Barwick Named Finalist for Johanna Olson Iowa Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Dec 19, 2013 | J.Crane
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today the three male and three female finalists for its 2012-2013 IIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards. This year's winners will be released on Wednesday, January 15th.
The finalists for the newly-christened Johanna Olson IIAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award are former University of Dubuque soccer, basketball and track & field athlete Ashley Barwick (Appleton, Wis./Xavier), former Luther College softball player Shari Huber and former Simpson College basketball player Kate Nielsen.
The field for the Olson Award was pared to three finalists by a subcommittee of three faculty athletic representatives and three sports information directors. Also nominated for the Olson Award were former Central College cross country and track & field athlete Melony McDermott, former Coe College volleyball player Emily Ryan and former Loras College basketball player Brittany Cato.
Receiving finalist nods for this year's Duane Schroeder IIAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award are former Buena Vista University wrestler Brian Broll, former University of Dubuque football player Wyatt Hanus (Traer, Iowa/North Tama) and former Luther College basketball player Tyler Wedemeier.
Barwick was a two-time first-team all-conference selection at defender for the Dubuque women's soccer team. She started 67 of the 68 games she played in, recording 12 points on five goals and two assists. A team captain, she helped lead the Spartans to the IIAC Tournament championship game in 2012 and was a member of the 2009 Iowa Conference Tournament Championship team On the hardwood, Barwick played in 73 games, compiling 192 points, 140 rebounds and 25 steals. She helped the Spartans to program-best 20-8 mark, 10-1 record at home and a spot in the IIAC Tournament Championship Game as a senior. Also competing in track & field as a senior, Barwick helped set a new school record in the 4x800-meter relay at the IIAC Championships with a time of 10:11.50, besting the previous mark by 10.5 seconds.
An accounting and business administration double major with a psychology minor, Barwick was named a CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America® in both soccer (first team) and track & field (second team) as a senior and was a seven-time member of the Iowa Conference All-Academic Team. She was a University of Dubuque Presidential Scholar, a member of the Alpha Chi honor society, member of the Deans List (8 times), and a recipient of the Iowa Society of Certified Public Accountants (ISCPA) Accounting Excellence Award and the UD Senior Academic Award, given to a senior student-athlete who has the highest overall GPA.
More information on the other finalists is available at: Olsen Scholar-Athlete Finalists
| Johanna Olson Scholar-Athlete Winners | |
| 2012-13 | To be announced January 15th |
| 2011-12 | Kelsey Millonig, Luther |
| 2010-11 | Jill Halcomb, Central |
| 2009-10 | Hannah Baker, Wartburg |
| 2008-09 | Kelsey Steffens, Wartburg |
| 2007-08 | Kristy Upah, Coe |
| 2006-07 | Abby Erion, Loras |
| 2005-06 | Katie Pederson, Central |
| 2004-05 | Amy Ernst, Coe |
| 2003-04 | Raegan Wagner, Central |
| 2002-03 | Jessica Jensen, Buena Vista |
| 2001-02 | Brianne Schoonover, Wartburg |
| 2000-01 | Johanna Olsen, Luther |
About the IIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards
The IIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards were first presented in December 2001 for the 2000-01 academic year. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete shall have graduated or exhausted their athletic eligibility during the academic year for which the award is given. The nominee must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership. Both awards were named for former Wartburg and Iowa Conference sports information director Duane Schroeder in May 2002. The women's award was renamed in December 2013 for former Luther College student-athlete Johanna Olson – the inaugural winner of the women's award – who lost a courageous battle with cancer earlier in the year.
About Duane Schroeder
The IIAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is named in honor of the late Duane Schroeder, former sports information director at Wartburg College. Schroeder served as Wartburg's SID for 43 years until his retirement in 2000. Upon his retirement from his sports information duties, he was named SID Emeritus and served as Wartburg's News Director until 2001. During much of his four decades at Wartburg, Schroeder served as the IIAC's information director and secretary/treasurer.
About Johanna Olson
The IIAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is named in honor of the late Johanna Olson, a former cross country and track & field student-athlete at Luther College who was the inaugural recipient of the award. Olson battled brain cancer for over 15 years before her fight ended on January 3, 2013 at age 33. She was originally diagnosed with a brain tumor as a college freshman in 1997 but went on to win the 2000 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship three years to the day after her initial brain surgery. In addition to the national title in cross country, she won three Iowa Conference Individual Championships and three IIAC Most Valuable Runner awards (1999, 2000, 2001). In track and field, she was the 2001 IIAC Most Valuable Performer, earning All-America honors in the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs. Olson was also a member of the 2001 distance medley relay team that captured the indoor national title. She was named the United States Track Coaches Association (USTCA) regional and national Athlete of the Year in both cross country and track and field in 2000-01. In 1999, Olson was presented the Honda Awards Inspirational Athlete of the Year after returning from radiation treatments to compete at the national level.
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