Benedictine's Ostrowski hits 800 wins
Benedictine baseball coach John Ostrowski recently went where few coaches have ever gone before -- the 800 career victory level.
Ostrowski, or "O" as he is called by most of his players, joined the elite 800-win club when the Eagles defeated Eastern Nazarene College 12-11 in 12 innings, in the opening game of the annual spring trip to Ft. Myers, Florida.
With that victory, "O" became the ninth person in NCAA Division III history to amass 800 wins at the same school, and the 11th all-time in total wins. He's also sixth among active coaches.
Beginning his 36th season, Ostrowski has guided Benedictine to 24 winning records, including 18 consecutive years (1987-2004) above .500.
He has 26 seasons with 20-plus victories, 15 conference championships and has been in the league's top two 29 times. His teams have made seven NCAA Division III tournament appearances."
"Eight hundred wins means a lot of great memories," Ostrowski said. "I've been so blessed in so many ways to be a part of an institution like Benedictine, which is an easy sell when you're recruiting.
"I remember a lot of NCAA and NAIA tournament appearances, as well as the chance to coach my own son Ted (2005-07.
Ostrowski said he has special memories of all the players whom he calls "the late bloomers."
"The kids who all of a sudden turned 20 or 21 and their game just came together," he said. "That's what makes coaching at this level the most exciting.'
Last year, Benedictine established the John Ostrowski Leadership Endowed Scholarship, which is designed to honor leadership in the classroom and extracurricular activities. It pays tribute to Ostrowski's 35th year of coaching, and to his desire to integrate life lessons into the intercollegiate athletic experience.
Ostrowski earned his bachelor's degree in sociology in 1970 from Lewis University, 1970 where he served as student assistant to the legendary Gordie Gillespie, college baseball's all-time wins leader.
Ostrowski played soccer for the Flyers and last year was inducted into the Lewis University Athletics Hall of Fame.
His first heading coaching job was at Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison in. 1972.
Track and field: Kimyenna Abron will be the first-ever female sprinter to represent Benedictine at the NCAA Division III track and field championships.
Abron's provisional qualifying time of 7.21 seconds in the 55-meter dash was good enough to get her into the field for the 2008 NCAA III Indoor Track and Field championships Friday and Saturday at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.
Her time is the 10th fastest among the qualifiers.
Elmhurst
The Elmhurst wrestling team matched its best-ever national finish by placing eighth at the NCAA Division III championships last weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Elmhurst finished with 38 points to edge College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) rival North Central, which finished ninth, with 37.5 points
Three Bluejays and three Cardinals earned All-America honors.
Elmhurst senior Jeff Kastel (Hinsdale Central) captured his first All-America honor by posting a 3-2 record and placing fifth at 149 pounds.
Kastel closed out his career as Elmhurst's all-time career leader in victories with 120 and became the first Bluejay to record 40 victories or more in a season, setting a school record of 42.
"Jeff's had a great past two seasons," said Elmhurst coach Steve Marianetti. "He's been very close to achieving his goal of reaching All-American honors in previous years. To close out your senior year by achieving that goal, while setting the career record for victories is an amazing thing.
Sophomore Jake Oster, earned his second straight All-America designation at 125 pounds by placing fifth in the tournament.
Freshman Mark Corsello earned his first All-America honor at 285 pounds by placing seventh at nationals.
"It was a great tournament," Marianetti said. "We've seen in the past that just about anything can happen at the championship, so to have three of our four qualifiers named as All-Americans is a great accomplishments. It was one of our season goals all along to finish in the top ten in the nation and we did just that."
North Central
North Central featured three All-America wrestlers.
Adam Johnson who finished third for the second year in at row at 133 pounds; Gabe Youel took fourth at 184; and Ben Youel placed fourth in the 165-pound division.
Johnson, who gained his third All-America designation, was defeated in the semifinals but came back to win the third-place match to run his season record to 49-3, the highest number of victories in a season in North Central wrestling history.