October 30, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Luther College cross country runner Janet Dobyns (Iowa City, Iowa/West) and Loras College cross country runner Ben Grant (Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, October 29. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Cross Country – Janet Dobyns, Luther College, Iowa City, Iowa/West
Dobyns, a sophomore, won the Iowa Conference cross country Championship, leading Luther to its third team title in four years, and was named Most Valuable Runner. She finished in a time of 23:05, six seconds ahead of runner-up Jill Wagaman of Wartburg, to earn her second straight top-four finish.

Men’s Cross Country – Ben Grant, Loras College, Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque
Grant, a junior, won the Iowa Conference cross country Championship and was named Most Valuable Runner. He finished in a time of 24:18, five seconds ahead of runner-up Brian Chenoweth of Wartburg, to earn his third straight top-four Conference finish (third in 2005 and fourth in 2004).

Football – Vance Schuring, Central College, Pella, Iowa/Pella
Schuring, a junior running back, rushed for season-high 184 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries in Central’s 44-7 victory over Loras. He topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the 12th time in 18 career games.

Women’s Soccer – Stephanie Ellwanger, Central College, Indianola, Iowa/Indianola
Ellwanger, a junior forward/midfielder, scored two goals, including the game winner in the 83rd minute, in Central’s 4-3 victory over Wartburg giving the Dutch its first win over Wartburg since 2000.

Men’s Soccer – Clint Schreiber, Central College, South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North
Schreiber, a sophomore midfielder, scored two goals in Central’s 3-1 victory over Conference co-Champion Wartburg.

Volleyball – Jessica Martin, Simpson College, Toledo, Iowa/South Tama
Martin, a senior middle hitter, averaged 3.33 kills, 5.50 digs and 1.17 blocks per game in five matches during the week. She posted a triple-double in Simpson’s 3-2 win over Wisconsin-Platteville with 31 digs, 16 kills and 10 blocks. She also had double-doubles in wins over Dubuque (26 digs, 15 kills) and Carroll (22 digs, 13 kils). Martin also had 10 digs in a win over Edgewood and a loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Elisa Schmidt, Luther College, Claremong, Minn./Owatonna
Schmidt, a junior, led Luther to three dual victories posting five first-place finishes. In a dual victory over St. Mary’s (Minn.), she won the 50-yard freestyle (26.08) and 100-yard freestyle (56.58). She also won the 50-yard free (26.29), 100-yard free (56.30) and was a member of the winning 200-yard medley relay (1:59.98) in a double-dual with Morningside and Stephens.

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Cameron Webb, Luther College, Carroll, Iowa/Carroll
Webb, a sophomore, was a five-time winner in dual victories over St. Mary’s (Minn.) and Morningside. He won the 100-yard freestyle (48.75) and was a member of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team (1:29.09) against St. Mary’s. In the Morningside dual, he won the 500-yard freestyle (5:08.99) and was a member of two winning relays, the 200-yard medley (1:39.84) and 200-yard free (1:30.28).

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

• University of Dubuque junior defensive back Mark Mashburn (Homedale, Idaho/Homedale) had a team-high 14 tackles (nine solo) and recovered a fumble as the Spartans defeated Simpson for the first time since 1987 (20-9).

• Luther College senior quarterback Zach Sweers (Guttenberg, Iowa/Clayton Ridge) completed 24-of-39 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns as the Norse registered their first Conference win of the season, 37-6 over Cornell.

• Wartburg College senior running back Dan Hammes (Sigourney, Iowa/Sigourney) rushed for a season-high 178 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries in Wartburg’s 20-13 double-overtime win at Buena Vista. It was his fifth 100-yard rushing game in his last six outings.

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