Norsemen Basketball Wrap up 2009-2010 Season

The men's basketball team wrapped up their season February 20th at Loras College. The Norse defeated the 2nd place Duhawks 76-68. The win allowed the team to finish with a 12-12 record. This marked the 7th time since 1984 that the Norse have finished with a .500 or better record. The team loses one senior in Shane Daniels. The program will look to build on the steady progress that has taken place over the last couple of years. In 2010-11, the team will take a trip to Hawaii to play two Division 3 games during the week of Thanksgiving.

NAA Spotlight: Nnamdi Okolue

Nnamdi Okolue, a starting 6'5" center for the Norse Basketball team has proven to be an excellent leader to the program in his three years on the team. A two year letter winner who started in 22 games his sophomore year, and led the team in field goal percentages is having another great year on the court. Here is a little more from Nnamdi:

Hometown: Burnsville, Minnesota
Year: Junior
Major: Accounting, Management minor
Highlight of being on the Norse basketball team: "Just being a part of this rebuiling process and creating a new identity for the Luther Men's Basketball program, and being able to go through it with such a

great group of guys. WE are a brotherhood here and it goes further than just basketball with us. I've become close with all the guys on the team and I know we'll be lifelong friends."
Goals for the season: " Finish top 3 in the conference in regular season, win the conference tournament"
What on or two things do you currently do in your training that are key to your success: "Lifting and shooting outside of practice and always asking the coaches what more I can do to help the team."
What is the best advice you have ever recieved: "Win or lose there is always something you can find to improve on."

NAA Spotlight:Steph Drewes

This week we are spotlighting Steph Drewes, a sophomore from West Union, IA and a member of Luther's Swim team. In her two years on the team Steph has made a huge impact. Her strength in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke helps not only individual events but the 200 and 400 Medley Relays as well. In her freshman year Stephanie set new school records in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, and helped the 200 and 400 Medley Relay's earn new records as well. So far this season she has shown great improvements, already breaking last years times and records Steph is on her way to a successful Liberal Arts Conference (LAC) meet. She is currently ranked 23rd in the 100 breaststroke and 31st in the 200 breaststroke.

Here is a little bit more from Steph
Hometwon: West Union, IA
Year: Sophomore
Major: Health and Exercise Science
Highlight of being on the swim team: " One highlight of being on the swim team was our service project in Cedar Rapids and becoming much closer as a team. Another was making a Nationals B-Cut at the University of Minnesota Falcon Invite earlier this year"
Goals for the Season: Make it to Nationals at the University of Minnesota
What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are key to your success: " Work hard everyday in practice and don't take any shortcuts"
What is the best advice you have ever recieved: "Do what you know you can do, swim your own race and don't worry about anyone else."

Women's Basketball- In the PinkZone

The Luther College women's basketball team held its annual WBCA Pink Zone basketball game this afternoon here in the Regents Center. The Norse, wearing pink uniforms for the first time since joining in this cause to help bring awareness for the cure of breast cancer, snapped a five game losing streak, as it defeated the Dutch of Central College 71-61.

The Norse led at the intermission 40-30 after shooting 48% that included a 3-for-6 effort from behind the three-point line.

Despite both teams playing even in the second frame (31-31), the Norse took advantage of 23 Dutch turnovers over the course of 40 minutes of action that led to 33 points. Luther also dominated the inside game outscoring the Dutch 32-22 in the paint.

Sam Jewell posted her sixth double-double of the year scoring a game high 18 points and collecting a team best 10 rebounds. Jewell also chipped in four assists and had four steals. Camille Stenhaug also produced18 points and Bethany Van Sloten contributed 11. Jewell and Van Sloten led the squad with four assists and four steals each.

Haley Brillhart paced the Dutch with her own double-double scoring 13 points and grabbing a game high 15 rebounds. Alyssa Schwartz also reached double digits with 11, while A J Baker chipped in nine.

The Norse improved to 3-9 in the Iowa Conference, 8-13 overall.

Luther will return to action today when they will travel to the University of Dubuque for a game that will begin at 6 p.m.

