CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced that Luther College women’s tennis player Shelby Cook (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy) men’s golfer Ben Phipps (Townparks, Ardee, County Leuth, Ireland/Dundalk Grammar School) have been named American Rivers Conference Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, May 1, 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 Tennis – Player of the Week
Shelby Cook, Luther College
Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy

• Cook went 2-0 at No. 1 Doubles, 2-0 at No.3/4 Singles during the American Rivers Conference NCAA Automatic Qualifying Tournament.
• The Norse defeated Loras (5-0) in the semifinals and Coe (5-0) in the championship match.
• In singles, Cook defeated Loras’ Caroline Hutchinson (6-1, 6-2) at No. 3 and Coe’s Emma Lassen (6-0, 6-3) at No. 4.
• Cook posted the deciding singles win in both matches.
• In doubles, the senior played with Julia Moreno and the duo defeated Loras’ Isabel Schwabe and Caroline Hutchinson (8-6) and Isabella Hoppenjans and Emma Lassen of Coe (8-6).
• Luther won the AQ Tournament for the third consecutive year and the ninth time in school history.
• Cook is a three-time All-Conference singles performer and four-time All-Conference doubles performer.
• The Cedar Rapids native is earning her seventh career Women’s Tennis Player of the Week honor (4/25/22, 10/13/20, 9/21/20, 9/23/19, 9/10/19, 4/8/19).

Male Athletes of the Week – Men’s Golf – Golfer of the Week
Ben Phipps, Luther College
Sr., Townparks, Ardee, County Leuth, Ireland/Dundalk Grammar School

• Phipps won the 2022 A-R-C Men’s Golf Individual Title with a 54-hole score of 221 (+8).
• He claimed medalist honors after defeating teammate Jay Fjelstul in a sudden-death playoff.
• After shooting a day one 27-hole score of 115, Phipps bounced back with a day two score of 106.
• The senior is the sixth conference champion for the Norse and first since 2013.
• The Norse team took home the title after shooting 902 on the weekend.
• Phipps is now a three-time All-Conference performer.
• The Ireland native is picking up his third career Men’s Golfer of the Week honor, all three coming this season (5/2/22, 4/11/22, 4/4/22).

Baseball – Pitcher of the Week
Mason Gehling, Buena Vista University
Jr., RHP, Chandler, Ariz./Higley

• Gehling picked up a pair of wins in relief to help BVU complete a three-game series sweep over Dubuque.
• The Beavers secured at least a share of their first regular season conference title since 2014.
• The junior right-hander recorded five strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched in the 2 games.
• In game one, Gehling came in with the score tied and got the last two outs of the ninth inning, before the Beavers got a homerun in the bottom half of the ninth to win it.
• Game 1: Dubuque 4, Buena Vista 5 – W (5-2), 0.2 IP
• Game 2: Dubuque 3, Buena Vista 7 – W (6-2), 3.0 IP, 5 K, 9 batters faced
• The Beavers improved to 24-11 overall and 16-5 in conference play.
• The Chandler, Arizona native is collecting his second-career Pitcher of the Week accolade.

Baseball – Position Player of the Week
Evan Kling, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Jr., DH, Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos

• Kling helped the Prairie Wolves to a 2-1 series over Central.
• Nebraska Wesleyan improved to 18-18 overall and 11-10 in conference play.
• The junior designated hitter batted .538 with seven hits, including two doubles, and three homeruns.
• Game 1: Central 5, Nebraska Wesleyan 15 (7 inn.) – 3-for-4 (.750), 3 R, 3 H, 4 RBI, 2B, BB
• Game 2: Central 16, Nebraska Wesleyan 6 (8 inn.) – 1-for-4 (.250), R, H, RBI, HR, BB
• Game 3: Central 5, Nebraska Wesleyan 9 – 3-for-5 (.600), R, 3 H, RBI, 2B, HR
• In the three-game series, Kling had a slugging percentage of 1.385 and on-base percentage of .600.
• The Santa Barbara native is picking up his first-career Position Player of the Week honor.

Softball – Pitcher of the Week
Ashtyn Miller, Buena Vista University
Sr., P/INF, Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central

• Miller was 2-1 on the week inside the circle, including a one-hit, complete-game shutout against Nebraska Wesleyan.
• With the sweep of Wartburg, Buena Vista secured its first conference title since 1996, sharing this year’s title with University of Dubuque.
• She pitched a total of 16.1 innings over the three games, scattering 12 hits and striking out 15.
• Game 1: Buena Vista 1, Nebraska Wesleyan 0 – W (11-4), GS, CG, shutout, 7.0 IP, H, 8 K, 0.45 BAA
• Game 2: Buena Vista 6, Nebraska Wesleyan 8 – L (11-5), 2.1 IP, 3 H, 11 batters faced
• Game 3: Buena Vista 8, Wartburg 3 – W (12-5), GS, CG, 7.0 IP, 7 K, 34 batters faced
• In addition to her efforts in the circle, Miller had a big two-run double in the sixth inning of game two against the Knights that pushed the Beaver lead to 7-4.
• The Beavers close out the regular season with a 26-12 overall record and 10-6 in league play.
• Miller was a First-Team at-large All-Conference performer in 2021.
• The Council Bluffs native is picking up her first-career Pitcher of the Week honor.

