February 18, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College women’s track and field athlete Anna Kraayenbrink (Sioux Center, Iowa/Sioux Center) and Wartburg College men’s track and field athlete Kevin Balster (Monticello, Iowa/Monticello) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 17. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s five sports in competition during the week.

Women's Track and Field – Anna Kraayenbrink, Wartburg College, Sioux Center, Iowa/Sioux Center
Kraayenbrink, a sophomore, shattered the Wartburg school record in the 5000m with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 17:14.62 at the UW-Whitewater Warhawk Classic. Kraayenbrink’s time ranks among the top five fasted times in Division III this year and broke the former school records by nearly 40 seconds (old mark was 17:53.27). (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Men's Track and Field – Kevin Balster, Wartburg College, Monticello, Iowa/Monticello
Balster, a senior, broke the school record and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 5000m run with a time of 14:29.24 at the UW-Whitewater Warhawk Classic. Balster, whose time currently ranks among the top-five fastest times in the country, eclipsed the Wartburg mark set by multi-time national champion and All-American Josh Moen by nearly five seconds (old record was 14:34.18). (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Women’s Basketball – Lindsay Bava, Loras College, Downers Grove, Ill./Montini Catholic
Bava, a sophomore guard, scored a career-high 29 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field in the Duhawks’ 68-63 win over Luther. She also made seven of eight free throws. Bava is currently shooting 49% from the field in IIAC games and also ranks in the top five in both free throw shooting and 3-point shooting.

Men's Basketball – Taylor Blum, University of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa/Senior
Blum, a freshman guard, averaged 21.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists as Dubuque picked up league wins over Luther (70-49) and Central (75-62) last week. Against Central, Blum scored 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including six 3-pointers. He opened the week with 13 points against the Norse.

Men’s Tennis – Sammridh Burman, Luther College, Kolkata, India
Burman, a freshman, went 5-0 on the week, picking up wins at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in dual wins over Loras (9-0) and Cornell (9-0). Burman also picked up a win at No. 3 singles against UW-Eau Claire.

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

Men’s Basketball – Buena Vista University junior guard Andre Wagner (Omaha, Neb./Northwest) buried five of 11 3-pointers en route to a game-high 19 points for the Beavers, who set a school record with 19 made 3-pointers during a 103-65 home win over Simpson last Wednesday. Wagner enters the final week of the regular season 14 points shy of 1,000 for his career.

Men’s Basketball – Coe College senior forward Kyle Kuenstling (Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton) averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists as the Kohawks posted wins over Central (75-74) and Cornell (81-59) to clinch a berth in the IIAC Tournament.

Women’s Basketball – Coe College senior guard Amber Karkosh (Toledo, Iowa/South Tama) led the Kohawks to a 2-0 record on the week with wins over Central (77-58) and Cornell (78-64). With the wins, Coe improved to 18-6 on the year, the most wins in school history. Karkosh’s 18 rebounds against Central tied the Coe single-game school record and was a new career high.

Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Loras College freshman Tara Kilburg (LaMotte, Iowa/Andrew) won the mile run at the UW-Whitewater Warhawk Classic with an NCAA Provisional qualifying time of 5:04.30. Kilburg’s time is the second-fastest in school history. She is currently the only freshman to post a qualifying time for the NCAA meet in the mile.

Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Loras College senior Ben Grant (Peosta, Iowa/Western Dubuque) won the mile run at the UW-Whitewater Warhawk Classic with an NCAA Provisional qualifying time of 4:12.32. The mark is the third-fastest in Division III this season and the second-fastest in school history.

Men’s Tennis – Coe College junior Sam Zerbib (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia) went 4-0 on the weekend with two wins at No. 1 doubles and a win at No. 1 singles as the Kohawks posted dual wins over UW-La Crosse and St. Ambrose.

-30-