Women's Track & Field Indoor Season Opener

The Luther College women's track and field team held its annual alumni meet that kicked-off the 2010 indoor season. The Norse won the four team meet posting a team total of 188 points. Iowa Central was second with 93, followed by D4 National Champion with 55, while the Luther Alumni tallied 32.

Dani Meirick, a 2009 outdoor national qualifier in the 800 meter run, highlighted the afternoon's events, by setting a new school, alumni meet and forum record in the 1,000 meter run. Meirick won the event by seven seconds, posting a time of 3:00.43. She broke the old school record of 3:02.82 set by Katie Dolan at this same meet one year ago today. The old forum record of 3:01.72 was held by Erin VanZee of Wartburg College set in 2002.

Men's Track & Field Indoor Season Opener

The Luther College men's track and field team began the 2010 indoor season hosting its annual Alumni Meet. The Norse won the four-team meet posting a point total of 183. Iowa Central was second with 149, followed by the Luther Alumni with 108 and D4 National Champion squad with 63.

Andrew Grove's performance in the 55 meter dash highlighted the afternoon's performances. Grove, who joined the Norse after transferring from Iowa State University, broke the school record in the 55 meter dash that had stood on the books since 1987. Grove posted a time of 6.69, breaking the old mark of 6.73 held by Kent Fierstine.

David McKay '09 led a group of alumni that swept the top four places in the 3,000 meter run. McKay posted a winning time of 8:37.83, setting a new meet record in the process. The old mark of 8:46.59 was held by Matt Rolling set in 2007.

Wrestling Victory over Simpson

The nationally ranked Luther College wrestling team wrapped up its dual meet schedule with a 37-6 victory over Simpson College here in the Regents Center. The Norse, ranked #13 in the country, picked up bonus points thanks to three falls, a forfeit and a major decision.

All-American Jason Pyle (149) improved to 21-4 posting his seventh fall of the season at 2:02 over Kasey Green. Jack Steinberg (197) recorded his second fall of the year at 1:35 over Ryan Haworth. Allyn Plattner (285) improved to 12-2 posting a fall at 1:14, his eighth of the year.

Adam Rave (165) recorded a 13-3 major decision over Cory Stratton, while Jayson Swanson (125) started the action off picking up a forfeit.

Kevin Bokoski(141) reached the 20-win mark thanks to a 4-1 decision over Caleb Brus. Bokoski is now 20-10. The win gives Luther a final dual meet record of 11-7 overall, 5-3 in the Iowa Conference. Simpson falls to 2-13 overall, 0-6 in league action.

The Norse will return to action on Feb. 16, when they will travel to Buena Vista University for the Iowa Conference Championships. The opening round will begin at 10:00 a.m.

Men's Basketball

The Luther College men's basketball team defeated Simpson College 70-67 February 3, 2010.

Luther led by as many as 11 points in the second half after trailing the Storm 29-28 at halftime. Simpson pulled to within two points (67-65) with 15 seconds left to play, but three free throws by Cody Kirkpatrick in the final nine seconds sealed the three-point victory. Free throws proved to be a major contributor to this win as the Norse connected on 20-of-29 in the second half, 24-of-34 for the game.

Dane Larson led a trio of double digits scorers with 20 points. Ryan Kuhn tallied 11 and Tyler Wedemeirer chipped in 10 all in the second half. Wedemeier also led the team with nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Three days later the men were at home in a game against Central College.

League leading Central College used an eight minute dry spell by Luther in the second half to open this Iowa Conference game to double digits en route to a 59-43 decision.

After trailing 28-21 at halftime, Luther pulled to within two of Central twice early in the second frame. The Dutch extended their lead to seven (41-34) with a little over 12 minutes left in the game. A jumper by Tim Merritt pulled the Norse to within five (36-41), but for the next eight minutes, Luther was outscored 14-1.

Merritt led the team with 12 points and was followed by Nnamdi Okolue with 11 and Dane Larson with nine, all in the second half.

The loss drops Luther's Iowa Conference record to 4-8, 10-10 overall. Central remains atop the league standings with a mark of 11-2, 18-4.

Luther will wrap up its non-conference schedule at Bethany Lutheran on Monday, Feb. 8. This game will begin at 7:00 p.m.

