January 14, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Buena Vista University women’s basketball player Margo Muhlbauer (Manilla, Iowa/IKM) and Coe College wrestler Clayton Rush (Aledo, Ill./Aledo) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 13. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s five sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Margo Muhlbauer, Buena Vista University, Manilla, Iowa/IKM
Muhlbauer, a sophomore guard, helped lead the Beavers to a 2-0 record during the week, including the squad’s first two league wins of the season. She posted 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in a 77-68 triumph over Wartburg on Jan. 9. Muhlbauer closed out the week in commanding fashion, scoring 24 points (20 in the first half), on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, as BVU scored 65 first-half points, while handling Central its worst loss in series history, 109-72. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Wrestling – Clayton Rush, Coe College, Aledo, Ill./Aledo
Rush, a freshman 125-pounder, was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the NFCA / Cliff Keen National Duals over the weekend. Rush improved his record to 27-2 on the year with five wins. Rush posted a pair of first-period falls, including a pin of top-ranked and defending national runner-up Seth Flodeen of Augsburg. He also posted a major decision and a technical fall. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Basketball – Michael Tierney, Cornell College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson
Tierney, a junior guard, netted a career-high 29 points – 24 after intermission – in a 74-67 win over Simpson on Jan. 9 to propel the Rams to a 3-0 start in IIAC play, the school’s best start since joining the IIAC in 1997-98. Tierney went 10-of-10 from the foul line while Cornell snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Storm. Tierney added 12 points in a 81-70 loss at Loras on Jan. 12.

Men’s Swimming and Diving – Bryan Perrott, Luther College, Northfield, Minn./Northfield
Perrott, a senior, played a part in three first-place finishes at the Saint Mary’s (Minn.) Triangular, where the Norse placed first. He won the 100 backstroke (:54.41), the 200 backstroke (1:58.54) and swam the first leg on the winning 200 medley relay (1:38.40). Perrott added a runner-up finish in the 200 individual medley (2:02.18). In a Jan. 5 dual win at Loras, Perrott won the 200 freestyle (1:48.42) and swam the opening leg on the winning 400 medley relay (3:40.48) while also swimming the anchor leg in a non-scoring second-place time of 3:19.04 in the 400 freestyle relay.

Women’s Swimming and Diving – Elissa Schmidt, Luther College, Claremont, Minn./Owatonna
Schmidt, a senior, won three events at the Saint Mary’s (Minn.) University Quadrangular, where the Norse finished second. At Saint Mary’s, Schmidt won the 200 freestyle (1:57.44), 100 freestyle (:54.43), and the 100 butterfly (1:02.56), and swam the first leg on the runner-up 200 freestyle relay (1:43.20). In a Jan. 5 dual win at Loras, Schmidt swam the first leg on the winning 400 freestyle relay (3:47.24) and the third leg on the winning 400 medley relay (4:18.50), and finished second in the 500 freestyle (5:22.96).

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

Wrestling – Wartburg College junior 157-pounder Aaron Wernimont (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) ran his season record to 27-1 and his win streak to 24 consecutive matches with a 4-0 record a the NWCA / Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls. He scored a technical fall over Bradon Welter of UW-Oshkosh in his opening match and added a trio of decisions, including wins over #2-ranked Jason Brew of Olivet (15-8) and #9-ranked Jay Milz of UW-La Crosse (8-3). Wernimont helped lead top-ranked Wartburg to its fourth National Duals title since 2003 and extended the school’s current dual win streak to 22.

Wrestling – Luther College senior 174-pounder A.J. Gregg (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah) posted a record of 5-0 that included two falls and a technical fall during the NWCA / Cliff Keen National Duals to raise his season record to 14-6. Gregg, who went in to the National Duals unranked, pinned Ohio Northern’s Josh Bordner (1:45) and Concordia-Moorhead’s Spencer Lund (1:50) and scored a technical fall over Heidelberg’s Clay Chapman (17-0; 4:49) to help lead Luther to a sixth-place finish in the 16-team field.

Wrestling – Loras College sophomore 157-pounder Erik Hanson (Lansing, Ill./Thornton Fractional South) went 4-0 at the Budd Whitehill Duals, where the Duhawks finished third out of 20 teams. He defeated third-ranked John Neidrich of York (Pa.) 6-4 in Loras’ opening dual. He went on to post three other decisions to run his season win total to 25.

Wrestling – Simpson College freshman 141-pounder Caleb Brus (Creston, Iowa/Creston) finished third at the Central Invitational, posting three technical falls and a major decision. Brus’ lone loss came at the hands of T.J. Moen of North Iowa Area C.C. (8-3), the fifth-ranked junior college wrestler at 141 pounds.

Women’s Basketball – Simpson College senior forward Katelyn Whiton (Panora, Iowa/Perry) scored 28 points as the Storm posted a pair of road wins during the week. In a 71-40 win at Cornell, Whiton scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting with seven rebounds and six steals. Whiton closed out the week with 17 points on 6-of-8 scoring with five rebounds and three steals in a 101-52 win at Dubuque.

Women’s Basketball – Wartburg College senior guard Elizabeth Campbell (Rockford, Iowa/Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock) became the 11th member of Wartburg’s 1,000-point club during the week as the Knights posted a 1-1 record against Buena Vista and Coe. Her 38-point week moved her to 10th all-time with 1,026 points. She averaged 19 points, four steals, a blocked shot, 5.5 rebounds per game, and hit 50.0 percent from behind the three-point line during the stretch. She raised her points-per-game average rise by nearly one point (13.7-14.5) and moved her double-figure scoring streak to seven games.

Men’s Basketball – Loras College senior forward Luke Slater (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) scored 19 points in a 81-70 win over Cornell Saturday. Against the Rams, Slater shot 7-of-10 from the field and hit three of four three-pointers.

Men’s Basketball – Wartburg College junior guard Cashes Mason (Kansas City, Mo./Valley [West Des Moines, Iowa]) averaged 11 points and six assists as Wartburg went 1-1 against Buena Vista and Coe. His 16-point, seven-assist performance in a 73-62 win over Coe helped the Knights end a three-game IIAC losing streak. Mason tied personal single-game highs in points and rebounds (five) and set a new personal single-game high for assists (seven) against the Kohawks.

Men’s Basketball – Buena Vista University junior guard Kyle Stribe (Manning, Iowa/Manning) averaged 10.5 points per game and was the only Beaver to finish in double-figures as BVU posted two wins during the week to remain perfect in IIAC play (5-0). For the week, he shot 8-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists.

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