So many College Achievers to catch up with
As we said to conclude last week's College Achievers column, there's more where that came from...
Helping Yale win its first outright Ivy League football title in 37 years, senior defensive back Hayden Carlson (Glenbard West) was a first-team defensive selection on both Ivy League and all-New England teams. Having played in all 39 of the Elis' games spanning four seasons and sharing the program's LoProto Award this season for passion and skill in the defensive secondary, Carlson led Yale in tackles each of the last three seasons. This year he made 63 tackles with a sack, 3 interceptions, a fumble recovery and 8 pass breakups.
Just a sophomore at Ball State, linebacker Jacob White (Hinsdale Central) was the recipient of the program's Dave McClain Leadership Award, named for the Cardinals' coach from 1971-77. A defensive captain, White led the Cardinals with 72 tackles, including 10 against Buffalo. He made at least 5 tackles in 9 of 11 games, not bad for playing the last nine games with a cast to protect a broken bone in his right hand.
Central College senior linebacker Sam Norgaard (Neuqua Valley) made all-Iowa Conference first team with 107 tackles in only 8 games, including 22 against Coe College. He had 2 sacks, 4 interceptions, broke up 5 other passes and caused 2 fumbles. Headed to play in Saturday's Tazon de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) in Tijuana, Mexico, Norgaard's 13.4 tackles per game ranked fifth in Division III.
Winona State's 30-20 win over Bemidji State on Aug. 31 featured two of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's top linebackers - both out of Addison. Winona State senior Mike Imperiale (Addison Trail) repeated as first-team South Division after making 46 tackles, 3.5 for loss; Bemidji State senior Niko Daniello (Lake Park) earned North Division honors with 82 tackles, 13 for loss with 4 sacks. Daniello wrapped it up last weekend in the annual FCS Bowl in Daytona, Florida.
When Millikin setter Emily Mihalkanin (Hinsdale South) earned only second-team College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin (CCIW) in women's volleyball last year as a junior we about fell off our stool. She was first team this year, helping the Big Blue win a third straight conference title. The 2013 CCIW freshman of the year, Mihalkanin's 1,263 assists this season ranked fifth in Division III; overall she's second in Millikin history with 5,491 assists and fourth with 214 service aces. The biology major with a 3.77 grade-point average was 2017 American Volleyball Coaches first-team Midwest region and honorable-mention All-America, and College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District. In a five-game win over Hope she recorded 63 sets, 1 off Millikin's match record.
Leading Aurora University to a 26-8 record and their first appearance, and victory, in the NCAA Division III national tournament, Katie Vondra (Downers Grove South) became the first Spartan in the program's 42-year history to earn All-America notice. The junior outside hitter was a second-team American Volleyball Coaches Association pick after averaging 4.21 kills and 3.03 digs per set.
Grant Lillard (Hinsdale Central), a senior center-back for NCAA Division I runner-up Indiana University, was selected First Team All-America by the United Soccer Coaches Association. Starting all 25 games for the Hoosiers, the unanimous Big Ten defensive player of the year helped Indiana lead the nation with 18 shutouts, 7 goals against and a .260 goals-against percentage. He scored twice on 5 shots, both game winners. Among three finalists for the Hermann Trophy to be awarded Jan. 5, Lillard hopes to be the Hoosiers' sixth Hermann winner on a list that includes former Waubonsie Valley boys soccer coach Angelo DiBernardo. Lillard's Indiana teammate and former Hinsdale Central pal, junior Andrew Gutman, is a second-team United Soccer Coaches All-America pick, First Team Big Ten. Though a defender, Gutman finished second on Indiana with 18 points on 7 goals and 4 assists.
Trinity Christian's Jessica Bianchi (York), a junior forward on Trinity Christian's women's soccer team, earned USCA All-America honors within the National Christian College Athletic Association. Bianchi, the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the year with a league-high 33 goals, 12 assists and 78 points in 22 games, ranked fifth in the NAIA in points and goals and tied for sixth in game-winning goals, with 8. A repeat NCCAA All-America and 2015 honorable mention, in three seasons at Trinity Bianchi has racked up 157 points.