NAA Spotlight: Allyn Plattner

Allyn Plattner is a senior and the heavyweight on the Norse wrestling squad. Allyn returned to Luther in January to use his last semester of eligibility and the coaching staff and team are glad to have him back in the room. Last season Allyn finished up as a National Meet qualifier, but missed All-American honors by one match, He also finished second at the Iowa Conference Championships which got him to the National tournament .With his current season record of 11-2, has made him an asset to have back on the team. Here is a little bit more from Allyn:

Hometown: Sabetha, Kansas
Year: Senior
Major: Education/Business
Highlight of being on the wrestling team: "Being a part of such a great team, with the best coaches in the nation."
Goals for the season: "Be the 2010 National Champion HWT"
What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are key to your success: "Eat right, and surprisingly to many wrestling watchers, I try to keep my weight between 235 and 240, instead of trying to get as big as possible, it keeps me quick"
What is the best advice you have ever received: " Allyn, Be Nice"- My Grandma

Women's Basketball Continues to Put in the Work

Everyone is excited about our upcoming PinkZone/Alumni Game this Saturday, February 6th! Over 35 players will return to the court to don the blue and white uniforms for the alumni contest! Following the alumni game, the current players wearing new pink uniforms will take on Central College for the varsity event. PinkZone is the Women's Basketball Coaches Association event for raising breast cancer awareness. There will be flowers, donations, pink ribbons, tshirts for sale and much more. Donations will be split between the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and local cancer organizations.

Our wins on the women's side have been slim as of late. The women continue to work on little things. There is a lot of effort, never giving up in our games regardless the score. The inconsistency in our offense is an area we have turned our focus. Sam Jewell has been the mainstay inside and a reliable scoring threat for the team. Others have had good games, Camille Stenhaug, Gina Klennert, Bethany Van Sloten as well as a number of players. However, more offensive punch is needed consistently during a game and from game to game. We are working on the chemistry and making some changes that we believe allow a better offensive flow. The team is looking to redeem itself in the second half league play.

Our junior varsity squad is looking forward to several upcoming games. The weather in January raised havoc with the JV game schedule. We are hoping February will be a bit kinder. The gals on the JV squad have also done a fine job of scouting our opponents and helping prepare the varsity for their contests.

Into the Heart of Wrestling Season

This is the heart of the Wrestling Season! I love it. We had some gut-checking practices when we returned home from Waverly after our dual there and then again the Monday after the IIAC Duals. They were two of the toughest wrestling practices I have been a part of and I was very, very pleased with the way our guys responded to them. They were old school practices and our coaches earned their salary those days! We are trying to shape our young wrestlers into mentally tough guys by physcially and mentally challenging them and help our upperclassmen turn a corner in terms of aggressiveness and engaging in big match settings. Our team unity has never been better and our enthusiasm is high, which I like alot. Sometimes after tough training sessions, some guys question if they want to commit that much. That has not happened with our guys. They engaged at a high level and came away with a greater sense of pride and unity and a stronger desire...exactly what we had hoped would happen!

Now we have to carry that over into competition. I saw signs of it when we wrestled Coe last Friday. We have a long ways to go, but the train is on the right tracks and we are gaining steam! Not just for this year, but long term, there are some very positive things happening in Luther Wrestling right now. We are going to sell out the next few weeks and see what happens this year...I am looking forward to it!

We have found the time to have some fun outside of the wrestling room. We went extreme sledding one afternoon this month sledding down the hill next to the football stadium bleachers...don't tell security! Guys had a great time and followed the sledding with a snow football game. For one of our morning workouts last week, we played water polo. Well, it might be a bit more physical than regular water polo, but it was a great time. Coach O'Gara is hosting a superbowl party for us this Sunday. We have a guy on our team from Louisiana, so I am sure there will plenty of ribbing going on if the Colts get ahead of the Saints!

Recruiting is going well and we are very excited about the potential class we can bring in. Coach Billy has been a great addition to our staff, as well as Coach Grawin and Coach Yohe. All three bring something to our team that Jeff and I do not, which is perfect. Thanks to all of our alums who sent alumni refferals to our admissions office! Kids referred by alums get a $1,000 alumni referral scholarship, which is outstanding! Thanks!

Time to hit our Peaking Phase! GO NORSE!!!!!