December 8, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Loras College women’s swimmer Kenzie Murray (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) and Wartburg College wrestler Justin Hanson (Dakota City, Iowa/Humboldt) have been named the IIAC Female and Male Athletes of the Week for the period ending Sunday, December 7. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for the Conference’s five sports in competition during the week.

Women’s Swimming & Diving – Kenzie Murray, Loras College, Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine
Murray, a sophomore, competed in nine events at the Augustana Invitational posting seven victories and two runner-up finishes. She won the 100 breaststroke (1:13.12), 200 breaststroke (2:36.23), and 200 IM (2:21.42), and swam on winning 200 freestyle (1:46.88), 400 freestyle (3:54.56), 200 medley (1:58.40), and 400 medley (4:23.69) relays. She also placed second in the 200 freestyle (2:07.02) and swam on the runner-up 800 freestyle relay (8:39.12). (IIAC Women’s Athlete of the Week)

Wrestling – Justin Hanson, Wartburg College, Dakota City, Iowa/Humboldt
Hanson, a senior 165-pounder, won the 165-pound title at the Simpson Invitational. Seeded second in the draw, he defeated defending national champion Tyler Burkle of Coe by a 4-3 margin to increase his individual record to 11-0. Hanson’s win over Burkle was a big difference in the Knights’ six-point win over the Kohawks (175-169) for the team title. He also registered a win over Loras’ Joel Allen Dec. 3 as part of the Knights’ 123rd straight dual victory against league competition. (IIAC Men’s Athlete of the Week)

Women’s Basketball – Whitney Franker, Simpson College, Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale
Franker, a senior forward, averaged 14 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 4.0 steals in a pair of wins during the week as the Storm opened the IIAC slate with a 2-0 mark. She scored only 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds, but notched seven steals in a win over Buena Vista Dec. 3. Against Cornell Dec. 6, Franker scored 17 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 behind the three-point arc, and pulled down seven rebounds.

Men’s Basketball – Andre Wagner, Buena Vista University, Omaha, Neb./Northwest
Wagner, a senior guard, scored 25 points and hit a season-high five three-pointers while dishing out six assists during a 25-point BVU win at Simpson on Wednesday. He followed that performance with 18 points, four rebounds and four steals in a 16-point home win over Coe Dec. 6 as the Beavers opened the conference slate with a 2-0 mark.

Men’s Swimming & Diving – Michael Pettengill, Vinton, Iowa/Fort Mill, S.C.
Pettengill, a junior, helped lead Luther to the combined team title at the two-day Falcon Invite hosted by UW-River Falls at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center. He won both the 100 breaststroke (57.99) and 200 breaststroke (2:06.69) with NCAA B-Cut performances and swam on the winning 200 medley (1:38.02) and 400 medley (3:35.73) relays. Pettengill also took third in the 200 IM (2:03.79).

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

• Women’s Basketball – Loras College freshman guard Alex Hudson (Urbandale, Iowa/West Des Moines Dowling) posted back-to-back double-doubles as the Duhawks opened Iowa Conference play with a 2-0 mark. She scored 10 points and pulled 10 rebounds against Coe Dec. 3 then followed it up with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Luther.

• Women’s Basketball – Wartburg College sophomore guard Samantha Harrington (Nashua, Iowa/Nashua-Plainfield) recorded her fifth consecutive 20-plus point performance with 21 in a 69-55 win at Dubuque Dec. 3. This is the longest such streak for a Knights’ player since the 2003-04 season and has allowed her to assume the top spot on the current overall conference scoring chart.

• Men’s Swimming & Diving – Loras College freshman Andy Pape (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) competed in nine events at the two-day Augustana (Ill.) Invitational, winning five and scoring runner-up finishes in the other four. He won the 50 freestyle (22.79), 200 freestyle (1:49.40), 500 freestyle (5:08.87) and anchored the Duhawks’ winning 200 freestyle (1:32.00) and 400 freestyle (3:22.72) relays. Pape also took second in the 100 freestyle (49.42) and anchored runner-up 200 medley (1:43.40), 400 medley (3:54.55), and 800 freestyle (7:51.59) relays.

• Women’s Swimming & Diving – Luther College sophomore Rachel Bruns (Albany, Minn./Albany) helped lead Luther to the combined team title at the two-day UW-River Falls Falcon Invite. She won the 50 freestyle (24.51) and 100 freestyle (53.52) and swam on Luther’s winning 200 freestyle (1:39.66) and 400 freestyle (3:36.16) relays. Bruns also swam on the Norse’s runner-up 400 medley relay (4:07.48) and placed fourth in the 200 freestyle (2:00.53).

• Wrestling – Coe College sophomore 125-pounder Clayton Rush (Aledo, Illl./Aledo) went 5-0 during the week, tallying three major decisions, including two at the Simpson Invitational. He captured the 125-pound title at Simpson in convincing fashion with a 12-4 major decision over Upper Iowa’s Tyler Mumbulo, the fourth-ranked wrestler in NCAA Division II.

• Wrestling – Luther College senior 133-pounder Zach Bartlett (Nekoosa, Wis./Nekoosa) posted a 7-2 record for the week. After posting wins by fall and major decision in dual wins over Simpson and Williams Dec. 5, Bartlett placed fourth at the UNI Open, battling his way through the consolation bracket following a 16-12 loss to Missouri’s Nathan McCormick in the first round. He topped defending NCAA Division II champion Cody Garcia of Nebrasaka-Omaha 7-6 in the consolation semifinals before ending his tournament on the short end of a 12-2 decision against Iowa State’s Nate Moore.

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