CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced that Wartburg College cross country runners Lexi Brown (New London, Iowa/New London) and Christopher Collet (Verona, Ill./Seneca) have been named American Rivers Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, October 29, 2023. The Conference also announced Performers of the Week in men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, and volleyball. Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Cross Country – Runner of the Week
Lexi Brown, Wartburg College
Sr., New London, Iowa/New London

• Brown finished first out of 122 runners with a time of 21:57.8 at the A-R-C Cross Country Championship on Saturday.
• Brown earned MVP honors for her performance, the first honor for the Knights since 2020.
• The senior led No. 3-ranked Wartburg to the team title for the fifth consecutive year, totaling 27 points.
• Brown is now a four-time All-Conference performer while also earning All-American honors last season.
• The New London, Iowa native is collecting her third-career Runner of the Week award, and fourth this season (9/18/23, 10/2/23, 10/26/23, 10/30/23).

Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Cross Country – Runner of the Week
Christopher Collet, Wartburg College
Sr., Verona, Ill./Seneca

• Collet won his second consecutive individual title at the 2023 A-R-C Cross Country Championship with a time of 24:43.1.
• With the win, Collet earned MVP honors, the fifth straight year a Knight has earned this honor.
• The senior led the way for the No. 7-ranked Knights as they won their sixth consecutive A-R-C team title and 20^th overall, with 27 points.
• Collet is now a five-time All-Conference performer.
• The Verona, Illinois native is garnering his fifth-career Runner of the Week accolade (9/6/22, 9/19/22, 10/3/22, 10/17/22, 10/30/23).

Football – Offensive Player of the Week
Hunter Clasen, Wartburg College
5^th Year, RB, Springbrook, Iowa/Bellevue

• Clasen led the No. 3/3-ranked Wartburg Knights to a 24-14 win over Central College to secure the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs and at least a share of the conference championship.
• The fifth year totaled 202 rushing yards, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
• Clasen recorded two rushing touchdowns in the game Saturday afternoon.
• This is the fifth game this season with triple digit rushing yards.
• On Saturday, Clasen surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the second-straight season.
• The Knights improved to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in league play.
• Wartburg travels to Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday for their final regular season contest.
• The 2022 A-R-C Offensive Most Valuable Player, Clasen is now a two-time All-Conference performer, in addition to being named Honorable Mention in 2019.
• The Springbrook native is earning his fourth Offensive Player of the Week honor, and third this season (10/30/23, 10/2/23, 9/5/23, 10/11/22).

Football – Defensive Player of the Week
Brandon Phelps, Loras College
Jr., LB, Morris, Ill./Morris

• Phelps helped lead the Loras Duhakws defense to a dominating win over Buena Vista University on Saturday (49-21).
• The junior linebacker led the team with six solo stops and tied his career-highs with five tackles for loss and three sacks.
• Phelps forced a fumble that he recovered and took 45 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
• The Loras Duhawks improved to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in league play. They will take the field at home on Saturday as they host the Simpson College Storm.
• The Morris, Illinois native is picking up his first Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Football – Special Teams Player of the Week
Julian Garcia Ayala, Coe College
So., K, Galena, Ill./Galena

• Garcia Ayala continued his strong season in No. 24-ranked Coe College’s dominant 64-2 win over Luther College on Saturday.
• The sophomore kicker extended his extra point streak to 30 makes after going a perfect 8-for-8 on the afternoon.
• Garcia Ayala also had four touchbacks on his eight kickoff attempts, totaling 471 yards on his kicks.
• The No. 24 Coe College Kohawks improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in league play. They are back in action this weekend as they travel to the University of Dubuque for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.
• The Galena, Illinois native is earning his second-career Special Teams Player of the Week honor, both coming in this season (10/30/23, 10/16/23).

Men’s Soccer – Offensive Player of the Week
Ramzi Ouro-Akondo, Luther College
So., D, Minneapolis, Minn./Minneapolis Southwest

• Ouro-Akondo led the Luther Norse to a 1-1 week, including a win in the first round of the A-R-C Men’s Soccer Tournament.
• The Norse ended the regular season with a loss to Dubuque (1-0), but began the postseason with an exciting win that ended with penalty kicks over Simpson (3-3 final score, 4-2 in penalty kicks).
• The sophomore scored two goals in the first round matchup, including the tying goal to send the game into overtime.
• His two goals versus Simpson were a season high for him.
• The Norse and Ouro-Akondo will be back on the pitch on Wednesday evening when they travel to Dubuque to face off against the No. 1-seeded Loras College Duhawks with a spot in the championship game on the line.
• These two programs met last year in the championship match, where the Norse came out on top.  
• Luther moves their record to 6-7-6 overall and 4-3-1 in A-R-C play.
• The Minneapolis, Minnesota native is picking up his first-career Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Men’s Soccer – Defensive Player of the Week
Kai Haroldson, Luther College
Sr., GK, Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka

• Haroldson kept the Luther men’s soccer team alive in postseason action.
• The senior did not see a single minute in as goalkeeper in regulation but came in for penalty kicks, when Luther needed him most.  
• On the first penalty kick, he made a critical save to set the tone for the entirety of the penalty kicks.
• The Norse now advance to the semifinals of the A-R-C Men’s Soccer Tournament where they are slated to play at the top seeded Duhawks of Loras College on Wednesday evening.
• Luther is now 6-7-6 overall and 4-3-1 in the league.
• This is the Excelsior, Minnesota native’s first-career Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Women’s Soccer – Offensive Player of the Week
Cassie Nash, Simpson College
Sr., F, Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast

