CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) has concluded its 2022-2023 regular season calendar. For the 19
th straight year, Wartburg College finds themselves atop the Combined All-Sports Championship Trophy standings, recognizing the conference’s top overall program. The Knights also won the Marjorie Giles Women’s All-Sports Championship Trophy for the 18th time in school history and the Elmer Hertel Men’s All-Sports Championship Trophy for the 24th time.
Spring Recap
Wartburg was able to stay at the top of the standings for the All-Sports trophy with a conference championship in men’s outdoor track & field. They also collected a second-place finish in women’s outdoor track & field. The Knights softball team finished fourth in the regular season standings before winning the A-R-C tournament to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Loras’ standing stayed the same from the post-winter standings with a women’s outdoor track & field championship. The Duhawks took home a second-place finish in men’s outdoor track & field while the baseball team finished third in the standings before winning the A-R-C Tournament and earning the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Central jumped up to third place by themselves after tying for third in the post-winter standings. The Dutch were led by four third-place finishes this spring: women’s track & field, softball, men’s golf and men’s tennis. The Luther Norse jumped from fifth in the standings after the winter regular season to fourth in the final standings. The Norse earned two conference titles this spring in men’s golf and men’s tennis. Additionally, Luther got runner-up finishes in softball and baseball, earning the number two seeds in the respective tournaments. The Coe Kohawks got a regular season conference title from softball while finishing runner-up in men’s tennis to claim fifth in the final All-Sports Trophy standings. Nebraska Wesleyan finished runner-up at the men’s golf championships to claim sixth place in the final standings. Dubuque finished third in men’s outdoor track & field and the women finished fourth to earn seventh in the final standings.
Spring Team Champions
Winter Team Champions
Fall Team Champions
Elmer Hertel Men’s All-Sports Trophy
| School |
Points |
Place |
| Wartburg |
62.2 |
1st |
| Luther |
61.0 |
2nd |
| Loras |
60.8 |
3rd |
| Central |
50.0 |
4th |
| Coe |
44.0 |
t-5th |
| Dubuque |
44.0 |
t-5th |
| Nebraska Wesleyan |
38.5 |
7th |
| Simpson |
32.5 |
8th |
| Buena Vista |
27.0 |
9th |
The Wartburg Knights defended the Elmer Hertel Men’s All-Sports Trophy from a year ago. Wartburg collected the school’s 23rd Elmer Hertel Men’s Trophy with 62.2 points. The Knights claimed fall championships in cross country and football, while also picking up the conference title in wrestling and outdoor track & field. Additionally, Wartburg finished runner up in indoor track & field. Standing right behind the Knights with 61 points is the Luther College Norse. They were led by conference championships in swimming & diving, golf, and tennis. The Norse finished runner up in soccer during the fall, and baseball during the spring to propel them to a second-place finish in the standings. The Loras men dropped down to third place, tallying 60.8 points. The Duhawks earned conference titles in soccer and indoor track & field. Additionally, the Loras men finished runner up in cross country, wrestling, and outdoor track & field. Central maintained fourth place after finishing third in golf and tennis. The Dutch earned a conference title this winter in basketball. Tying for fifth is Coe College and the University of Dubuque, each earning 44 points. The Kohawks earned a runner-up finish in tennis this spring to add to their point total after finishing the football season tied for second in the standings and wrestling tied for third. The Spartans earned a third-place finish in outdoor track & field this spring to add to their point total. Dubuque earned a third-place finish at the indoor track & field championship and finished second in the standings in basketball. The Spartan football team finished the season tied for second with the Kohawks. Nebraska Wesleyan finished in seventh place this year, totaling 38.5 points. The Prairie Wolves claimed a runner-up finish at the golf championships this spring. Additionally, the NWU men had a runner-up finish at the swimming & diving championships this winter. The Simpson Storm earned eighth in this year’s standings with 32.5 points. The Storm soccer team finished third in the fall for the best finish of the year. Rounding out the men’s teams is Buena Vista University in ninth with 27 points. The Beavers claimed a regular season title this spring in baseball to sharpen their resume to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
At the conclusion of the 2022-23 sport seasons, Wartburg earned the program’s 24th Elmer Hertel Men’s Trophy. Central has won the trophy 15 times while Luther owns 11 trophies, Loras with three, and Simpson one.
