December 18, 2006

CEDAR RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Cornell College wrestler Chris Heilman (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary’s) and Central College basketball player Laura Porter (Monroe, Iowa/Prairie City-Monroe) have been named the IIAC Male and Female Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, December 17. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s three sports in competition during the week.

Wrestling – Chris Heilman, Cornell College, Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary’s
Heilman, a junior ranked second nationally at 125-pounds, won both of his matches by fall during the week. He pinned North Central (Ill.)’s Joey Norton at 2:13 in Cornell’s 25-14 loss to the #9-ranked team in Division III and pinned Augustana (Ill.)’s George Gogonas at 3:33 in the Rams’ 41-9 win.

Women’s Basketball – Laura Porter, Central College, Monroe, Iowa/Prairie City-Monroe
Porter, a junior guard, scored 25 points, had five assists, three rebounds and two steals in Central’s 75-61 win over Ashford. She shot 64.3 percent from the floor (9-of-14), including 75 percent on 3-pointers (3-of-4), and 80 percent from the free throw line (4-of-5).

Men’s Basketball – Griffin LaDew, Cornell College, Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial
LaDew, a sophomore guard, averaged 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in two contests during the week. He shot 46.4 percent from the floor (13-of-28), including 70 percent on 3-pointers (7-of-10), and was perfect on six free throw attempts. In Cornell’s 64-60 loss to Augustana (Ill.), he scored 18 points (on 7-of-15 shooting), had four rebounds, an assist and a steal. LaDew scored 21 points (on 6-of-13 shooting) to go along with three rebounds and three assists in the Rams’ 73-67 win over Mount Mercy.

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

• Central College senior center Clint Driftmier (Clarinda, Iowa/South Page) recorded his second straight 30-point game in Central’s 80-68 win over Martin Luther. He scored 30 points (on 13-of-17 shooting, 76.5 percent), had six rebounds, two steals and a block.

• Wartburg College junior forward Elizabeth Campbell (Rockford, Iowa/RRMR) scored 21 points, had six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in Wartburg’s 82-69 win over Nebraska Wesleyan. She shot 72.7 percent from the floor (8-of-11) including 66.7 percent on 3-pointers (4-of-6).

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