CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The coaches have selected the 2024 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Football postseason award selections. These student-athletes have distinguished themselves through a challenging conference season schedule. 

Coaches from the conference nominated and selected this year's all-conference team. In addition to honoring the all-conference team, the release also recognizes Offensive Most Valuable Player, Defensive Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, and Coaching Staff of the Year.

 

2024 All-American Rivers Conference Football Team
Offensive MVP - Trenton Barnes, Coe College
Defensive MVP - Parker Rochford, Wartburg College
Rookie of the Year - Noah Cracraft, Simpson College
Coach of the Year - Chris Winter, Wartburg College
First-Team Defense	School	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Nick Bandy	Central College	Sr.	DL	Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert
Tate Hagen -h1 -h2	Central College	Fifth Yr.	DL	Britt, Iowa/West Hancock
Reid Pakkebier #	Central College	Sr.	LB	Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy
Gavin Smith	Central College	Jr.	DB	Audobon, Iowa/Audubon
Ben Adelsberger #	Coe College	Fifth Yr.	LB	Lake St. Louis, Mo./Liberty
Alex Aitchison ! @ %	Coe College	Fifth Yr.	DL	Cascade, Iowa/Cascade
Chase Kruse	Coe College	Fifth Yr.	DB	Letts, Iowa/Louisa-Muscatine
CJ Hangartner !	Simpson College	Jr.	LB	Tucson, Ariz./Cienega
Thane Alexander	Wartburg College	Sr.	DB	Cedar, Iowa/Eddyville Blakesburg
Justin Grieff #	Wartburg College	Fifth Yr.	DL	Pontiac, Ill./Pontiac Township
Keenan Tyler	Wartburg College	Jr.	LB	Decorah, Iowa/Decorah
Parker Rochford ! @	Wartburg College	Sr.	DB	Edgewood, Iowa/Edgewood-Colesburg
First-Team Offense	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Ryan Neu # $	Central College	Fifth Yr.	WR	West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
Kade Tippet !	Central College	Sr.	OL	Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott
Trenton Barnes	Coe College	Sr.	RB	Madison, Ind./Madison Consolidate
Nicholas Mattran	Coe College	Fifth Yr.	OL	Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge
Luke Schumacher # -h2	Coe College	Jr.	OL	Waukee, Iowa/Northwest
Za'Cameron Brice #	University of Dubuque	Sr.	WR	Arlington, Texas/Lamar
Jamari Jenkins ! -h2	University of Dubuque	Sr.	TE	Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township
J Jensen III	Simpson College	Sr.	QB	Katy, Texas/Katy Taylor
Owen Anthony	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Jr.	OL	Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast
Tucker Kinney ! @	Wartburg College	Fifth Yr.	OL	DeWitt, Iowa/Central DeWitt
Dawson Rud	Wartburg College	So.	RB	Mondovi, Wis./Mondovi
Ethan Stockwell # -h2	Wartburg College	Fifth Yr.	OL	Cumming, Iowa/Norwalk Community
First-Team Specialist	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Austin Burns # @	Central College	Fifth Yr.	P	Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg
Josh Dennison	Central College	Sr.	LS	Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville
Logan Sunvold ! @	Central College	Fifth Yr.	PK	Monroe, Iowa/Southeast Polk
Ben Bryant	Wartburg College	Fifth Yr.	RS	Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Second-Team Defense	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Cole Clark	Central College	Jr.	LB	Lisbon, Iowa/Lisbon
Cael Fiderlein	Central College	Sr.	LB	West Branch, Iowa/West Branch
Reece Miller	Central College	Fifth Yr.	DB	Center Point, Iowa/Center Point-Urbana
Mitchel Helmkamp	Coe College	Fifth Yr.	DL	Cedar Rapids, Iowa/St. Ambrose
Ladainian Linnear # $	Coe College	Sr.	DB	Chicago, Ill./George Westinghouse
Jay Oostendorp ! @ -h3	Coe College	Fifth Yr.	LB	Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy
Sam Shaw	Coe College	So.	LB	Atkins, Iowa/Benton
Quintrell Gary	University of Dubuque	Sr.	DL	Chicago, Ill./Evanston Township
