Alex Dittmer reached the end zone for the first time in his collegiate career Saturday, but the Central College receiver from Lowden, Iowa, is savoring the team success the Dutch are having during his senior season.

One of seven former Quad-City area preps on the Central roster, the North Cedar grad is a starting receiver and long snapper for an 8-0 team that can clinch a share of the Iowa Conference championship with a victory in Saturday's home finale against Buena Vista.

"What we've got going started last year in the offseason. We were all disappointed with the way last season ended, and the strength coaches set goals that challenged us last winter," Dittmer said.

"Four days a week, we found ourselves in competitive situations with each other, a constant battle to improve but still working as a team to prepare for this season."

The Dutch are led by a dominant rushing attack, but depth and balance have characterized a receiving corps that includes several Quad-City area athletes.

Dittmer is the lone senior in the group, and his 11-yard touchdown catch in a win over Loras on Saturday gives him eight receptions for 72 yards this season, totals that are equaled by sophomore Mike Furlong, a former Davenport Assumption prep.

"The great thing about this team is that everyone has accepted their roles. We all bring our own strengths to the table, and the coaches are playing to those strengths," Dittmer said.

Central climbed one spot to make its first appearance in the top five of the NCAA Division III football poll since 2007 this week, and Dittmer said strength in all phases of the game has helped the fifth-rated Dutch compete.

As an example, he points to Furlong's league-leading average of 27.2 yards on kickoff returns and to the 36.5 yards that former Clinton prep Kurtis Brondyke has averaged as Central's starting punter.

The other four Quad-City area players on the Dutch roster are freshmen - linebacker Alex Fulton of United Township, running back Erik Grunder of Wilton, slotback Greg Oldsen of Central DeWitt and linebacker Andrew Weaks of Fulton.

"It's been a collective effort," Dittmer said. "We know that is what it will take to get us where we want to be and we've approached things that way. It doesn't matter to us who catches the passes or scores the points, as long as he's wearing a Central uniform."

Women's cross country

Tara Kilburg, a Loras junior who prepped at Andrew, took first-place honors and led her team to the championship at the Loras Invitational.

Football

Former Durant prep Jake Soy caught 10 passes for 99 yards as fourth-ranked Northwest Missouri State defeated No. 16 Washburn 22-19 in overtime to secure at least a share of its fourth straight MIAA title. The Bearcats played for the third straight week without all-American defensive lineman Sean Paddock, a former Pleasant Valley prep, who suffered a foot injury earlier this month.

Women's soccer

Wisconsin-River Falls freshman Britta Elkin, a Davenport Central grad, was named the defensive player of the week in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last week. Elkin helped lead the Falcons to a pair of shutout wins over Northwestern and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Elkin has three assists on the season.

Ann Kincaid, a Minnesota State junior from Bettendorf, scored her fifth goal of the season Sunday in the Mavericks' 2-0 Northern Sun Conference win over Upper Iowa. Minnesota State is 11-3-1 and is ranked second in the Central Region in the latest NCAA Division II women's soccer poll.

Softball

Western Illinois will induct Venus Taylor, a former Orion prep who led the Westerwinds to Mid-Continent Conference championships from 1995 to 1997 into its intercollegiate athletics hall of fame this weekend in Macomb, Ill. Taylor set school single-season records for hits, runs and stolen bases.

Women's tennis

Wisconsin-Stevens Point sophomore Chelsea Allbaugh dropped a third-set tiebreak to finish as the runner-up at No. 2 singles at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships on Sunday. The former Pleasant Valley prep, seeded fifth with teammate Rachel Benn in doubles, finished second in that bracket as well.

Brynne Zinnecker, a 2007 graduate of Davenport Assumption, earned all-Iowa Conference honors for Luther after reaching the quarterfinals in singles play at the conference tourney earlier this month in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Zinnecker also earned all-conference recognition in doubles.

Volleyball

Former Rockridge prep Chelsey Widdop, a Monmouth College freshman, was named the Midwest Conference performer of the week after having 55 kills, 67 digs, 10 blocks and three aces during a 4-1 week for the Scots.

Simpson middle hitter Megan Dunlavy led the Storm with a .475 attack percentage during a 4-1 week. The sophomore from Bettendorf ranked second on the team with 53 kills and nine blocks.

Got news?

The Alumni Report highlights what former Quad-City area high school athletes are up to at the college level. To submit information, Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com.