• Nash led the Simpson Storm to a 6-0 victory over Coe College to end their regular season campaign last Tuesday.
• The senior forward notched her second hat trick of the year while also providing an assist on the first goal of the game just over a minute into the match.
• Nash recorded her second-straight game with multiple goals and sixth this season.
• The Storm secured the No. 2 seed of the conference tournament and earned a bye.
• Simpson improved their overall record to 14-2-1 while ending the conference slate at 7-1.
• Nash and the Storm are back on the pitch on Wednesday as they host the No. 3 seed Luther College Norse for the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
• The Storm senior is a three-time All-Conference performer and was named the 2022 A-R-C Offensive Player of the Year.
• The Lincoln, Nebraska native is garnering her eighth-career Offensive Player of the week honor (9/27/21, 9/12/22, 10/17/22, 10/24/22, 10/31/22, 9/5/23, 10/10/23, 10/30/23).

Women’s Soccer – Defensive Player of the Week
Ken Vavrichek, Luther College
Jr., GK, Bloomington, Minn./The Blake School

• Vavrichek led the Norse to a 2-0 week, including a victory in the first round of the A-R-C Tournament.
• The Luther Norse closed out the regular season with a 3-2 victory over the University of Dubuque before taking on the No. 6-seeded Wartburg College 1-0 in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
• Vavrichek made four saves on five shots faced by the Wartburg Knights offense.
• The junior goalkeeper recorded the second shutout of the season to bring his record to 7-4-1 this season.
• The Norse improved to 8-6-4 overall and finished league play with a 4-3-1 mark. They are back on the pitch Wednesday as they travel to Simpson College for the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
• The Bloomington, Minnesota native is garnering the first Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Women’s Swim & Dive – Performer of the Week
Annie Quinn, Loras College
Sr., Chicago, Ill./Resurrection College Prep

• Quinn helped lead the Duhawks to a 132-56 win over Simpson.
• This was Loras’ first win over Simpson since 2019.
• Quinn won three of the Duhawks nine events including the final leg of the winning 200-yard medley relay (1:59.86).
• The senior competed in the 50-yard freestyle (25.64) and 100-yard freestyle (57.29) to pick up two individual wins.
• The Duhawks and Quinn will next be in the pool on Friday when they travel to Cedar Rapids to face Coe.
• The Chicago, Illinois native is collecting her second-career Performer of the Week accolade (11/7/22, 10/30/23).

Men’s Swim & Dive – Performer of the Week
Cael Dice, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Sr., Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln East

• Dice and the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves competed against Minnesota Morris over the weekend.
• Nebraska Wesleyan picked up a 174-71 win on day one and a 142-50 victory on day two.
• On day one, Dice competed in the 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke, and 400-yard freestyle relay.
• On day two, the senior was seen in the 200-yard IM, 200-yard freestyle relay, and 200-yard medley relay.
• Dice picked up three individual wins in the 100-yard backstroke (52.64), 200-yard backstroke (1:58.27), and 200-yard IM (1:59.18).
• The senior appeared in three relay events, picking up three wins: 400-yard freestyle relay (3:24.13), 200-yard freestyle relay (1:31.60), and 200-yard medley relay (1:41.93).
• Dice and the Prairie Wolves are off until November 10^th when they host Simpson at the Weary Natatorium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
• The Lincoln, Nebraska native is earning his second-career Performer of the Week honor (10/23/23, 10/30/23).

Volleyball – Offensive Player of the Week
Peyton Uptagraft, University of Dubuque
So., MH, Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh North

• Uptagraft helped lead the Dubuque Spartans to a 2-1 week, that included clinching at least a share of the league title.
• The Spartans began to week falling to non-confernece opponent Augustana (Ill.) 3-2, but bounced back in conference play going 2-0 defeating Nebraska Wesleyan in an exciting five match thriller (3-2) and Buena Vista 3-0 on Saturday to clinch at least a share of the A-R-C title.
• Uptagraft recorded 27 kills on the week with an attacking percentage of .430 over the three contests.
• Additionally, she totaled eight blocks and five digs.
• Against Buena Vista, the sophomore recorded a .500 attacking percentage.
• The Spartans wrap up regular season play on Wednesday evening when they host Wartburg.
• Dubuque has clinched the No. 1-seed in the upcoming A-R-C Volleyball Tournament improving their record to 20-8 overall and 7-0 in league action.
• The Oshkosh, Wisconsin native is collecting her first-career Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Volleyball – Defensive Player of the Week
Katie Wright, University of Dubuque
Sr., DS/L, Stockton, Ill./Stockton

• Wright helped lead the defensive front for the University of Dubuque Spartans to a 2-1 week.
• The Spartans picked up two important league wins over Nebraska Wesleyan, in a thriller of five sets, (3-2) and Buena Vista (3-0) on Saturday, to clinch at least a share of the A-R-C regular season title, after beginning the week falling to Augustana (Ill.) 3-2.
• The senior recorded an impressive 31 digs versus Augustana, for a new season high.
• In league play, she totaled 27 digs and six assists.
• The Spartans have now earned the No. 1-seed in the upcoming A-R-C Volleyball Tournament but will first wrap of the regular season on Wednesday evening when they host Wartburg.
• Dubuque moves to 20-8 overall and 7-0 in the A-R-C.
• The Stockton, Illinois native is garnering her first-career Defensive Player of the Week accolade.