Alex Rashid	University of Dubuque	So.	DB	Lodi, Wis./Lodi
Brandon Phelps	Loras College	Sr.	LB	Morris, Ill./Morris
Hunter Hanke	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Sr.	DL	Waverly, Neb./Waverly
Christian Nunley	Wartburg College	Sr.	DL	Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware
Second-Team Offense	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Eman Alaniz !	Buena Vista University	Sr.	RB	Parker, Ariz./Parker
Grant Nelson -h1	Central College	Sr.	TE	Pella, Iowa/Pella
Jase Grunder	Central College	So.	RB	Tampico, Ill./Prophetstown
Maximus Reitano -h1	Central College	Jr.	OL	Grimes, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes
Jeron Senters !	Coe College	So.	WR	Marion, Iowa/Kennedy
Noah Theriault ! @	Coe College	Sr.	OL	Cedar Park, Texas/Vista Ridge
Wes Spitzmiller # $	University of Dubuque	Sr.	OL	St. Charles, Mo./Pattonville
Joe Bream	Simpson College	Sr.	OL	Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale
Noah Cracraft	Simpson College	Fr.	WR	West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
Will Conlan -h1	Wartburg College	Fifth Yr.	OL	Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Carter Henry	Wartburg College	Sr.	WR	Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood
Carter Markham	Wartburg College	Sr.	QB	Eldridge, Iowa/North Scott
Second-Team Specialist	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Jeron Senters !	Coe College	So.	RS	Marion, Iowa/Kennedy
Sean Medcalfe -h1	Luther College	So.	P	Augusta, Ga./Westside
Sam Contreras	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Fr.	LS	Omaha, Neb./Omaha Westside
Cael O'Neill # $	Wartburg College	Fifth Yr.	PK	Solon, Iowa/Solon
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Matthew Beisswenger	Buena Vista University	Jr.	DB	Audubon, Iowa/Audubon
Troy Reynolds	Buena Vista University	Jr.	LB	Ainsworth, Neb./Rock County
Ben DeMeulenaere	Central College	Jr.	DB	Chelsea, Iowa/Belle Plaine
Tyler Harms	Central College	Jr.	OL	Boundurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar
Braiden Damhoff	Coe College	So.	OL	Fulton, Ill./Fulton
Clay Krousie	Coe College	Sr.	QB	Montezuma, Iowa/Benton
Blake Heffron	University of Dubuque	Fr.	RS	Gilbert, Ariz./Chandler
Joey Rhomberg	University of Dubuque	Fr.	QB	Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon
Channing Williams	University of Dubuque	Sr.	LB	Dallas, Texas/Richardson
Dalton Wood ! -h2	University of Dubuque	Sr.	DB	Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton
Cormaic Flynn	Loras College	Jr.	RS	Monmouth, Ill./United
Justin Hayes -h1	Loras College	Jr.	OL	Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk
Jacob Tedrow	Loras College	Jr.	TE	Chatham, Ill./Glenwood
Tanner Philpott	Simpson College	Fr.	P	Waukee, Iowa/Northwest
Zach Truitt	Simpson College	Sr.	LB	Des Moines, Iowa/Carlisle
Jake Rhodes	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Jr.	OL	Windsor, Colo./Windsor
Cole Siems #	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Sr.	WR	DeWitt, Neb./Tri-County
Kevin Starnes	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Sr.	TE	Westminster, Colo./Standley Lake
Jaxson Hoppes -h1	Wartburg College	Jr.	P	Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo West
Kaleb Lamphier	Wartburg College	Fifth Yr.	DB	Independence, Iowa/Independence
John McConohy	Wartburg College	Sr.	TE	DeWitt, Iowa/Central Clinton
Austin Souhrada	Wartburg College	Fr.	LS	Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock
Mac Watts	Wartburg College	Jr.	LB	Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Linn-Mar
Jake Walker	Wartburg College	So.	DL	Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock
Previous Honors
! - 2023 First-Team All-Conference
# - 2023 Second-Team All-Conference
-h1 - 2023 Honorable Mention
@ - 2022 First-Team All-Conference
$ - 2022 Second-Team All-Conference
-h2 - 2022 Honorable Mention
-h3 - 2021 Honorable Mention

