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Western Illinois pays tribute to program's top baseball achievers

In cooperation with the current Western Illinois baseball coach Ryan Brownlee, former Leatherneck and current Libertyville resident Connie Kowal has organized the last three baseball alumni weekend tributes for the team.

The tributes began in 2014 with the 40th anniversary of the 1974 Leathernecks baseball team which was considered one of the greatest in program history.

The team went 31-12 and was an NCAA Division II Mid-East Region finalist. It lost the championship game 1-0 in 11 innings to Ohio Northern, falling only one short of the Division II College World Series.

The team set 22 team records and many still stand today or are in the top 10.

Kowal batted .321 for the team and earned NCAA Mid-East Regional first team all-tournament honors. He was selected honorable mention to the NCAA Mid-East All-Region Team.

Twenty former Western Illinois players, spanning six different decades (1965-2014), attended this year's event.

They included third baseman Kowal (1972-1974, who attended Glenbard West), Paul Reuschel (pitcher from 1967-1968 who went on to pitch for the Chicago Cubs) and catcher Jeff Meek (1969-1972, who attended Elgin Larkin).

Reuschel was an All-American at WIU. He pitched for the Cubs from 1975-1978 in his five-year major league career.

Paul's younger brother Rick Reuschel also pitched at WIU in 1969 and 1970 and 12 seasons for the Cubs in his 19-year major league career.

For a couple of years Rick and Paul were Cubs teammates.

Men's track

Former St. Viator and Clemson standout Justin Johnson, is an NCAA all-American and 2016 USA Track and Field Olympic Trials qualifier in the 110-meter men's hurdles.

His pro career debuted on Wednesday at the Aileen Meagher International in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He placed fourth in the finals of the 110-meter hurdles (14.09) behind champion Iribarne Rogers of Cuba (13.60).

Johnson was not recruited out of high school, and decided to continue running at D-III St. Norbert College.

As a freshman, he won the 110 m hurdles national championship and set the D-III meet record, which still stands today.

He then went to the Atlantic Coast Conference where he earned a degree in communications at Clemson. While competing in the purple and orange, he added a conference championship trophy and an All-American honor to his accolades.

• Prospect High School all-state runners earned all-American honors at the New Balance Track and Field Nationals in Greensboro, NC. on June 18.

Mackenzie Bach, Matt Cozine, Karson Lecomte and Luke Filipic ran a season best of 7:41.48 in the 4x800 to win fifth place. The four all-American runners also earned all-state honors in May.

Prospect's Mackenzie Bach, Matt Cozine, Karson Lecomte and Luke Filipic earned all-American honors at the New Balance Track and Field Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., on June 18 in the 4 x 800 relay. Submitted photo
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