advertisement

Durr, Rothstein wrapping up long run as teammates

When DeeDee Durr is studying at Loyola University next year and Hailey Rothstein is playing softball at Wisconsin-Platteville, it will mark the first time in 12 years that the Conant seniors aren't teammates on the softball diamond.

The Cougars shortstop and first baseman have been playing softball together since the first grade.

The next door neighbors played recreation ball through the Schaumburg Athletic Association, then travel softball for seven seasons.

They could often be seen playing catch in the front yards of their houses or at a nearby field practicing hitting.

They also played feeder basketball together since fifth grade and both played basketball at Conant.

This fall they will go to separate schools for the first time.

Rothstein will study nursing or physical therapy while Durr plans to pursue a degree in advertising.

"It will be different," said Durr, who also earned a varsity letter in volleyball. "But there's always the phone and we'll see each other, too when we can."

They're even close to each other in the batting order as Durr hits third and Rothstein fourth.

"It will be crazy playing without her," Rothstein said. "I met her the first day we moved into Schaumburg. We clicked instantly. She's been like my sister."

Women's track

Illinois Wesleyan junior Angela Herrmann (Conant) played an instrumental role when the Titans won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin outdoor track championships at Wheaton College earlier this month.

She set a personal best in winning the 200-meter run (24.97).

Herrmann also played key roles in winning 4X100 relay in 47:29 (also a personal record and third best time in the nation) and the triumphant 4X400 relay team (3:53:49).

Hermann was second in the 100-meter run with a time of 12:10.

• Former Daily Herald Athlete of the Year and Illinois State sophomore Morgan Keller (Rolling Meadows) is one of nine Redbirds who qualified to compete at the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor track and field preliminary championships (West Region) on May 28 to 30 in Austin, Texas.

Keller will compete in the shot put competition, as her throw of 50-01.75 last weekend at the MVC Championship qualified her for the field in Texas. She will be making her first NCAA regional appearance.

Softball

Winona State junior pitcher Hanna Lythberg (Prospect) earned her second All-Region accolade with her appearance on the National Fastpitch Coaches' Association All-Central Region first team.

The honor comes days after she was named a Daktronics All-Region First Team member. Lythberg assembled a phenomenal season in the circle, leading the NSIC with a 1.46 earned run average (ranked 22nd nationally) along with a 23-8 record.

Her 23 wins rank as the fifth-most in WSU single-season history. Lythberg is one of only two pitchers on the region's first team along with one utility/pitcher.

She is now eligible for the NFCA Division II All-America team which will be announced May 27.

• Conant senior outfielder Elisa Ambrose (softball/volleyball) will attend Illinois and was selected as a James Scholar for the Honors Business College.

Baseball

Illinois Wesleyan senior Matt Hart (Wheeling) finished the season with a 5-2 record and a 2.31 ERA. He appeared in 11 games this season (starting 10) and had 59 strikeouts in 66⅓ innings.

For his four year career, Hart ranks tied for second all-time in school history for games started with 35. He also is fourth in career innings pitched (231.2), tied for fifth in career wins (19) and appearances (51) and seventh in career strikeouts (184).

This season, he was voted second-team all conference for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and also shared the "Most Valuable Pitcher" award for Illinois Wesleyan.

Hamann golf outing

The John Hamann Golf Outing will be held June 11 at the Maple Meadows Golf Club with a 1:30 p.m. shotgun start.

Cocktails, prizes and dinner follow the round.

The Hamann family awards at least two scholarships to Willowbrook seniors every year in memory of John, who taught and coached at Willowbrook High School for 38 years. John was the head golf coach for 34 years and head basketball coach for 13 years. In 2015, $2000 was awarded to one senior male and one senior female in honor of John Hamann.

Cost is $100 per person and $400 PER GROUP

It is a four-person scramble

For more information visit: johnhamannscholarship.org

Men's soccer

Palatine High School senior Tyler Curylo has committed to Heartland Community College. The all-area selection was the Pirates' MVP and leading scorer.

A two-year starter, Curylo had 16 goals this season (along with 5 assists) to give him 28 (and 11 assists) during a standout three-year varsity stint.

"Tyler was our most dangerous attacking player, and from the run of play, he was a relentless and constant scoring threat who could finish with both feet," said Palatine coach Willie Filian after the season.

Girls cross country

Palatine girls cross-country and track and field members were recently honored as Kolze Scholars.

Caitlin Reidy, Kara Burton and Megan Beach were among the top 25 academic students at Palatine High School. Team members Basirat Iginla and Kelly Ocock also received recognition for their academic achievements.

Beach and Burton are part of Palatine's vaunted 4 x 800 relay that is 1st in the state and sixth in the nation.

Along with Reidy (hurdles) and Iginla (sprints/hurdles), they represented Palatine at the state track and field championships this weekend.

Palatine's cross-country team finished second in the state last fall.

IBCA honors

Palatine's Eric Millstone and St. Viator's Quin Hayes earned Illinois Basketball Coaches Association coach of the year honors for the 2014-15 basketball season.

