Dubuque's Wilder and Luther's Loen Named American Rivers Conference Athletes of the Week

Performers of the Week Announced in Seven Sports

4/11/2022 12:26:04 PM

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced that University of Dubuque women’s field performer Kaitlyn Wilder (Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton) and Luther College men’s tennis player Max Loen (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) have been named American Rivers Conference Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 10, 2022. The Conference also announced Performers of the Week in baseball, softball, men’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.
Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week17000
Kaitlyn Wilder, University of Dubuque
So., Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton
  • The Spartans competed on their home fields on Saturday, April 9th, 2022.
  • Wilder competed in three events, hammer throw, discus, and shotput, and took home first in all three events.
  • In the hammer throw, the sophomore threw a new conference All-Time Record with a throw of 58.22 meters.
  • Wilder finished on top in the discus with a toss of 45.28 meters and finished 15.5 feet ahead of second place.
  • Dubuque’s sophomore took the title in the shot put with a toss of 13.93 meters.
  • Wilder’s performances have her ranked No. 2/3/3 on the NCAA DIII qualifiers lists and sits No. 1/1/1 in the A-R-C.
  • The Dunkerton, Iowa native is collecting her second-career Women’s Outdoor Field Performer of the Week honor (4/11/22, 4/4/22).
Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Tennis – Player of the Week17401
Max Loen, Luther College
So., Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial
  • The Norse went 2-0 this week and 1-0 in league play.
  • Luther defeated Dubuque (9-0) and regionally ranked No. 11 Carleton (5-4).
  • Loen went 2-0 in singles this week.
  • He played No. 1 singles versus Milan Zivkovic of Dubuque and was victorious (6-4, 2-6, 10-8).
  • The sophomore played No. 2 singles against Yuv Kataria of Carleton (2-6, 7-6(7-3), 10-7) and won to secure the team victory.
  • In doubles play, Loen played with Nyathi Motojoa and defeated Tram Rojanasoonthon and Tate Fuller of Carleton (8-3).
  • Luther improved their record to 9-9 overall and 3-0 in the conference.
  • The Eau Claire, Wis. native is collecting his first career Men’s Tennis Player of the Week accolade.
Baseball – Pitcher of the Week17309
Brady Held, Simpson College
Sr., RHP, Indianola, Iowa/Indianola
  • Held became the first pitcher in Simpson program history to throw 200 strikeouts.
  • The senior right-hander improved to 4-0 on the season, defeating Nebraska Wesleyan 9-1 on Wednesday.
  • Held faced 23 batters in six innings pitched, striking out 11 of them.
  • In the six innings pitched, the Storm senior allowed one run on two hits, and held his opponents’ batting average to .100.
  • In addition to his performance on the mound, Held led the team with a .438 batting average, .550 on-base percentage, while tallying seven hits and scoring nine times in the Storm’s four games on the week.
  • The Storm improved to 11-12 overall, and 2-7 in conference play.
  • Held is a 2021 First Team All-Conference performer in addition to picking up honorable mention honors in 2019.
  • The Indianola, Iowa native is collecting his fourth-career Pitcher of the Week honor (4/11/22, 3/15/22, 5/3/21, 3/11/19).
Baseball – Position Player of the Week17398
Reid Rausch, Coe College
Jr., 1B, Cascade, Iowa/Cascade
  • Reid helped the Kohawks to a 3-1 week, including a series sweep over Central College.
  • The junior first-baseman batted .385 over the four games, scoring five runs, driving in 11, recording a triple, and a walk-off three-run homerun.
  • Reid ended the series against Central going 3-for-3 at the plate, falling just a double shy of the cycle.
  • Game 1: Dubuque 11, Coe 5 – 0-for-4 (.000), 1 R, 1 BB, 2 putouts, 1 assist
  • Game 2: Central 3, Coe 8 – 1-for-3 (.333), 1 H, 8 putouts
  • Game 3: Central 5, Coe 8 – 1-for-3 (.333), 1 R, 1 H, 2 RBI, 2 putouts, 3 assists
  • Game 4: Central 7, Coe 8 – 3-for-3 (1.000), 3 R, 3 H, 2 RBI, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 putouts
  • The Kohawks improved to 13-10 on the season and 8-4 in league play.
  • The Cascade, Iowa native is collecting his first career Position Player of the Week honor.
Softball – Pitcher of the Week17399
Abbie White, Coe College
Fr., P, West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
  • Coe’s freshman pitcher made four appearances during the week in the circle for the Kohawks.
  • White picked up a pair of victories over Wartburg (SCORE), and Luther (SCORE).
  • The West Des Moines native struck out 14 batters in 22.0 innings pitched, allowing just six walks.
  • White improved to 6-1 in the circle for the Kohawks.
  • Game 1: Coe 2, Buena Vista 4 – L (4-1), GS, CG, 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K
  • Game 2: Wartburg 8, Coe 6 – GS, CG, Shutout, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K, .125 BAA, 26 batters faced
  • Game 3: Wartburg 0, Coe 5 – W (5-1), 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 K, 9 batters faced
