Batavia grads among Waubonsee athletes honored
Post-season honors from the just concluded fall sports seasons have continued to come in for Waubonsee Community College student/athletes.
Sara Merker (freshman/Downers Grove South) capped off a fantastic season by being named to the NJCAA All-Region IV first team and the All-Skyway first team.
Merker set a Waubonsee women's soccer record with 24 goals, which placed her 13th nationally in goals scored among NJCAA Division I players. Merker also scored 54 points (24 goals/6 assists) to tie for 17th nationally in points scored.
Jessica Cobo (freshman/Batavia) was named to the All-Skyway first team and All-Region IV second team after recording 12 assists to tie for 19th nationally in that category.
Finda Fallah (sophomore/Batavia) and Diana Barry (freshman/Kaneland) were each selected to the All-Skyway first team and the All-Region IV second team. Ashley Meyer (freshman/Hinckley-Big Rock), Alanna Russo (freshman/Oswego) and Aryn McCoy (freshman/Batavia) were all selected honorable mention All-Skyway.
• For the women's cross country team, Rebecca Wheeler (freshman/Oswego) earned the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference's Runner of the Year honor after winning the women's race at the Skyway Meet.
Becky Boedewig (sophomore/Aurora Central) finished sixth and Katie Teegarden (sophomore/Batavia) placed seventh to also earn All-Skyway status while leading the Lady Chiefs to the league title.
The women went on to capture theNJCAA Region IV Division I crown for the first time since 1998 as Wheeler (sixth place) and Boedewig (ninth place) both earned All-Region IVstatus. Teegarden placed 13th.
• For the men's cross country team, a trio of outstanding performers led the Chiefs to the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference title for the first time since 2003. Mike Higgins (sophomore/Marmion) finished second overall to earn All-Skyway honors.
The Chiefs then captured the Region IV Division I title for the first time since 1994. Higgins again took second place. Waubonsee advanced the entire team to the NJCAA Division I National Championship Meet, where they finished 30th as a team. Higgins placed 93rd overall out of the 261 runners competing in the 8K national meet.
• Kevin Schramer (freshman/Kaneland) finished third, Ryan Tucek (sophomore/Sandwich) placed fifth and Kevin Phillips (sophomore/Kaneland) took eighth overall in six boys golf conference matches to earn All-Skyway status.
Along the way Phillips set a new school record when he shot a 68 at the Water's Edge Golf Course in Worth, eclipsing Milo French's round of 69 set in 2004.
Waubonsee took second place in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference and then went on to finish fifth as a team at the Region IV Division II Tournament. The Chiefs' Chris Fletcher (freshman/Geneva) placed 13th at the 54-hole, 3-day event to earn All-Region IV honors. Fletcher missed out on qualifying for the Nationals by one stroke and is slated as the first alternate in case one of the top 12 golfers is unable to attend the National Finals in May.
• Defender Greg Beckstrom (sophomore/Geneva), midfielder Cooper Andrews (freshman/Kaneland) and forward James Heidorn (sophomore/Geneva) each were named to the All-Region IV Division III First Team. The Chiefs finished 5-10-1 overall ending their season with a 2-1 loss to Joliet Junior College in the Region IV Division III Semi-Finals.
• Katie Rozanski (sophomore/Aurora Central) was tabbed All-Skyway second team. The Lady Chiefs' defensive specialist, along with outside hitter Audrey Feltz (freshman/West Aurora), were both named to the ISCC All-Tournament team as well.
Loula honored:ŒMatt Loula, a 2004 graduate from St. Charles North and former all-area football player, enjoyed a great season at the University on Missouri-Rolla in Rolla, Mo.
A starter the last two seasons as left defense end, Loula made the Great Lakes Valley Conference all-conference team. He is finishing his nuclear engineering degree with a 3.93 grade average and will have one more season to play for the Miners.
Academic recognition for 3 NIU player:ŒThree members of the Northern Illinois women's soccer team were named to the Academic All-MAC squad as announced by the Mid-American Conference.
Senior captains Karen Enockson (St. Charles East) and Katie Sturges (Downers Grove South) along with sophomore Lindsey Curnock (Batavia) represented the Huskies on the list of honorees. The three selections mark the highest NIU total since five in 1998.
"I am pleased that Karen, Katie and Lindsey earned Academic All-MAC honors because I feel like those awards encompass what they do not only on the field, but off the field as well," said coach Marci Miller Jobson. "After finishing third in the conference I felt like our girls were under-appreciated in terms of league recognition, so it is nice to have three players recognized for outstanding seasons. They are great contributors to our team and its success and each are All-American students."
Enockson earned her second consecutive Academic All-MAC selection after leading the team with 13 points and six goals. The forward finished her career tied for sixth on NIU career goals list with 19. Enockson earned first team Academic All-District 5 honors from ESPN the Magazine and has a 3.95 cumulative GPA with a psychology and Spanish double major.
Sturges, one of the league's top defenders, finished her career with 77 games played and 69 starts. A two-time team defensive MVP, Sturges posted a 3.83 cumulative GPA while majoring in physical education.
Curnock, a sophomore goalkeeper is NIU's career leader in shutouts with 16. During the 2007 season, she compiled a 0.53 goals against average with nine shutouts, including four consecutive to end the year. Curnock has a 3.81 cumulative GPA in psychology.
The trio helped the Huskies to a 10-5-5 overall record for the school's highest win total since 1998. NIU reached its second consecutive MAC Tournament semifinal where their season ended with a penalty kick decision to eventual champion Toledo.
AU's Reder makes first team:ŒThe Illini-Badger Football Conference announced the 2007 All-Conference teams, which include members of the Spartans football program.
AU finished the 2007 season with a 4-6 overall record and 4-3 in the IBFC. The 2007 season marked the final season for the Illini-Badger Football Conference. AU will move to the Northern Athletics Conference for football, joining the rest of the AU athletic teams in the all-sports conference.
AU sophomore running back Ryne Reder (Marmion) was named the IBFC Most Outstanding Running Back and first team all conference. On the season, Reder rushed for 1,078 yards, becoming the sixth player in AU football to break the 1,000-yard mark in a single season. Reder had 239 rushes (an AU single season record) and 11 touchdowns.
Joining Reder as IBFC first team are junior defensive lineman Marcus Goedken (Kaneland), junior defensive back Matt Meyer (Yorkville), sophomore offensive lineman Adrian Kibiersza (Maine West) and sophomore linebacker Mike Budzinski (Minooka).
Goedken had a team leading 5½ sacks.
Second team selections included senior running back Brent Harner (Kaneland), and sophomore defensive back Tony Musaraca (Kaneland) was honorable mention.
Boys basketball
West Aurora webcast:ŒFans can watch the West Aurora High School basketball team play Naperville Central live on their computers beginning at 7:15 p.m. tonight.
Neal Ormond, the voice of the Blackhawks for more than 40 years and a member of the West High Sports Hall of Fame, will call the game along with Jeff Hem, a West High alumnus and WBIG sports announcer.
The link to the video webcast will be available at the Dist. 129 Web site, www.sd129.org. The game can also be heard on WBIG-AM 1280.
To view the webcast on a computer one must have:
• An active connection to the Internet. For best performance, the connection speed should be 56bps minimum; DSL or higher is recommended for best performance, particularly for video;
• A Windows Media Player; and
• A functioning sound card and speakers.