St. Louis-bound Clark on verge of career achievement at St. Viator
St. Viator senior Myia Clark enters Tuesday's game against visiting York needing just 20 points to become the Lions' all-time leading scorer in girls basketball.
A year from now, she will be playing in college at Saint Louis University, which coincidentally will graduate its all-time leading scorer Jackie Kemph, who happens to be from Rolling Meadows.
Clark signed her letter of intent last fall and is looking forward to studying criminal justice and playing Division I basketball in Missouri.
"Saint Louis University is a beautiful campus and I was very comfortable with the coaching staff," said Clark, one of only five players who have scored more than 1,000 points at St. Viator. "I believed that it would be a great fit for me the next four years. And I will be studying criminal justice."
Basketball wasn't always the No. 1 game of choice for Clark, who scored a career-high 29 points against Conant last December.
"When I was younger I absolutely loved playing soccer and that's what I wanted to play when I got older," she said. "But as time passed, basketball overcame that dream and I began to vision myself playing D1 basketball."
Myia was inspired to play basketball by her brother.
"When I was younger, I use to watch him all the time," she said. "I used to shoot around to try and be like him. That's how I started playing the sport, because I wanted to do what he could do."
Clark is grateful to be playing for the Billikens next season.
"I'm thankful for SLU blessing me with this honor," she said. "I'm thankful for my family, the St. Viator staff and AAU coaches for making this dream possible for me."
Clark's 1,503 points are second only to Denise Walker, a 1996 graduate who finished with 1,523 points and is now the freshman girls basketball coach at St. Viator.
As a junior, Clark helped lead the Lions to their first back to back regional title in school history.
"Myia showed great growth in the area of leadership," said Lions coach Jason Raymond after Clark's junior season campaign. "She stepped up in big games when they mattered the most (including 23 points in regional and sectional games). She carried us in scoring for both of those games."
Football
Barrington senior cornerback Grant Leichter has committed to play for Washington University in St. Louis.
Three on three fundraiser
The Three on Three tournament held by the Rolling Meadows Booster Clubs was another big success this winter with 54 teams participating and raising almost $5,000.
A part of the continued success over the year has been the generous sponsorship of Tom Glasgow and his law firm Glasgow and Olsson.
Glasgow is one of the village trustees in Arlington Heights. This is his last year of sponsorship, as his oldest daughter is graduating this spring from Rolling Meadows High School. She is headed to Bucknell and will be on rowing crew at the Patriot League school.
Glasgow stopped by the tournament and presented the check to the boosters.
Bowling
McKendree senior Sarah Wille (Hoffman Estates) will compete for Team USA. She earned her spot on the roster thanks to a strong performance at The Orleans Bowling Center.
Wille finished in the top 30 in each of the five qualifying rounds in Las Vegas.
After beginning the week in 15th place, she steadily moved up the field and made her move on day four with an 11th-place showing.
Wille entered the top ten of the overall standings after the fourth round and finished the week in seventh place overall with 106 points.
It is the first Team USA selection for Wille, who was an honorable mention All-America honors for the Bearcats in 2017.
Cheerleading
The recipient of the National Coach of the Year Award for spirit is Jeffrey Siegal, the cheerleading coach at Buffalo Grove. Siegal is one of 23 high school coaches from across the country who have been selected as 2017 National Coaches of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations Coaches Association.
Seminole Sports
The inaugural Seminole Sports Coach's Pow Wow will be held in the Chandler's Chop House Grille at the Schaumburg Golf Club on Thursday, Jan 25.
The event will feature a sit-down buffet and some lively baseball banter.
Keynote speaker will be Northwestern University baseball coach Spencer Allen, who will give some tips on how to better prepare teams for games and practices. A question-and-answer session will follow. Fee is $20.
Seminole Sports is run by former Conant all-area baseball player John Suvada.
Women's basketball
Cornell College senior forward Diamond Boyd (Elk Grove) was named the Midwest Conference Women's Basketball 'Performer of the Week' for the second time this season after she led the Rams to two league wins.
Boyd averaged a double-double of 15.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in wins over Illinois College (65-52) and Knox College (61-44). The senior forward capped her week with a 23-point, 12-rebound, 3-block effort against Illinois College. Boyd climbed to sixth place on Cornell's career scoring list with 1,048 points.
• Alabama-Birmingham junior Deanna Kuzmanic (Wheeling) scored 15 points with 2 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal in a 79-61 victory over Western Kentucky. The Blazers are off to their best start in program history at 14-2, surpassing the previous best record of 13-2 set by the 1981-82 team. UAB also extended its win streak to seven games, its longest since winning eight-in-a-row in 2011-12.
• University of Denver freshman Claire Gritt (Hersey) scored 17 points in the Pioneers' 98-79 over North Dakota State. Denver improved to 11-8 and 2-2 in the Summit League.
• Email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.