May 14, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College track and field performer Abby Erion (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah) and University of Dubuque track and field performer Orlando Walton (Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, May 13. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s three sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Abby Erion, Loras College, Decorah, Iowa/Decorah
Erion, a senior, was named Most Valuable Performer at the Iowa Conference Championship for the second consecutive year after winning two individual titles and placing in the top-four of five events. She won the long jump (5.47 meters) and triple jump (11.10) as well as being a member of the runner-up 4x100 relay team (48.48 seconds) that provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship. Erion finished third in the 400-meter hurdles (65.19 seconds) and fourth in the javelin (38.48 meters). Last weekend, she placed third in the heptathlon with an NCAA provisional score of 4336 points.

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Orlando Walton, Univ. of Dubuque, Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon
Walton, a junior, was named Most Valuable Performer at the Iowa Conference Championship after scoring 20 of Dubuque’s 45 points. He automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships with a winning time of 21.26 seconds in the 200-meter dash, breaking the Conference record of 21.38 seconds. Walton also won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.73 seconds, an NCAA provisional qualifying time. In the preliminaries of the race, he set a Conference record with a time of 10.59 seconds.

Baseball – Kyle Schroeder, Luther College, Sparta, Wis./Bangor
Schroeder, a senior catcher, led Luther to its first Iowa Conference Tournament title hitting .385 (5-for-13) with a home run, a double, four RBI, five walks and six runs scored in three games of the IIAC Tournament. In the opening game for the #2-seeded Norse, a 16-9 win over #3 Loras, Schroeder went 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored. Despite being held hitless in three at-bats in a 10-6, 10-inning win over Wartburg, he reached base three times on walks (two intentional) and scored two runs. Schroeder then went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored in the Championship game, an 11-8 victory over Wartburg.

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