January 26, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Luther College swimmer Addison Choi (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) 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, January 25. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the Conference’s seven sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Addison Choi, Luther College, Aurora, Colo./Grandview
Choi, a sophomore, set a new Luther pool record in the 500 freestyle (5:08.18) by nearly eight full seconds in the Norse’s 142-80 dual win over UW-Oshkosh Jan. 24. Her time was also a B-Cut qualifying mark for the NCAA Division III Championships. The previous record was 5:16.17 set Jan. 3, 2009, by Loras’ Lauren Lehenbauer. Choi also swam on the winning 200 free relay (1:43.31) and the third-place 200 medley relay (2:00.20). (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Eric Bertelsen, Buena Vista University, Polk City, Iowa/North Polk
Bertelsen, a senior, won the long jump, 60-meter dash, and 200-meter dash at the USD Graphic Edge Open Jan. 24, all in school record fashion. He posted an NCAA automatic-qualifying effort with his winning jump of 24-0 ¾ in the long jump and an NCAA provisional-qualifying effort with his 6.94 clocking in the 60-meter preliminaries. Bertelsen won the 200 in a time of 22.18 seconds. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Women’s Basketball – Margo Muhlbauer, Buena Vista University, Manilla, Iowa/IKM
Muhlbauer, a junior guard, turned in a combined 70 points in three BVU wins last week, including a season-high 28 in a 93-90 win over No. 7/9 Simpson Jan. 24. She also connected on 55.3 percent of her field goal attempts. Muhlbauer has now scored 25 points or more in four of her last six games.

Men’s Basketball – Griffin LaDew, Cornell College, Pewaukee, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial
LaDew, a senior guard, became the school’s all-time leading scorer with a 21-point effort at archrival Coe Jan. 19. He has totaled 1,414 career points, breaking the school’s 22-year old mark of 1,373 points held by Jeff Fleming (1983-87). In three games last week, LaDew averaged 18.0 points, shooting 54.5 percent (18-33) from the field, 50.0 percent (8-16) from 3-point range, and 90.9 percent (10-11) from the free-throw line.

Wrestling – John Helgerson, Wartburg College, West Union, Iowa/North Fayette
Helgerson, a sophomore heavyweight, went 3-0 at the Dubuque section of the IIAC Duals Jan. 24, helping the program extend their dual winning streak against IIAC foes to 130. He avenged an earlier loss to No. 5-ranked Mitch Sander of Coe with a 4-2 decision.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Madison Craw, Cornell College, Mason City, Iowa/Mason City
Craw, a sophomore, posted an NCAA provisional mark in the shot put with her winning effort of 43-9 at the Cornell Invitational. She currently ranks third this season in Division III. Craw also took sixth in the weight throw (42-8).

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Zach Gries, Loras College, Byron, Ill./Byron
Gries, a junior, won the 200 freestyle (1:54.84), 500 freestyle (5:21.58), and swam on the winning 200 medley relay (1:45.79) in Loras’ 107-60 dual win over Beloit Jan. 23. He also swam on a non-scoring 200 freestyle relay team that posted the best time in the dual (1:34.27).

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

• Men’s Basketball – Buena Vista University senior forward Matt Cleveland (McCook Lake, S.D./Sioux City [Iowa] Bishop Heelan) buried a career-high six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 21 points in a win over Simpson Jan. 24. For the week, he averaged 15.3 points and shot 63.0 percent from the field.

• Men’s Basketball – Central College junior guard Miguel Ley (San Antonio, Texas/Judson) scored a career-high 26 points in a win over Simpson Jan. 21. He added 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in a win at Coe Jan. 24, finishing one assist shy of his single-game career high.

• Men’s Basketball – University of Dubuque sophomore guard Taylor Blum (Dubuque, Iowa/Senior) scored 30 points in a loss to Coe Jan. 21. In three games during the week, he averaged 21.3 points, 2.3 assists, shot 47.7 percent (21-44) from the field, 38.9 percent (7-18) from behind the 3-point arc, and 93.8 percent (15-16) from the charity stripe.

• Women’s Basketball – Coe College sophomore center Brittany Norris (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) averaged 20.3 points and 7.0 rebounds with 4 blocked shots as the Kohawks went 3-0 last week. She scored a career-high 27 points in a win at Dubuque Jan. 21.

• Women’s Basketball – Cornell College senior forward Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) became the fourth member of Cornell’s 1,000-point club with 14 points in a loss at Dubuque Jan. 24, raising her career total to 1,010 points. She also set the school’s career mark for made 3-point goals Jan. 19 at Coe, now at 123.

• Women’s Basketball – University of Dubuque junior forward Jennifer Nichols (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock) averaged 22.7 points and 3.7 rebounds as the Spartans went 1-2 last week. She scored 28 points against Luther and added 20 points each against Coe and Cornell. During the week, Nichols hit 48.6 percent (18-37) of her shots from the field and 41.2 percent (7-17) from 3-point range, and was a perfect 25-for-25 at the charity stripe. She enters the week with a streak of 32 consecutive made free throws.

• Wrestling – Coe College sophomore 125-pounder Clayton Rush (Aledo, Ill./Aledo) led the Kohawks to a 2-1 record at Dubuque section of the IIAC Duals Jan. 24. He posted a 6-1 decision over No. 6-ranked Mark Kist of Wartburg then pinned Dubuque’s Ryan Lessner (2:54) and Simpson’s Casey Miller (1:24) to cap the event.

• Wrestling – Loras College sophomore heavyweight Jeremy Klein (Cooper City, Fla./Cooper City) went 4-0 at the Buena Vista section of the IIAC Duals, clinching the Duhawks’ 24-21 win over Luther with a 1-minute, 17-second fall over Aaren Adani in the final match of the dual.

• Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Buena Vista University senior Natalie Olorundami (Sioux City, Iowa/West) won the 60-meter hurdles at the USD Graphic Edge Open with a 9.15-second clocking. Her preliminary time of 9.05 seconds broke the old school record of 9.23 seconds and is a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Championships.

• Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Simpson College senior Kayla Knaack (Correctionville, Iowa/River Valley) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with a winning effort of 50-6 ¾ in the weight throw at the Central Missouri Invitational. The toss is the fourth longest in school history. She also placed sixth in the shot put (39-0 ½).

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