NWU Athletes Receive Athletic Honors

Nebraska Wesleyan University sophomore guard Nick Dinan has been selected as the Association of Division III Independents (AD31) men’s basketball Player-of-the-Week.

Dinan (Omaha, Neb.) averaged 17.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists for the week as the Prairie Wolves went 1-1. On the week he shot 52.4 percent from the floor, 40.0 percent from 3-point range and 90.9 percent from the foul line.

The Omaha Gross H.S. graduate had his best performance of the week in NWU’s 83-74 upset win over NAIA II No. 8 Briar Cliff on Saturday (Jan. 30). Against Briar Cliff, Dinan scored 23 points with four rebounds, four assists and four steals. He was 9-for-9 from the free throw line to help seal the victory.

On the season Dinan leads the team with 10.7 points per game. He also has a team-high 36 steals. The 23-point performance for Dinan was a career-high for him and also the highest point total for a NWU player since the 2007-08 season when Dylan Aylward scored 27 points against Dana on Jan. 29, 2008.

Out of the gym and back onto the football field, NWU football players Ethan Hunke and Jordan Delbaugh were both selected as 2009 NAIA honorable mention All-Americans by the College Fanz Sports Network when the teams were announced on Jan. 26.

Hunke was selected as a punter, while Delbaugh was chosen as a return specialist. Hunke, a junior from West Point, Neb., finished the year ranked third in the country in punting, averaging 41.7 yards per punt.

He had a long punt of 68 yards and 11 of his punts were downed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. The graduate of West Point Central Catholic High School was also a First-Team All-GPAC selection this season.

His season average of 41.7 yards set a new NWU school record for season punt average. He has a career average of 40.5 yards which ranks second all-time at NWU.

Delbaugh, a first-year from Englewood, Colo., was tied for second in the NAIA in kick returns, averaging 29.2 yards per kick return.

He had 14 returns for 409 yards with a long return of 54 yards.

Delbaugh also made his mark by blocking three kicks in his first season. Delbaugh’s average of 29.2 yards ranks fourth all-time at NWU. He was also a Second-Team All-GPAC selection.

NWU finished the 2009 season with a 5-5 record. This is the second straight season that NWU had two players earn NAIA All-America honorable mention recognition.