CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) has nominated former Nebraska Wesleyan track & field student-athlete Breanne Geary, former Wartburg College cross country and track & field student-athlete Aubrie Fisher, and former Simpson College track & field student-athlete Max Cleveland for 2024 Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) Student-Athletes of the Year. 
 
Graduating seniors (or a graduated student-athlete who has not been nominated before) are the only student-athletes eligible for this award. A conference may elect to submit two nominations for each award if at least one of the nominations is an international student-athlete or ethnic minority. 
 
The Division III membership is divided into ten regions to name a regional award winner. Each region will select one female sport participant and one male sport participant to receive regional awards. Those individuals will be forwarded to the DIIICA Awards Committee for national consideration. 
 
These three exceptional student-athletes from the A-R-C will compete against the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), Midwest Conference (MWC), Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) for the regional awards. 
 
The announcement of the DIIICA regional honorees will be on August 21 with the national honorees to be named on September 4. 
 
Learn more about Geary, Fisher, and Cleveland below. 
 
Breanne Geary, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Geary graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan in 2024 with a sports management degree and a business administration minor. She graduated with a 3.82 undergraduate GPA. 
 
Geary picked up two All-American honors during her senior campaign. Her 4x400 relay team finished ninth at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships then eighth to get on the podium at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She is a two-time USTFCCCA Midwest All-Region selection and a seven-time all-conference performer. She is the current record holder for the Prairie Wolves in the sprint medley relay. 
 
Academically, Geary was a three-time A-R-C Academic All-Conference honoree. She earned the Scott Bostwick Award at Nebraska Wesleyan University, was named to the All-Wesleyan Team, and earned the Student Life Leadership Award. She was named to the College Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, she earned USTFCCCA All-Academic all four years. 
 
Geary has devoted herself to professional development through her years at Nebraska Wesleyan. She was an active member of the American Rivers Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the vice president on campus. She attended the NCAA Career in Sports Forum, just one of the 200 selected. Geary additionally was one of 40 Division III student-athletes selected to attend the NCAA Division III Immersion Program. She was the event manager at Nebraska Wesleyan for men’s and women’s soccer and was the head intramural supervisor. Geary spent time assisting Visit Lincoln and the Nebraska School Activities Association. 
Aubrie Fisher, Wartburg College
Fisher graduated from Wartburg in 2024 with a degree in psychology and sociology. She graduated with a 3.93 GPA.
 
Fisher ended her career as a two-time national champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2021 and 2023 and picked up a national title in the distance medley relay in 2022. Fisher is a 16-time All-American. In 2020, Fisher was named the A-R-C Cross Country Most Valuable Runner after picking up an individual title at the championship. She holds records at Wartburg in the distance medley relay, mile, and steeplechase. She is a three-time Hertel Award recipient at Wartburg as well as a four-time track & field MVP. 
 
Academically, Fisher is a four-time A-R-C Academic All-Conference honoree, a four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic student-athlete, and a College Sports Communicator (CSC) All-District honoree. In 2023, Fisher was named CSC First-Team Academic All-America after earning second-team distinctions in 2021, 2022, and 2024. She is the first four-time CSC Academic All-American in Wartburg history. Fisher recently received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
 
Outside of the classroom and running, Fisher volunteered to help work Wartburg College high school track meets and was a supervisor at Scooters Coffee. She volunteered to work Tri by Knight Triathlon, a triathlon event hosted by Wartburg. She was actively involved with the Knights Unified Sports Day, a proud Division III partnership with the Special Olympics. Additionally, she helped make tie blankets each year that were donated to places in need in partnership with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 
 Max Cleveland, Simpson College
Cleveland graduated from Simpson in 2024 with human services, psychology, and religion degrees. He graduated with a 3.959 undergraduate GPA. 
 
Cleveland earned three All-American honors during his career. He earned First-Team All-American honors in 2023 at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 110-meter hurdles. He earned second-team honors at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships in 2024 when he competed in the 60-meter hurdles and then again at the Outdoor Championships in the 110-meter hurdles. He is a four-time NCAA qualifier, five-time All-Region performer, and six-time All-Conference honoree. Cleveland graduated holding two Simpson records: indoor 300 meters and indoor 60-meter hurdles. 
 
Academically, Cleveland was a four-time A-R-C Academic All-Conference honoree. He was an Academic All-American in 2024 as presented by College Sports Communicators (CSC) and a two-time Academic All-District recipient by CSC. He was named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual three different years. He graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors and received the 2024 Outstanding Senior in Religion Award at Simpson. 
 
Cleveland got involved at Simpson and in the community. He served as a youth group leader and counselor for seventh and eighth graders at Indianola Community Church, volunteered at a local retirement community, volunteered at middle school and high school track events, engaged with local youth at an annual Halloween Trunk or Treat, and participated in Meals for the Heartland. His leadership skills came from being a captain of the men’s track and field team at Simpson, being a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Team, serving as a sexual assault response advocate (SARA) at Simpson, a member of the psychology honor society, and a member of Light Company, a college ministry.