Passing camp connects; Rotzoll receives national attention
It's no big secret that the most complex position in football is quarterback.
The player in the center of the action requires skill, passion, intelligence and the ability to innovate on the move.
It takes a special athlete.
And the quarterback obviously likes to work with quality receivers, who also should be special athletes.
The Blue Chip Quarterback Farm Passing Camp offers the opportunity for both quarterbacks and receivers ages 10 to 18 to improve their skills heading into the 2008 football season.
Staged at Marmion Academy in Aurora, the camp dates are June 13-14 and July 25-26. Both camps run from 8-11:30 a.m. each day.
Quarterbacks will have passing and footwork drills, passing mechanics, arm strengthening drills, timing and read recognition drills and 7-on-7 passing.
Receivers will concentrate on stance and footwork drills, proper route running, catching and receiving drills and 7-on-7 training.
Steve Gregory, a nationally recognized quarterbacks coach who played at the University of Arkansas, is the founder and head coach of the Blue Chip Quarterback Farm. Each member of the staff has college or NFL experience.
For details and additional information, call (630) 862-8082 or go to quarterbackfarm.com.
Baseball
J.D. Rotzoll (Prospect) of Concordia University Chicago was named NCAA Division III National Hitter of the Week for April 21-27. He also was named athlete of the week at Concordia.
Rotzoll batted .565 (13-23) during the Cougars' 4-2 week. Nine of his 13 hits were for extra bases, with 3 doubles and 6 home runs. He homered in 5 of the games and also scored 10 runs, drove in 9 and drew 4 walks.
This marks the first time in school history that a Concordia player has received the national award.
• Mark Kelly (Hoffman Estates) of Southern Illinois University had 4 hits against Murray State and went 5-for-9 in a doubleheader with Creighton. He has moved his average to a team-leading .361. After 46 games, he also was the leader in hits (65) and RBI (40).
• Vince Saisi (Prospect) of Oakton Community College pitched a 2-hitter with 8 strikeouts in a 6-0 win over Sandburg Community College. Oakton won the round-robin title. Saisi is 6-1 for the season with 1 save.
• Brandon Kvistad (Leyden) has an 8-0 pitching record for St. Francis of Joliet with a 2.25 ERA.
Softball
Claire Voris (Barrington) pitched Washington University St. Louis past No. 1 DePauw 1-0, allowing only 2 hits as she improved her record to 14-5. The victory snapped DePauw's 37-game winning streak.
• Karlee Quaritsch (Palatine) of Augustana was named to the first team at third base for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
• Samantha Bloomfield (Barrington) of North Central hit a walk-off home run to beat Carthage 2-1 and also a 2-run shot in a 9-8 victory over Augustana in the CCIW tournament. She had 2 more hits and 2 runs in another win over Augustana that settled the conference title.
Basketball
Jonny Reibel (Hoffman Estates) of Rollins College was named Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the school's all-sports banquet. He was named All-America by four different organizations, including two first-team honors, earned invitations to two all-star games and was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award that honors the nation's top point guard.
Football
Mark Woodsum (Buffalo Grove) earned Northwestern University's Big Ten All-Academic award for the second straight year.
Swimming
Mary Galloway (Schaumburg) was named captain for 2008-09 at Augustana College.
Track and field
Brianna Officer (Palatine) of Illinois State won the 400-meter dash in a season-best 57.04 at the Redbird Invitational. Suzy Turner (Palatine) was third in the 800-meter run at 2:18.45.
In the men's competition, Mike Richardson (Buffalo Grove) took third in the 1,500-meter run at 4:03.48.
• Dan Leonard (Fremd) of Augustana was second in the 10,000-meter run (31:20.60) at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin meet.
• In North Central College's Old Fashion Meet, Adrian Kibiersza (Maine West) of Aurora University won the shot put with a school record 51-8 and discus with a school mark of 160-5.
• Stephanie Moy (Maine West) of Carthage College won the high jump (4-11 ½) and was second in the pole vault (10-6) at the Wisconsin Private College Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Also from Carthage, Laura Pearson (Schaumburg) was second in the 5,000-meter run at 19:29.84.
Wrestling
The 2008 Mustangs Last Chance meet will be held on Saturday, June 28 at Rolling Meadows High School.
The divisions start at ages 8 and under and go to 30 and over. Wrestlers may bump up one age group but not into the adult division.
Weigh-ins are scheduled for 6:30-8 a.m. Wrestling starts at 9 a.m.
There is no pre-registration. Pay at the door.
The wrestler fee is $15. AAU card is required and available at the door -- $12/student up to age 18 and $22/adult.
There will be awards in each division.
For more information, call tournament director Dave Froehlich at (847) 718-5600.
Lacrosse
Noah Baran (Fremd), a four-year starter at Mars Hill (N.C.) College, finished his career on the Deep South Conference championship team. The defender scored 3 goals and 2 assists and caused 24 turnovers, second highest in the league.
Cheerleading
Jared Erlenbaugh (Hoffman Estates) was on the University of Kentucky team that took first in the Division IA UCA Collegiate Cheerleading Nationals for an unprecedented 16th time. They were featured on ESPN. He also choreographed and because of an injury competed on Kentucky's JV squad in the USA Collegiate Nationals in Las Vegas, where Kentucky also finished first.
Dance
Kacey Valentine (Barrington) has been selected to join the competitive dance team at Illinois State University and will participate in the National Dance Alliance College Championships.
Fencing
Tim Glass of the Illinois Fencers Club was a winner in the Dominick Epee Challenge held in Mount Prospect. Glass, along with other members of the club, will compete in the Summer National Championships in California in July.