Pella, Iowa -- 2/15/25-Central College Women's Basketball vs Dubuque. Photo by Dan L. Vander Beek

Three Central College athletes were selected for the American Rivers Conference players of the week in their respective sports. Joshua Van Gorp was selected for men’s basketball; Emma Beck was selected for softball and Alex Slaymaker was picked for men’s tennis.

Van Gorp earned the weekly honor after averaging 27.7 points and 10 rebounds in the three wins for the men’s basketball team in the conference tournament. He had 30 points in the opening game against Coe and 32 points and 13 rebounds in the upset against top-seeded Dubuque in the semifinals. In the championship, he had 21 points along with two blocked shots and three steals in the 68-57 win against Nebraska Wesleyan University. The men’s basketball team earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament and will travel to St. Louis, Missouri to take on Washington University of St. Louis, Friday at 6:40 pm, and the game can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

Beck was selected for the weekly award after throwing two complete games for the Dutch softball team on their opening weekend. The first complete game was eight innings in a 4-3 win over Washington University of St. Louis on Friday, in which she allowed eight hits while striking out two. She followed that start up with a six-inning complete game in a 9-1 win over #20 Calvin University, where she allowed 7 hits and collected another three strikeouts. The Dutch softball team will next play in a 4 pm doubleheader against Hanover College (Ind.) in Louisville, Kentucky on March 12th.

Slaymaker was the third athlete to earn a nod from the conference after he won his singles tennis match 6-0, 6-0 at #6 singles against Cornell College. He also won his doubles match 6-0 playing at #2 doubles. The men’s tennis team will travel to Orlando, Florida for its next match, where they’ll square off against Calvin College (Mich.) on March 11th at 10:30 am.