Softball – Position Player of the Week
Nataliah Murillo, Buena Vista University
So., 3B, Florence, Ariz./Poston Butte

• Murillo helped lead the Beavers to a 3-1 week and a share of the conference regular season title.
• The third baseman batted .600 on the week with nine hits, two runs and seven RBI.
• Game 1: Buena Vista 1, Nebraska Wesleyan 0 – 2-for3 (.667), 2 H, 1 RBI
• Game 2: Buena Vista 6, Nebraska Wesleyan 8 – 2-for-4 (.500), 2 H, 2 RBI, 4 assists
• Game 3: Buena Vista 8, Wartburg 3 – 1-for-4 (.250), 2 R, 1 H, 2 RBI
• Game 4: Buena Vista 7, Wartburg 5 – 4-for-4 (1.000), 4 H, 2 RBI, 3 assists
• The Beavers close out the regular season with a 26-12 overall record and 10-6 in league play.
• The Florence, Arizona native is picking up her first-career Position Player of the Week honor.

Men’s Tennis – Player of the Week
Max Loen, Luther College
So., Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial

• The Norse went 3-0 this past week to claim the 2022 American Rivers Conference title outright.
• Luther defeated Wartburg (9-0), Buena Vista (9-0), and Nebraska Wesleyan (9-0).
• Loen played in the Wartburg match and helped lead the Norse to their victory.
• At No. 1 Singles, Loen defeated Lucas Huffman (6-3, 6-3).
• In No. 1 doubles play, Loen and his partner Luke Westholder defeated Huffman and Jackson Eells (8-3).
• The Norse won the conference title after completing an 8-0 season for the second consecutive year and 33^rd title in program history.
• Loen is a 2021 All-Conference singles performer.
• The Eau Claire, Wis. native is collecting his second career Men’s Tennis Player of the Week honor (5/2/22, 4/11/22).

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Track Performer of the Week
4x800 Meter Relay, Loras College
Mike Jasa, So., Fairfax, Iowa/Prairie
Ryan Harvey, Fr., Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin
Carter Oberfoell, Jr., Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic
Wyatt Kelly, Jr., Hudson, Iowa/Hudson

• While competing at the Drake Relays on Friday, April 30^th, a squad of Duhawks set the NCAA Division III national record in the 4x800 meter relay.
• The relay ran 7:28.23, which broke the previous record of 7:33.28 set by Amherst College in 2014.
• The squad took the Drake Relays champion title and brought home the first title for Loras since 1989.
• For the second time this season, a relay squad from Loras has brought home the Men’s Outdoor Track Performers of the Week honor (5/2/22, 4/11/2)

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week
Cade Collier, University of Dubuque
Jr., LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley

• Collier and the Dubuque Spartans competed the Simpson College Kip Janvrin Open this past weekend.
• In the shot put, Collier finished fourth out of 50 competitors with a toss of 16.42-meters.
• The junior was the highest finishing Division III athlete in the multidivisional event.
• He currently ranks No. 1 in A-R-C, No. 1 in Midwest Region, and No. 6 in DIII.
• Collier was the second highest DIII finisher in the hammer throw with a toss of 48.69-meters, placing 15^th out of 64 competitors.
• In the discus, the junior tossed 42.78 and finished 17^th out of 65 throwers in the multidivisional event.
• Collier was the No. 2 Division III finisher in the discus.
• The LeClaire, Iowa native is collecting his second-career Men’s Field Performer of the Week accolade (5/2/22, 4/19/22).

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Track Performer of the Week
Kassie Parker, Loras College
Sr., Guttenberg, Iowa/Clayton Ridge

• A team of Duhawks competed at the Drake Relays this past weekend.
• Parker competed in the 5,000-meter run and ran the fourth-fastest time in NCAA Division III history.
• The senior ran 16:09.66 and broke her own school record by more than 30 seconds and currently ranks No. 2 in DIII.
• Parker also ran the anchor leg of the Distance Medley Relay that finished fifth with a time of 12:12.33.
• The relay ran the sixth-fastest time in Loras’ program history.
• The Guttenberg, Iowa native is collecting her fourth-career Women’s Outdoor Track Performer of the Week honor (5/2/22, 4/4/22, 4/12/21, 4/1/19).

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week
Emma Seipel, University of Dubuque
So., Nekoosa, Wis./Nekoosa

• The Spartans competed at the Simpson College Kip Janvrin Open on Friday, April 29^th.
• Seipel competed in the long jump and took second out of 37 competitors.
• The sophomore was the top DIII finisher in a multidivisional event with a leap of 5.79 meters.
• Her efforts in the long jump currently rank No. 1 in the A-R-C, No. 2 in the Midwest Region, and sits at No. 9 in Division III.
• Seipel was also the top DIII finisher in the triple jump, finishing seventh out of sixteen with a jump of 10.86 meters.
• The Nekoosa, Wis. prep is collecting her first career Women’s Outdoor Field Performer of the Week honor.