December 4, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Buena Vista University wrestler Wade Hammen (Rockwell City, Iowa/Rockwell City-Lytton) and Wartburg College basketball player LaToshia Burrell (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, December 3. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for four Conference sports in competition during the week.

Wrestling – Wade Hammen, Buena Vista University, Rockwell City, Iowa/Rockwell City-Lytton
Hammen, a senior, went 4-1 in his first week of competition after joining the team following the Buena Vista football season and placed second in the heavyweight division at the University of Northern Iowa Open. In the Beavers’ dual meet victory over Morningside, he won by decision over Kiel Ploen, 8-4. At UNI, Hammen defeated Luther’s Jake Mandrinich (8-1) then faced three straight Division I opponents. He won by decision over Northern Illinois’ Dave Benner (3-2), won by default over Wisconsin’s Kyle Massey, and lost to UNI’s Tyler Rhodes (8-5), a 2006 NCAA qualifier, in the Championship match.

Women’s Basketball – LaToshia Burrell, Wartburg College, Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge
Burrell, a senior guard, averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game and shot 64.7 percent from the floor (11-of-17) in two games. She scored 14 points (on 5-of-8 shooting), had four rebounds, four steals and an assist in Wartburg’s 71-55 Conference-opening win over Coe. In an 82-67 win over Bethany Lutheran, she scored 18 points (on 6-of-9 shooting), had three assists and two rebounds.

Men’s Basketball – Griffin LaDew, Cornell College, Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial
LaDew, a sophomore guard, averaged 23.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game and shot 57.7 percent from the floor (15-of-26) including 60.0 percent from behind the 3-point arc (6-of-10) in two games. He scored a game-high 25 points (on 9-of-14 shooting) to go along with two rebounds, an assist and a steal in Cornell’s 81-67 loss to Central. In a 67-59 victory over Clarke, he scored 22 points (on 6-of-12 shooting), had three rebounds and two assists.

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Bryan Perrott, Luther College, Northfield, Minn./Northfield
Perrott, a junior, led Luther to a third-place finish at the Mutual of Omaha Invitational hosted by the University of Nebraska-Omaha with five top-six finishes. He won the 200-yard backstroke (1:57) and swam the second leg of the winning 800-yard freestyle relay (7:14.91). Perrott finished third in the 100-yard backstroke (54.88) and was a member of the third-place finishing 400-yard medley relay (3:36.55) in which he swam the lead leg. He also finished sixth in the 400-yard individual medley (4:36.08).

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

• Luther College senior Matt Pyle (Merrill, Kan./Sabetha) finished fourth at 149-pounds at the UNI Open. He posted a 5-2 record with two falls and two major decisions including a pin of Illinois’ Troy Tirapelle, the 11th-ranked wrestler in Division I and defending Big Ten runner-up.

• Wartburg College freshman Aaron Wernimont (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas) won the 157-pound weight class at the Simpson Invitational and finished the week with a 6-0 record including a fall, a technical fall, a major decision and a decision over the #6th-ranked wrestler in Division III, Jacob Malone of St. John’s in the Championship match (5-4).

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