Thunder's Barton, Lee make 1st team
Wheaton women's soccer players Bethany Barton (Wheaton Warrenville South) and Taryne Lee (Wheaton Academy) have been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) Division III All-American First Team.
The two helped guide Wheaton (27-0) to its second consecutive NCAA Division III Championship as the Thunder set an NCAA Division III single-season record with 27 victories.
Barton, a senior defender, earned second-team honors as a junior and she was selected as the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Division III Tournament for the second consecutive year.
She keyed a Wheaton defense that recorded 17 shutouts, including 4 in the NCAA tournament, and allowed just 13 goals on the season.
Lee, a sophomore forward and the 2007 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin most outstanding player, scored a school single-season record 27 goals and added 9 assists. Her 63 points was a Thunder single-season record.
Barton and Lee were joined by teammates Kira Davis, Kari Klynstra, Maria Della Torre (Wheaton Academy) and Sarah Richardson on the NSCAA Division III All-Central Region team.
Men's soccer: Wheaton men's soccer players Strider Elass (Wheaton Warrenville South), Ben Theimer and Matt Swartz have been named to the NSCAA Division III All-North Central Region Team.
Elass, a senior forward, led Wheaton with 11 goals and was second on the team with 9 assists, totaling a team-best 31 points.
North Central: The wrestling team has won its first three dual meets.
Senior Adam Johnson, junior Ben Youel and sophomore Gabe Youel have been instrumental in the Cardinals' early-season success.
Johnson, a two-time All-American, is currently ranked second in the nation at 133 pounds. He's 20-1 overall and has a team-high 6 pins.
Ben Youel leads the team in wins with a 22-3 record and is ranked seventh in the nation at 165.
Gabe Youel is 17-3 and ranked sixth in the nation at 184.
Cowan Brown (157), Greg Schroeder (174) and Vinny Sapienza (197) have also been consistent winners for the Cardinals.
Women's soccer: The Cardinals have earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award for outstanding performance in the classroom during the 2007 season.
The North Central squad recorded a 3.30 combined grade-point average.
In order to qualify for the NSCAA Team Academic Award, a team must have a minimum 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and the institution must be a current NSCAA College Services members.
"Our program has high expectations for our student-athletes in the classroom as well as on field." coach Jenni Kapanen said. "I'm excited we've been recognized for our excellence. The team has impressed me with its hard work and dedication to success."
Members of the award-winning team from DuPage County are: Elise Manzie, (Naperville Central), Jillian Bures (Hinsdale South), Stephanie Hish (West Chicago), Hillary Wilson (Naperville North), Jessica Stephen (Benet) and Lisa Crivolio (Glenbard North).
Elmhurst: Two basketball players won College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin player of the week awards for their performances last week.
Ryan Burks earned the men's award, and Lyndsie Long won the award for the women.
Burks, a junior guard, matched his career-high with 29 points in the Bluejays' 86-74 win over Mount St. Joseph last Saturday. He shot 11 of 19 from the floor and had 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.
Long, a sophomore forward, averaged 20 points and 9.5 rebounds over two games. She poured in a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and 3 steals in the Bluejays' 71-67 loss to Anderson last Tuesday. On Saturday, Long shot 7 of 11 from the floor and scored 16 points with 9 rebounds in a 92-60 win over Wisconsin Lutheran.
DuPage: Basketball All-American Tim Niles, who is averaging 20 points, stayed right on track even though the Chaparrals (5-6) lost two of three games at the William Bear Classic Tournament at Highland Community College.
DuPage got off on the right foot Friday, defeating McHenry County College 70-52 behind Niles' 28 points.
The Chaps led by just 1 point with a few minutes to go.
"We played great down the stretch," said coach Don Klaas
But on Saturday, the Chaps lost 90-63 to host Highland and 74-59 to Iowa Central, with Niles hitting for 17 against Highland and 15 against Iowa Central.