Elgin grad Swanson finishes college career

Elgin High School alum Parker Swanson made a major impact this season for the Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.) men's soccer team.

While Swanson tied for the team lead in goals (10) and led the team in points (24) this season, his contributions rang much louder in the leadership department.

"My years of experience have really helped me," said Swanson, a 2-year captain and an all-conference selection in both 2005 and 2006 (2007 honors had not been announced as of press time). "This was my last go at it to play for a school. My experience the previous three years allowed me to lead the team by example and help provide the team with leadership along with the other captains. That helped contribute to the (12) wins we had as a team."

Manchester finished the season 12-6-2 overall and went 5-2-1 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play. Manchester lost to Transylvania, 2-1, in the conference championship match.

Swanson finished tied for the conference lead in shots (52) and was tied for second in points, goals and game-winning goals. He was named the conference player of the week Oct. 14 after he scored a goal in each of Manchester's two league wins during the award period.

"That as the most wins the school has ever had," said Swanson, who netted 3 game-winning goals this season. "That's a pretty big accomplishment."

Swanson feels his leadership abilities came more from the example he set on the field.

"It wasn't always vocally," said Swanson. "I feel I can lead with the effort I put out and help spark the team and help lead that way and inspire the other guys on the team to work hard as well."

Scoring the amount of goals he did is something Swanson attributes to the awareness he has on the field.

"I think part of it is mental instinct," said Swanson. "I've had a nose for the goal ever since I started playing soccer. The game of soccer kind of came naturally to me."

Being fundamentally sound hasn't hurt either.

"I've got good ball control," said Swanson. "My size and power (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) also helped me get into situations where I can create scoring opportunities for myself as well as my teammates. I'm pretty big for a soccer player."

Swanson has also excelled in the classroom where he has a grade-point average above 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. He has earned academic all-conference honors every year he has been eligible for the honor.

Swanson is studying elementary education and will do his student-teaching during the spring semester in Akron, Ind., a small town 15 minutes west of the college.

"I've been in and out of the classroom this semester," said Swanson. "It's been kind of crazy trying to fit everything in with soccer and school and preparing for student-teaching."

Swanson said the last 4 years at Manchester have been truly enjoyable for him.

"I'm real happy with how things went," said Swanson. "I came out of high school not even sure if I wanted to continue my soccer career. Part of the thing that convinced me I wanted to play was coming here. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. The experience I've had with my teammates and with the coaches and being able to travel to the other schools has been great. We got to go to Jamaica for 3 weeks sophomore year. I've loved it here. I wouldn't trade the last 4 years for anything."

Henry at Millikin: Dundee-Crown graduate Cory Henry played on the Millikin University men's golf team this fall. Millikin placed second in both of its fall tournaments with Henry placing third individually in each event. At the Blackburn invitational, Henry finished third with a 2-round total of 153. He shot 75 on the first day and 78 during the second round.

At the Hickory Point Open, Henry finished with a 147, which included a 76 on the first day and then an impressive 71 to finish the tournament. His 75.0 stroke average was low on the team. Henry is part of a youthful Millikin squad that has featured four freshmen and one sophomore playing.

Schmerber at Concordia (Wis):ŒElgin High School graduate Sarah Schmerber is now a freshman outside hitter-defensive specialist on the Concordia (Wis.) University (Mequon, Wis.) women's volleyball team. Concordia finished the season with a school-record 23 victories and lost to Benedictine in the semifinals of the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) tournament. Concordia finished 23-10 overall and 10-2 in conference play. Schmerber was a 3-year varsity performer and team captain at Elgin and was an all-academic (3 times) and high honor roll student all 4 years in high school. Schmerber was an advanced placement scholar who won an Elgin Sports Hall of Fame scholarship. Schmerber is majoring in athletic training and would like to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy.

Lamothe at North Central: Burlington Central alum Bobbie Lamothe is now a member of the North Central women's golf team. Lamothe recently participated in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) women's golf championship at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur. North Central finished tied for fifth place, just 1 stroke out of fourth. Lamothe, now a junior, finished with a 177 total (88.5 average). She finished 25th individually.

Mohamed at Southern Illinois: Former Bartlett running standout Mohamed Mohamed helped lead the Southern Illinois University men's cross country team to the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference championship recently. Mohamed finished second in the men's 8K race and earned all-conference accolades along with teammates Jeff Schirmer (conference athlete of the year) and Kevin Doran. Schirmer won the race and Doran was third. Mohamed also earned academic all-conference honors. Earlier in the season, Mohamed earned a pair of State Farm Missouri Valley Conference athlete of the week awards. Mohamed earned his second award after finishing 19th at the Notre Dame invitational. Mohamed finished the 5-mile run in a time of 24:21 and competed in a field of 178 runners.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes competing collegiately to Mike Miazga at difibulator@aol.com.