PELLA—Recent Central College graduates Thea Lunning and Lucas Heitz are among the finalists for the American Rivers Conference's Johana Olson and Duane Schroeder Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards.
           
Lunning is among four finalists for the Johanna Olson Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, along with Loras College cross country/track and field athlete Kassie Parker, Simpson College volleyball player Marissa Salber and Wartburg College softball player Sydney Illg.
           
Lunning graduated with a 4.0 cumulative grade point average and a biology major. She is now attending optometry school at the University of Memphis.
           
She was Central's nominee for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year Award . Last year, Lunning was also named to the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-America® Women's At-Large Team as a third-team selection. After transferring to Central in 2021, Lunning was a two-time American Rivers All-Conference honoree in women's golf, finishing second in the league tournament at Ames last fall after placing second a year earlier. She helped lead Central to the conference title and a berth in the NCAA Division III Championships at Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida May last May, where the Dutch tied for 22nd place. Lunning shared the team's Maurine Timmer Most Valuable Player Award after winning the Newcomer of the Year Award the previous season. She is a two-time American Rivers Academic All-Conference honoree as well as a three-time WGCA All-America Scholar. She is the third golfer ever named as Central's nominee.
           
Lunning also competed on the national stage in triathlon, lettering twice. She was a two-time USA Triathlon College Championships participant, placing 28th in Division III in 2021 and 29th this past fall in the competing for the Dutch at Tempe, Arizona Nov. 12.
           
Heitz is one of three finalists for the Duane Schroeder Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, joined by Nebraska Wesleyan University track and field athlete Garrett Lenners and Wartburg College football player Sam Reyes. Heitz was a three-time NCAA Division III Championships qualifier. He placed 12th in the outdoor decathlon in 2022 while finishing 16th and then 11th in 2022 and 2023, respectively, in the indoor heptathlon. He was a three-time USTFCCCA all-region indoor team selection (2021, 2022, 2023) and was tabbed for the outdoor all-region squad in 2022. Heitz earned American Rivers all-conference distinction in indoor track and field in 2021 and 2022 as well as outdoor honors in 2023. He was a five-time outdoor meet placewinner while placing in the indoor meet seven times, winning the 2021 pentathlon.
           
The recipient of Central's Most Valuable Newcomer Award in 2020 and the Dutch Spirit Award in 2023, he was a three-time academic all-conference and two-time USTFCCCA academic team honoree.
           
Heitz graduated with a 3.75 grade point average while majoring in engineering.
           
The award winners will be selected by a group of nine faculty athletics representatives with the winners announced January 9.
           
The league awards were established in 2000-01. Central student-athletes have received the men's award five times and the women's award three times. Central's most recent winner was NCAA Today's Top 10 Award and Gagliardi Trophy winner Blaine Hawkins last year.