April 1, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College women’s track and field performer Ellen Thys (Victor, Iowa/HLV) and Jerrold Martijn (Oranjestad, Aruba/Kirkwood CC) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, March 30. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s six sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Outdoor Track and Field – Ellen Thys, Loras College, Victor, Iowa/HLV
Thys, a senior, placed first among collegiate competitors in the discus throw at the Augustana Viking Olympics with a school record and NCAA automatic qualifying throw of 159 feet, 7 inches. She also finished third in the hammer throw (151-11 – 5th in the nation) and took fourth in the shot put (39-7). (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Baseball – Jerrold Martijn, Wartburg College, Oranjestad, Aruba/Kirkwood Comm. College
Martijn, a junior pitcher/outfielder, helped guide Wartburg to a key early-season conference sweep of Luther in a battle of the 2007 league co-champions March 28-29. He also scored the game-winning run in a 3-2, 13-inning win in game one and drove in the winning run in game two. He fired six and one-third innings of shutout ball in the series finale and hit a triple as part of a 3-for-11 effort at the plate in the series. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Softball – Tami Magner, Luther College, Waukon, Iowa/Waukon
Magner, a senior catcher, hit .560 with 14 hits in 25 at-bats as the Norse posted a 6-2 record last week. She scored 11 runs, drove in 12, hit two doubles, a triple, four home runs, and stole three bases during the eight-game stretch. Magner, who hit her ninth and 10th home runs of the year in a doubleheader split with Coe March 29, also went errorless in 73 chances in the field.

Men’s Outdoor Track and Field – Kevin Balster, Wartburg College, Monticello, Iowa/Monticello
Balster, a senior, posted an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 5,000 at the ninth annual University of Missouri Relays, leading a 1-2 sweep in a multi-divisional field of 65 runners. Balster’s winning time of 14:31.36 was over eight seconds faster than that of the runner-up (14:39.96). His time ranks as one of the fastest in the nation so far this season.

Men's Tennis – Tylor Schlader, Wartburg College, Charles City, Iowa/Charles City
Schlader, a senior, has won 10 of his last 11 singles matches after recording four straight-set wins last week. He helped Wartburg to a 3-1 dual record, moving his singles record to 14-6 and his doubles record with Tom Koenen to 5-3.

Men’s Golf – Justin Smool, Central College, Bagley, Iowa/Panorama
Smool, a sophomore, tied Central’s 36-hole tournament record en route to medalist honors at the Central Dutch Classic. He shot a 3-under-par 137 to best the field of 85 golfers by two strokes. Smool also participated in Central’s 291-315 dual loss to Grand Canyon University, firing an 84 to finish in eight place, 13 shots off the pace.

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

Baseball – Buena Vista University sophomore pitcher Christian Dekker (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) led the Beavers to their first conference win of the season on March 29, throwing a complete-game, four-hit shutout with five strikeouts in BVU’s 3-0 victory in game one. He also went six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) while striking out seven, in the Beavers’ 3-2 victory over NCAA Division II Northwest Missouri State on March 24. He now holds a team-leading ERA of 0.95 in 19 innings pitched this season.

Baseball – Simpson College junior pitcher/first baseman Cory Dawson (Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk) hit .438 with 7 hits on 16 at-bats with five RBI, five runs scored and a stolen base in five games. He also pitched one inning in relief, striking out one, in a 9-7 victory over Graceland on March 26.

Softball – Central College senior catcher Kelly Harris (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) hit .800 (8-of-10) with 10 RBI, seven runs scored, a double, three home runs and four stolen bases as the Dutch posted a trio of wins March 29-30. Harris ended Central’s win over Fontbonne with a home run, then proceeded to lead off the game against Webster with a home run and later provided game-winning runs with another HR against the Gorlocks. She moved into fourth on Central’s career RBI list (98) and picked off a baserunner to increase her school record total to 44.

Softball – Cornell College sophomore pitcher Ashton Horn (Davenport, Iowa/West) picked up four wins on the mound in leading the Rams to a perfect 4-0 week. She fired a complete-game shutout against Buena Vista on March 29 and combined for another in a 13-0 win over Ashford on March 30. Horn allowed just three earned runs, struck out 12 and posted a 0.91 ERA in 23 innings pitched.

Men’s Tennis – Luther College senior Brad Nelson (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) went 3-0 in doubles with partner Utsab Rijal, including an 8-3 at No. 3 doubles against NAIA No. 5 Vanguard (Calif.). He also posted a 2-0 record in singles action with wins at No. 1 and No. 4 singles.

Men’s Outdoor Track and Field – Cornell College sophomore James Wohrley (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) finished second in his first collegiate decathlon at the Viking Olympics with 5,363 points. He picked up an event win in the shot put (37-8 ¾) and took third in the long jump (18-7 ¼), discus (110-4), and 400 (54.4).

Men’s Outdoor Track and Field – Loras College junior Brian Westemeier (Waterloo, Iowa/West) won the discus at the Viking Olympus with a throw of 158-5 to provisionally qualify for the NCAA outdoor meet. He also finished third in the shot put (43-4 ¼) and sixth in the hammer throw (149-3).

-30-