CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) released its weekly awards on Monday, Mar. 9 as Wartburg's Alexis Larson took home both Female Athlete of the Week and Position Player of the Week honors and Jillian Panther earned Pitcher of the Week honors from the conference.
 
Both Larson and Panther helped lead the Knights to an 8-2 overall week of play down in Florida at the Spring Break Games and Space Coast Games. Wartburg closed the week with a six-game winning streak and is now 10-4 overall.
 
Larson earned her first A-R-C weekly honors after a great week at the plate offensively and behind the plate defensively. The Jesup, Iowa native tallied 14 RBI with two home runs, two triples, and four doubles to help fuel Wartburg's 9.9 runs scored per game over the week. At the plate, Larson hit at a .466 batting average, .500 on-base percentage and .933 slugging percentage clip over the 10‑game span. The senior was also a threat on the base paths as she went 5/5 in steal attempts. Larson logged four different multi-RBI games this week for the Knights. She also posted a 1.000 fielding percentage, anchoring the defense behind the plate in all 10 games.
 
Panther is another first-time recipient of a A-R-C weekly honor as she led the Wartburg pitching staff throughout the week. The North Liberty, Iowa native made six appearances in the circle for the Knights over the week and was 3-0 in decisions. Panther pitched all five innings in a 9-0 shutout win over New England College, where the junior right-hander allowed just one hit. In her next appearance (vs Lebanon Valley) she again allowed just one hit over 3.2 innings of work. Panther has pitched one complete game shutout this week and was a part of a combined shutout. On defense, she added eight assisted putouts with a perfect fielding percentage from her pitcher position.
 
The Knights will return to action on Saturday, Mar. 21 for their home opener with a doubleheader against Millikin University at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at Lynes Field.