Time to check in with heady group of college achievers
The college awards and honors are starting to trickle in. Let's get on with it.
Augustana junior volleyball player Kylie Siebert of Kaneland was named to the Capital One Academic All-District volleyball team. She's got a 3.77 grade-point average in her major of business administration and marketing, minor in mass media/journalism and communications. She had time to lead Augustana with 591 digs, her average of 5.18 digs per match the fifth-best in program history. Unless something crazy happens next season the libero will set the program record for digs; her 1,633 are 17 from the current mark.
Fellow Augustana student Ben Fornek (Batavia), a senior cornerback on the football team, made Academic All-District in that sport. Entering the Vikings' final game Fornek was third on the team in tackles, tied for first in interceptions and led the squad in blocked kicks and pass breakups. More importantly the accounting and business administration major has a 3.63 GPA. Fornek has already either interned or worked for two different accounting firms.
One of Siebert's competitors in the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin, Elmhurst College senior outside hitter Sam Szarmach (St. Charles East), also earned the Capital One Academic distinction. All-region last year for the Bluejays - who play a second-round Division III match Friday - Szarmach has a 3.82 GPA in international business. She also recently earned her second CCIW First-Team honor and ranks 12th in the nation in total kills, at 491. Szarmach is among six Elmhurst players in history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
Earlier this fall, Western Carolina University senior outside hitter Caitlin Piechota (Batavia) surpassed 1,000 career digs in the Catamounts' home opener. Fifteen days later she surpassed 1,000 career kills. Piechota, a four-year starter, thus became the ninth player in WCU history to surpass both milestones in their career.
Edgewood College senior Tori Fortney (Geneva) was the goalkeeper on the second team of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. She finished her career ranked fifth all-time at Edgewood in wins with 31, and this season compiled a 1.23 goals against average and a save percentage of .826, both top-four in the NACC.
As Al Pacino would say we're just getting started here; we'll continue later.
Chiefs go national
With a 4-0 whitewash of College of Lake County last Saturday, the Waubonsee Community College women's soccer team improved to 15-3-2, won its regional and earned a ticket to the National Junior College Athletics Association National Division I Tournament in Melbourne, Florida, Nov. 17-22.
Supported by Aurora Central Catholic graduate Lisa Gaffino's 7 saves, the Lady Chiefs got 1 goal and 1 assist by both Ashley Karlak (St. Charles East) and Haley Kilbride (Rosary). Olivia Cozzoni (Rosary) also scored.
The Lady Chiefs also offer defenders Lindsey Spears (Batavia) and Anne Marie Giese (Kaneland) and midfielder Daniela Bueno (West Aurora).
Seeded 12th, Waubonsee opens the national tournament 10 a.m. Monday against No. 1 Iowa Western (18-0-1) with a second game at 10 a.m. Tuesday against No. 8 Butler (15-4-3) out of Kansas.
Also on Nov. 8, Waubonsee's women's volleyball team advanced to its national tournament in NJCAA Division 2 with a four-set win over Kankakee. Of the 16 teams competing in Phoenix starting Nov. 20, four of from Illinois: No. 1 seed Parkland (51-2), No. 3 Illinois Central (35-6), No. 11 Sauk Valley (36-6) and No. 13 Waubonsee (35-14).
Waubonsie opens up against No. 4 Pasco-Hernandez State College (38-5), out of Florida, at 3 p.m. Nov. 20 with Friday's time and opponent to be determined by that outcome.
The Lady Chiefs volleyball team is stocked with local athletes: Laura Lyons of Batavia, Ashley Prost and Shayna Tucek (Kaneland), Erin Bowe (Rosary), Kaitlyn Richter (West Aurora), Faith Montalbano (Aurora Christian) and Amber Koenen (Aurora Central Catholic).
Character counts
Rosary multisport athlete Megan Conlin was among 30 athletes from Chicago and outlying suburbs who attended a Positive Coaching Alliance event Wednesday in Chicago.
The Positive Coaching Alliance, started by the Stanford athletic department in 1998, attempts to enhance youth and high school sports character and sportsmanship through nationwide workshops.
It identified the 30 student-athletes eligible for 10 $2,000 college scholarships on the basis of "personal mastery," leadership and "honoring the game." So, congrats to Megan, who plays tennis, basketball and runs track at Rosary, for being one of them.
Community calendar
The boys of the Kaneland basketball program will be hosting their sixth annual spaghetti dinner from 6:30-8 p.m. Nov. 19, in the school cafeteria.
Dunk a meatball in some red sauce and come see how Connor Fedderly, Ryan David and the rest of the Knights program executes the pick and rolls.
Cost is $7 a person. RSVP to sous chef, er, head varsity coach Brian Johnson at brian.johnson@kaneland.org or (630)365-5100, ext. 347.
Nos. 1 and 17
On the heels of its first boys state soccer championship, Class 2A king Wheaton Academy (25-1-1) finished its season ranked No. 17 on Top Drawer Soccer's SIMA Top 50 boys teams. That was higher than the Class 3A winner, No. 22 Hinsdale Central.
doberhelman@dailyherald.com
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