December 16, 2002

MOUNT VERNON, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today its Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, December 15. Wartburg College wrestler LeRoy Gardner III (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins HS) was selected IIAC Male Athlete of the Week and Cornell College basketball player Cara Hegner (Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt HS) was selected IIAC Female Athlete of the Week.

Gardner, a senior heavyweight, was named Outstanding Wrestler of Wartburg’s Dick Walker Invitational posting a 4-0 record with three falls. The Invitational featured five schools ranked in the NCAA Division III Top-25 and two of the nation’s top ranked junior colleges. Gardner, ranked first in his weight class in the NWCA Brute-Adidas Poll, pinned Augsburg’s Lucas Johnson at the 20 second mark in the opening round. In the second round, he pinned Iowa Central’s David Paniccia at 1:48 followed by a pin of Coe’s Chris Harrison at 3:00. Gardner won by major decision (8-0) in the finals over Loras’ Pat Thomas, who is ranked second in the heavyweight class of the Brute-Adidas Poll.

Hegner, a sophomore center, averaged 15.0 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots in two games during the week. She shot 50 percent from the floor (10-of-20) and 76.9 percent from the free throw line (10-of-13) in the two contests. In Cornell’s 56-50 victory over Iowa Wesleyan, she scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds (7 -7). She also had two assists, two steals and two blocks. In the Rams’ 66-64 double-overtime victory over Monmouth (Ill.), Hegner scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds (3-10) and blocked five shots. She also contributed two assists and a steal. With her two double-doubles during the week, she has now reached double-digits in points and rebounds in each of her last five games.

The IIAC also announced on Monday its Players of the Week for the Conference’s three sports in competition during the week. Gardner and Hegner earned the weekly honor for their respective sports, and Wartburg basketball player Mike Pipho (Denver, Iowa/Denver HS) was named IIAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.

Pipho, a senior forward, posted his second double-double in the last three games with a 21 point-10 rebound performance in the Knights’ 88-86 overtime victory against Iowa Wesleyan. He shot 9-of-12 from the floor (75 percent) and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Pipho grabbed six offensive rebounds and four defensive boards, handed out four assists, had one steal and one blocked shot. He also moved into 22nd place on Wartburg’s all-time scoring list with 1,064 points.

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