CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced that Wartburg College track & field athletes Christopher Collet (Verona, Ill./Seneca) and Breya Christopher (Galena, Ill./River Ridge), Nebraska Wesleyan track & field athlete Aspen Rolfes (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X), and Central College track & field athlete Brock Lewis (Lathrop, Mo./Lathrop) have been named American Rivers Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, March 7, 2021. The Conference also announced Performers of the Week in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s tennis, and volleyball.  
Co-Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week
Breya Christopher, Wartburg College
So., Galena, Ill./River Ridge

• Sophomore Breya Christopher was named the Women’s Most Valuable Field Performer at the at this weekend’s 2021 A-R-C Indoor Track & Field Championships in Waverly, Iowa.
• She took home two All-Conference medals and contributed 18 team points to Wartburg’s 17^th Indoor title in program history.
• The sophomore earned gold in the high jump (1.62m) to defend her crown from a season ago.
• The Galena, Ill. native also had an All-Conference silver medal performance in the Triple Jump with a leap of 11.28 meters.
• This marks Christopher’s first-career Indoor Field Performer of the Week accolade.

 
Co-Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Track Performer of the Week
Aspen Rolfes, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Sr., Lincoln, Neb./Pius X

• NWU’s Rolfes earned Women’s Most Valuable Track Performer at this weekend’s A-R-C Championships.
• Rolfes entered the weekend with Division III leading times in the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes.
• The senior took home the gold medal in the 200-meter with a sprint of 25.04 seconds, defeating the second-place finisher by 0.64 seconds.
• In the 400-meter dash, Rolfes sprinted to a silver medal, crossing the finish line in 57.96 seconds.
• In total, she garnered 18 team points for Nebraska Wesleyan, helping to guide the Prairie Wolves to a fourth-place team finish.
• This is Rolfes fourth honor the 2020-21 Indoor season and the seventh of her career (3/8/21, 3/1/21, 2/15/21, 2/8/21, 2/14/20, 2/11/19, 2/4/18).

 
Co-Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week
Brock Lewis, Central College
Jr., Lathrop, Mo./Lathrop

• Lewis won two field events on his way to being named Men’s Most Valuable Field Performer at the at this weekend’s 2021 A-R-C Indoor Track & Field Championships.
• Lewis took home two gold medals, winning both the long jump (7.12m) and triple jump (14.78m).
• His triple jump mark set a Wartburg facility record, shattering the old record of 14.52 meters.
• His efforts tallied 20 Dutch team points, helping Central achieve a third-place team finish.
• Lewis is collecting his fourth-career Indoor Field Performer of the Week honor and third of the season (3/8/21, 3/1/21, 2/8/21, 2/10/20).

 
Co-Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Track Performer of the Week
Christopher Collet, Wartburg College
So., Verona, Ill./Seneca

• Collet was named Men’s Most Valuable Track Performer at this weekend’s A-R-C Championships.
• The sophomore won two track events, garnering 20 team points in the Knights first-place team finish.
• He took the gold medal in the mile run with a time of 4:15.68.
• The Verona, Ill. native also stood atop the podium in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:30.74.
• The Knights have now won an A-R-C best 11 Men’s Indoor Track & Field titles.
• This is Collet’s first career Indoor Track Performer of the Week and Athlete of the Week honors.

Baseball – Pitcher of the Week
TJ Johnson, Coe College
Sr., P, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie

• Johnson started the second game on the bump of the double-header against Millikin Sunday afternoon to help the Kohawks split on the day, winning 9-0 in Game 2.
• The senior threw 5.0 scoreless innings to help Coe shutout Millikin in the second game, surrendering just three hits and striking out three.
• Johnson finished with the following stat line in - 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 K, .176 BAA, 19-batters faced, 2-putouts, 3-assists.
• This is Johnson’s first-career Pitcher of the Week honors, but the senior has collected two Position Player of the Week accolades in his Coe career.

 
Baseball – Position Player of the Week
Owen Vander Linden, Luther College
Sr., 1B, Dallas, Texas/Parish Episcopal

• Vander Linden helped the Norse to a season-opening sweep of Cornell College, 12-3 and 11-1 (F/7).
• The senior first baseman went 4-for-8 at the plate, driving in 7 runs with two home runs on the day to bring his slugging percentage to 1.250 to start the 2021 season.
• Game 1: Luther 12, Cornell 3, 2-for-4 (.500), 2 R, 2 H, 1 HR (two-run blast), 3 RBI,1 walk, 7-putouts.
• Game 2: Luther 11, Cornell 1 (7 innings), 2-for-4 (.500), R, 2 H, 1 HR (three-run blast), 4 RBI, 7-putouts, stolen base.
• This marks Vander Linden’s first-career Position Player of the Week accolade.

 
Men’s Basketball – Player of the Week
Max Smith Drahos, Wartburg College
Sr., Guard, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie

• Drahos Smith had a career outing in Wartburg’s final regular season game on at Simpson, helping the Knights secure an 83-77 victory.
• The senior guard dropped a career-tying 21 points, knocking in eight field goals and three 3-pointers, both of which tied career-highs.
• The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native shot a blistering 72.7% from the floor and 60% from long range in the Knights regular season finale in Indianola.
• He also added three rebounds, one steal, and one block to fill out the box score.
• This is the first Knight men’s basketball player to earn Player of the Week honors since Cam Kickbush won it on Feb. 18, 2019.
• This is Drahos Smith’s first-career Player of the Week honor.

