Buffalo Grove's Stejskal headed for Olivet Nazarene

Sammy Stejskal, a 5-foot-11 senior for this year's Mid-Suburban East champion girls basketball team at Buffalo Grove, was capable of playing every position on the floor.

She recently announced her next home floor will be at Olivet Nazarene University.

Stejskal finished her career with more than 1,000 points, averaging a team-high 14.9 points along with 4.8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2.4 assists this past winter.

Bison coach Steve Kolodziej said Stejskal's best basketball remains ahead of her, at the NAIA school in Bourbonnais.

"It's a great fit for Sammy," Kolodziej said. "They love to get up and down and she fits their system really well. Down the stretch Sammy started to get some serious D1 looks, however, in the end she knew Olivet was the right place for her."

Kolodziej believes Stejskal will only get stronger in the next four years.

"She will increase her range and bring her winning attitude every day to practice and games," he said. "Sammy has some serious potential and a chance to contribute right away."

The Olivet Nazarene coaching staff has been on board with Stejskal since the beginning of her career.

"It shows you what type of kid she is," Kolodziej said. "She is committed to their coaching staff, their style of basketball, and will do whatever it takes to help contribute."

Stejskal will be playing in the same NAIA collegiate division as her BG teammate Maddie Welter, a St. Xavier (Chicago) recruit.

"I can't wait to see the two of them play against one another," Kolodziej said.

Softball

Illinois Wesleyan junior first baseman Sarah Platt (Hersey) helped the Titans win their bracket at the NFCA Lead Off Classic, a Top 25 invite only tournament held every three years.

The tournament was held at the site of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games (Golden Park in Columbus, Ga.).

Platt batted .375 in the tournament with 2 doubles. The Titans are ranked No. 9 nationally.

Last fall, the NFCA recognized the Illinois Wesleyan softball team as having the No. 6 -ranked team for grade-point average among all 300-plus Division III schools in the 2015 academic year.

• Carthage College freshman Hailey Rothstein (Conant) led the Lady Red offense with 3 hits and 4 RBI during a 15-11 loss to Augustana. Rothstein belted a 3-run homer to left field in the contest.

• Winona State senior pitcher Hanna Lythberg (Prospect) improved to 15-5 following a 14-5 win over the University of Mary.

Lythberg threw a 5-hitter with 2 earned runs while striking out a season-high nine.

• North Central College senior pitcher Andrea Starr (Elk Grove) has a 4-5 record with a team-best 1.96 ERA in 57.0 innings pitched.

She has struck out 32 batters and played in all 16 games.

Starr is batting .235 with 12 hits, 2 doubles, 12 RBI and a team-best 2 home runs

• Missouri-St. Louis junior Ryan Logan (Palatine) picked the most opportune time to get the first homer of her collegiate career.

Logan belted the ball over the left-field fence in the bottom of the eighth to help the No. 8 ranked Tritons complete the sweep of visiting Rockhurst with a 2-1 victory.

UMSL is now 39-4 and 17-3 after a sweep over Drury in a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader (9-1 in 9 innings and 2-0).

Tritons junior Sara Kern (Wheeling) had 3 hits in the opener while Logan had 2 hits in the second game.

• Illinois senior second baseman Allie Bauch (Conant) is the team's third-leading hitter with a .342 batting average and second with 40 hits. She also has 7 doubles, 3 triples and 5 homers.

Baseball

Augustana junior pitcher Nick Refka (Palatine) is the Vikings' leader with 11 appearances and 3 saves.

He is 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in 13⅔ innings.

Men's volleyball

Four former area players, all freshmen, took part in the inaugural season for North Central College, which announced the new program in 2013.

Ray Kraus (Elk Grove) played in 81 sets for the Cardinals, leading the team with 668 assists. He also recorded 60 kills, 120 digs, and 40 blocks, in addition to his 10 service aces.

Bozhidar Kolev, a Hoffman Estates native, played in 63 sets. He recorded 12 service aces for the team along with 104 kills, 52 digs, 19 blocks and 5 assists.

Another Cardinal freshman, Kevin Messer (Hersey), played in 60 sets, recorded 79 digs, 18 assists and 5 service aces.

Des Plaines native Jake Braceros led the team with 21 service aces during the season and also recorded 166 kills, 18 assists and 122 digs in 71 sets.

College-bound Lions

Thirteen athletes at St. Viator are ready to move on to compete at the collegiate level.

The list includes Ellie Meyer (volleyball at St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.), Jackie Rose (swimming at Southern Illinois), Maggie Leazer (soccer at Evansville), Grace Ross (soccer at Loras College), Anthony Pineda (soccer at St. Norbert), Ashley Steadman (soccer at Benedictine), Connor Phelan (football at University of Chicago), Andrea Renner (hockey at Northeastern University in Boston), Kevin Napoleon (baseball at Butler), Mike Ragauskis (baseball for Oklahoma), Jack Coney (Purdue), Kevin Murphy (lacrosse at Salisbury University in Maryland) and Patrick Murphy (lacrosse at Denison University in Granville, Ohio).

Men's track

Augustana sophomore Josh Yamamoto (Fremd) was part of the 4X400 relay that was clocked in 3:20.28 and helped the Vikings easily win the 15-team Ashton May Invitational in LaCrosse, Wis.

Rugby

On a rainy day and on a soggy field in Busse Woods Forest Preserve, the Arlington Stallions remained unbeaten in Illinois Tier One divisional play by defeating New Trier 12-7.

The game turned into a defensive struggle with both teams having to defend their own lines for sustained periods.

The difference this week came in the form of first year junior wing Matt Conley (Buffalo Grove).

Playing in only his fourth rugby match, Conley came off the bench in the second half to make several crucial tackles when under pressure and he scored the game-winning try with 12 minutes left on a 40-meter run up the left sideline.

"Matt had opportunities to make plays when we desperately needed them and he was up to the challenge." said Stallions back line coach Nick Tojaga of Conley's breakout performance. "He really lived up to our standards of hard defensive play and fast, straight running. He has a great future ahead of him in this sport."

The Stallions will face Mt. Carmel at Busse Woods on Sunday.

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