May 3, 2004

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College golfer Kevin Ault (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge HS) and Central College softball player Corrie Schmidt (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny HS) were named IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, May 2.

Ault, a sophomore, shot a 145 in the final two rounds of the Iowa Conference Championship to hold off Loras’ Pete Weber for Conference Medalist honors. Ault’s par on the final hole of the 72-hole Championship gave him a one stroke victory, earning him Medalist and Conference MVP honors. He finished with the Championship with a four round score of one-over-par 289.

Schmidt, a junior pitcher, went 3-0 with a 1.07 earned run average during the week to improve to 23-5 on the season. She pitched two complete game victories over #9-Simpson on Saturday including a shutout to push Central past Simpson in the Iowa Conference standings and clinched its third straight IIAC Championship. In the opener of the doubleheader, Schmidt did not allow a run, struck out four batters and surrendered just two hits. In the second game, she struck out three batters and allowed two runs. In her first game of the week, Schmidt pitched 5.2 innings and struck out six batters in a 7-1 victory over Upper Iowa.

The IIAC also announced today its Players of the Week for the Conference’s five sports in competition during the week. Ault and Schmidt received the weekly honor in golf and softball, respectively, while the following individuals were recognized for their athletic performances.

Baseball: Luther College junior first baseman/pitcher Brad Paulsrud (DeSoto, Wis./DeSoto HS) hit .500 (7-for-14) in four games during the week and pitched a complete game in his only pitching appearance. He was the winning pitcher in a 10-2 victory over Dubuque, striking out three batters and surrendering two runs in seven innings. Offensively in that contest he went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Paulsrud had two hits in each of the other three games including a 2-for-4, two RBI performance in the second game of the Dubuque doubleheader. He went 2-for-4 and scored a run in the first game against Loras and went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the second game against Loras. Luther’s four victories during the week extended the Norse’s winning streak six straight.

Men’s Track & Field: Central College junior Brad Rose (Monona, Iowa/MFL MarMac HS) had three top-four finishes at the Forest Rittgers Invitational hosted by Coe College. Rose won the 110-meter hurdles in an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying time of 14.65 seconds. He also finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles (55.31) and was a member of the fourth-place 4x400 relay team (3:23.71).

Women’s Track & Field: Wartburg College junior Missy Buttry (Shenandoah, Iowa/Shenandoah HS) automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 1500-meter run and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 800-meter run with her performances at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse Qualifier. In the 1500, she finished in 4:31.66, defeating the rest of the 32 runner field by over six seconds. Buttry finished second in the 800 in 2:15.9, just 11/100ths of a second behind the winner.

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