May 17, 2004

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Central College track and field performer Tanner Whipple (Roland, Iowa/Roland-Story HS) and Loras College track and field performer Abby Vanderah (Marshalltown, Iowa/Marshalltown HS) were named IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, May 16.

Both student-athletes were chosen Most Valuable Performer at the Conference’s outdoor track and field Championship held May 14-15 at the University of Dubuque. Whipple, a sophomore, who had won the Conference decathlon on May 8, added first-place finishes in the 400-meter hurdles (53.16 seconds) and the 4x400 relay (3:17.29). Times in both those events were NCAA provisional qualifying times and the 400-meter hurdle mark broke the Conference record set in 1987 by Simpson’s Kip Janvrin (53.34 seconds). Whipple also finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.83 seconds).

Vanderah, a junior, who finished second in the Conference heptathlon on May 8, added three first-place finishes, a fourth-place finish and a fifth-place finish. She won and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the triple jump (38-10.25), the long jump (18-5.75) and the 4x100 relay (48.20 seconds). Her triple jump mark broke the Conference record of 38-0, set in 2003 by Luther’s Katie Pettigrew. Vanderah also finished fourth in the 100-meter dash (12.71 seconds) and fifth in the 200-meter dash (26.07 seconds).

The IIAC also announced on Monday that Simpson College sophomore shortstop Chris Cyronek (Omaha, Neb./Millard South HS) was named IIAC Baseball Player of the Week leading the Storm to the Conference Tournament Championship and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999.

In five games during the week, Cyronek his .619 (13-for-21) with a home run, eight RBI and five runs scored. He went 11-for-18 (.611 average) in the Conference Tournament scoring all five of his runs and driving in seven runs in the four games. In the Tournament Championship game against Wartburg, he had four hits in six at-bats and scored twice as Simpson won 10-7 in 10 innings. Cyronek had three hits and two RBI in each of the two previous contests, back-to-back victories over Coe. In the Tournament opener (10-6 victory over Central), he went 1-for-3 and drove in two runs. Cyronek began the week with a 2-for-3, one RBI performance in the regular season finale, an 8-6 non-Conference loss to Coe.

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