MOUNT PLEASANT – Iowa Wesleyan College’s Nigel Talton (Fr.-Fort Valley, Ga.) and Jared Zueck (Sr.-Williamsville, Ill.) both received Midwest Collegiate Conference Athlete of the Week awards Monday, as announced by the conference.
Talton was named the MCC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week, while Zueck was named the conference Baseball Player of the Week. Both received the respective awards for the second time in their careers at IWC, and it is the second time Talton has received the men’s track award this year.
Talton received his award after setting another new school record in the 100-meter dash this past weekend at the University of Dubuque Outdoor Open. The freshman sprinter clocked in at 10.65 seconds, breaking his previous school mark by .08 and automatically qualifying him for the NAIA Outdoor National Championships later this month.
Talton finished second in the 100 at Dubuque and also was second in the 200 meters (22.49) at the meet. He also added a win in the 400 meters, finishing in 50.15 and defeating the rest of the field by more than a second.
Zueck received the MCC’s weekly award for baseball position players for the first time this year after sparking the IWC offense to a 6-0 record last week. The senior right fielder hit .529 with nine hits in 17 official at bats, including five runs scored, three doubles, a home run and 10 RBIs.
Zueck hit a grand slam homer in the bottom of the sixth inning in a come-from-behind win over Ashford University as the Tigers swept a tripleheader from the Saints on Wednesday. He also had seven walks and for the week posted a .680 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot, as Wesleyan finished in a tie for the MCC regular season title and clinched the top seed in the upcoming MCC Tournament.
For the season Zueck is hitting .409 with 56 hits, eight home runs and 31 RBIs. He also has been hit by pitch 12 times and possesses a .509 on-base percentage.
The IWC track & field teams will compete at the MCC Outdoor Championships on Thursday and Friday at Williams Stadium in Des Moines, while the Tiger baseball team begins play in the MCC Tournament Sunday at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo. Iowa Wesleyan's baseball games at the conference tournament will be available to listen to online at www.iwc.edu/onlinemedia beginning with the Tigers' opener May 9 at 3:30 p.m. against an opponent to be announced.
For more information regarding the IWC baseball or softball programs or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
