IOWA INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

LORAS’ MURPHY AND LUTHER’S OLSON
HONORED AS IIAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
SIX OTHERS RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS

MOUNT VERNON, IA . . .  The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today their Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 23.  Loras College cross country runner Marcus Murphy (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny HS) was selected as the IIAC Male Athlete of the Week and Luther College cross country runner Johanna Olson (Wadena, MN/Wadena-Deer Creek HS) was selected as the IIAC Female Athlete of the Week.

Murphy, a sophomore, finished ninth in the National Catholic Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame.  He was the only runner to finish among the top-10 that does not compete for an NCAA Division I college.  He finished in a time of 25:12, 1:09 behind the winner of the 201 runner field.  Murphy was previously named the IIAC Cross Country Runner of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 9.

Olson, the defending NCAA National Champion, won the Les Duke Invitational in a course record 17:23 for her 11^th consecutive victory.  She finished 1:02 ahead of the second place finisher in the 147 runner field.  Olson was previously named the IIAC Cross Country Runner of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 9.

The IIAC also announced the Players of the Week for each of their eight fall sports.  Murphy and Olson received the honor for their respective sports.  Other IIAC Players of the Week  include:

Football:  Cornell College sophomore quarterback Chris Lovely (Pacific Junction, IA/Glenwood HS) rushed for 257 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns (94 yards, 25 yards) in the Rams’ 33-26 victory over Buena Vista.  His lone completion was a 16-yard touchdown pass to running back Ian Harden (Aurora, CO/Eaglecrest HS).

Golf:  Simpson College sophomore Karen Smith (Eagle Grove, IA/Eagle Grove HS) finished eighth (of 74 golfers) in the Loras Invitational on Friday with a round of 89 (seven strokes back).  On Saturday, she won the Luther Invitational by four strokes with a career-low 76, the lowest round by a Simpson golfer this year.  Smith led Simpson to victories in both Invitationals.

Men’s Soccer:  Simpson College junior goaltender Matt Edgington (Waukee, IA/Waukee HS) finished the week with a 1-0-1 record and a 0.75 GAA.  In 210 minutes, he surrendered only one goal which was knocked in the net by his teammate in the 80^th minute of the September 22, game against Loras.  Edgington recorded his 17^th career shutout on September 18, against Central, a 0-0 overtime tie.

Women’s Soccer:  Cornell College senior forward Julie Carne (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines HS) finished the week with five goals and five assists in two games.  On September 19, she led the Rams to a 7-0 victory over the University of Dubuque with two goals and two assists.  In Cornell’s victory over Buena Vista University on September 22, Carne scored three goals and added three assists.