Hersey’s Mleko lines up his future at Loyola

The Loyola University men’s golf team did not have a player on its roster this fall from Illinois.

That won’t be the case next season.

In fact, the only one will be right from Arlington Heights.

Hersey senior Kenny Mleko, a two-time Mid-Suburban League all-conference golfer, signed a letter of intent on Nov. 13 to play for the Ramblers.

This fall he advanced to the sectional and came within a shot of qualifying for state tourney.

“It wasn’t always something I wanted to do,” Mleko said about playing Division I golf in college. “But it was always in the back of my mind. Now that it’s happened, I think it’s pretty cool.”

Mleko thought his future campus was pretty cool, too.

“I liked how close it is, only 45 minutes from home,” he said. “I love that campus. I liked the coach and the players were all very good guys.”

Mleko credits a couple of other guys for his success.

“My swing coach (Gary March) helped me out a lot,” he said. “Without him, I don’t think I’d be here, And of course, Mr. (Dan) Caporusso (Hersey coach) was instrumental.”

Caporusso calls Mleko a true student of the game.

“Our area sectionals are organized in a manner where the most talented golfers in the state compete in the sectional,” said the veteran Hersey coach, whose daughter Noreen was a standout for Prospect’s Class AA state championship girls golf team. “So Kenny is certainly one of the best players in the state.

“He has incredible passion for golf. He is an expert on the technology, history and rules of the game and has been a leader every year he played high school golf.”

Mleko has posted wins at the 2012 boys 16-18 IJGA Sectional (Glencoe), 2013 Junior PGA Championships Illinois Section (ThunderHawk) and the 2013 IJGA Playing Member Challenge.

“He had a great summer,” Caporusso added. “ And that also played a role in Loyola signing him for the coming college season.”

Mleko is ranked No. 22 in the state of Illinois Class of 2014 Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings. He was the 2012 Pine Meadow Junior Club champion and was a member of the 2010 Traditions of Golf National Championship Team. He holds a number of top-10 finishes to his credit.

“We are very excited to add an Illinois player with the character and demeanor of Kenny,” said Loyola Director of Golf Kyle Stefan. “His swing has loads of athleticism and he is coached by Gary March, who played 20 years of touring golf.

“Kenny had a standout summer of the IJGA with good scores and a number of wins. He tested his game nationally at the Junior PGA Championship at Trump National, winning the Illinois tournament to get there, and I think he is ready to make the transition to college golf.”

Loyola finished third or better in four of the seven meets it participated in this fall.

Men’s soccer

Saint Xavier senior goalkeeper Kyle Held (Palatine) was one of five Cougars recognized on the 2013 All-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s soccer team.

Held earned first-team all conference recognition for the Cougars for the second straight time.

A four-year starter with a 43-20-4 record with 18 shutouts, 339 saves and a 1.23 goals-against average, Held also helped take the team to two national championship tournaments. The Cougars made it to the Sweet 16 once.

Held was also invited to attend the 2014 Pro Soccer Combine in Bradenton, Fla., from Jan. 7-9.

타 St. Viator graduates Kevin Cavers and Troy Wheeler are members of the Loras College team that advanced to the NCAA Division 3 Final Four beginning Friday. The DuHawks will play Rutgers-Camden.

Loras has advanced to the Final Four for the second straight time after a 2-1 win over Trinity in the Rock Bowl.

Cavers, a 2010 grad of Viator, was named the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference most valuable offensive player.

It is the second straight year he has earned the honor of being league MVP. He is a three-time first-team all conference selection and one-time honorable mention all conference. He was a first first-team All American last season.

Wheeler has played in every game and has been a frequent starter late in the season.

Football

Columbia senior punter Paul Delaney of Palatine, a graduate of Loyola High School, was named to the All-Ivy League first team.

Delaney concluded his Columbia career ranked among the best punters in the history of Lions’ football.

His 42.4 yards per kick average and 81 punts this year are new single-season bests.

Delaney did a stellar job of pinning opponents deep in their own territory, placing 23 punts inside the 20. He launched 18 kicks over 50 yards on the year, including a 67-yard blast against Lehigh.

For his career, Delaney averaged 39.5 yards per punt, the longest average in Columbia history.

Women’s hockey

Marian University junior forward Nina Laurie of Palatine was named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association women’s offensive player of the week.

Laurie helped the Sabres to a sweep of Finlandia University, coming up with clutch plays in scoring 2 goals and adding an assist. In a 2-0 win, Laurie assisted on Amanda Waigand’s power play goal, the game-winner, in the first period. One day later, Laurie scored at 10:25 and 13:06 marks to tie the game at 2-2 in the third period and help propel the Sabres to an improbable come-from-behind 3-2 victory to earn the sweep.

타 Concordia (Wis.) freshman Veronika Metanova of Palatine scored 2 goals and added an assist in leading the Falcons to a 5-2 win over Marian.

The 3 points were a career best in the freshman’s young career and her second goal went down as the game-winner, giving CUW a big conference win.

Men’s basketball

Augustana sophomore Brandon Motzel (Carmel) of Buffalo Grove shared team rebounding honors when he grabbed 5 boards to help lead the No. 24-ranked Vikings (4-1) to 33-22 advantage on the glass in a 88-50 win over Knox.

Men’s hockey

Lake Forest junior forward Jason McAloon of Elk Grove started the scoring with a power-play goal and finished it with a short-handed score in the Foresters’ 3-0 triumph at Wisconsin-Stout.

Arlington Stallions

Sign-up day for the Arlington Stallions Rugby Club’s2014 Spring season will be on Saturday, Dec. 14th at the Northwest Community Hospital’s Wellness Center from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The club offers competitive teams for players from grades 5 to 12.

After winning the 2013 Illinois Middle School State Championship and enjoying a 5-1 Fall Ball season with their high school side, the Stallions coaching staff is optimistic going into 2014.

“This is our 10th year and the excitement felt by our coaches and players is at an all-time high”,” said coach Paul Bergman.

Stallions players regularly qualify to play for the Illinois All-State side, the Tornados, who will be touring Europe next summer.

Stallions alumni are currently playing for such college clubs as Dayton, Xavier, Davenport, UW-Whitewater, Western Illinois and St. Mary’s (California).

For more information, visit the Stallions’ website at www.arlingtonstallions.com or call (847) 845-4982.

Men’s basketball

타 Washington University (St. Louis) senior guard Alan Aboona (St. Viator) was selected to the D3hoops.com Men’s Basketball Team of the Week for the second time in his career.

Aboona averaged 17.8 points and 6.5 assists per game in the opening four games of the season. He scored a season-high 22 points in a 91-64 win over Hendrix College and notched the third double-double of his career with 18 points and a career-high 12 assists in a 94-74 win over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Aboona was 12-for-32 from three-point range in the four games.

Aboona scored 20 of his season-high 24 points in the second half as the No. 4-ranked Washington rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 71-60 win over No. 25 DePauw.

Aboona was 5-of-11 from the field and hit 13-of-14 from the free-throw line as he eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in his career.

Augustana senior forward Chris Klimek (Fremd) added 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

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