Larkin grad Wahl shines at Upper Iowa

Larkin graduate Alex Wahl had a successful and award-worthy football season at Upper Iowa University.

Wahl, a junior linebacker, was a third-team NCAA Division II All-America by Beyond Sports Network. He also was named first-team all-conference and also earned a pair of all-Super Region 3 honors. Wahl was named to the Beyond Sports Network Region 3 first team and the Daktronics Region 3 second team.

Wahl, posted 127 tackles, including 80 solos. He accumulated 18.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. He also defended 6 passes, forced 4 fumbles and blocked 1 kick.

His total tackles, solo tackles and tackles for loss all are new high marks, while his forced fumbles tie the high mark during the team's 10 years of play at the NCAA Division II level.

Wahl's total tackles rank 15th in all of NCAA Division II and second in conference play. His solo tackles ranked fourth best in the nation and tops in the conference. His tackles for loss ranked 2nd in the country and first in the conference.

Wahl played the final three games of the season with a cast on his hand due to injury.

Dean at North Central: Elgin High alum Jordan Dean finished his senior football season at North Central College in Naperville by earning all-CCIW defensive first-team honors. Dean, voted one of the team captains before the season, finished the season with 39 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups and averaged 27.7 yards on 10 kickoff returns. Dean had a season-high 8 tackles against Carthage and also had a 71-yard kickoff return at UW-Stevens Point. Dean, who helped North Central to an 8-2 overall record (6-1 CCIW), is a sport management major.

Williams at Barry: Arie Williams, another Elgin graduate, is a contributor on a Barry University team that is nationally ranked in Division II (13-1 record through midweek). Williams has played in all 14 of the team's games and is averaging 6.4 points. He's shooting .403 from the field and .397 from the 3-point line (25-for-63). He was ranked fourth on the team in made 3s. Williams also is shooting .778 from the free-throw line and has 26 assists against only 12 turnovers.

Williams scored 6 points in 11 minutes of action in the team's recent 75-68 win over Florida Tech. Earlier, Williams posted 11 points in only 17 minutes of play in an 83-66 win over Palm Beach Atlantic. In that game, Williams made three 3-pointers.

Whitaker at UIC: Bartlett product Lance Whitaker is a redshirt freshman guard on the University of Illinois-Chicago men's basketball team. Whitaker missed last season on a medical redshirt while recovering from a knee injury. Whitaker also overcame a knee injury in high school.

Through midweek, Whitaker has played in 16 of the team's 20 games thus far (6 starts) and is averaging 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 19.4 minutes of action on average. He's shooting .645 from the free-throw line and has 20 assists and 7 steals.

UIC is 5-15 overall and 1-4 in Horizon League play.

Brown at North Dakota State: Elgin graduate Kory Brown is a 6-4 junior guard on the North Dakota State men's basketball team. Through midweek, Brown has started all of the team's 16 games and is averaging 26.1 minutes of playing time per game. He's averaging 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, while shooting .525 from the field (8 three-pointers). Brown also has 22 assists, 13 blocks and 14 steals. He's one of three players averaging double figures in scoring for a North Dakota State team that is 12-6 overall and 4-1 in conference play.

In a recent 61-48 win over Western Illinois, Brown had 11 points and 4 rebounds in 13 minutes of play (foul trouble). He shot 7-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Brown had 15 points and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes of action in a 71-67 loss to South Dakota. In that contest, Brown shot 7-for-9 from the field.

Egekeze at Belmont: Huntley graduate Amanze Egekeze is seeing significant playing time as a freshman for the Belmont University men's basketball team. Egekeze, a 6-8 forward, has played in 18 games (9 starts) and is averaging 5.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

Egekeze, who averages 19.2 minutes of playing time per game, is shooting .405 from the field, .378 from the 3-point line (17-for-45) and .774 from the free-throw line. He also has 13 blocks and 17 steals. Belmont is 11-7 overall.

McGlone at Winona State: Streamwood graduate Hannah McGlone is a 6-0 freshman forward on the Winona State women's basketball team.

Through midweek McGlone has played in all 16 of the team's games (13 starts) and is averaging 17.1 minutes of playing time.

McGlone is averaging 3.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting .417 from the field and .667 from the free-throw line. She also has 21 assists, 7 steals and 8 blocked shots.

In a recent 70-65 win over University of Mary, McGlone had 5 points and 2 assists. She also had 7 points and 2 assists in the team's 56-48 win over Southwest Minnesota State.

Ranallo sisters at Benedictine: St. Edward graduates Vincenza and Rena Ranallo are members of the Benedictine University women's basketball team that is 10-6 overall and 10-1 in conference play.

Vincenza, a 5-6 senior guard, is second on the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game. She's averaging 32.2 minutes of action per game and is shooting .437 from the field, .396 from the 3-point line (21-for-52) and .745 from the free-throw line. In addition, Ranallo is averaging 4.5 rebounds and has 39 assists and 24 steals.

Rena Ranallo is a 5-8 sophomore guard who has played in 5 games this season and is averaging 2.4 points per game.

Andrews at Truman State: Huntley alum Sam Andrews has played in 13 games as a freshman this season on the Truman State women's basketball team. Andrews is averaging 3.0 points per game in an average of 6.7 minutes. She has five 3-pointers and is shooting 89 percent from the free-throw line (16-for-18). Truman is 9-6 through midweek.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at mjm890@gmail.com.