January 3, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Buena Vista University basketball player Kelli Staley (Charter Oak, Iowa/Boyer Valley) and Cornell College wrestler John Ugaste (Hawthorne Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 1, 2006. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s three sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Kelli Staley, Buena Vista University, Charter Oak, Iowa/Boyer Valley
Staley, a senior forward, averaged 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 assists in two games during the week. She shot 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from the floor, including 3-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc, and 78.9 percent (15-of-19) from the free throw line in victories over Mount Marty (73-57) and Nebraska Wesleyan (89-69). Staley scored 11 points, had eight rebounds (0-8), an assist, a steal and a block against Mount Marty, becoming the fourth player in school history to record 200 career steals. She scored a career-high 31 points (on 11-of-14 shooting) against Nebraska Wesleyan to go along with six rebounds (1-5), three steals and an assist.

Wrestling – John Ugaste, Cornell College, Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich
Ugaste, a senior, went 7-0 during at the Citrus Open and Citrus Duals, capturing the 197-pound title at the Open where he defeated #2-ranked Dan Fiecke of St. John’s (Minn.) in the Championship bout (7-5). He won by decision over Heidelberg’s Ryan Fogliano (5-0) and Ursinus’ Kyle Carpella (10-5), and pinned Concordia (Wis.)’s Steve Urban (3:53) to lead Cornell to a third-place team finish. In the Duals, he defeated Heidelberg’s Tony Carothers (3-2) in a heavyweight match and Case Western Reserve’s Tom Sanders (9-3) at 197-pounds in addition to a forfeit win at 197 against Mount St. Joseph.

Men’s Basketball – Clint Driftmier, Central College, Clarinda, Iowa/South Page
Driftmier, a junior center, scored 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds (2-9) in Central’s 77-65 victory over Waldorf. He also had three assists, three blocks and three steals as the Dutch extended their win streak to four-straight, the program’s longest win streak since February 1995.

Other Outstanding Weekly Performers
The IIAC also recognized the following outstanding athletic performances from the past week.

• Buena Vista University freshman guard Andre Wagner (Omaha, Neb./Northwest) was named to the Clarke Holiday Tournament All-Tournament Team after averaging 17.7 points, 2.0 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in three games. He shot 41.3 percent (19-of-46) from the floor including 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from behind the 3-point arc.

• Simpson College junior center Jason Soppe (Dyersville, Iowa/Beckman) averaged 16.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in two games during the week, shooting 60.0 percent (15-of-25) from the floor as the Storm defeated Wisconsin-River Falls (65-64) and Culver-Stockton (87-62).

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