Marjorie Giles Women’s All-Sports Trophy
| School |
Points |
Place |
| Wartburg |
62.0 |
1st |
| Central |
49.0 |
t-2nd |
| Loras |
49.0 |
t-2nd |
| Coe |
48.5 |
4th |
| Nebraska Wesleyan |
44.3 |
5th |
| Luther |
44.0 |
6th |
| Simpson |
40.8 |
7th |
| Dubuque |
34.7 |
8th |
| Buena Vista |
23.7 |
9th |
Wartburg extended it’s 11.6-point winter lead to 13 points at the conclusion of the 2022-23 sports seasons, earning them the Marjorie Giles Women’s Trophy for the 17th time. The Knights compiled 62 points, adding a runner-up finish at the outdoor track & field championship to their point total. Wartburg earned regular season titles in cross country and basketball while posting three additional runner-up finishes: soccer, volleyball, and indoor track & field. Tying for second is Central College and Loras College with 49 points. The Central College Dutch picked up conference titles in golf and competitive dance throughout the year. Additionally, the Dutch earned third place finishes in cross country, indoor track & field, softball, and outdoor track & field. The Loras College Duhawks claimed the outdoor track & field title to add on to the indoor track & field and soccer conference titles. Additionally, the Duhawk women finished runner up in cross country and basketball. Finishing in fourth place is the Coe College Kohawks with 48.5 points. The Kohawks earned the softball regular season title this spring to add on to the fall volleyball conference title. Additionally, the Coe women finished runner up in women’s tennis and third in basketball and swimming & diving. Fifth place belongs to Nebraska Wesleyan University with 44.3 points. The Prairie Wolves earned runner up finishes in competitive dance and swimming & diving throughout the year. Luther’s sixth-place finish was highlighted by conference titles in tennis and swimming & diving. Additionally, the Norse women finished second in the softball regular season standings this spring to bring their point total to 44. Simpson took home a third place finish in soccer, basketball, and competitive dance to tally 40.8 points. The Dubuque Spartans finished the year in eighth place with 34.7 points, led by a runner-up finish in golf during the fall. The Spartans additionally finished fourth at the outdoor track & field championships and fifth at the indoor track & field championships. Buena Vista has totaled 23.7 points to earn ninth, with their best finish being third in volleyball during the fall.
Wartburg, the winner of the 2022-23 Marjorie Giles Women’s Trophy, leads all schools with 18 total trophies. Luther owns a conference second-best with 10. Central is third with nine. Simpson has won four trophies and Loras owns one.
Combined All-Sports Trophy
| School |
Points |
Place |
| Wartburg |
18 |
1st |
| Loras |
14.5 |
2nd |
| Central |
13.5 |
3rd |
| Luther |
12 |
4th |
| Coe |
10.5 |
5th |
| Nebraska Wesleyan |
8 |
6th |
| Dubuque |
6.5 |
7th |
| Simpson |
5 |
8th |
| Buena Vista |
2 |
9th |
With all 22 American Rivers Conference Championships decided, Wartburg College claims their 19th consecutive All-Sports trophy with 18 points. Wartburg captured six league championships, five second place finishes and one third-place finish. The Knights’ conference titles were earned in women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s outdoor track & field, and wrestling. With 15 points, Loras earned second in this year’s standings. The Duhawks claimed conference titles in men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, and women’s outdoor track & field. Central is picking up third with 14 points in this year’s All-Sports standings after picking up three conference titles. The Dutch earned titles in men’s basketball, competitive dance, and women’s golf. With 12 points in the final standings, the Luther Norse were paced by conference titles in men’s golf, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, and men’s and women’s tennis. Fifth-place went to Coe with 11 points. The Kohawks were led by two conference championships and three second place finishes. Finishing in sixth this year is the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves with eight points. The Prairie Wolves were led with runner-up finish in men’s golf this spring. With seven points in the final standings, the Dubuque Spartans were paced by three runner-up finishes in men’s basketball, football, and women’s golf. The Simpson Storm tallied five points this year with the best finishes being third place in women’s basketball, competitive dance, and men’s and women’s soccer. Rounding out the points for the combined All-Sports Trophy is Buena Vista University with two points. The Beavers were led by a conference title in baseball.
Wartburg has won or shared all 19 of the conference Combined All-Sports Trophies which began in 2002-03. Luther College shared the All-Sports Trophy with Wartburg in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
ABOUT THE TROPHIES
Each school's finish in each sport is determined and given a numerical worth by inverting the finish (i.e. first place is worth nine points, second place is worth eight points, third place is worth seven points, etc). In case of ties, the worth of all places involved are totaled and divided by the number of teams in that tie. Each school's finish in all sports is then totaled, and the school with the largest number of points shall be awarded the respective Championship Trophy. The Marjorie Giles Women’s All-Sports Trophy, first awarded in 1982-83 (at the time named the Women's Sports Championship Trophy), is presented annually to the Conference member that accumulates the most points in women’s sports. The Elmer Hertel Men's All-Sports Trophy was first awarded in 1970-71 (at that time named the Men's Sports Championship Trophy) and presented to the Conference member that accumulates the most points in men's sports. The school displaying overall excellence in men's and women's sports is awarded the American Rivers Conference All-Sports Championship Trophy.
Marjorie Giles is a former Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) from Central College serving from 1981-98. During her tenure as a FAR, she participated in writing of the Conference Constitution to include women’s athletics and to establish women’s Championships. She was the first female to serve as President of the Conference and was actively involved with the NCAA serving on several committees and on the Management Council.
The Elmer Hertel Men’s Sports Championship Trophy was renamed in 1981 to honor the former Wartburg College coach. Dr. Hertel served as the Conference secretary-treasurer from 1944-1981.
