Schmidt wastes no time swinging into action

Kurt Schmidt has started off his final baseball season for Augustana College with a big bat.

And it didn’t go unnoticed.

The senior second baseman, a graduate of Grayslake Central, was named the “Hitter of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin after having a tremendous week in Florida.

Schmidt helped his team go 4-1 and 7-1 overall during its trip to Winter Haven, Fla.

Schmidt batted .500, with 10 hits in 20 at-bats and committed no errors in 26 chances as Augustana outscored its opponents 37-13 over a five-game stretch.

In a 14-4 victory over Milwaukee School of Engineering, Schmidt went 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring 3 runs and driving in 3 more.

Against Rose-Hulman, Schmidt’s bat was equally dangerous as he went 3-for-4 with a double and RBI in addition to scoring 2 runs in a 12-2 victory.

Thus far this season, Schmidt is batting .438 with 14 hits, 8 runs scored, a double, and 6 runs batted in. His 6 RBI tied him with two other Vikings for the team lead. He has also accumulated 15 total bases, a .469 slugging percentage and a .486 on base percentage.

Defensively, he has a .956 fielding percentage and has turned five double plays.

Men’s track and field

Former Grant standout hurdler Sean Wells is currently running the hurdles and sprints/relays for No. 4-ranked NCAA Division II Grand Valley State.

He has been the team’s No. 1 high hurdler this indoor season by running NCAA Division II provisional qualifying times in almost every race and helped the Lakers dominate the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Wells ran the fastest time in the preliminaries at: 8.09 and was 7-hundredths of a second off the school record in that event. He just missed the cut for the national meet by 1-hundredth of a second.

Men’s basketball

Senior center Brandon Kunz (Lake Zurich) swept Most Valuable Player, Outstanding Defender and Leading Rebounder honors for Augustana.

Kunz, who served as a co-captain, started 26 of 27 contests, averaging 11.0 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game. A bout with the flu kept him out of the starting lineup at Millikin, but he shook off the effects to enter the game with 16 minutes remaining, score 8 points, grab 5 rebounds and lead Augustana to a come-from-behind win.

In addition to rebounding, Kunz led the Vikings in field-goal percentage (.559), blocked shots (16) and free throws made (89) and attempted (114). He was Augustana’s second-leading scorer and third in free throw percentage at .781.

He was a second team All-CCIW selection for Coach Grey Giovanine’s 19-8 Vikings.

Kunz appeared in 105 games during his Viking career. Only six players in school history have played in more. He ended up eighth in career field goal percentage at .562 and is 19th all-time in rebounds with 493. His 41 career blocked shots are tied for 12th in Augustana recorded history.

Men’s swimming

Carthage College senior Steven Mathe (Carmel) was named a winter 2013 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin/Jack Swartz all-academic athlete.

Mathe finished fifth in the 1,650 freestyle at the CCIW Swimming Championship and was part of a conference-champion 800 freestyle relay team. He was also seventh in the 500 freestyle, 11th in the 200 freestyle and part of a third-place CCIW 200 freestyle relay team.

A chemistry major with a 3.83 cumulative grade-point average, Mathe is a Carthage mathematics/science scholarship recipient and a member of the school’s NASA microgravity team. He has been named to the Carthage dean’s list five times and is a four-semester member of the Carthage athletic director’s honor roll.

Women’s track and field

Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior Erin Schoenfelder (Antioch) has been named the recipient of the Elite 89 award for the 2013 NCAA Division III Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championship.

Schoenfelder, an elementary education major, currently holds a 3.98 GPA. She is the first Blugold in history to receive an Elite 89 award.

The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 89 championships.

Schoenfelder won the 2013 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference indoor 60-meter hurdles championship with a school record time of 8.87 seconds, earning a spot to compete at nationals.

Ÿ Carthage sophomore Becca McMullin (Grant) qualified in the weight throw (ranked 15th nationally at 54-1 1/2) at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championship at North Central College’s Al B. Carius Track in Naperville.

Lacrosse

Augustana freshman Emily Handrahan (Lake Zurich) is second on the team with 13 points, scoring 9 goals with 4 assists after five games.

Handrahan delivered a team-high 3 assists with a goal when the Vikings improved to 3-2 with a 21-0 win over visiting Loras at Thorson-Lucken Field.

Gurnee Park District

The Gurnee Park District is offering fencing classes to students 12 to 18 years old. The program is designed for both the beginner participants and those with previous experience. The program will be held at the Woodland Middle School in Gurnee starting Wednesday, April 3. For more information or to register for this program visit gurneeparkdistrict.com

The Co-ed volleyball program for those 19 years and older meets on Tuesday evenings at the Viking Jr. High in Gurnee. A nightly fee of $5 is collected at the gym. For more information contact Ron at 847-623-7788 or ron@gurneeparkdistrict.com

The women’s volleyball program for those 19 years and older meets on Monday evenings at the Hunt Club Park Community Center in Gurnee. For more information or to register for this program visit gurneeparkdistrict.com

The emphasis is on fun and recreational play for the volleyball programs.

Ÿ Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com or FAX to (847) 427-1173.