Just reward for one of Maine West's greatest athletes
One the best females athletes this area has seen made her way into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on April 24.
Mary Just, a former Maine West standout forward for coach Derril Kipp, not only starred on the basketball floor but was also a terrific volleyball player in high school.
She helped lead both teams to the 1982-83 state finals, including a third-place finish in volleyball. In basketball, Just was an all-state pick as a junior and senior.
She averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds as a senior in 1983 when the Warriors advanced to the Elite Eight.
Just also played on two Big Ten championship volleyball teams at Northwestern. She wanted to play basketball as well, so she transferred to Loyola, where she was all-conference in basketball, volleyball and softball.
Just was an assistant coach for Zion-Benton's girls basketball team last season and is the junior varsity softball and freshman girls volleyball coach for Loyola Academy.
Women's softballAugustana senior Karlee Quaritsch (Palatine), who led the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in batting average, hits, home runs, total bases and slugging percentage, is the league's 2010 Player of the Year. The school's career home run record-holder (30) hit .489 in CCIW play with 5 home runs. She drove in 10 runs, missing the conference's triple crown by 3 RBI.Quaritsch, who caught and played third base, was a team-best .411 hitter overall with 10 homers and 31 RBI. She led the Vikings in slugging (.718) and one-base percentage (.468) and was a first-team all-CCIW selection for the third consecutive season.bull; Dayton senior Molly Meyer (Elk Grove) ended her senior year by going 6-for-8 at George Washington with 5 steals in a doubleheader.For the second season, Meyer was an academic all-conference pick. She also broke five long-standing Dayton records.She set the single-season record for runs scored (44) as a junior and has the career record (132). Her 197 career hits broke a 10-year-old mark.Meyer also shattered the career (64) and single-season (34) records for stolen bases. Meyer was named Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row and was the Offensive Player of the Year.She was also named to the LOWE'S Senior Class Top 30 list, honoring the top softball athletes in the country.Meyer carries a 3.53 GPA in marketing and Spanish and plans to spend the summer teaching and playing softball in Sweden.bull; Junior pitcher Claire Voris (Barrington) earned 2010 University Athletic Association Player of the Year accolades for the second-straight year.Voris is the fourth player in school history to earn POY honors and the second to do so in multiple seasons. Voris, a three-time first-team all-UAA honoree, is 18-6 with a 1.99 earned run and a league-leading 202 strikeouts. She is hitting .385 with 4 homers and 25 RBI.bull; Illinois Wesleyan's Kayla Mahoney (Elk Grove) was a second-team all-CCIW pick. The two-time CCIW all-academic pick is hitting .333.bull; Central College junior pitcher Kiley Lythberg (Prospect) was named second-team all-Iowa Conference. Lythberg is 19-7 with a 2.18 ERA and 110 strikeouts and is hitting .368 with 6 homers and 31 RBI.bull; University of Chicago senior first baseman Kathleen Duffy (Barrington) has been selected to the 2010 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Great Lakes Region Team. A first-team selection, Duffy becomes the first four-time NFCA All-Region honoree in Chicago softball history. Duffy led the Maroons in batting (.392), homers (7) and RBI (school-record 38). She is Chicago's all-time leader in homers (19) and RBI (100).Track and fieldWinners for the North Central College men's team at the CCIW Championships included junior Michael Spain (Schaumburg) in the 5,000 meters (14:43.7), senior Sean Carlson (Buffalo Grove) in the 3,000 steeplechase (9:28.02) and sophomore John Wood (Fremd) in the pole vault (15 feet, 5 inches)Basketball campsConant girls coach Dan Travers directs a camp for the Schaumburg Park District to teach players the fundamentals and basics. Individual instruction will be complemented with 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 competitions. Register online at the Schaumburg Park District (parkfun.com) or at (847) 524-4200.bull; Bryan Tucker, the Barrington boys coach, has camps in June for boys entering grades 4 through 8. Shooting, fundamentals, skills, and a variety of contests will be featured. The first camp begins June 14 and limited space is available. Information and registration is online through the Barrington Park District.Prevent The BiteKelly Voigt, a senior third baseman for the Fremd softball team, was a spokesperson for Prevent The Bite for the first time since 2004 when she spoke in Washington D.C.This is National Dog Bite Prevention Week and Voigt spoke May 13 at Chicago's main post office.Voigt started Prevent The Bite, a nonprofit organization devoted to keeping children safe from dog bites through education, after she was vicoius her attack when she was 7 years old. Fire tryoutsThe Chicago Fire Soccer Club has tryouts for its 2010/11 Academy teams at the U18, U16 and U14 levels May 24-25 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.Registration forms can be downloaded at chicago-fire.com/content/fire-academy. They must be returned by 5 p.m. Friday by FAX at (708) 496-6050 (ATTN: Academy), e-mail to mfinn@chicago-fire.com or by mail to FAO Academy Toyota Park, 7000 S. Harlem Ave., Bridgeview, IL 60455.