Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week – KARISSA CRUZ, University of Dubuque
Cruz was very active against Wisconsin-La Crosse securing 11 saves while facing 24 shots in all 90 minutes of action. She held the No. 7 team in the country to their lowest goal total of the season to date.
Dubuque defeated Concordia-Chicago 2-0
Dubuque lost to No. 7 Wisconsin-La Crosse 2-1
Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week – BEN JACKSON, Buena Vista University
Jackson registered his first career multi-goal outing with his two goals against Maranatha Baptist. He scored the game-winning goal in the final five minutes during the 2-1 victory over Blackburn and dished out his first career assist on the team’s first goal of the contest. The Beavers continue to add success to their season after just a single win last season.
Buena Vista defeated Maranatha Baptist 4-2
Buena Vista defeated Blackburn 2-1
Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week – JACK BROWN, Central College
Brown won the Les Duke Invitational posting an 8K time of 25:58.5. He finished 5.2 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. The Dutch finished first out of five teams with 26 team points. This is Brown’s second individual title of the season.
Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week – PEYTON STEFFEN, Central College
Steffen finished first out of 74 runners at the Les Duke Invitational with a time of 22:18.1. She crossed the finish line 12.2 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. The No. 15 nationally ranked Central Dutch finished first out of four teams with 21 team points.
Football Defensive Player of the Week – CJ HANGARTNER, Simpson College
Hangartner registered five tackles, including three for a loss of 14 yards. He recorded two sacks, each for a loss of four yards. Additionally, he forced a fumble and had one quarterback hurry.
Simpson defeated Crown 45-7
Football Offensive Player of the Week – JERON SENTERS, Coe College
Senters was unstoppable in Coe’s dramatic overtime victory at Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday, racking up 14 catches for 144 yards, three touchdowns, and the eventual game-winning two-point conversion.
Coe defeated Wisconsin-Eau Claire 43-41 (OT)
Football Special Teams Player of the Week – JACOB SANCHEZ, Loras College
Sanchez recorded one blocked punt which resulted in a blocked punt recovery for a Duhawk touchdown.
Loras lost to Benedictine (Ill.) 27-22
Women’s Golfer of the Week – LEAH BALSBAUGH, University of Dubuque
Balsbaugh had a strong showing at one of the toughest competitive fields in the Midwest. The Spartans finished seventh out of 19 teams, the highest A-R-C team in the field. Balsbaugh shot rounds of 77 and 76 to finish tied for 18th overall out of 124 competitors. Dubuque shot team rounds of 311 and 310.
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week –JR. HOLLAND, Coe College
Holland was 2-0 in the goal for the Kohawks this week, keeping one clean sheet while making four total saves. He made two stops against Saint Mary’s on Friday and two more on Saturday, including a game-saving stop in the final minutes of the game against Monmouth.
Coe defeated Saint Mary’s (Minn.) 1-0
Coe defeated Monmouth 3-2
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week – JORDYN FOELSKE, Simpson College
Foelske scored her first goal of the year in the shutout victory at Grinnell. She netted two more goals against RV Carleton on the road, helping Simpson to a draw and undefeated start through seven games.
Simpson defeated Grinnell 4-0
Simpson and Gustavus Adolphus tied 2-2
Simpson and Carleton tied 3-3
Women’s Tennis Player of the Week – LENA LICHAU, Luther College
Lichau was 2-0 on the week with wins at No. 3 doubles and No. 1 singles versus Wartburg in the conference win. She paired up with Julianna Mascardo in doubles to defeat Brooke Bloom and Morgan Kathman, 6-0. In singles, Lichau took down Natalie Kaiser 6-1, 6-3.
Luther defeated Wartburg 7-0
Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week – TESSA CASEBOLT, Coe College
Casebolt was a major factor for the Kohawks on the defensive side of the net during a perfect 4-0, tallying 14 blocks including two solos. She recorded 16 kills.
Coe defeated No. 21 Cornell 3-0
Coe defeated Illinois Wesleyan 3-0
Coe defeated Edgewood 3-2
Coe defeated North Central 3-2
Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week – SARINA STORTZ, Luther College
Stortz reached 1,000 career kills on Friday versus Bethel and now ranks sixth all-time with 1,032. She is just the seventh player in Luther history to reach out 1,000 kills. In six matches played, she recorded over ten kills in each contest. On the week, she recorded 86 kills and 22 digs.
Luther lost to Saint Mary’s (Minn.) 3-1
Luther lost to Wisconsin-La Crosse 3-1
Luther lost to Augsburg 3-0
Luther lost to Bethel (Minn.) 3-0
Luther defeated Northland 3-0
Luther lost to Bethany Lutheran 3-0
Weekly Report
We are heading into week three of the football season which means conference action kicks off this weekend. Central will host Wartburg, Simpson will travel to Dubuque, Coe will head to Luther, and Loras will host Buena Vista. The Dutch and Kohawks enter week three with 2-0 records.
The Buena Vista men’s soccer program continues on their run to begin the season as they sit 5-1.
Loras and Simpson women’s soccer have not blemished yet. The Duhawks are a perfect 5-0 and Simpson is 4-0-3.
As A-R-C action continues for women’s tennis, the Norse of Luther College have cruised to a 4-0 start in league play.
The first conference championship of the year will be September 20-21 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as Coe College hosts the A-R-C Men’s Tennis Individual Tournament.
The A-R-C partnered with FanWord earlier this summer, an AI storytelling platform, and will be using the platform throughout the academic year to enhance the storytelling of student-athletes, alumni, coaches, and many others. Fans, student-athletes, and coaches are encouraged to contact Ali Wilson, A-R-C Assistant Commissioner, if they have a compelling story. Student-athlete and alumni spotlights are set to begin this week.
Don't forget to become a fan of the American Rivers Conference on Facebook @AmericanRiversConference, X (Twitter) @AmerRiversConf, and Instagram @AmericanRiversConference.
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.
