vista, 80-65.
• The senior scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Storm.
• She also tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds against BVU.
• Luther remains in a three-way tie atop the A-R-C standings at 9-2 in conference play.
• The Austin, Minn. native has now scored 1,133 points and collected 539 rebounds during her career for the Norse.
• This is Holtz’s second career Player of the Week nod (2/3/20, 12/9/19).

 
Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Basketball – Player of the Week
JT Ford, Loras College
Sr., G, St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East

• Loras went 2-0 this past week with a 79-72 win over Central and an 85-67 win over the Simpson to move up to third place in the A-R-C standings with a 7-4 record.
• Ford led the Duhawks with 31 points in a winning effort against Central while shooting 70% from the field and coming up one rebound shy from a double-double.
• The senior once again came up big for the Duhawks in a win over Simpson finishing the game with a double-double scoring 23 points while shooting 75% from three-point range with 16 rebounds. 
• In both games combined, the St. Charles, Ill. native shot 66% from the field while dropping 54 points to go along with 25 rebounds.
• This is Ford’s first career Player of the Week award.

 
Men’s Indoor Track & Field - Field – Performer of the Week
Sam Adeniyi, Simpson College
Sr., Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area

• Adeniyi competed in the heptathlon Jan. 31 – Feb. 1, 2020 at the Wartburg College Select.
• The senior compiled 4,555 points to take first in the field of seven competitors.
• His point total currently ranks second in the conference and 13th in the nation.
• Adeniyi won the high jump (1.92m), long jump (6.48m) and shot put (11.26m) events.
• He finished second in the pole vault (3.35m), 60m hurdles (8.72) and 60m dash (7.51).
• The Storm totaled 99 points to finish third out of seven teams.
• This is Adeniyi’s first career Field Performer of the Week accolade.

 
Men’s Indoor Track & Field - Track – Performer of the Week
Mike Jasa, Loras College
So., Fairfax, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Prairie

• Jasa won the 400m dash at the Titan Open, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, with a time of 50.20 which was 0.8 seconds faster than second place.
• His time of 50.20 ranks 24^th in NCAA Division III.
• He then ran on the 4x400 meter relay team of Josh Smith, Patrick Mikel and Tyson Morrison to win the event and post the second fastest time in Division III (3:19.39).
• The Duhawks are ranked No. 4 in Division III. 
• This is Jasa’s second career Track Performer of the Week nod (2/3/20, 12/9/19).

 
Women’s Indoor Track & Field - Field – Performer of the Week
Dayton Dolincheck, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Sr., Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue West

• The Prairie Wolves competed at the Concordia (Neb.) Classic Friday, January 31^st.
• Dolincheck placed 2^nd in the Shot Put at 47 feet and 3 inches and now holds the No. 1 throw in NCAA Division III.
• Her distance was second behind a top NAIA performer.
• The senior also placed 7^th in the Weight Throw with a distance of 52 feet and 1 inch.
• This is the Bellevue, Neb. native’s seventh career Field Performer of the Week honor (2/3/20, 1/20/20, 2/4/19, 1/28/19, 1/21/19, 1/14/19, 1/21/18).

 
Women’s Indoor Track & Field - Track – Performer of the Week
Gabrielle Noland, Loras College
Sr., Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic

• Won the 60m dash at the Titan Open, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, running a time of 7.58 to claim the No. 1 spot in Division III.
• She also won the 200m dash by nearly one second ahead of second place with a time of 25.20.
• Loras is the No. 7 ranked team in Division III and Noland currently owns the No. 1 times in the 60, 200, and 400m.
• This is the senior’s tenth career Track Performer of the Week honor (2/3/20, 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).

 
Wrestling – Wrestler of the Week
Kyle Briggs, Wartburg College
Jr., 184lbs., Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson

• Briggs, the second-ranked 184-pounder, faced returning All-American Josh Edel in the No.1 Knight’s dual with No.5 Coe on Jan. 30, 2020.
• The Cedar Rapids Jefferson prep picked up the fall at the 3:24 mark.
• The fall, his 10^th of the season, helped seal the road win over Coe for Wartburg.
• Briggs improved his record to 20-1 on the season.
• A season ago Briggs took home 3^rd place in the 174lbs bracket at the NCAA DIII Championships.
• This marks the Cedar Rapids, Iowa native’s third career Wrestler of the Week honor (2/3/20, 12/30/19, 12/3/18).