Jan. 29, 2008

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Lewis University's Scott Barnas and Ashley Butler have been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Men's and Women's Indoor Field Athletes of the Week.

Barnas, a sophomore, posted a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark in the men's shot put at the Iowa State Open over the weekend. He finished the event with a throw of 15.95 meters to place third overall.

Barnas was the top finishing Division II athlete in the shot put, placing behind an unattached athlete, Luke Pinkelman, who won the event with a throw of 16.91 meters and Iowa State's Zac Brouilette who placed second with a mark of 16.35.

In the non-scoring meet, Barnas also placed eighth in the men's weight throw. He collected a mark of 15.21 meters.

Butler, a sophomore, provided consistent excellence at the Iowa State Open over the weekend. She placed tied for second overall in the women's long jump and all six of her attempts were over 5.29 meters.

She earned the second-place finish with a jump of 5.56 meters and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championship.

In addition, Butler qualified for the finals of the 60-meter dash and finished 15th overall with a time of 8.12 seconds.

Barnas and Butler are the first Lewis student athletes to earn Track and Field Player of the Week honors since Andy Tremble received the recognition on Feb. 15 of last season.

Lewis will next travel to the Indiana Relays this weekend.