Athletes of the Week & Weekly Report Announced by A-R-C - September 8, 2025

9/8/2025 3:55:00 PM

By: Ali Wilson, A-R-C Assistant Commissioner

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced that University of Dubuque women’s golf student-athlete Gracie Russell and Simpson College football student-athlete MJ Burks have been named American Rivers Conference Athletes of the Week for the week ending September 7, 2025. The A-R-C weekly awards are nominated and voted on by the league’s sports information departments. The conference office then selects the female and male athletes of the week based upon sport performers of the week. 

Female Athlete of the Week - Women’s Golf - Golfer of the Week - Gracie Russell (Woodhull, Ill./Alwood), University of Dubuque

  • It has been the year of freshman so far in the A-R-C for women’s golf as Russell posted a new school record for the Spartans over the weekend at the Wartburg Fall Invite. 

  • Russell posted a round of 78 in the opening 18 holes and followed it up with her school record 69 to move up ten spots in the standings to finish fourth. 

  • The Spartans won in a tie breaker against Wisconsin-Stout after posting team rounds of 301 and 306. 

Male Athlete of the Week - Football - Special Teams Player of the Week - MJ Burks (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood East), Simpson College

  • Burks returned four kickoffs for 153 yards, highlighted by a program record 98-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. 

  • He recorded Simpson’s first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2012. 

  • He contributed three tackles and a pass breakup on defense. 

Men’s Cross Country - Runner of the Week - Jack Brown (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk), Central College

  • Brown won the 6k Central Invitational out of 97 runners over the weekend. 

  • He crossed the finish line in 18:51.0 to finish 0.4 seconds ahead of second place. 

  • The Dutch finished second out of eight teams with 31 team points.

Women’s Cross Country - Runner of the Week - Maddy Stevens (Grimes, Iowa/Dallas-Center Grimes), Central College

  • Stevens finished second out of 85 runners at the Central Invitational. 

  • She finished the 5k event in 19:03.0, 5.1 seconds behind the champion. 

  • Central finished first out of seven teams with 26 team points. 

Football - Defensive Player of the Week - Keenan Tyler (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah), Wartburg College

  • Tyler led the Wartburg Knights to a 21-7 win over Monmouth in the opening weekend of the football season.

  • Tyler tallied a team-high 12 tackles, including seven solo stops. 

  • He added one sack and a pass breakup. 

  • The Knights picked up their sixth straight victory over Monmouth. 

Football - Offensive Player of the Week - Brady Kelly (Boca Raton, Fla./Calvary Christian), Coe College

  • Kelly turned in an outstanding performance in just one half of action against Cornell on Thursday night to open up the football season. 

  • The quarterback completed 16-for-19 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. 

  • His performance led the Kohawks to a 42-0 lead at halftime before finishing with a 62-6 victory. 

Men’s Soccer - Defensive Performer of the Week - Zachary Sigler (Dallas Center, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes), Buena Vista University

  • Sigler posted his second shutout of the year as Buena Vista picked up a 1-0 home victory. 

  • He posted a season-high four saves.

  • He has now been in the goal for all 270 minutes for the Beavers this season. 

Men’s Soccer - Offensive Performer of the Week - Ian Kearney (Las Vegas, Nev./Clark), Coe College

  • Kearney grabbed two goals in the Kohawks win over Crown. 

  • He netted goals in the 15th and 17th minutes of the game. 

  • Kearney moved to second all-time at Coe for career goals. 

Women’s Soccer - Defensive Performer of the Week - Emily Jasa (Omaha, Neb./Westside), Nebraska Wesleyan University 

  • Jasa played all 180 minutes on the back line during Nebraska Wesleyan’s 1-0-1 weekend. 

  • She anchored the P-Wolves defense that posted a scoreless draw at Concordia (Minnesota), limiting the Cobbers to just three shots. 

  • She contributed offensively, too, with a goal in the 5-2 victory over Northwestern-St. Paul. 

Women’s Soccer - Offensive Performer of the Week - Averie Hike (Papillion, Neb./Papillion LaVista South), Nebraska Wesleyan University

  • Hike tallied one goal and two assists in the Prairie Wolves 5-2 win over Northwestern-St. Paul. 

  • She was involved in three of Nebraska Wesleyan’s five goals on the week. 

  • She recorded a team-high eight shots across two matches on the weekend.

Women’s Tennis - Performer of the Week - Jenna Mitsuko Mahoney (Misawa, Japan/Robert D. Edgren), Central College

  • The Dutch played in two conference matches over the week and Mahoney picked up four wins individually.

  • She picked up two wins at No. 1 singles, one win at No. 1 doubles, and one win at No. 2 doubles. 

  • Central recorded two shutout conference wins. 

Women’s Volleyball - Defensive Performer of the Week - Taylor Bechen (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Centennial), University of Dubuque

  • Bechen led the Spartans to four more non-conference wins to move to 8-0 on the season. 

  • She finished the week with 110 digs including a season high-34 against Cornell. 

  • Bechen recorded just four receiving errors during the 16 sets played. 

Women’s Volleyball - Offensive Performer of the Week - Delainey Winkel (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Centennial), University of Dubuque

  • Winkel is picking up her second consecutive performer of the week honor of the 2025 season. 

  • The Spartans picked up four wins, including defeating two teams receiving national votes, to move to 8-0 on the season. 

  • Winkel tallied 64 kills, with a hitting percentage of .298. She added another 54 digs.

Weekly Report
Central, Coe, and Wartburg all started the football season off right with a win in non-conference action. In the week one D3football.com rankings, the Knights moved to No. 10 and the Kohawks continue to trend upward in receiving votes. 

Soccer action remains early in the non-conference slate. The women of Loras are ranked No. 9 nationally currently. 

The University of Dubuque women’s volleyball team is off to a hot 8-0 start for the 2025 season and are being noticed receiving votes in the latest AVCA national poll. The Coe College Kohawks are also receiving votes. 

The Norse and Kohawks faced off in women’s tennis over the weekend, an anticipated conference match. Luther took the match, 4-3, to move to 2-0 in conference action. 

Championship Central: The first championship for the 2025-26 academic year will be the Men’s Tennis Individual Tournament on September 19-20 as Wartburg College serves as the host. The full 2025-26 championship calendar can be found here: https://tr.ee/xwew1v

Fall Sport Standings: Football | Men’s Soccer | Women’s Soccer | Women’s Volleyball | Women’s Tennis

Watch all A-R-C action on the American Rivers Sports Network. 

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About the American Rivers Conference
Nationally respected for excellence in NCAA Division III athletics, the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) has a tradition dating back to its founding in 1922 as the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Association and adopted its current name in 2018 to reflect its strong Iowa roots and growing regional footprint. The A-R-C is a collaborative community that champions the holistic development of student-athletes, uniting member institutions in a shared commitment to academic achievement, athletic distinction, and leadership.
The A-R-C is home to nine full-time member institutions: Buena Vista University, Central College, Coe College, University of Dubuque, Loras College, Luther College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Simpson College, and Wartburg College. Luther College has announced its departure from the conference, effective at the conclusion of the 2025–26 academic year.