 

The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today its major football awards and the 56-member All-American Rivers Conference team for the 2024 season. Wartburg’s Parker Rochford was chosen as the conference’s Defensive MVP and Coe’s Trenton Barnes was selected as Offensive MVP. In its first year as an award, Noah Cracraft of Simpson earned Rookie of the Year. Wartburg head coach Chris Winter and his staff earned the Coach of the Year honor. 

Rochford was selected as the league’s Defensive MVP after another impressive season for the Knights. In addition, he is earning his third all-conference honor in his career. Rochford played in all eight conference contests and recorded 24 total tackles, 16 of which were solo. He had two tackles for loss for four yards, and two interceptions on the year. Rochford is the third Wartburg Knight to earn Defensive MVP honors, joining Spencer Capitani in 2014 and Owen Grover in 2022 and 2023. 

Barnes, for the Kohawks, stepped up in a big fashion this season as he is recognized as Offensive MVP in the A-R-C. Barnes played in all eight conference games and rushed for 999 on 212 attempts, for an average of 4.7 yards per carry. He recorded 11 rushing touchdowns on the season. He additionally recorded one receiving touchdown. Barnes is earning his first career all-conference nod in addition to his major award. Barnes is the first Kohawk to earn Offensive MVP since 2016 when Trevor Heitland earned the nod. 

Cracraft of Simpson is earning the league’s inaugural Rookie of the Year honor after he stood out across the league this year in his first season. The wide receiver played in all eight league games this fall totaling 791 receiving yards on 59 catches. He recorded 11 touchdowns in his first year campaign. He was additionally named to second-team offense this season. 

In his fourth year at the helm of the Wartburg football program, head coach Winter, and assistants Matt Wheeler, Matt Tschetter, Luke Summers, Ethan Lape, Matt Buckner, Jawanza Holmes, Jeff Beck, Paul Mugan, Steve Kingery, Alex Pollack, and Tom Butters guided the Knights to a perfect 8-0 mark in conference play and 9-1 overall record. Wartburg earned its 20th conference title in program history. The 2024 season marks the third time Winter has received conference Coach of the Year honors. Winter joins Rick Willis (1999, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017), Bob Nielson (1993), Don Canfield (1982, 1983), and Lee Bonhus (1968) as conference Coach of the Year honorees in Wartburg history. Along with the league title, the Knights earned its 15th trip to the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs. Wartburg has marched all the way to the national semifinals the past two seasons and will begin another postseason journey on Saturday, November 30 at Noon when they host Wisconsin-Platteville in the second round. 

All nine A-R-C schools are represented on this year’s all-conference team, including seven with first-team honorees. 

Offense First-Team All-Conference: 

In addition to Barnes, Coe is represented by offensive lineman Nicholas Mattran and Luke Schumacher. Mattran and Schumacher were part of an offensive line unit that allowed the offense to score 40 touchdowns on the season. The Kohawk offense rushed for 1,808 yards and threw for 1,560 yards over the eight league games. Coe converted 176 first downs this season. Mattran is earning his first career all-conference honor while Schumacher is earning his first career first-team honor after being named to second-team last season. 

Wartburg is represented by Tucker Kinney, Dawson Rud, and Ethan Stockwell this season on first-team offense. Kinney, an offensive lineman, is earning his third consecutive first-team honor after another dominant season leading the Knights OL. Stockwell also stands strong on the offensive line with Kinney. With their efforts, the Knights were able to rush for 1,925 yards and pass for 1,383 over the eight conference contests that Wartburg went unblemished in. Wartburg found the endzone on 43 occasions. Dawson Rud had a breakthrough season stepping up for the Knights as a running back. The sophomore is earning his first career all-conference honor. He carried the ball 126 times for 818 yards this season and eight touchdowns. 

Ryan Neu and Kade Tippet represent Central College this season for the offense. Neu, a fifth year wide receiver, had 36 catches for a total of 517 yards. He recorded six touchdowns on the season with his longest reception coming at 54 yards. In addition, he rushed for 59 yards on six attempts. Tippet, a member of the offensive line, allowed the Dutch offense to be dominant scoring 40 touchdowns while rushing for 1,492 yards and passing for 1,943 yards. 

The University of Dubuque is represented by the duo of Za’Cameron Brice and Jamari Jenkins. Jenkins is earning his second career first-team honor while Brice is earning his first career first-team honor after being named to second-team a season ago. Brice, a wide receiver for the Spartans, caught 67 passes for 842 yards over eight conference games and recorded ten touchdowns. Additionally, he rushed on four attempts for 21 yards. Jenkins, a tight end, snagged 48 passes to receive for 505 yards and record 11 touchdowns on the season. 

J Jensen III had an impressive season for the Storm from the quarterback position to allow him to earn first-team nods. Jensen appeared in all eight conference contests and had an efficiency rating of 144.6. He went 213-for-311 for 2,134 yards this season for 21 touchdowns. The senior only recorded six interceptions. This is his first career all-conference honor. 