  • Game 4: Coe 7, Luther 5 – W (6-1), GS, CG, 7.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 K
  • The Kohawks improved to 13-7 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Softball – Position Player of the Week17403
Lauren Brown, University of Dubuque
So., INF, Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena
  • Brown helped lead the Spartans to a 2-2 week in conference play after splitting doubleheaders with Simpson College and Central College.
  • The sophomore batted .538 on the week recording nine runs, seven RBI, and three homeruns.
  • Game 1: Dubuque 12, Simpson 13 – 2-for-2 (1.000), 5 R, 2 H, 2 RBI, 2 HR, 3 BB
  • Game 2: Dubuque 11, Simpson 1 – 1-for-4 (.250), 1 R, 1 H
  • Game 3: Central 1, Dubuque 9 – 3-for-4 (.750), 1 R, 3 H, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
  • Game 4: Central 11, Dubuque 9 – 1-for-3 (.333), 2 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 5 putouts
  • In the four games played, Brown had a slugging percentage of 1.308 and on-base percentage of .647.
  • The Spartans improved to 16-6 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
  • The Sierra Vista, Arizona native is picking up her first-career Position Player of the Week honor.
Men’s Golf – Golfer of the Week17365
Ben Phipps, Luther College
Sr., Leuth, Ireland/Dundalk Grammar School
  • The Norse finished seventh from the field of 25 at the Augustana (Ill.) Invitational.
  • Phipps was the top A-R-C finisher at the invite, shooting rounds of 73-77-150.
  • The Ireland native finished in a five-way tie for 18th out of 138 golfers in the field.
  • The Norse senior holds a 73.8 stroke average on the season.
  • Phipps is a two-time All-Conference performer.
  • The Ireland native is picking up his second career Men’s Golfer of the Week honor, both coming this season (4/11/22, 4/4/22).
Women’s Tennis – Player of the Week17402
Anna Wanek, Simpson College
Sr., Urbandale, Iowa/Dowling Catholic
  • Wanek went 3-0 at No.1 Singles and 3-0 at No.1 Doubles on the week.
  • The Storm are 4-9 overall this year.
  • In singles, Wanek defeated Northwestern’s Belinda Weddle (6-7, 6-0, 1-0), Truman State’s Alison Brown (7-6, 6-2), and Tessa Hurst of the College Saint Mary’s (6-3, 6-1).
  • In doubles, Wanek played with Emily King and together defeated Northwestern’s Weddle and Annie Orvis (8-0), Truman State’s Brown and Akansha Negi (8-2), and the College of Saint Mary’s Hurst and Jaclyn Negrete (8-3).
  • Wanek was named 2020 A-R-C Most Valuable Player.
  • The Dowling Catholic prep is picking up her fifth-career Women’s Tennis Player of the Week honor (4/11/22, 4/26/21, 10/19/20, 10/5/20, 9/28/20).
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week16953
Holden Murphy, Loras College
Fr., Benton, Wis./Benton-Scales Mound
  • The Duhawks competed at the University of Dubuque Open on Saturday, April 9th, 2022 and finished second as a team.
  • Murphy competed in three events at the Dubuque Open and earned top honors in all three events.
  • The freshman threw 51.06 meters in the hammer throw, putting himself eighth in Duhawk history.
  • Murphy took first place in the discus with a toss of 50.88 meters to rank third in Loras history and second in Division III this year.
  • Loras’ freshman finished second in the shot put with a throw of 13.93 meters.
  • The Benton, Wis. native is collecting his first career Men’s Field Performer of the Week honor.
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Track Performer of the Week16849171641740016932
4x400 Meter Relay, Loras College
Josh Smith, Sr., Dolton, Ill./Marian Catholic
Ted Kruse, So., Dubuque, Iowa/Dubuque Senior
Carter Oberfoell., Jr., Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic
Mike Jasa, Jr., Fairfax, Iowa/Prairie
  • The Duhawk 4x400 meter relay team ran the fastest time in Division III this year with a time of 3:14.36 to win the event.
  • The quad’s performance helped the Duhawks to a second-place finish at the University of Dubuque Open on Saturday April 9th, 2022.
  • The Loras men are currently ranked 19th in the latest USTFCCA national rankings (4/8/22).
  • It is the first time this year that a men’s 4x400 meter relay team earns the Men’s Outdoor Track Performers of the Week honor.
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Track Performer of the Week17168168521716617167
4x400 Meter Relay, Loras College
Stevie Lambe, Sr., Dubuque, Iowa/Dubuque Senior
Elayna Bahl, Sr., Epworth, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Marion Edwards, Sr., Chicago, Ill/De La Salle Institute
Alyssa Pfadenhauer, Jr., West Burlington, Iowa/Danville
  • The Spartans competed at the University of Dubuque Open on Saturday, April 9th, 2022.
  • The 4x400 meter relay team ran a time of 3:46.01 to take the No. 1 spot on the DIII qualifying list.
  • The quad’s efforts sit four seconds ahead of the second-best time in DIII.
  • The Loras women are currently ranked No. 4 in the latest USTFCCCA poll (4.8.22).
  • It is the first time this season that a 4x400 relay team earns the Women’s Outdoor Track Performer of the Week honor.
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