January 2, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College women’s basketball player Sharese Van Sloten (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah) and Central College men’s basketball player Keith Pedersen (Jefferson, Iowa/Jefferson-Scranton) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Tuesday, January 1. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s three sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Sharese Van Sloten, Wartburg College, Decorah, Iowa/Decorah
Van Sloten, a junior forward/center, was tabbed Most Valuable Player of the inaugural Wartburg Holiday Tournament Dec. 29-30. Van Sloten averaged less than two rebounds shy of a double-double as the Knights posted a 3-1 record over the extended break. She harbors current strings of three straight games of shooting 57 percent or better from the field and four consecutive five-plus rebound outings. With 23 rebounds in two games at the Wartburg Holiday Tournament, Van Sloten improved her rebounding average by 1.3 rebounds per game (5.1 to 6.4). (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Basketball – Keith Pedersen, Central College, Jefferson, Iowa/Jefferson-Scranton
Pedersen, a senior forward, set or tied a number of school records during the Holiday break as the Dutch went 3-0. In a 90-77 win over William Woods, Pedersen tied the Central single-game record for highest field goal percentage (100%; 13-13) and most consecutive made field goals (13). Over the course of three games, Pedersen made 15 consecutive field goals, setting another school record. As of Dec. 16, Pedersen ranked second in Division III in field goal percentage and has since raised his season field goal percentage to 80.0%. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Wrestling – Pat McAuley, Cornell College, Austin, Texas/Lanier
McAuley, a senior 157-pounder, went 7-0 with five pins at the Citrus Open and Duals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dec. 29-30. McAuley improved his season mark to 22-6 en route to the 157-pound title in the Open Tournament, climbed to third place on Cornell’s career list for both wins (127) and pins (37).

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

Women’s Basketball – Cornell College junior forward Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) averaged 21 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 9-for-9 from the foul line in wins over Augustana (73-59) and Heidelberg (70-66 OT). Cowan came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points – 21 after intermission – in a comeback win at Heidelberg. Cowan has helped lead the Rams (5-4) to four consecutive wins.

Men’s Basketball – Coe College senior forward Kyle Kuenstling (Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton) finished the Kohawks’ four-game road trip with back-to-back double-figure scoring games with 12 and 22 points in wins over Colorado College and NCAA Division II Regis University.

Wrestling – Luther College senior 197-pounder Alec Bonander (Larchwood, Iowa/West Lyon) placed 3-2 at the Midlands Invitational, falling one spot short of placing. Bonander opened the tournament with a 7-4 loss to #4-seed T.J. Morrison of Rider. In the consolation bracket, Bonander posted wins over Iowa State’s Joe Curran (6-2), UW-La Crosse’s Andy Moore (6-0), and Wildcat Wrestling Club’s Octavious Bellaney (2-0) before falling to UNI’s Andrew Anderson (8-5), the tournament’s #8-seed.

Wrestling – Wartburg College junior 149-pounder Jacob Naig (Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) upped his current win string to 15 straight matches and season record to 26-2 with four falls in less than four minutes for No. 2-ranked Wartburg at the 2007 Desert Duals.

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