March 4, 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, March 2. Loras College track and field performer Marcus Murphy (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny HS) was named IIAC Male Athlete of the Week and Wartburg College track and field performer Missy Buttry (Shenandoah, Iowa/Shenandoah HS) was named IIAC Female Athlete of the Week.

Murphy and Buttry were named Most Valuable Performers at the First Annual IIAC Indoor Track and Field Championship held on February 28 and March 1 at Buena Vista University after winning three events each at the Championship. Murphy won the 3,000-meters by 10.32 seconds, finishing in 8:38.08. He won the 5,000-meters in 14:51.72, 3.57 seconds ahead of second place. His third victory was in the 1,500-meters which he won by less than one second in a time of 4:00.86.

Buttry won the 800-meters, the 1,500-meters and anchored the winning distance medley relay team. She finished the 800-meters in 2:14.90, 6.62 seconds ahead of second place. In the 1,500-meters, which she is the defending National Champion, Buttry won by 18.82 seconds, finishing in 4:29.36. The Wartburg distance medley relay team won by 49.76 seconds, finishing in 11:51.06 and automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

The IIAC also announced today its Players of the Week for its seven sports in competition during the week. Murphy and Buttry earned the honors for men’s and women’s indoor track and field, respectively while the following individuals were recognized for their athletic achievements.

Baseball: Wartburg College senior pitcher Patrick Smith (Lawler, Iowa/Turkey Valley HS) posted a 1-0 record in two games during the week. In 9.2 innings, he surrendered one earned run (0.93 ERA) and struck out 15 batters. He earned the win in a 4-1 victory over Augustana (Ill.) pitching six innings, allowing four hits and striking out 10. In 3.2 innings of a 5-5 tie with Morningside, he struck out five.

Men’s Basketball: Buena Vista University sophomore guard Eric Wiebers (Denison, Iowa/Denison-Schleswig HS) averaged 21.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in three games during the Iowa Conference Tournament. The 2002-03 IIAC Most Valuable Player scored 34 points in 33 minutes of the Championship game against Wartburg and hit the game winning shot with 0.8 seconds remaining. During the Tournament, he shot 61.1 percent from the floor (22-of-36) including 66.7 percent (12-of-18) in the Championship game.

Women’s Basketball: Buena Vista University junior forward Amy Meggers (Manilla, Iowa/I-K-M HS) averaged 28.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game in two games during the Iowa Conference Tournament. The 2002-03 IIAC Most Valuable Player scored her 1,000th career point in a Semifinal loss to Loras. Meggers scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds (2-5) in a Quarterfinal victory over Luther (84-75) and she scored 29 points with six rebounds (1-5) in two-point loss to Loras (67-65).

Softball: Wartburg College senior pitcher Stephanie Rasmussen (Audubon, Iowa/Audubon HS) became the school’s career win leader as she won her 42nd career game in a season-opening victory over Briar Cliff at the Tucson (Ariz.) Softball Invitational. She surrendered just four hits and struck out a school record 15 batters in the complete game victory.

Men’s Tennis: Central College freshman Nick Cochrane (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge HS) went 4-0 during the week including 2-0 at #1 singles and 2-0 at #1 doubles. He lost just three singles points in victories over Upper Iowa’s Erik Petersen (6-0, 6-0) and Wartburg’s Blake Flores (6-3, 6-0). In doubles, Cochrane recorded an 8-0 victory over Upper Iowa and an 8-2 victory over Wartburg with partner Aaron Enderlin.

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