Goranson can grin after successful softball rehab

Dani Goranson is back.

And that brought the tears to smiles.

Through a 21-month period where she did not throw in a game for Michigan State, the former Elk Grove softball great wasn't sure if she would ever pitch again.

"I really didn't think I would," said Goranson, who was one of the most dominant pitchers the Mid-Suburban League has seen. "There were so many nights I would call my dad and cry and we'd reminisce about all the great times on the mound because I thought I'd never play again."

But with tremendous support from her parents (Jim and Wendy), her boyfriend Dylan Edwards and Michigan State trainer Salina Halliday, Goranson kept at her rehab even through difficult struggles.

It finally paid off when she returned to the mound for the first time last week.

The right-hander went the final 3 innings of a 6-0 shutout over Moorehead State in the Stetson Tournament in DeLand, Fla.

When she returned to the dugout, her whole team ran out and hugged her.

"Her pitching coach was just bawling her eyes out," said Dani's father Jim, who is the softball coach at Oakton Community College. "It was a very emotional scene and something I will never forget."

Dani went on to pick up the save by retiring nine of the ten batters she faced.

"Right after the inning, I broke down in tears," she said. "My dad was right behind the backstop and he broke down. I could tell when he put his head down and wiped await a few tears."

"It felt so surreal," she added of the comeback she thought would never happen. "Even during my warm-up pitches, I was shaking a little. I just had to get that first pitch in there and get myself grounded."

After pitching some 200 innings as a freshman, Goranson didn't know if she'd ever pitch another inning.

But now she says she feels like a "whole new" player.

"I'm getting stronger every day," she said. "My spins are getting better and everything seems to be getting easier."

In fact, in her third appearance back just last Friday, Michigan State defeated No. 20 Tulsa and Goranson got the win which gave the Spartans a 5-1 record, their best start since 1998.

Goranson says she wouldn't have been able to get back without her parents' encouragement .

"I talked to them all the time, telling them I didn't think I would ever pitch again," she said. "My dad had a big impact on me getting back. My boyfriend was a big motivational force for me. He wants to be a personal trainer and he actually helped me a lot with my rehab.

"And our softball trainer (Halliday) was really phenomenal. Even after the surgery (in Michigan) she came to the hospital and checked up on me."

Now Goranson hopes to check in with a few more wins and saves this season.

"I'm slowly working back in," she said. "I'm still on a pitch count until I can let loose."

The tears have been let loose.

Now Goranson, a redshirt junior, is ready to get down to serious business back where she belongs - on the pitcher's mound.

Girls soccer

Schaumburg seniors Sarah Kozlowski and Jasmin Lisowski began playing soccer for Schaumburg Athletic Association while in kindergarten.

They played in recreational and travel leagues before moving to Chicago Sockers FC.

Both girls played two years at the varsity level for Schaumburg High School and helped their team to a IHSA Class 3A regional championship in 2012.

Last Wednesday, they were on the same page again.

On that day, they both signed their collegiate letters of intent - Kozlowski with the University of Louisiana Lafayette (majoring in physical therapy) and Lisowski with the University of Illinois Springfield (majoring in psychology with a concentration in counseling).

Men's lacrosse

Augustana junior Jonathan Bryk (Fremd) found the net with five seconds left for the final goal in the Vikings' 17-4 loss to 17th-ranked Ohio Wesleylan.

Men's track

Augustana's Ethan Koch (Prospect) finished fifth in the 3000 meters in the Darren Young Indoor Classic at Grinnell College with a time of 8:44.30.

The Vikings compiled 152.66 points, well ahead of second-place Wartburg, which finished with 93.

Also at the meet, freshman Evan Murphy (Buffalo Grove) captured third place in the triple jump, going 41 feet, 8½ inches.

Women's cross country

North Central College senior Nora Ferguson was one of three Cardinals to earn All-Academic honors with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 and finishing in the top 25 percent of competitors at the regional championships.

Ferguson, a graduate student pursuing an MBA degree, placed second at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships, 16th at the regional championships and 82nd at the national meet.

Men's swimming

Six north and northwest suburban swimmers helped Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship.

The six swimmers are freshman Kirk Dickson (Grayslake Central), junior Matthew King (Libertyville), Patrick King (Libertyville), sophomore Matt Schulstad (Buffalo Grove), freshman Austin Salisbury (Warren) and freshman Dan Skiroock (Schaumburg).

Patrick King took first place in the 200 butterfly (1.51.77) just out-touching Schulstad (1.52.23), who finished second.

Salisbury finished fifth (1.55.97) and Matthew King eighth (1.58.51) in the same event.

Patrick King also was a member of the first-place 800 freestyle relay which set a CCIW record.

Schulstad finished second in the 100 butterfly (49.98) while Patrick King took third (50.27).

Matthew King took third in the 500-free style (4.40.17) and the 1,650 freestyle (16.00.81).

His time in the 1,650 freestyle broke his own school record.

Matthew also holds two other Rose-Hulman school records, in the 500 and 1000 freestyle.

Matthew and Patrick King and Matt Schulstad were all named to the all-conference team for those performances.

Dickson was a member of two second-place relays - the 200 medley relay and the 400 medley relay. He also earned all-conference honors.

Salisbury also finished ninth in the 400 individual medley (4.16.13) and Patrick King was fifth in the 200 free style (1.44.65). Schulstad took fourth in the 200 individual medley (1.56.74).

Legion golf outing

The 26th annual Barrington Post No. 158 American Legion Golf Outing will be Monday, June 1 at the Cary Country Club to serve as a fundraiser for local Barrington youth and veteran programs.

Golfers pay a fee of $140 that includes lunch, golf, golf prize, cart and dinner.

It will be a shotgun start at noon.

There will be money prizes for longest drive, team low gross and team adjusted gross.

For information, go to www.barringtonlegion.org and you can reserve your golf foursome by calling Bob Kruse at (847) 381-7031.

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