Cafone, Jewell honored

During the month of October, nobody was better on and off the field than Josey Jewell and Natalie Cafone.

The two athletes — Jewell in football and Cafone in field hockey — were named the Iowa’s Athletes of the Month on Monday. The award is voted on by fellow student-athletes at Iowa.

Jewell, a Decorah native, leads the Big Ten in tackles this season, and had 44 during October. Against both Northwestern and Wisconsin, he was in on 16 tackles, tied for the most he has ever recorded in a game.

The linebacker is lauded for his leadership on the field as much as his physical presence. He has complete control of the defense, calling out plays and getting linemen into the right position pre-snap.

Only a junior, Jewell is already 25th on the all-time list at Iowa for tackles.

Cafone, a native of Fairfield, New Jersey, is no stranger to awards.

As a senior, she’s already been named to the first team All-Big Ten squad three times and is a two-time first team All-American. This past week, she was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, an award she also won in 2014.

Cafone was a force to be reckoned with all season long, leading the Big Ten in goals (20), goals per game (1.11), shots (87), shots per game (4.83), and points (48).

As it stands, Cafone is the sixth all-time leading scorer in storied Iowa field-hockey program.

— by Blake Dowson