April 14, 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, April 13. Buena Vista University track and field performer Jessica Jensen (Elkhorn, Iowa/Elkhorn-Kimballton HS) was named IIAC Female Athlete of the Week and Wartburg College track and field performer Josh Moen (Fairbank, Iowa/Wapsie Valley HS) was named IIAC Male Athlete of the Week.

Jensen, a senior, won the 400-meter hurdles and was a member of the third-place 4x400 relay team at the Wartburg Select Meet. She finished the 400-meter hurdles in an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:02.36. She has not lost to a Division III athlete in the event since the 2001 National Championships. The 4x400 relay team provisionally qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:57.63.

Moen, a sophomore, won the 5,000-meter run at the Wartburg Select Meet with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 14:31.0. He defeated three All-Americans and won the race by 27 seconds while setting a school, Meet and Walston-Hoover Stadium records.

The IIAC also announced on Monday its Players of the Week for the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week. Jensen and Moen earned the track and field honors while the following individuals were honored in their respective sports.

Baseball: Wartburg College junior outfielder Caleb Klein (Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware HS) hit .667 in four games during the week. He had eight hits in 12 at-bats, including a double and two home runs (1.250 slugging percentage), and he drove in 14 runs in a doubleheader sweep of Cornell and a split with Simpson. Klein went 3-for-5 with five RBI against Cornell and 5-for-7 with two home runs and nine RBI against Simpson including a 4-for-4, five RBI performance in the nightcap. He also pitched 2.1 innings in the second game against Simpson, not figuring in the decision. He surrendered one hit, one run and two walks while striking out five.

Men’s Golf: Central College sophomore Jake Pearson (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) won the Wartburg Invitational with a one-under par 141 (68-73). He finished in a three-way tie in the 99-golfer field and earned Medalist honors following a cardback to break the tie.

Softball: Simpson College senior pitcher Amy Kulisky (Pleasant Hill, Iowa/S.E. Polk HS) went 3-0 during the week, allowing seven hits, two unearned runs and striking out 20 in 15.1 innings. She won her starts against Loras (6.1 innings, 2 runs, 6 strikeouts) and Luther (6 innings, 1 hit, 9 strikeouts) and also recorded a win in relief against Luther (3 innings, 0 hits, 5 strikeouts).

Men’s Tennis: Coe College senior Nick Barnes (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington HS) posted a 7-0 record during the week with four victories at #1 singles and three victories at #1 doubles. In singles play, he defeated Central’s Nick Cochrane (6-2, 6-4), Lawrence’s Jai Arora (6-4, 6-1), Ripon’s Jared Goerlitz (6-1, 6-1) and New York University’s Mike Thompson (6-1, 6-0). In doubles play with partner Nick Frank, Barnes recorded victories against Central (8-0), Ripon (8-1) and New York University (8-3).

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