Jager stands out for Wisconsin at Big 10 indoors

Former Jacobs cross country and track standout Evan Jager made an impact for the Wisconsin men's indoor track and field team this season.

Jager finished second in the mile at the Big Ten Conference indoor championships in Madison, Wis. Jager clocked in at 4:22.54. Jager helped Wisconsin win the Big Ten indoor championship for the record eighth straight time.

Jager was also part of Wisconsin's distance medley team that placed third at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships in Arkansas.

Wisconsin ran the race in 9:33.83, which was just off its qualifying time of 9:33.29.

With Wisconsin in fourth place in the meet, Jager took the handoff and ran his 800 leg in 1:49, moving the team into second place heading into the last 1,600 meters of the race.

Schrader earns honor: Bartlett product Lindsay Schrader, now playing on the Notre Dame women's basketball team, was named to the all-Big East Conference honorable mention team. Schrader, who made a successful comeback from ACL surgery in her right knee, is averaging 10.4 points (third on the team) per game for the Fighting Irish. Schrader also leads the team in rebounding (6.0 per game) and is shooting .468 from the field and .644 from the free-throw line. She also has 68 assists and 48 steals. Schrader and Notre Dame (23-8) face SMU in opening round action of the NCAA women's tournament today at Purdue. The game will be played at 1:30 p.m. and is slated to be televised on ESPN2. Notre Dame is a No. 5 seed in the tournament, while SMU is a No. 12 seed.

Whalen at Ohio State: Jacobs graduate Pat Whalen, now a junior on the Ohio State men's track and field team, took fourth place in the shot put at the Big Ten Conference indoor meet recently.

Whalen finished with a mark of 59-feet, 1 ½ inches. Whalen led Ohio State during the indoor season with a toss of 18.15 meters at the Gladstein Invitational. Whalen's fourth-place effort helped Ohio State finish third in the Big Ten.

Whalen is coming off a 2007 outdoor season where he led the Buckeyes with an NCAA regional mark of 58-2. He was also second on the team in the discus with a throw of 164-6 ½.

Whalen, who a Class AA state shot put championship at Jacobs in 2004 and won the indoor state title in 2003, finished fifth in the Big Ten in the discus and eighth in the shot put as a sophomore during the outdoor season. Whalen was also ninth as a freshman in the Big Ten in the indoor shot competition.

ECC hoops players earn plaudits: Elgin Community College had a number of basketball players earn postseason honors recently. Dundee-Crown alum Ryan Harris was named to the Region IV all-region second team and was also an Illinois Skyway Collegiate all-conference first-team pick. Harris was ranked among the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association scoring leaders after averaging 22.8 points per contest for the Spartans. Harris drained 95 three-pointers and also sank 113 free throws. Harris also hit 82.5 percent of his free-throw attempts. Harris connected on 35.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Burlington Central graduate Corey Rau was named to the ISCC all-conference honorable mention team. Rau averaged 11 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest.

ECC women's player Ariana Topps (East Aurora) was named to the Region IV all-region second team. Topps also earned ISCC all-conference first-team honors. Topps averaged 15.4 points and 12.8 rebounds per contest. She ranked among the national leaders in rebounds per game. Guard De'Larissa Morris (Streamwood), forward Jessica Turnage (East Aurora) and guard Karin Herrera (Elgin) were named to the ISCC all-conference honorable mention team.

Vierneisel at Cal: Jacobs product Eric Vierneisel is a junior on the Cal men's basketball team. The Golden Bears, who went 6-12 in Pac-10 Conference play this year, hosted New Mexico Wednesday in NIT action. Prior to the New Mexico game, Vierneisel had played in 30 games for Cal (16-15) and had started 17 of those contests. He was averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, while shooting .375 from the field and .316 from the 3-point line (25 made). Vierneisel was also shooting .731 from the free-throw line and had 63 assists against only 35 turnovers.

Walker at Western: Hampshire product Amanda Walker, now a member of the Western Illinois University women's basketball team, finished the season averaging 8.4 points and 2.7 rebounds. Walker played in 29 games (28 starts) and averaged nearly 30 minutes of playing time per game. She shot .424 from the field and .387 from the 3-point line (made a team-high 36 three-pointers). Walker also shot .850 from the free-throw line and had a team-high 90 assists against only 47 turnovers. Western finished the year 14-16 and went 12-6 in Summit League competition.

Heine at Saint Xavier: Hampshire graduate Jackie Heine helped the Saint Xavier University women's basketball team earn an at-large bid to the 2008 NAIA championships in Jackson, Tenn. Saint Xavier lost to Lubbock (Tex.) Christian University 81-78 earlier this week in first-round action. Heine scored 13 points in the loss. Heading into that game, Heine was averaging 13.4 points (second on the team) and 7.5 rebounds per game, while shooting .537 from the field and .654 from the free-throw line. Heine had started 30 games for Saint Xavier and was averaging 27 minutes of playing time. Heine had 8 points and 10 rebounds in Saint Xavier's loss to Olivet Nazarene in the CCAC championship game. After the game, Heine was named to the all-CCAC team. Saint Xavier finished the season 23-9.

Aurora University softball: A pair of area products have helped the Aurora University softball team get out to a 7-3 start this season. Larkin alum Karissa Hansen was hitting .316 in 7 games for the Spartans. Hansen had 6 hits, including 2 triples, in 19 at-bats. She also had 13 RBI and had not made an error in 15 chances in the field. Hansen is a sophomore outfielder. Hampshire alum Abby Young was hitting .250 in 10 games. Young had 9 hits in 36 at-bats and had 7 RBI. Young is a junior catcher-infielder.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at difibulator@aol.com. I'm especially looking for spring sports submissions.