Northwestern junior defender Kayla Sharples (Naperville North) earned first-team all-Big Ten in women's soccer. Starting with her header goal in the Huskies' season-opening 1-0 win over DePaul, one of 11 shutouts, Sharples scored 3 goals with 3 assists and notched 2 game-winners while starting all 23 games and playing all 2,146 minutes.
Augustana sophomore Anna Fank (Wheaton Warrenville South), first-team all-CCIW soccer, was named the Vikings' defensive MVP. Moving from forward, she helped limit CCIW foes to a goal a game and overall opponents to 0.97 goals a game. Fank also scored 3 goals.
Joining her as first-team CCIW were Elmhurst junior defender Annalisa Lappo (York) and Carroll senior midfielder Sabrina Georgeff (Neuqua Valley). Lappo helped Elmhurst hold foes to 15 goals and 0.90 a game, the Bluejays' second lowest total in history; Georgeff's 12 goals tied for Carroll's team lead.
The CCIW men offered repeat first-team selections Max Carey (WW South) of Wheaton and Nick King (Downers South) of Elmhurst, both seniors. Carey led the Thunder with 17 points on 8 goals and an assist; King, a three-time first-team pick, started all 18 games with a 1.52 goals-against average and 5 shutouts.
Missouri S & T midfielder David Murphy (Naperville Central) earned College Sports Information Directors Association Division II First Team Academic All-America this fall. Owning a 4.00 GPA in mechanical engineering, the senior scored 7 goals with 5 assists, his scoring percentage of 15.9 leading all Miners with at least 20 shots.
Waubonsee Community College sophomore forward Reuel Erastus-Obilo (Waubonsie Valley) was the Illinois Skyway Conference player of the year and midfielder Luis Correa-Cabral (West Chicago) earned National Junior College Athletic Association Division I third-team All-America honors. The duo led the 17-6-1 Chiefs to their first appearance in the national tournament. Erastus-Obilo tied for ninth in the country with 58 points on 23 goals and 12 assists, Correa-Cabral 12th with 53 points on 20 goals and 13 assists.
Getting a little ahead of ourselves season-wise, this one's too good to wait: Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, held its 21st annual "Silent Night" event Friday, against Great Lakes Christian College. In this celebration Taylor students - pajama-clad dating to the 1980s but now wearing all sorts of zany costumes - remain silent until the 10th point is scored. They then erupt madly and storm the court in loud celebration. Played the Friday before finals week, at the end of the game students sing "Silent Night" before exiting to enjoy a Christmas party in the commons. In front of a standing-room crowd of 2,187 fans at Odle Arena, Taylor junior forward Jake Heggeland (Wheaton North) went to the free-throw line with the Trojans sitting at 9 points. He made that first shot, then turned heel and jogged off the court as the students exploded and cascaded out of the bleachers. Heggeland, who averages 14.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game, was named Taylor's athlete of the week. A video tweeted by Taylor University of him making the free throw to trigger the celebration has been viewed more than 33,000 times. Aided by Heggeland's 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals, Taylor beat Great Lakes Christian 97-84 to improve to 21-0 in Silent Night games.
Lenny Radtke (Glenbard North) is long out of college by now, but on Oct. 21 the old footballer was inducted into North Central College's Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2006 Cardinals graduate earned three straight first-team CCIW honors including 2004 defensive player of the year, and earned All-America designation from four organizations. A linebacker, Radtke's 152 tackles as a senior stands as North Central's single-season record, as do his 466 career stops. After helping the Cardinals reach the Division III playoffs for the first time in 2005, he played first in the Aztec Bowl then was one of only three Division III players to play in the Hula Bowl, typically a Division I all-star game.
Another new hall of famer, on Thursday Jane Trzaska (Glenbard South) was inducted into Armstrong State University's (Georgia) hall for her softball career from 2014-17. The 2017 Peach Belt Conference pitcher of the year among more than a dozen honors for athletics and academics, Trzaska is ranked top-nine among Pirates pitchers in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts and winning percentage while also hitting .312 with 20 doubles, 21 home runs and 115 runs batted in.
One more thing: Congratulations!
doberhelman@dailyherald.com