Women’s Basketball – Player of the Week
Regan Freland, Simpson College
Fr., Forward, Prairie City, Iowa/PCM

• Freland scored a career-high 17 points off the bench with five 3-pointers, helping the Storm to a thrilling double-overtime victory against fourth-ranked Wartburg on Monday night in Waverly.
• Tenth-ranked Simpson defeated the Knights 81-80, thanks to Freland connecting on a las-second triple in the second overtime.
• This is just the second time in the freshman’s young career she has scored in double figures.
• The win clinched the top-seed for the Storm in this year’s A-R-C women’s basketball tournament.
• Freland is garnering her first-career Player of the Week accolade.

 
Softball – Pitcher Player of the Week
Kendra Cooper, Luther College
Jr., P, Lansing, Iowa/Kee High

• Cooper dominated in the circle again this week, picking up two wins for the Norse, while only allowing one run in both games combined.
• In the two games Cooper was in the circle, the Norse defeated Northwestern (Minn.) 10-1 and St. Mary’s (Minn.) 15-0 (F/5).
• Game 1: Luther 10, Northwestern (Minn.) 2, 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (unearned), 2 walks, 8 K, .136 BAA, 25-batters faced.
• Game 2: Luther 15, St. Mary’s (Minn.) 0 (F/5), 5.0 IP, CG shutout, 2 H, walk, 4 K, .125 BAA, 17-batters faced.
• In her 11 innings of work, the junior only allowed five hits, walked three, and struck out 12 batters, all while not allowing an earned run to cross the plate.
• Cooper has not allowed a single earned run to score in 28 innings of work on the season.
• The junior improves her record to 5-0 on the season, as the Norse improved to 8-2 on the year.
• Cooper is earning back-to-back Pitcher of the Week honors to start the 2021 season, making it three total in her Luther career (3/8/21, 3/1/21, 3/2/20).

 
Softball – Position Player of the Week
Sydney Illg, Wartburg College
Jr., SS, Grimes, Iowa/Johnston

• Illg helped the Knights sweep Wisconsin-Whitewater on Sunday, going 2-for-6 at the plate.
• Wartburg defeated UW-Whitewater 9-3 and 4-3 (F/8) on the weekend, improving to 7-1 on the season.
• Game 1: Wartburg 9, Whitewater 3, 1-for-3 (.333), 3 R, H, RBI, HBP, 3 stolen bases, 6-assists.
• Game 2: Wartburg 4, Whitewater 3 (F/8), 1-for-3 (.333), R, H, BB, 2 stolen bases, 4-putouts, 2-assists.
• The junior infielder also added four Wartburg runs, while adding five stolen bases to her performance.
• The shortstop also tallied a team-high eight assists in the field for the Knights.
• Illg is collecting her second Position Player of the Week honor in her Wartburg career (3/8/21, 4/15/19).

Men’s Tennis – Player of the Week
Lucas Huffman, Wartburg College
Jr., Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar  

• Huffman went 3-1 on the week, including 2-0 in No. 1 singles play, as the Knights dropped matches to Morningside (4-3) and Hamline (6-3).
• The junior won in straight sets in his match against Hamline’s Tou Ger Xiong (6-4, 6-4) and came away victorious in a three-set contest against Morningside’s Jaime Maza Martin (6-2, 3-6, 1-0(10)).
• He also competed at the No. 1 spot in doubles with his partner Jackson Eells, as the duo went 1-1, defeating Morningside’s Maza Martin and Opp 6-1.
• The Marion, Iowa native is now 6-3 in singles play and 5-4 in doubles with all competitions being at the No. 1 slot on the season.
• Huffman is collecting his second Player of the Week honors of the season and his fourth in his Wartburg career (3/8/21, 2/22/21, 3/18/19, 2/18/19).

 
Volleyball – Defensive Player of the Week
Majda Suljic, Coe College
Jr., Libero, Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls

• Suljic guided the No. 12-ranked Kohawks to a 2-0 week with wins over Simpson (3-0) and Luther (3-0).
• On Wednesday against the Storm, Suljic played tallied 18 digs in the three-set match.
• When Luther came to town on Saturday, Suljic recorded 10 digs in that three-set match.
• In both matches combined, she contributed nine assists and one service ace to pace the Kohawks.
• The Kohawks improve to 4-1 on the season and sit tied for first in the A-R-C.
• The junior is collecting her second Defensive Player of the Week accolade in her career (3/8/21, 10/28/19).

 
Volleyball – Offensive Player of the Week
Darby Hawtrey, University of Dubuque
Jr., OH, Clarence, Iowa/North Cedar

• Thanks to huge offensive performances from Hawtrey, Dubuque picked up two wins on the week with wins at Wartburg (3-2) and at home against Nebraska Wesleyan (3-0).
• The junior outside hitter led the Spartans in kills in both matches this last week.
• On Tuesday, the Spartans took down Wartburg in Waverly to secure their first win of the season with a thrilling five-set victory.
• In the Wartburg match, Hawtrey dominated with 24 kills on the night to guide the Spartans over the Knights with an impressive hitting percentage of .357 and recording one block.
• On Saturday, NWU came to town and Hawtrey tallied nine kills with a hitting percentage of .227.
• Darby now holds four Offensive Player of the Week honors in her career (3/8/21, 11/11/19, 9/3/19, 9/16/18).