April 7, 2003

MOUNT VERNON, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced today its Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, April 6. Wartburg College track and field performer Missy Buttry (Shenandoah, Iowa/Shenandoah HS) was named IIAC Female Athlete of the Week and Cornell College baseball player Ian Harden (Aurora Colo./Eaglecrest HS) was named IIAC Male Athlete of the Week.

Buttry, a sophomore, finished third behind two Division I runners at the Texas Relays in the 1500-meter run. Her time of 4:21.79 automatically qualified her for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she is the defending National Champion. Buttry also set a school record in the event, breaking the old mark by nine seconds.

Harden, a senior catcher, hit .600 and had a 1.040 slugging percentage in six games during the week. He had 15 hits in 25 at-bats including five doubles and two homeruns. He drove in 13 runs, scored nine runs, stole three bases and played flawless defense in 54 chances (50 putouts, four assists) as Cornell went 6-0 with doubleheader sweeps of Grinnell College, Iowa Wesleyan College and Central College. Harden, who had three three-hit games, also threw out four-of-seven would-be base stealers.

The IIAC also announced the Players of the Week for the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week. Buttry and Harden earned the weekly honor in women’s track and baseball, respectively, while the following individuals were recognized for their athletic performances.

Men’s Golf: Wartburg College freshman Kevin Ault (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge HS) shot a five-under-par 66 to win the Monmouth (Ill.) Fighting Scots Invitational on Thursday. In the two-day Augustana (Ill.) Invitational, Ault shot a 154 (75-79) to finish tied for 31st.

Softball: Simpson College junior catcher/designated player Sara Kahler (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) hit .700 and had a 1.600 slugging percentage in four games during the week. She went 7-for-10 at the plate with three home runs, nine runs batted in and four runs scored. She also walked three times in four games for a .769 on-base percentage. In a doubleheader sweep of Wartburg College, she went 3-for-6 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. Kahler was 4-for-4 with two home runs, six RBI and two runs scored in a doubleheader sweep of the University of Dubuque.

Men’s Tennis: Coe College junior Nick Barnes (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington HS) went 2-0 during the week with a victory at #1 singles and #1 doubles. His singles victory was a three-set win over DePauw University’s Marshall Kuresman (4-6, 6-2, 6-3). In doubles, Barnes teamed with Nick Frank to post an 8-0 win over DePauw’s Kuresman and Billy Elliott.

Men’s Track and Field: Buena Vista University freshman Chad Hinrichs (Guernsey, Iowa/H-L-V HS) turned in three top-two finishes at the University of Sioux Falls Invitational. He won the 400-meter dash in a time of 50.33 and was a member of the winning 4x400 relay team (3:22.62). Hinrichs also ran on the second place 4x100 relay team that finished in 42.96, 21-hundredths of a second behind the winning team from Sioux Falls.

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