November 3, 2003

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College cross country runner Marcus Murphy (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny HS) and Wartburg College cross country runner Missy Buttry (Shenandoah, Iowa/Shenandoah HS) were named IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 2.

Murphy, a senior, won the Iowa Conference Cross Country Championship becoming the first runner to win four straight Conference titles. He finished the 8,000-meter race in 25:10, beating Wartburg College’s Josh Moen by 10 seconds and leading Loras to a second place team finish, five points behind Champion Wartburg. Murphy was named IIAC Most Valuable Runner for the fourth time.

Buttry, a junior, won her second straight Iowa Conference Cross Country Championship and earned her second straight IIAC Most Valuable Runner honor. She finished the 5,000-meter race in 16:37, less than two seconds off the Conference record she set in 2002. Buttry defeated the second place finisher – Luther College’s Natalie Retrum - by 2:04 and led Wartburg to a second place finish, six points behind Champion Luther.

The IIAC also announced on Monday its Players of the Week for the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week. Murphy and Buttry earned the weekly honor for men’s and women’s cross country, while the following individuals were recognized for their athletic performances.

Football: Cornell College senior wide receiver/corner back Matt Ditch (Center Point, Iowa/Center Point-Urbana HS) returned two of his three interceptions for touchdowns in his first game playing full-time on the defensive side of the ball this season. He finished the contest with 159 all-purpose yards in the Rams’ 63-6 victory over the University of Dubuque. Ditch had two receptions for 14 receiving yards, two punt returns for 23 yards and three interception returns for 122 yards. He also had four tackles (two solo) as Cornell scored 63 points for the second straight week and third time this season.

Men’s Soccer: Central College junior midfielder Kyle Halfpop (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale HS) scored four unassisted goals and added an assist in two matches during the week. He set a Central record for points in a game and tied the school record for goals in a game with his three goal-seven point performance against Upper Iowa University. He also scored once in Central’s 3-0 victory over Cornell College in the regular season finale.

Women’s Soccer: Loras College junior forward Michelle Wieser (Dubuque, Iowa/Senior HS) scored four goals and added one assist in two matches during the week as Loras clinched the Iowa Conference title. Wieser scored three goals in the Duhawks’ 8-0 victory over the University of Dubuque. In the regular season finale, she scored the game winning goal and added an assist in a 3-1 victory over Simpson College.

Volleyball: Wartburg College senior outside hitter Dia Dohlman (Eldora, Iowa/Eldora-New Providence HS) hit .374 in three matches during the week. In 11 games, she had 48 kills on 107 total attacks, 49 digs and eight blocks. She had 20 kills and 20 digs in a four-game victory over St. Mary’s (Minn.) University and hit .440 in a three-game victory over Conference-rival Coe College.

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