PELLA—Central College athletics put on a strong showing last week and two individuals have been rewarded with American Rivers Conference Player of the Week honors!

The Dutch football team traveled to Dubuque on Saturday for a matchup against Loras College, where Jase Grunder (junior, Tampico, Ill., Prophetstown HS) had a dominant showing on the ground, rushing for 241 yards on 28 carries (8.6 YPC) and three touchdowns—two of which came on 33 and 39-yard runs. Grunder's 241 rushing yards is a career high for him and the sixth highest single-game total in Central College history.

Grunder's performance helped catapult the Dutch to a 45-27 win, which now puts them at 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in conference play. Central is now ranked No. 16 in the AFCA National Poll heading into their bye week and will look to continue its winning ways on Saturday, October 18 when it hosts Nebraska Wesleyan.

The football team isn't the only team on campus that has gotten off to a hot start, however, as the Dutch women's cross-country team traveled to Waverly on Saturday to compete in the Dan Huston Invitational, where it finished first out of fifteen teams, making it their fourth team title in as many meets this season. Peyton Steffen (senior, Marion HS) led the way for Central, finishing second overall with an impressive 21 minutes, 55.3 second finish in the 6,000-meter race. This was the best finish of any A-R-C participant, leading to an American Rivers Female Runner of the Week award win for Steffen.

The Dutch will have about two weeks to enjoy their win, as they don't have another meet until Friday, October 17 when they travel to Peoria, Illinois to compete in the Bradley Pink Classic.