CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The four Most Valuable Performers at last weekend’s Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships — Central College junior Abigail Davis (West Des Moines, Iowa / Dowling Catholic), Luther College senior Leah Broderick (Decorah, Iowa / Decorah), University of Dubuque freshman Ernest Winters (Middleton, Wis. / Middleton) and Wartburg College senior Colt Feltes (Delhi, Iowa / Maquoketa Valley) — have been named IIAC Athletes of the Week for the week ending Sunday, March 1, 2015. The Conference selected Performers of the Week in seven sports.
Women’s Indoor Track & Field (track) — Abigail Davis, Central College, West Des Moines, Iowa / Dowling Catholic
Davis, a junior, was named the Most Valuable Female Track Performer at the 2015 Iowa Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships after winning the 60- and 200-meter dashes and leading off Central’s winning 4x200 and runner-up 4x400 relays. In the 60 final, she matched her qualifying time with a 7.77 clocking. In the 200, Davis was a clear winner, taking the title by nearly half a second (25.73) over teammate Meredith Zimmerman (26.20). (Co-IIAC Athlete of the Week)
Women’s Indoor Track & Field (field) — Leah Broderick, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa / Decorah
Broderick, a senior, was named the Most Valuable Female Field Performer at the 2015 Iowa Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships after winning the pentathlon (3,505 points) and high jump (1.65m; 5-5), finishing third in the long jump (5.17m; 16-11 1/2) and taking 15th in the shot put (10.96m; 35-11 1/2). She finished in the top-four in all five events of the pentathlon, winning three, to post an IIAC all-time best point total. In the high jump, she won by two inches but fell just one centimeter from matching the championship mark of 1.66 meters (5-5 1/4). In the pentathlon, she cleared 1.69 meters (5-6 1/2) to set a multi-event championship mark in the event. (Co-IIAC Athlete of the Week)
Men’s Indoor Track & Field (track) — Ernest Winters, University of Dubuque, Middleton, Wis. / Middleton
Winters, a freshman, was named the Most Valuable Male Track Performer at the 2015 Iowa Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships after sweeping the 60 and 200 dashes and leading off the Spartans' winning 4x200 relay. Winters' mark of 6.89 seconds in the 60 set an all-time IIAC mark and broke the championshhip mark of 6.92 set by Dubuque's Davivorn Dowe in 2012. He posted a 22.00 to win the 200, besting the rest of the field by 0.54 seconds. The 4x200 relay team of Winters and fellow freshmen Joseph Miggins, Hurshel Ross and Deshond Robinson set a new venue record with a 1:29.19 clocking. (Co-IIAC Athlete of the Week)
Special mention — Eli Horton, sr., Central; Seth Woodson, sr., Buena Vista
Men’s Indoor Track & Field (field) — Colt Feltes, Wartburg College, Delhi, Iowa / Maquoketa Valley
Feltes, a senior, was named the Most Valuable Male Field Performer at the Iowa Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships for the third consecutive year after winning the shot put and weight throw. Friday's win in the shot put came in championship-record fashion with a toss of 18.10 meters (59-4 3/4) on his final throw of the competition. He added the weight throw title Saturday with a mark of 17.96 meters (58-11 1/4), more than four feet better than runner-up Andy Bellamy, also of Wartburg (16.65m; 54-7 1/2). (Co-IIAC Athlete of the Week)
Special mention — Eric Larson, jr., Central
Men’s Basketball — Andre Norris, University of Dubuque, Plainfield, Ill. / Plainfield Central
Norris, a junior forward, led the third-seeded Spartans to their second Iowa Conference men’s basketball tournament title in three years. He averaged 24.67 points and eight rebounds during the tournament. He opened with 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting with four 3-pointers in a 92-74 first-round win over Luther. He also had 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and five steals against Norse. In Dubuque’s 71-59 semifinal win over Coe, Norris scored 21 with six rebounds, three blocks, and assist and a steal. He finished the week with 42 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals in an 81-73 win over Wartburg in the final. Norris, the IIAC’s leading scorer, averaged 21.2 points in conference play, 4.5 points more than second place. He also ranked second in the league in steals and sixth in rebounds.
Women’s Basketball — Meagan Koepnick, Luther College, La Crosse, Wis. / West Salem
Koepnick, a senior guard, averaged 20.5 points and 4.0 rebounds while leading to the Iowa Conference women’s basketball tournament title and a spot in the 2015 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship. She scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting with two rebounds, two assists, one block and one assist in Luther’s 89-82 semifinal win over Coe. In the final, Koepnick scored 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, pulled down six rebounds, made two steals and had one assist and one block in a 61-53 Norse win over Wartburg in the final. For the week, she shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from the field and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) at the free throw line.
Special mention — Jenna Kotas, sr., F, Dubuque
Men’s Tennis — Noah Sprinkel, Coe College, Minneapolis, Minn. / South
Sprinkel, a senior, won both of his matches at the No. 1 position as Coe posted a 9-0 win over Kalamazoo. He defeated Branden Metzler, 6-4, 6-3, in singles, then teamed with Riley Galbraith for an 8-3 win over David DeSimone and Robert Hudson at No. 1 doubles. Sprinkel and Galbraith have won six straight doubles matches and the Kohawks have won their last seven duals by a 9-0 score.
Wrestling — Steven DeWitt, Loras College, Sterling, Ill. / Sterling
DeWitt, a senior, was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Division III Central Region Championships after winning the 157-pound weight class. He opened the tournament with a 12-4 major decison over Cornell’s Aaron Engle, then locked up his spot at nationals with a 3-2 win over Luther’s Reed Van Anrooy in the semifinals. In the final, he topped sixth-ranked Drew Wagenhoffer of Wartburg, 5-2, to improve to 31-2 overall and run his winning streak to 22 matches.
Special mention — Andrew Steiert, so., 165#, Wartburg
Softball (pitcher) — Riley Fisher, Simpson College, Des Moines, Iowa / East
Fisher, a junior, appeared in three games for the Storm last week, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.65 ERA, two complete games and 11 strikeouts in 17 innings. She allowed seven runs (four earned) on four hits, while walking four at the Finlandia Dome Tournament. Fisher led a Simpson staff that posted a 1.14 ERA and held opponents to a .155 batting average. She opened her season allowing just one earned run on one hit while striking out seven and walking one in 9-1, 5-inning complete-game win over Edgewood. Fisher also got the start against Concordia (Wis.) allowing two runs off four hits and and a walk while striking out one over five innings in a 12-2 win. She gave up just one hit in the final six innings of a 3-1 win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh after giving up a home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Fisher also went 1-for-5 with an RBI at the plate.
Special mention — Arran Weeces, jr., P, Coe
Softball (position player) — Kelsey Rose, Luther College, Bettendorf, Iowa / Bettendorf
Rose, a senior outfielder, hit .800 with a 2.000 slugging percentage as the Norse opened the year with four run-rule victories. She finished the week 8-for-10 with three doubles, three home runs, 14 RBIs and nine runs scored. In the season opener - an 11-3, 5-inning win over Augsburg on Feb. 28 -- she was 3-for-3 with three home runs, eight RBIs and three runs scored. Rose followed that up with a 2-for-2 effort with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored in 16-0, 5-inning win over Millikin. The next day, she was 1-for-1 with a double, an RBI, two walks drawn and two runs scored in a 12-3, 5-inning win over St. Scholastica. Rose capped her week by going 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored in a 12-4, 6-inning win over Carleton. She also picked up her first stolen bases against the Knights.
Special mention — Tori Haag, jr., C, Simpson