February 2, 2009

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Central College women’s basketball player Megan Carman (Newton, Iowa/Newton) 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, February 1. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the Conference’s eight sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Basketball – Megan Carman, Central College, Newton, Iowa/Newton
Carman, a senior guard, hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer in a 76-75 Dutch win over Buena Vista Jan. 31, giving Central its first season sweep of Buena Vista since the 1993-94 season. In addition to hitting the game-winner, Carman scored Central’s final eight points in the last 1:38 in helping come back from 10-point deficit. She finished the game with a career-high 18 points. (IIAC Female Athlete of the Week)

Wrestling – Clayton Rush, Coe College, Aledo, Ill./Aledo
Rush, a sophomore 125-pounder, improved his record to 19-1 on the year and 55-6 for his career with a pair of wins last week. He posted a 20-4 technical fall over Luther’s Zach Elliot before downing Chris Scheetz of Delaware Valley by a 6-3 margin. Scheetz entered the match rated fourth in NCAA Division III. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)

Men’s Basketball – Chris Handke, Cornell College, Bellevue, Iowa/Bellevue
Handke, a junior center, recorded single-game career highs in points (17) and rebounds (14) in a road win over Simpson Jan. 31. In two Cornell wins during the week, Handke averaged 13 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while shooting 57.1 percent from the field.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Faith Burt, Wartburg College, Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls
Burt, a freshman, captured the title in both the 55m (7.17 in final) and 200m (25.92) dashes in a Jan. 31 dual against Augustana (Ill.). Her 55m time currently ranks third in Division III and is an NCAA-provisional time. Burt also set a new Wartburg and Hoover Fieldhouse standard in the event.

Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Shawn Olorundami, Buena Vista University, Sioux City, Iowa/West
Olorundami, a senior, won the 55-meter hurdles at the Jan. 31 Buena Vista Open in an NCAA-automatic-qualifying and school-record time of 7.51 seconds. He finished second behind teammate Eric Bertelsen in the 200 (22.79) and finished sixth in the long jump (20-1 ½).

Men’s Tennis – Ryan King, Coe College, Wildwood, Mo./Wildwood
King, a freshman, went 4-0 in his first dual meets as a Kohawk. He earned wins at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles against Cornell and Augustana (Ill.).

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Colleen Fowler, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington
Fowler, a senior, won both the 1-meter (292.7) and 3-meter (307.25) diving events in a 160-93 dual loss at Grinnell Jan. 30. She achieved an NCAA qualifying standard for the third time this season, provisionally qualifying her for the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships. Fowler also broke two Grinnell pool records with her scores.

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Taylor Nelson, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa/Decorah
Nelson, a senior, won both the 50 freestyle (22.14) and 100 freestyle (49.02) in a 152-91 dual win at Grinnell. He also swam the anchor leg on the winning 400 free relay (3:13.69). The Norse closed out their dual record with a 8-1 record.

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

• Men’s Basketball – Loras College senior guard Ricky Kolze (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) scored 27 points in two games last week to become the 38th player in Loras men’s basketball history to record 1,000 career points.

• Men’s Basketball – Buena Vista University senior center Brian Fogleman (Manning, Iowa/Manning) turned in eight points and five rebounds against Central Jan. 31, becoming the 25th player in BVU history to reach the 1,000 career point plateau. Fogleman is also just the eighth BVU player to have at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.

• Women’s Basketball – Coe College senior forward Calie Sobaski (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City) scored in double-figures twice during the week, including a career-high 23 points against Loras. She also added 11 rebounds for her first double-double as a Kohawk.

• Women’s Basketball – Cornell College senior forward Tiffany Cowan (Independence, Mo./Truman) moved into a tie for second place on Cornell’s career scoring list with 1,036 points. In two games, she averaged 13 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.

• Wrestling – University of Dubuque sophomore 165-pounder Josh Terrell (Round Lake, Ill.) helped the Spartans to a No. 14 ranking in the NWCA poll last week, their highest of the 2008-09 season. In his only action during the week, Terrell scored a 17-0 technical fall over Buena Vista’s Kody Koster.

• Women’s Swimming & Diving – Luther College freshman Erin Mykleby (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) won the 200 IM (2:14.33), 100 backstroke (1:01.18), and swam the opening leg of the winning 400 free relay (3:39.29) in a 129.5-111.5 dual win at Grinnell, helping the Norse to push their dual record to 8-1.

• Men’s Swimming & Diving – Coe College sophomore Ben Potts (Pleasant Hill, Iowa/Southeast Polk) won the 500 freestyle (5:10.83), 1,000 freestyle (10:27.31) and swam the anchor leg on the 200 free relay (1:40.94) during Coe’s 158-54 dual loss at Grinnell Jan. 30. He also took third in the 100 freestyle (55.76).

• Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Buena Vista University sophomore Morgan Darrow (Storm Lake, Iowa/Storm Lake) set new school records with second place efforts in both the weight throw (42-11 ¾) and shot put (46-2 ½) at the BVU Open Jan. 31. Her shot put distance was also an NCAA provisional mark.

• Men’s Indoor Track & Field – University of Dubuque senior Jeanriles Metezier (Pompano Beach, Fla./Coconut Creek) won the 55-meter dash, placed second in the 200, and ran on the third-place 4x200 relay. His 55 preliminary time of 6.47 seconds is an NCAA provisional-qualifying time.

• Men’s Tennis – Luther College sophomore Harrison Whiteley (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) started off his Spring 2009 season with a 5-0 record, leading the Norse to a 3-0 mark with victories over UW-La Crosse, Central, and Macalester.

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