CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced that University of Dubuque women’s volleyball student-athlete Delainey Winkel and Loras College men’s cross country student-athlete Isaac Bourne have been named American Rivers Conference Athletes of the Week for the week ending September 1, 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 Volleyball - Offensive Performer of the Week - Delainey Winkel (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Centennial), University of Dubuque

• Winkel and the Spartans kicked off the 2025 campaign with a perfect 4-0 mark with wins over Carroll University, Grinnell College, Knox College, and an upset reverse sweep of (RV) Calvin University. 
• She recorded 48 kills throughout four games, averaging 3.20 kills per set. 
• Winkel had a weekend high of 15 kills against Calvin. 
• She averaged a .248 hitting percentage and added five service aces. 
• She was also named to the Central-Grinnell Invitational All-Tournament Team. 

Male Athlete of the Week - Men’s Cross Country - Runner of the Week - Isaac Bourne (Hometown/High School), Loras College

• Bourne smashed the Loras record in the 5k at the Bob Schultz Invite. 
• He posted a time of 14:56.8 to best the previous record of 15:16.
• Bourne finished first out of 99 total runners and 23.6 seconds ahead of second place. 
• He helped guide the Duhawks to a first-place finish out of nine teams with 20 team points. 

Women’s Cross Country - Runner of the Week - Haley Meyer (New Albion, Iowa/Kee), Wartburg College

• Meyer competed on opening weekend at the John Kurtt Invite, a 5k event. 
• She posted a time of 18:30.01 to take first out of 45 total runners. 
• She was 29.1 seconds ahead of the runner-up. 
• The Knights took first out of four teams with 15 team points. 

Women’s Golf - Golfer of the Week - Madyson Mummelthei (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock), Wartburg College

• Mummelthei hit the ground running during her freshman season for the Knights as she picked up a third-place finish out of 69 golfers to begin the year. 
• She posted rounds of 71 and 78 at the Kohawk Classic at Pheasant Ridge. 
• The Knights finished third with team rounds of 314 and 317. 

Men’s Soccer - Defensive Performer of the Week - Elliot Lindberg (Danderyd, Sweden/Danderyds Gymnasium), Luther College

• Lindberg lifted the Norse to a 2-0 record over the opening weekend, including a win over No. 12 nationally ranked Wisconsin-Superior. Luther’s second win came against St. Scholastica. 
• He helped the Norse defense to two clean sheets.
• Lindberg blocked a shot in the win over St. Scholastica. 

Men’s Soccer - Offensive Performer of the Week - Franklyn Herasme (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Marinapolis Prep), Nebraska Wesleyan University

• Herasme scored in both matches to open the 2025 season as the Prairie Wolves started the season 1-0-1.
• He finished the week with four points, a .400 shooting percentage, and an .800 shots-on-goal percentage. 
• Nebraska Wesleyan finished in a 1-1 draw with Saint John’s and picked up a 3-1 victory over Concordia-Morehead. 

Women’s Soccer - Defensive Performer of the Week - Zoey Sizemore (Omaha, Neb./Mercy), Central College

• Sizemore made 12 saves in 180 minutes over the course of the opening weekend for the Dutch. 
• Central secured two wins, 1-0 over Edgewood and 2-1 over Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 
• Sizemore recorded seven saves against Edgewood. 

Women’s Soccer - Offensive Performer of the Week - Lauren Linkletter (Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic), Luther College

• Linkletter was a consistent force during the opening weekend, where the Norse grabbed two wins. 
• She scored two goals and tallied two assists against Bethany Lutheran in the Luther home opener. 
• The Norse earned wins over Bethany Lutheran (5-1) and St. Scholastica (1-0). 

Women’s Tennis - Performer of the Week - Abby Ostermann (Menasha, Wis./Kimberly), Luther College

• Ostermann had a successful start to her senior campaign for the Norse. 
• At the Wisconsin-Whitewater Invite, she picked up a win over Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Beatriiz Felchak, 8-4. 
• In conference action against Wartburg, Ostermann grabbed a No. 1 singles win over Morgan Kathman (7-5, 7-6 (7-4)). At No. 3 doubles, Ostermann teamed up with Schifsky-Seguin to defeat Wartburg’s duo of Kaitlyn Olson and Kendall Olson, 6-2. 
• Ostermann earned one more win at No. 1 singles against Wisconsin-River Falls (6-1, 6-1).

Women’s Volleyball - Defensive Performer of the Week - Raegan Holle (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Lutheran), Nebraska Wesleyan University

• Holle anchored Nebraska Wesleyan’s back row in a 3-1 opening weekend at the CSB Tournament. 
• She collected 72 digs and handled 59 service receptions with just three errors recorded. 
• The P-Wolves picked up wins over Crown College (3-0), Concordia-Morehead (3-0), and Minnesota-Morris (3-1). 

Weekly Report
The 2025-26 academic year is finally here in the American Rivers Conference. All fall sports, except football, hit the ground running over the weekend. Football will officially kick off this week as Coe begins the 2025 season with a Thursday night game at Cornell. 
 
The A-R-C had an exciting summer as it released its strategic plan, launched a redesigned website with SIDEARM, and announced new partnerships to elevate the A-R-C. 
 
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.