Oct. 6, 2009

Central’s Paulson wins league honors

PELLA—Two-time Iowa Conference women’s golf tournament medalist Sarah Paulson (sophomore, Ottumwa) of Central College is the league’s women’s athlete of the week.

Meanwhile kicker Jake Viggers (junior, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) is the Iowa Conference football special teams player of the week.

Paulson wrapped up a successful defense of her title Friday and Saturday at the final two rounds of the league tournament at Oneota Golf and Country Club in Decorah after playing the first 36 holes at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls Sept. 27-28. She scored a six-shot victory and broke the school and league tournament 72-hole record with a 73-72-73-82—300. The shattered the league mark of 306 that was set by Jen Stork of Buena Vista in 2006 and tied by Paulson last year.

Paulson’s 73-72—145 the first weekend in Cedar Falls established a new league 36-hole tournament record and she set the conference’s 18-hole mark with a 71at Pheasant Ridge in the second round of the 2008 tournament.

It’s the fourth time this season that Paulson has received the league’s golfer of the week honor and the eighth time in her two-year Central career. It’s the second time in two years that Paulson has been cited as the conference female athlete of the week.

Paulson was also named the league MVP for the second straight year. Paulson led the Dutch to a second-place finish in the tournament after sharing second place a year ago. It was Central’s highest finish since 1993. Central’s Jodee Schaben was named the league’s coach of the year.

Viggers recognized—Viggers booted field goals of 42 and 27 yards and was perfect on six extra-point tries. The 42-yard kick was one yard shy of his career long. Viggers is 6-of-7 on field goal attempts for the season and 17-of-20 on extra points.

Viggers has converted a school career-record 27 of 33 field goal attempts in three seasons.