February 24, 2003

MOUNT VERNON, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today its Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 23. Wartburg College wrestler Bart Mehlert (LaPorte City, Iowa/Union HS) was chosen IIAC Male Athlete of the Week and Buena Vista University basketball player Amy Meggers (Manilla, Iowa/I-K-M HS) was chosen IIAC Female Athlete of the Week.

Mehlert, a 149-pound junior, was named Dick Walker Outstanding Wrestler at the 2003 Iowa Conference Wrestling Championship after winning his weight class as the third seed. In the quarterfinals, he pinned sixth-seeded Jeff Wiele of Coe College at 4:02. Mehlert upset second-seeded Clint Manny of Simpson in the semifinals (8-3) and upset top-seeded Garrett Kurth of Luther, the defending Conference Champion and 2002 National runner-up, in the finals (8-5).

Meggers, a junior forward, averaged 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game in two contests during the week. She shot 46.5 percent from the floor (20-of-43) and 71.4 percent from the free throw line (5-of-7) in victories over Luther (75-73) and Upper Iowa (93-52). Against Luther, she scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds (1-6), and had two assists and three steals. In the regular season finale against Upper Iowa, she scored 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field (3-of-4 from the line), grabbed 12 rebounds (3-9), and had four assists and three steals. Meggers enters the Iowa Conference Tournament 35 points shy of 1,000 for her career and 15 rebounds shy of 500 for her career.

The IIAC also announced on Monday its Players of the Week for the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week. Mehlert and Meggers earned the weekly honor for their respective sport, while the following individuals were recognized for their athletic performances.

Men’s Basketball: Simpson College junior guard Josh Richter (Waterloo, Iowa/Valley HS) tied an NCAA record with 10 straight three-point baskets against the University of Dubuque. He finished the game with 32 points on 11-of-13 shooting (10-of-10 from behind the arc), one rebound, one assist and one steal in 20 minutes of play. Richter also scored four points and had two rebounds in a one point loss to Loras (69-68).

Men’s Tennis: Luther College senior Arvid von Taube (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley HS) went 6-0 during the week with three victories at #3 singles and three victories at #1 doubles. He posted singles victories against Central’s Ryan Dierks (6-1, 6-0), Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Tyler Litscher (6-2, 6-3) and Hamline’s Jon Henning (6-2, 6-4). In doubles play, Von Taube and partner Erik Guffy defeated Central’s Aaron Enderlin/Jason Ford (8-4), Eau-Claire’s Matt Widder/Adam Arians (9-7) and Hamline’s John Schollmeier/Ben Krueger (9-8 (1)).

Women’s Track and Field: Central College junior Lindsay Schultz (Barnum, Iowa/NW Webster HS) had four top-10 finishes at the Knox Invitational. She won the long jump, and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with a jump of 17’9½”. She was also a member of the third place 4x200 relay (1:48.98) and fourth place 4x400 relay (4:06.35) teams. Schultz also finished 10th in the 55-meter hurdles (8.93 seconds).

Men’s Track and Field: Wartburg College junior Andy Six (Ainsworth, Iowa/Washington HS) won the 400-meter dash and was a member of the winning 4x400 relay team at the UNI-Dome Open. The relay team automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship, finishing in 3:16.84, the second fastest time in Division III to date. Six finished the 400-meter dash in 50.12 seconds, just .32 seconds off a provisional qualifying time.

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