Athletes of the Week & Weekly Report Announced by A-R-C - September 22, 2025

9/22/2025 3:55:00 PM

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

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced that Simpson College women’s volleyball student-athlete Morgan DenBeste and Luther College men’s tennis student-athlete Joao Benvenutti have been named American Rivers Conference Athletes of the Week for the week ending September 21, 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 - Morgan DenBeste (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Centennial), Simpson College

  • DenBeste recorded four triple-doubles as Simpson went 3-1, nearly upsetting No. 7 WashU in five sets. 

  • All four of her triple-doubles were of the kills-assists-digs variety. 

  • She led Simpson with 52 total kills, ten total aces, and 64.5 total points. 

  • The Storm are now 11-3, the strongest start since 2013. 

Male Athlete of the Week - Men’s Tennis - Performer of the Week - Joao Benvenutti (Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil/Colegio Saber), Luther College

  • Benvenutti claimed the A-Singles title after defeating Coe’s Bryton Short in a third-set tiebreaker (5-3, 1-4, 10-3). 

  • He teamed up with Abhay Chhabra in A-Doubles to claim the crown after defeating teammates Gregor Gottein and Jake Nelson (6-4). 

Men’s Cross Country - Runner of the Week - Isaac Bourne (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls), Loras College

  • Bourne finished second out of 100 runners at the Bradley Intercollegiate. 

  • He posted a time of 24:12.80 to finish behind the first-place finisher by 6.80, a Division I runner. 

  • The Duhawks finished third out of 23 teams with 64 team points. Loras finished only behind Division I competitors Bradley and Saint Louis. 

  • Bourne’s time was a new personal record and tied the school record. 

Women’s Cross Country - Runner of the Week - Keelee Leitzen (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead), Loras College

  • Leitzen finished 23rd out of 100 runners at the Bradley Intercollegiate. 

  • She crossed the finish line with a time of 17:59.30. 

  • Loras finished fifth out of 23 teams with a team score of 163. 

  • Leitzen’s time now ranks second in Loras program history and was the top Division III finisher at the event.

Football - Defensive Player of the Week - Ryker Dengler (West Liberty, Iowa/West Liberty), Coe College

  • Dengler was a presence all over the field on Saturday as Coe won 62-14 over Nebraska Wesleyan in opening conference football action. 

  • He totaled five tackles as well as adding one interception and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. 

  • Dengler had four tackle assists in the game and scooped a fumble recovery up and ran it back 34-yards. 

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

  • Kelly is earning his third consecutive offensive player of the week honor after continuing his impressive season so far. 

  • He completed 14-for-16 passes for 291 yards and five touchdowns in two quarters and one drive. 

  • The Kohawk leads all of Division III in passer efficiency and passing touchdowns while ranking fourth in total passing yards. 

Football - Special Teams Player of the Week - Jaxson Hoppes (Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo West), Wartburg College

  • Hoppes delivered one of the longest punts in Division III history with an 84-yard kick that was downed at the one-yard line. 

  • The record-setting punt shattered the previous Wartburg program best of 64 yards, set in 2013. 

  • He finished the game with six punts for 266 yards (44.3 average), pinning three inside the ten-yard line. He also handled kickoff duty with five kicks for 293 yards (58.6 average) with two touchbacks. 

  • The nationally ranked Knights picked up a 27-13 road win to open up conference play at Simpson. 

Women’s Golf - Golfer of the Week - Allie Pfantz (State Center, Iowa/West Marshall), Central College

  • Pfantz picked up her first collegiate medalist honor at the Buena Vista Fall Invitational over the weekend. 

  • She posted rounds of 77 and 78 en route to her win. 

  • She carded three birdies on the back nine of round two to seal the win. 

  • The Dutch finished with team rounds of 347 and 338. 

Men’s Soccer - Defensive Performer of the Week - Alejo Marcon (Resistencia, Argentia/Pella Christian) Central College

  • Marcon played all 180 minutes in the back last week as Central yielded just one goal. 

  • He scored the game-winning goal on a corner kick to beat Wisconsin-Stout 1-0 and an assist on the game-winning goal against Augustana (Ill.).

Men’s Soccer - Offensive Performer of the Week - Sep Heerkens (Tilburg, Netherlands/Koning Willem 2 College), Loras College

  • Heerkens is earning his second consecutive offensive performer of the week honor.

  • He scored two goals in the Loras 4-1 win over Greenville, the second of which was the game winning goal. 

  • He leads the Duhawks this season with five goals and 12 points. 

Women’s Soccer - Defensive Performer of the Week - Hannah Fedinec (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South), Loras College

  • Fedinec earned two shutouts on the week against UC-Santa Cruz and Lawrence.

  • She now has five shutouts recorded this season.

  • Fedinec leads the A-R-C in goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts per game. 

Women’s Soccer - Offensive Performer of the Week - Mayte Navejas (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater), Loras College

  • Navejas scored two goals on the week, both of which were game-winning goals. 

  • Both of her goals were her first two collegiate goals of her career. 

  • Her first career goal came with just two minutes left to defeat UC-Santa Cruz. 

Women’s Tennis - Performer of the Week - Julia Moreno (Itajai, Brazil/Colegio Saber), Luther College

  • In conference action, Moreno teamed up with Allie Christensen against Loras at No. 1 doubles to win 6-1. 

  • At the ITA Regionals, Moreno reached the round of 16 in singles and doubles. 

  • In singles, she picked up three wins and fell in her fourth match of the weekend. 

  • In doubles, Moreno grabbed two wins and fell in her third match at the regional event. 

Women’s Volleyball - Defensive Performer of the Week - Peyton Mitchell (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Centennial), Simpson College

  • Mitchell was one kill shy of posting double digits in each game over the week. 

  • She posted 23 blocks over four contests. 

  • Mitchell finished the week with 60.0 points for the Storm. 

  • Simpson went 3-1 on the week, only falling to No.7 WashU in a near five-set upset. 

  • The Storm are now 11-3, its strongest start since 2013. 

Weekly Report

Central, Coe, Univ. of Dubuque, and Wartburg began conference action with a win on Saturday on the football field. Central, Coe, and Wartburg continue to gain attention in the national polls. 

Conference action begins on Saturday on the soccer pitch. With an exciting non-conference season, the conference slate should be a good one to watch. 

Volleyball conference action kicks off on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. After a competitive non-conference season thus far, the conference season should be exciting.

Over the weekend, Joao Benvenutti of Luther claimed the A-Singles title at the A-R-C Men’s Tennis Individual Tournament. Benvenutti and Abhay Chhabra won the A-Doubles crown. 

Championship Central: The first championship for the 2025-26 academic year is in the books with the Men’s Tennis Individual Tournament over this past weekend in Waverly, Iowa and Waterloo, Iowa. The next championship on the docket is Women’s Tennis Individual Tournament (October 10-11) and Women’s Golf (October 11-13). 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. 

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

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.