September 6, 2005

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College soccer player Kirk Artist (Glenwood, Iowa/Glenwood) and Buena Vista University golfer Jennifer Stork (Carroll, Iowa/Kuemper) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, September 4. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Men’s Soccer – Kirk Artist, Wartburg, Glenwood, Iowa/Glenwood
Artist, a senior midfielder, scored three goals in three games during the week. He netted both scores in the Knights’ 2-1 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan and scored their only goal in a 2-1 loss to Macalester. He was held scoreless in Wartburg’s victory over Gustavus Adolphus.

Women’s Golf– Jennifer Stork, Buena Vista, Carroll, Iowa/Kuemper
Stork, a junior, posted two rounds in the 70s during the week, winning one tournament and losing a playoff in another. She opened the week with a 79 at the Northwestern (Iowa) Lady Red Raider Invitational, but lost the playoff to finish second in the 59-golfer field. The following day, she shot a 76 at the Buena Vista Invitational to take home Medalist honors in the 90-golfer field. The Beavers won their own tournament and placed second at Northwestern.

Men’s Cross Country – Adam Wolf, Central, Corning, Iowa/Corning
Wolf, a junior, won the 29-runner Central Dutch Invitational in a time of 26:22, winning by 58-seconds to lead the host Dutch to a victory in the three-team meet.

Women’s Cross Country – Paige Gruis, Buena Vista, Des Moines, Iowa/Lincoln
Gruis, a sophomore, won the 40-runner Dordt Invitational in a school 4K record time of 15:52.9, winning by 5.1 seconds. She broke the old school mark of 16:07 set last year by Kim Peterson.

Football – Brennan McCarron, Loras, Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert
McCarron, a freshman running back, rushed for 128 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries (7.5 yards/carry) in Loras’ 48-3 win over Concordia (Ill.).

Women’s Soccer – Emily Ironside, Luther, Prairie du Sac, Wis./Dubuque Senior
Ironside, a freshman forward, scored five goals and added four assists for 14 points in two matches during the week. She scored a goal and notched an assist in a 4-0 Norse victory over Dakota Wesleyan. The following day she scored four times (including the game winner) and added three assists in a 9-0 victory over Northland.

Women’s Tennis – Molly Fiala, Coe, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson
Fiala, a freshman, went 4-0 during the week including two wins at #1 singles and two wins at #1 doubles with Rachel Lenoch. She did not lose a game in singles victories over Central’s Kristin Kovar and Simpson’s Carrie Brannen. In doubles, Fiala/Lenoch recorded an 8-5 win over Central and an 8-0 win over Simpson.

Volleyball – Jodi Thomas, Dubuque, Durand Ill./Durand
Thomas, a senior middle blocker/outside hitter, averaged 4.86 kills, 2.07 blocks and 0.86 digs, and hit .486 in 14 games during the week as Dubuque went 2-2 at the Elmhurst Invitational. In victories over Blackburn (3-0) and Olivet (3-2), she had 17 and 20 kills, respectively, while hitting .467 and .548. She had 10 blocks against Blackburn and eight blocks against Olivet. In losing efforts to Carthage (3-0) and Elmhurst (3-1), Thomas had 16 and 15 kills, respectively, while hitting .393 and .550. She had six blocks against Carthage and five blocks against Elmhurst.

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

Central sophomore running back Vance Schuring (Pella, Iowa/Pella) rushed for 165 yards on 17 carries including a 14-yard touchdown in overtime that set-up the winning two-point conversion in a 25-24 victory over Augustana (Ill.).

Wartburg freshman golfer Kate Thompson (Webster City, Iowa/Webster City) finished first at the Mount Mercy Invitational and tied for second at the Coe Invitational with scores of 74 and 78, respectively.

Cornell senior tennis player Marie Schutte (Boone, Iowa/Boone) went 4-0 during the week with two victories at #1 singles and two at #1 doubles with Pavla Brachova.

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