College achievers: Lots going on this championship season
Once again the mailbag brims with entries about local graduates. Without further ado...
The All-American
Neuqua Valley graduate Chris Derrick, the 2007 Gatorade national boys cross country runner of the year and already a seven-time All-America junior at Stanford, was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division I men’s scholar athlete of the year for 2010 cross country.
Derrick was the fifth-place individual finisher at November’s NCAA cross country championship. His 3.84 grade-point average in his economics major easily cleared the qualification of a 3.25 GPA.
She’s No. 1
Entering the second round of the Division III women’s national basketball tournament against Coe College, Illinois Wesleyan senior forward Stacey Arlis (Driscoll) leads all Division III players in field-goal percentage. Just 5-foot-8, Arlis has converted 176 of 273 chances, 64.5 percent.
A two-time College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) player of the week this season, the Titans co-captain set a school and conference record when she went 11 for 11 from the floor in a 71-58 win over Millikan on Feb. 8. Arlis leads a 25-4 Wesleyan team that also includes locals Abbey White (Glenbard West), Sam Rubright (Fenton), Taylor Reaber (Immaculate Conception) and Elizabeth Henderlite (Wheaton Warrenville South).
Vaulting to the top
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater senior gymnast Allison Nelson (Neuqua Valley) has helped the Warhawks to their first- and second-highest scores in program history within the last four meets.
On Feb. 5 Nelson scored a career-high 9.675 on vault to tie for the eighth-best vault score in UWW history. That was part of the best team vault score in Warhawks history, as well as the program’s first 190-point overall score.
Exactly one month after that date, Nelson landed a 9.625 vault to help propel Whitewater to its second-best overall team score, 189.375 points.
UW-Whitewater enters Saturday’s Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference/West Regional Meet with a 7-0 record and looking to defend its 2010 title. Nelson, ranked eighth in Division III vault, seeks her fourth all-WIAC honor and, soon, her third All-America recognition.
Speaking of Warhawks...
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater senior forward Melissa Olson (West Chicago) earned recognition on the conference All-Sportsmanship Team for women’s basketball.
Still flying high
Coming off its 11th straight CCIW indoor track and field championship and ranked first among Division III men’s programs for seven straight weeks, hall of fame coach Frank Gramarosso’s North Central College Cardinals look to repeat as the NCCA Division III Indoor champion this weekend at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
This year Gramarosso succeeded the legendary Al Carius, who in 2009-10 led the Cardinals to the rare sweep of cross country, indoor and outdoor national championships.
The Cardinals bring 14 entries into the indoor meet, most in the nation. Among them are pole vaulter Tommy Stacey (Glenbard North) — already a two-time All-America — plus 1,600-meter relay alternate Randal Ellison (Wheaton North) and junior Bob Kapustka (Glenbard East) in both weight throw and shot put for a second straight year. Kapustka enters with the ninth-best weight throw, set at the North Central Last Chance Qualifier with a toss of 62 feet, 1 inch to break his own school record.
On the women’s side, senior Amanda Laesch (Wheaton North) leads seven Cardinals into the women’s national indoor championships this weekend at the same location. Laesch is entered in the 5,000-meter run as well as in the distance medley. Sheila Walsh (WW South) enters with the third-fastest qualifying time in the 400 meters (a school-record 56.64 seconds), and also will anchor the Cardinals’ 1,600 relay.
Back to Laesch. Just the sixth Cardinal woman to earn cross country All-America honors and the CCIW Indoor Championship’s runner of the meet after winning the 5,000, 3,000 and mile, on Feb. 15 she earned Division III All-Academic honors by the USTFCCCA, joining Illinois Wesleyan’s Elise Anderson (WW South) as the CCIW’s only honorees. This marked the fourth straight year Laesch has earned All-Academic honors, the first time in program history.
It’s a first
Jack Meachum (Naperville North) scored 6 goals and Pat Diorka (Waubonsie Valley) added 2 in Aurora University’s 16-7 lacrosse victory on March 9 over Randolph College. It was the first victory for the new Spartans men’s lacrosse program.
Weekly warriors
Adrian College junior Josh Maluta (Neuqua Valley), Midwest Lacrosse Conference player of the week, 10 points in three games.
Carthage College junior Matt Yanz (Naperville Central), American Volleyball Coaches Association/Sports Imports, 37 kills, .761 killer percentage in three matches.
Aurora University junior Mark Sulkin (York) Northern Athletics Conference, school-record 800-meter run.
Wheaton College senior Andrew Jahns (Wheaton North), CCIW men’s basketball, career highs of 26 points, six 3-pointers, 1,000 career points.
Judson University sophomore Sarah Dede (Wheaton Academy), National Christian College Athletic Association, program records in long jump and triple jump with a personal-best 200-meter dash.
Dede went on to become Judson’s first athlete to compete in a field event at the NAIA Indoor National Meet, March 4-5 in Geneva, Ohio. She finished 24th in long jump, and after an indoor season of personal best efforts in both horizontal jumps, in triple jump Dede finished in eighth place, two slots off All-America status with a personal-best mark of 37-7¾.