So many college achievements

Check-in time for DuPage County athletes' collegiate exploits ...

Carlos Fuentes, out of Glenbard East and a Wheaton College senior academically but a junior on the wrestling mat, finished second at 125 pounds at the NCAA Division III Championships - just barely, an 11-10 decision - the top national finish by a Thunder mat man since 2001. Named Outstanding Wrestler at the Upper Midwest regional, Fuentes (37-2) improved to 86-29 through three seasons. He won the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin (CCIW) 125-pound title.

Illinois redshirt freshman Dylan Duncan (Montini) rose from a No. 7 seed to go 5-1 at the Big Ten wrestling championships and place third at 133 pounds. The two-time Illinois High School Association titlist's 20 wins rank second on the Illini. Thursday marks makes his NCAA Division I Championship debut.

Leading the field at the Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 10 with a 22.54-second opening split, Loras College sophomore Patrick Mikel (Glenbard East) won the 400-meter run in 47.74 seconds in Birmingham, Alabama. (He also anchored a seventh-place 1,600-meter relay.) On March 3 at the Wartburg (Iowa) Qualifier Mikel broke a 32-year-old school record, running 47.56.

North Central College senior Daniel Spaccapaniccia (Naperville Central) led off the Cardinals' second-place 1,600-meter relay. In the preliminaries Friday in Birmingham, the Cardinals relay broke a 26-year program record and bettered that in the finals, at 3 minutes, 14.48 seconds.

Also from Naperville Central, Washington University of St. Louis graduate student Ethan Brodeur led off the Bears' second-place distance medley relay, aiding a program record in the process. Middlebury (Vermont) sophomore Nathan Hill (Hinsdale Central) led that school's third-place relay.

Washington University of St. Louis junior Heidi Nassos (Wheaton Warrenville South) placed third in pole vault at a personal-best 12 feet, 9½ inches. Three times this season Nassos was named University Athletic Association female indoor field athlete of the week.

Leading Illinois State to the Missouri Valley Conference women's indoor track title, Redbirds sophomore D'Jenne Egharevba (Naperville Central) earned meet most valuable athlete. In addition to running on an all-conference 1,600 relay, she won the 60 dash in a school-record 7.33 seconds and won the 200 in 23.78, the first Illinois State woman to break 24 seconds.

Augustana senior Valeria Melo (Lisle) ran the second leg of the Vikings' 1,600 relay that won the event at the CCIW indoor meet by nearly five seconds.

Unless we missed someone - always possible - there are exactly four DuPage County graduates playing in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. Iowa sophomore guard Kathleen Doyle (Benet), got a coaches second-team all-Big Ten nod after averaging 11.1 points, 6.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds; Princeton junior guard Gabrielle Rush (Hinsdale Central), averages 6.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and has hit 46 3-pointers; Syracuse freshman guard Nikki Oppenheimer (Montini) and UCLA junior guard Chrissy Baird (Wheaton North), each have played reserve roles. Miami coach Katie Meier (Wheaton Central) has the Hurricanes seeded eighth; earlier this season she won her 250th game at Miami.

Katie Jaseckas (Benet), a 6-foot-2 center, was named Missouri Valley Conference freshman of the year and a second-team all-conference pick. Benet's all-time rebounds leader led the Truman Bulldogs with 11.3 points and 8.2 rebounds a game. Jaseckas had seven double-doubles, ranked in six MVC statistical categories and her 18 rebounds against Drury tied for 10th in Truman history.

There are three DuPage County men playing in the Division I men's tournament: Xavier senior forward Sean O'Mara (Benet) averages 7.1 points and 3.3 rebounds; Georgia State freshman guard Denis Alibegovic (Downers Grove South) has seen a bit of action in 18 games; Michigan State freshman guard Jack Hoiberg (Hinsdale Central) hasn't played but won the program's "Walk-On Award."

Loyola seventh-year men's basketball coach Porter Moser (Benet) led the Ramblers to the Division 1 Tournament for the first time since 1984-85. Loyola's 28 wins are the most since its 1963 NCAA title squad, its 15 Missouri Valley Conference wins the most ever. The Ramblers' MVC title is their first outright conference title since 1984-85, and when Moser was named MVC coach of the year on March 1 it was the first time that happened also since 1984-85. Bryan Mullins (Downers South) is a Ramblers assistant coach.

Loras College junior guard Josh Ruggles (Wheaton Warrenville South) was named co-MVP of the all-Iowa Conference for men's basketball. He averaged 22.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists (to 1.2 turnovers), and made 89 3-pointers on 45 percent shooting beyond the arc. Academic All-District by the College Sports Information Directors Association, Ruggles scored 37 points against Central (Iowa) College and ranked among Division III's top 25 nationally in five categories.

Fort Wayne junior John Konchar (West Chicago) earned Summit League first-team honors a third straight season. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 14.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists (to 1.6 turnovers) and 2.5 steals. Konchar was named to the Summit League All-Tournament Team after amassing 29 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in a Mastadons loss to North Dakota State, the first time since 1990 a player was voted to that team playing just one game.

Kevin Kluge (Metea Valley), a sophomore at Southern Illinois-Carbondale, placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the Mid-American Conference meet. Kluge's time of 15:20.33 was the fifth-fastest time in school history.

Before and after

Neither Katelynne Hart nor Tori Franklin are college athletes, but both achieved significant results in track and field within the past few weeks.

Katelynne Hart (Glenbard West) won the championship mile run Sunday at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet in New York City, running a time of 4:45.47. Aside from regional competitions like Nike and Foot Locker, the Hilltoppers sophomore is 2 for 2 winning IHSA Class 3A cross country titles and won both the 1,600 and 3,200 at last year's track finals.

Tori Franklin (Downers Grove South) is a professional athlete a couple years removed from Michigan State. On Feb. 17 in Albuquerque Franklin won triple jump at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Michigan State record holder saved her best for last, a personal-best distance of 46-5¼ inches on her last attempt.

Next week: More college achievers!

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

Follow Dave on Twitter @doberhelman1