November 14, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Luther College wrestler Matt Pyle (Merrill, Kan./Sabetha) and Loras College swimmer Lauren Lehenbauer (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 12. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s four sports in competition during the week.

Wrestling – Matt Pyle, Luther College, Merrill, Kan./Sabetha
Pyle, a senior, won the 149-pound Gold Division title at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointer Open, posting a 4-0 record with victories over Division I and II wrestlers. He won by decision over UW-Stevens Point’s Mo Malone (6-2) and UW-LaCrosse’s Jay Wiltz (6-0). In the semifinals, he pinned (3:06) Division I Northern Illinois’ Mike Grimes, who posted a 26-8 record last year. He defeated Minnesota State-Mankato’s Jason Rhoten by major decision (9-1) in the Championship match. Rhoten was the Division II National Champion at 141-lbs last year.

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Lauren Lehenbauer, Loras College, Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf
Lehenbauer, a sophomore, won four events at the Monmouth (Ill.) Invitational leading the Duhawks to a first-place team finish. She won the 400-yard individual medley (4:51.99), the 200-yard butterfly (2:16.55), the 1650-yard freestyle (18:33.53) and she swam the butterfly leg of the winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:59.60).

Football – Brandon Clayton, University of Dubuque, Sherman Oaks, Calif./Notre Dame
Clayton, a junior running back, rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in the Dubuque’s overtime victory at Wartburg (17-14). He out gained the entire Wartburg rush offense (168-151) as the Spartans defeated the Knights for the first time since 1989 and finished the season with a 6-4 record, their most wins since 1986.

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Bryan Perrott, Luther College, Northfield, Minn./Northfield
Perrott, a junior, had two first-place and two second-place finishes at the University of Chicago Invitational to lead the Norse to a second-place team finish. He won the 200-yard backstroke (1:59.83) and was a member of the winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:39.52) to go along with runner-up finishes in the 100-yard backstroke (55.48) and 400-yard medley relay (3:38.76).

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

• Central College junior defensive back Brett Doud (Oskaloosa, Iowa/Oskaloosa) had three interceptions and three tackles in the Dutch’s 23-0 win over Simpson. He anchored the defense that handed the Storm their first shutout since 1987 (201 games) and his three interceptions are the most by a Central player since 1997.

• Coe College senior running back Ashton Northern (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) rushed for a Conference season-high 231 yards on 31 carries in the Kohawks’ 31-14 win over Cornell, becoming the sixth different Coe runner to rush for over 200 yards in a game. He also had four receptions for 59 yards.

• Wartburg College senior Blake Gillis (Spencer, Iowa/Spencer) won the heavyweight class of the Harold Nichols Open, posting a 4-0 record including a pin of Dana’s Jesse Boggs and a decision in the Championship match over Iowa State’s starting heavyweight, David Zabriskie (5-2).

 

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