Swimming

Michigan State sophomore Jonathon Burke (Conant) set the fourth fastest time in MSU history in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:15.87) He set the fifth fastest time in school history in the 500 with a time of 4:23.51. He also clocked the seventh fastest time in school history in the 1,000 free with a time of 9:17.11.

Women's track and field

Wheeling senior Ashley Talken will continue her track and field career at Augustana University. Talken competed in the pole vault, 200 meters, triple jump and 4x200 relay for coach Tim Nowicki at Wheeling this spring.

She's the Wildcats' indoor and outdoor school-record holder in the pole vault and is Wheeling's first female state qualifier in the event. She cleared a personal best of 10- 6 at the sectional meet in Carol Stream on May 14.

Talken also lettered for coach Jason Kopkowski in volleyball at Wheeling.

Talken's father Darrel was a three-year track & field letter winner at Augustana in the late 1980s.

An Illinois State Scholar and seven-semester member of Wheeling's honor roll, Ashley earned the Gold Award at the Illinois Junior Academy of Science Fair. She plans to study elementary education major.

The Vikings' track and field program has won 12 of the 28 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin outdoor championships since the event was first held in 1988.

Women's rowing

Former Daily Herald Female Athlete of the Year Maddie Conlin (Rolling Meadows) is wrapping up her four-year career with the University of Notre Dame women's rowing team which made history this season.

The Irish secured their fourth straight bid to the NCAA Championship.

They were one of 22 Division I teams selected by the NCAA for the 2015 NCAA Division I Rowing Championship, as the 2014-15 Notre Dame team received its second straight at-large berth into the NCAA Championship field.

It is the first time that Notre Dame will have members of a senior class graduate as four-time NCAA competitors thanks to the program's fourth straight championship selection.

Women's soccer

Rockhurst University senior two-sport star Taylor Skala St. Viator) earned the Great Lakes Valley Conference's Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award as the league's top female athlete of the year.

The awards are bestowed annually by the GLVC to one male and one female student-athlete that display academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character and leadership.

It is named in honor of former GLVC Commissioner and coach and director of athletics at Saint Joseph's College.

Skala will be recognized Tuesday, May 19, at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car GLVC Awards Banquet at the Drury Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Mo.

Skala becomes the first Rockhurst female student-athlete to be honored with the Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award and is only the second Hawk ever selected, joining male student-athlete Garrett Fischer who was chosen in 2007-08.

She was named to the All-GLVC team all four years, garnering First Team laurels three times and once on the second team.

On the basketball court, Skala was named to the all-defensive team three times and helped guide Rockhurst to the GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament in her junior year. She also tallied more than 40 steals, 50 rebounds, 20 assists and 80 points in every season, including season-highs of 63 steals (2011-12 and 2012-13), 54 rebounds (2011-12), 44 assists (2013-14), and 136 points (2013-14) while scoring a career-high 21 points against McKendree this past season.

The same level of success has been achieved in the classroom as Skala was an eight-time Dean's list honoree, a Chancellor's Academic Scholarship and Loyola Scholarship recipient, a member of the Rockhurst Honors Program while graduating with Honors and concludes her career as a six-time Academic All-Conference honoree to go along with a number of other prestigious academic honors.

Basketball camp

Barrington varsity coach Bryan Tucker is running basketball camps during the month of June for boys entering grades fourth through eight. Shooting, fundamentals, skills, one-on-one moves and a variety of contests will be featured. The first camp begins June 8 at the high school and limited space is available. Information and registration is online through the following websites: www.barringtonyb.com or www.barringtonbasketballcamps.com

Major Arena soccer

The Chicago Mustangs, proud members of the Major Arena Soccer League (www.MASLSoccer.com), have developed a unique media partnership with Barrington High School's BHS-TV.

The Mustangs and BHS-TV have linked up to give students the opportunity to experience working in sports media while helping to create and develop different types of content to be featured across all of the Mustangs' social media platforms.

Students will also have a chance to shadow members of Chicago's media department and learn about the day-to-day operations of the department.

"The students in the Barrington High School video program are excited to join forces with the Chicago Mustangs," BHS-TV supervisor Jeff Doles said. "The partnership will create unique opportunities and learning experiences for the students where they will create videos and graphics for a professional sports team."

For more information on Chicago Mustangs Season Tickets, group tickets, or sponsorship opportunities, call the Mustangs front office at (847) 805-6633 or visit the web at www.chicagomustangspro.com.

Football officials

Officiating classes for high school and youth football are forming now to fill the shortage. There are no prerequisites. You can earn your IHSA officials license. The class is free. Training covers rule interpretation, penalty enforcement and positioning. Completion of this class gives you the opportunity to work games this upcoming season. The eight-week course of training begins June 23 (Tuesdays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Classes are held at Grayslake Central High School, Forest View Educational Center in Arlington Heights, Lisle and Bremen High School in Midlothian. For further info and to register online: www.iaco-official.org.

• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com

Conant's DeeDee Durr, left, and Hailey Rothstein, in one of their earlier sporting endeavors together. Submitted photo
Conant product Angela Herrmann is achieving at the highest levels for the Illinois Wesleyan track and field program. Submitted photo
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.