Grant's Wells is well on his way to big freshman season at Illinois
While at Grant High School, Jonathan Wells was the 2014 high school high jump and long jump state champion and set 12 individual or relay school records.
While he had many top performances in high school, Wells has already given one at the collegiate level, in the eyes of Illinois track and field coach Mike Turk.
Turk named his freshman the 'Field Events Athlete of the Week' when Wells placed second while competing in the heptathlon for the first time at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet.
Wells finished no worse than second in each of the four heptathlon events on the first day of the meet, leading by 32 points at the event's midway points.
He started strong on day two with a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in at 8.44. The runner-up finish pushed his overall lead to 44 points.
Wells placed fifth in the 1,000-meter run and ended up second behind Kentucky's Tim Duckworth in the heptathlon.
• Augustana freshman Rob Williams (Vernon Hills) was a member of the distance medley team that took third (11:16.15) at the Leonard "Squig" Converse Invitational in Whitewater, Wis. The Vikings won the event with 108.50 points.
Augustana senior Hans Hunecke (Lakes) cleared 14 feet, 9 inches to take fourth in the pole vault while sophomore teammate Kevin Barbian (Libertyville) was seventh in the same event with a toss of 48-7½.
Prep hockey
The Lake Zurich-Mundelein-Wauconda high school team beat PREP Black 3-1 on Sunday to lock up first place in the North Central Conference's Platinum Varsity regular season.
The LZMW varsity finished 8-2-2 and earned the top seed for the conference tournament.
All the goals were scored in the first period. LZMW netted its first at 11:07 by Remi Mueller off an assist Mike Nieckula and Nick Seminaro.
At 9:34 of the first period LZMW's Jack Kekstadt made it 2-0 with an unassisted goal.
PREP Black got to within 2-1 on a goal by Christian Arena-Kolozsy, assisted by Cymon Wind with 8:05 left.,
LZMW closed the scoring at 6:29 on a rising slap shot high into the top right corner by Zach Zentz, assisted by Kekstadt.
"We kept the pressure on their defense and also got pucks to the net when we had the opportunity to shoot," said coach LZMW Steve Sarauer. "To succeed in the playoffs we need to be consistent in getting the puck out of our zone, taking short shifts, winning battles for pucks, and getting to the net for rebounds."
Sarauer is hoping for non-stop hustle in the championship.
"We can win the Platinum Division championship but only if we have 100 percent commitment from all players," he said. "Everyone needs to make sacrifices to make plays and give everything for the team."
Men's basketball
Augustana's Griffin Pils (Libertyville) hit 2 free throws that gave the Vikings the lead for good (at 80-78) in a 97-84 in a victory over Elmhurst,
Vikings senior Brandon Motzel (Carmel) had 13 points in a 95-92 overtime win over North Park.
Motzel (8.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .634 shooting percentage, 21 blocks) is Augustana's leader in blocked shots and has averaged 11.3 points and 8.1 rebounds since moving into the starting lineup at the start of conference play.
The two wins gave the Vikings a 19-1 overall record and 8-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Women's basketball
Augustana junior Olivia Mayer (Libertyville) scored 12 points with 3 assists and a steal in a 69-48 loss at Elmhurst.
She was also a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Mayer, who leads the Vikings with 64 assists, contributed 6 assists in 62-55 win over visiting North Park, which received 16 points and 8 rebounds from Nicole Kruckman (Libertyville).
Women's track
Augustana freshman Laura McNair (Lake Zurich) brought home a sixth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 19:13.44 at the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawk Classic.
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