Rounding out the first team offense is Nebraska Wesleyan’s Owen Anthony. Anthony, a member of the offensive line, was a strong front to the P-Wolves offense. His efforts allowed the offense to rush for 965 yards and pass for 1,352 yards. NWU recorded 17 touchdowns on the season. 

Defensive First-Team All-Conference: 

Joining Rochford on first-team defense is Justin Grieff, Thane Alexander, and Keenan Tyler. Grieff is earning his first career first-team honor after earning second-team honors a season ago while Alexander and Tyler are earning their first career all-conference accolades. Grieff played in all eight conference contests recording 27 total tackles including 13 for loss. He recorded 19 sacks for loss and grabbed one interception. Additionally, he accounted for three pass breakups and one quarterback hurry. Alexander recorded a total of 19 tackles, with nine of those coming in a solo effort. He recorded 1.5 tackles for loss for two yards, four interceptions, and three pass breakups. Tyler stepped up this season with 76 total tackles with 44 of those coming by a solo effort. He recorded 2.0 tackles for loss for four yards, one interception, and three pass breakups. 

CJ Hangartner represents the Simpson College Storm on first-team defense for the second consecutive season. The linebacker played all eight conference contests, recorded 45 tackles with 24 coming in a solo effort. He recorded 9.5 tackles for loss for 36 yards, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, six quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups. 

Picking up first-team defensive honors for the Dutch is Nick Bandy, Tate Hagen, Reid Pakkebier, and Gavin Smith. Bandy and Smith are earning their first all-conference honors in their careers while Hagen and Pakkebier are earning their first career first-team honors after Hagen earned honorable mention a season ago and Pakkebier was named to second-team. Bandy and Hagen are both a part of the Central defensive line. Bandy recorded 21 total tackles on the season with 10 coming in a solo effort. He also recorded 7.5 tackles for a loss of 37 yards and seven quarterback hurries. Hagen recorded 32 total tackles with 11 solo recorded. He had 6.0 tackles for a loss of eight yards, three sacks, and five quarterback hurries. Pakkebier, a linebacker, recorded 42 tackles with 26 of those recorded as solo efforts. Additionally, he recorded 10.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, and one interception on the season. Smith, a defensive back, added 21 tackles himself with 13 of those by solo effort. He had three interceptions recorded on the year. 

Rounding out the defensive team is the Coe trio of Ben Adelsberger, Alex Aitchison, and Chase Kruse. Adelsberger earned second-team a season ago as his first all-conference honor, Kruse is earning his first career all-conference honor, and Aitchison is earning his fourth first-team nod. Aitchison had another impressive conference season for the Kohawks with 35 total tackles, including 20 solo, 12.0 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and four pass breakups. Adelsberger recorded 39 total tackles, 21 for loss, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, five pass breakups, and one interception. Kruse found the hole for 30 tackles, 22 in a solo effort. Additionally, he had 1.0 tackle for loss, five pass breakups, and one interception. 

Special Teams First-Team All-Conference: 

Central is represented by Austin Burns, Josh Dennison, and Logan Sunvold as part of first-team specialists this season. Burns, honored as a punter, played in all eight conference contests punting the ball on 25 occasions for the Dutch for a total of 1,082 yards (43.28 yds/punt). His longest of the season was booted 75 yards. Dennison, the Dutch long snapper, has never had a bad snap and was a known tackler for Central’s punt team. The Dutch unit has given up less than five yards in punt returns this season. Sunvold is being honored as the first-team placekicker for the fourth consecutive season. Sunvold appeared in seven conference games this fall and recorded 36 kickoffs for a total of 2,119 yards and recorded 13 touchbacks. 

Ben Bryant of Wartburg was recognized at first-team as a return specialist this season. Playing all eight conference games, Bryant averaged 29.8 per kick return and a long of 63 yards. Additionally, he led the league in punt return average, averaging 11.5 yards per return. 

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About the American Rivers Conference
The Conference dates back to December 8, 1922, when representatives from 12 colleges got together and formed the "Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Association." Honoring its heritage in Iowa and its expansion outside the state, the American Rivers Conference brand was established on August 9, 2018, to build on the academic and athletic success provided by its legacy, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The A-R-C has nine full-time members: Buena Vista University, Central College, Coe College, University of Dubuque, Loras College, Luther College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Simpson College, and Wartburg College.