Abby Erion wins Iowa Conference's top academic award
Jon Denham, Sports Information Director
December 11, 2007

This May, Abby Erion was helping the Duhawks to a fifth place finish at the NCAA meet just days after graduating Maxima Cum Laude (3.966 GPA) with a degree in Sports Science and a mathemathics minor. Her performace at the IIAC meet in April earned her MVP honors. Monday, it was announced she won the Duane Schroeder IIAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award.

Erion's athletic resume is impressive. She was captain of the team her junior and senior years. She qualified for the national meet eleven times in four different events (including the heptathlon). She won six IIAC titles and performed at the All-IIAC level 22 times.

Academically, Erion, a native of Decorah, Iowa, was a true student-athlete and tremendous in the classroom. She was on the Dean's List in each semester at Loras, President and four-year member of Loras' Delta Epsilon Sigma chapter- a nationally recognized Honors Society, and was also a four-year member of the Health Sciences Club.

"In my fifteen years of coaching, she is one of the finest people I have had the privelage to work with and is a coach's dream," head coach Bob Schultz said of Abby. "Another reflection of her tremendous character is that she was voted to be a captain twice by her teammates...she did an outstanding job of leading our team to successful seasons."

Abby is the first Loras College student-athlete, male or female, to win the award in its seven year history.

The Duane Schroeder IIAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Award was first presented in December 2001 for the 2000-2001 academic year. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete shall have graduated or exhausted their eligibility during the academic year for which the award is given. She must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 (4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership.

The Duane Schroeder IIAC Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards are 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. During much of his 43 years, Schroeder served as the IIAC's secretary and treasurer.