PELLA--Commemorating the last year of Central College athletics, the Central Student-Athlete Advisory Council hosted the Dutchies Sunday, April 21 inside P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium.

For the ninth year in a row, SAAC hosted the Dutchies to honor the best in Dutch athletics from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. Coaches nominated their student-athletes before a seven-member committee whittled it down to four finalists and eventually selecting a winner.
           
The Dutchies handed out 11 awards ranging from Male and Female Athlete of the Year to the Moment of the Year.

Freshman Male Athlete of the Year — Jack Brown (freshman, Norwalk) was in the lineup for the Dutch men's 15th place finish at the 2023 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. He added a sixth-place finish in the 800 meters at the indoor conference meet in March.

Freshman Female Athlete of the Year — Olivia Bohlen (sophomore, Belle Plaine) won the heptathlon at the 2023 American Rivers Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships with 4,241 points. She also earned All-Midwest Region honors from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Coaching Staff of the Year — Coach Joe Dunham piloted Central's women's cross country team to a runner-up finish at the American Rivers Conference Championships, for the first time since 1986. Central was also ninth at the NCAA Division III Championships, its first top-10 national finish since 1981.

Male Record-Breaking Performance of the Year — Erasing a single-game scoring record that stood for 45 years, Joshua Van Gorp (senior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) poured in 48 points for the Dutch men's basketball in a January 27 road victory at Coe College.

Female Record-Breaking Performance of the Year — In her sophomore season in 2023, second baseman Haley Bach (Council Bluffs, Lewis Central HS) scored 53 runs to establish a new program standard for the Central College softball team.

Female Multi-Sport Athlete of the Year— Megan Johnson (senior, Parkersburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS) earned four All-America awards across three sports in the 12-mont window for the Dutchies. She was seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase during outdoor track and field last spring. She was 30th in cross country this fall before finishing second in the distance medley relay and sixth in the 3,000 meters this indoor season.

Male Multi-Sport Athlete of the Year— An All-American and American Rivers champion in the decathlon during the 2023 outdoor track and field season, Brody Klein (senior, Rainier, Wash.) had 51 tackles and five pass break-ups to earn first team All-American Rivers Conference linebacker honors this fall.

Team of the Year — The Dutch women's cross country team made its first trip to the NCAA Division III Championships since 2009 finishing in ninth place overall. The Dutch women finished runners up in the American Rivers Conference and a trio of All-Americans in Caroline McMartin (senior, Pella), Megan Johnson and Addison Parrott (junior, Danville).

Male Athlete of the Year — Averaging a double-double over the 26-game season, Joshua Van Gorp was named the American Rivers Conference Most Valuable Performer for the second year in a row while also being chosen second team All-American honors by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Female Athlete of the Year — McMartin became just the third Central athlete to earn All-America honors in three sports. She was fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2023 outdoor national meet. She crossed 12th at the national cross country meet in the fall before finishing second in the distance medley relay and eighth in the mile run this indoor.

Moment of the Year— Playing on a course that hosts a PGA tournament event every year, Harold Dobernecker (senior, Nevada) aced the 183-yard, par-3 second hole at the Garn Championship last March. It helped Dobernecker his low round of 74 for the weekend, finishing 29th of 100 golfers.