Female Athlete of the Week – Women’s Golfer of the Week – MORGAN HAWKINS, University of Dubuque
Hawkins claimed medalist honors after shooting 79-70 (149). She finished first out of 189 competitors while setting a new Dubuque school record in the second round for the lowest round of two under, 70. She helped guide the Spartans to a fourth-place finish out of 33 teams after team rounds of 318 and 309.
Male Athlete of the Week – Men’s Tennis Player of the Week – LUKE WESTHOLDER, Luther College
Westholder won his fourth straight A-Flight Doubles title with Joao Benvenutti and his third straight A-Flight Singles title at the A-R-C Individual Tournament over the weekend. Wesholder defeated Grant Idoux of Coe (4-2, 4-1) in his opening singles round. He followed that win up with three victories over his own teammates to earn the gold medal: Eli Young (4-2, 4-0), Abhay Chhabra (4-2, 5-3), and Joao Benvenutti (5-3, 4-1). In doubles, Westholder and Benvenutti defeated Jacob Balfany and Gavin Nichols of Nebraska Wesleyan 6-2, Idoux and Daniel Rohlman-Velez of Coe 7-6 (7-3), and Bryton Short and Jumpei Kasia 6-2 to take home the title.
Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week – ISAIAH HAMMERAND, Wartburg College
Hammerand took fifth in the open division and sixth overall at the John McNichols Invitational hosted by Indiana State University. He recorded a time of 24:27.9 and was 30.1 seconds behind first place. This was Hammerand’s personal best and now ranks eighth in program history. The No. 2 nationally ranked Knights finished second out of 27 teams with 72 points.
Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week – FRANKIE CHAIDEZ, Loras College
Chaidez finished 13th out of 100 total runners at the Bradley Intercollegiate with a time of 17:51.80. Loras finished third out of ten teams with 102 points.
Football Defensive Player of the Week – CONNER GROVER, Wartburg College
Grover had a fumble recovery returned for a 24-yard touchdown. This was the only touchdown by the Knights in their win and was Grover’s first career score. Additionally, he grabbed an interception that gave Wartburg the ball on the Central 27-yard. This was his first interception grab of his career. He recorded four tackles in his first career start at cornerback.
No. 13/15 Wartburg defeated Central 10-6
Football Offensive Player of the Week – EMAN ALANIZ, Buena Vista University
Alaniz turned in a game-high and season-high 115 rushing yards and recorded one touchdown. His touchdown run came from two yards out following a 15-yard burst that set it up and gave the Beavers a 13-3 lead. Buena Vista defeated Loras for the first time since 2016.
Buena Vista defeated Loras 20-17
Football Special Teams Player of the Week – MATTHEW BEISSWENGER, Buena Vista University
Beisswenger connected on a pair of first quarter field goals from 20 and 35 yards that gave the Beavers an early 6-3 lead. Two plays after his 35-yard make, he intercepted a pass at the Loras 36 that set-up a Buena Vista touchdown to extend their lead. This was his fourth career interception. He was successful on both extra points and also averaged 30 yards on five punts to help flip field position. The Beavers defeated Loras for the first time since 2016.
Buena Vista defeated Loras 20-17
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week – AIDAN MOTT, Wartburg College
Mott scored the game-winning goal versus Cornell and scored the game-tying goal versus Wisconsin-Whitewater in the 86th minute. He helped the Knights to a 1-0-1 week.
Wartburg defeated Cornell 7-0
Wartburg tied Wisconsin-Whitewater 1-1
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week –ZACHARY WEIS, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Weis recorded ten total saves across two games in a 2-0 week for the Prairie Wolves. Weis currently leads the conference in save percentage.
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Grinnell 4-1
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Cornell 2-1
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week – MAGGIE PREUSS, Coe College
Preuss had a breakout week for the Kohawks, leading the squad to a 3-0 mark with three goals and an assist. She opened the week with a goal against Cornell and two goals and an assist in the win over Knox. She recorded a total of seven points through the three games.
Coe defeated Cornell 2-1
Coe defeated Ripon 1-0
Coe defeated Knox 4-0
Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week – NICOLE SINCLAIR, Central College
Sinclair played 229 of 270 minutes in the back line for the Dutch during a 3-0 week which featured a pair of shutouts and just one total goal. She scored the game-winning goal to beat Illinois College on Sunday and assisted with the game-winning goal to defeat Westminster on Wednesday.
Central defeated Westminster 2-0
Central defeated Wisconsin-River Falls 2-1
Central defeated Illinois College 3-0
Women’s Tennis Player of the Week – PARKER BROWN, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Brown had a perfect 4-0 week competing at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles. She began her week with a singles victory over Isabella Casillero of Doane, 6-3, 6-0. In doubles action against Doane, she paired up with Ella Ford to take down Castillero and Grace Schroller, 7-6 (7-5). In conference action, Brown picked up a singles victory over Savannah Walls of Simpson, 6-3, 6-0. She teamed up with Ford again to defeat Walls and Coilee Hynes in doubles, 6-2.
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Doane 4-2
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Simpson 4-3
Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week – TAYLOR BECHEN, University of Dubuque
Bechen led the Spartans defensively over the weekend going 2-0. She recorded 54 digs on the weekend including a season-high 29 digs in the win over Illinois Wesleyan. Additionally, she added three service aces.
Dubuque defeated Aurora 3-1
Dubuque defeated Illinois Wesleyan 3-2
Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week – ADDIE THOMAS, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Thomas led the Prairie Wolves with 66 kills across four matches. She was a consistent offensive threat totaling a hitting percentage of .322. Her top performance came against Martin Luther where she recorded 14 kills and a .538 hitting percentage. She averaged 4.71 kills per set over the weekend.
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated St. Scholastica 3-0
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Martin Luther 3-0
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Monmouth 3-2
Nebraska Wesleyan defeated Saint Mary’s 3-0
Weekly Report
The soccer conference season gets underway this Saturday. Luther will head to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on Nebraska Wesleyan, Central will host Simpson, Dubuque will host Wartburg, and Loras will travel to Buena Vista.
The Buena Vista men’s soccer program continues to lead the conference with a 6-2 overall record. On the women’s side, No. 16 nationally ranked Loras and Simpson remain undefeated.
Buena Vista, Coe, Dubuque, and Wartburg began the conference football slate with a win.
The conference now looks ahead to the next championship which will be Women’s Golf in Ames, Iowa at Ames Golf & Country Club, October 5-7.
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.
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.
