May 12, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Central College track and field athlete Kari Hutchinson (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) and Buena Vista University track and field athlete Eric Bertelsen (Polk City, Iowa/North Polk) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, May 11. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference’s three sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field – Kari Hutchinson, Central College, Charles City, Iowa/Charles City
Hutchinson, a senior, was named Women’s Most Valuable Performer at the 2008 Iowa Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend. She played a part in six point-scoring performances for the runner-up Dutch. In addition to her NCAA provisional qualifying point total of 4,310 in the heptathlon, she ran the anchor leg of Central’s 4x400-meter relay, which won with an NCAA-provisional-qualifying time of 3:55.57. Hutchinson also placed third in both the 200 (25.42) and 400 (57.47), fourth in the high jump (1.5 meters; 4-11) and sixth in the long jump (5.14 meters; 16-10 ½), posting an NCAA provisional time in the 400. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field – Eric Bertelsen, Buena Vista University, Polk City, Iowa/North Polk
Bertelsen, a senior, was named Men’s Most Valuable Performer at the 2008 Iowa Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He was a part of three winning and two runner-up performances at the Championships for the Beavers. Bertelsen won the long jump (7.21m; 23-8) and the 200 (21.67) and ran the second leg on BVU’s winning 4x100 relay (41.55), all of which posted NCAA provisional-qualifying marks. Bertelsen also took second in the 100 (11.01) and ran the second leg on the Beavers’ runner-up 4x400 relay team (3:20.27). (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Baseball – Aaron Saeugling, Wartburg College, Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert
Saeugling, a senior pitcher/utility player, led Wartburg to the Iowa Conference Baseball Tournament title and the school’s ninth appearance in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship field. During the tournament, he led the Knights in batting average (.471), slugging percentage (.588), and hits (8), and also tied for the team lead in RBIs (6) and doubles (2). He also pitched seven innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out three in Wartburg’s 7-1 tournament win over Central.

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

Baseball – Loras College senior first baseman Don Pirkle (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) led the Duhawks offense at the IIAC tournament, putting together 13 hits through the first two days (4 games) of the tournament. He scored five times in the seven Loras games and knocked in eight runs. He raised his season average a total of .031 points over the three days. For the weekend, the fifth seeded Duhawks defeated each of the four teams above them, eliminating two of them.

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