Husidic honored as Horizon League Player of the Year
Baggio bagged the big one.
The University of Illinois Chicago dominated Horizon League soccer awards, and the top prize went to a Libertyville High School product.
Junior midfielder Baggio Husidic of the No. 8 Flames was named 2008 Horizon League Player of the Year.
Husidic earned three conference awards for his standout season, including Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and All-Horizon League first-team honors.
Husidic lettered three years as a midfielder for Libertyville and played four years at the club level for Sockers FC Chicago. He helped the Sockers reach state, regional and national championship tournaments and participated in the Sockers Top Talent program as a senior.
He also played for the Illinois and Region II ODP teams.
UIC's Alen Husidic (Libertyville) was named to the second team.
The Flames will host the Horizon League Men's Soccer Championship semifinals on Friday, Nov. 14 at Flames Field.
• Nikki Boland (Carmel), freshman forward for St. Ambrose, scored 3 goals in 2 games. After coming back from an injury, she scored a goal against Trinity Christian College and 2 goals in a 6-0 conference tournament victory over Iowa Wesleyan.
• Junior Scott Wallner (Buffalo Grove) and senior Matt Meyer (Schaumburg) both finished with a team-leading 12 points for Augustana College.
Football
Consider the odds.
Two former Mid-Suburban League quarterbacks tooks snaps and completed passes in the same Big Ten football game Saturday.
Scott Tolzien (Fremd) of Wisconsin, Daily Herald All-Area captain in 2005, and Teddy Schell (Barrington) of Indiana, all-area selection in 2006, both saw action in relief roles in the Badgers' 55-20 victory in Bloomington, Ind.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Tolzien, who earlier this season had directed a scoring drive for Wisconsin against Iowa, completed his only pass Saturday for 17 yards. He also scored his first college touchdown on a 2-yard run.
The 6-5, 216-pound Schell, making his first appearance for Indiana, made his first college completion worth 6 yards.
• North Park's Joe Cullotta (Conant) was named defensive player of the week in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). He had 10 tackles against Carthage as a defensive back.
• Augustana College's Tim Podulka (Elk Grove) and Jason Kwasigroch (Carmel) hooked up on a 42-yard scoring pass against North Central. Podulka rushed for 85 yards on just five carries and passed for 124 with 15 completions. Kwasigroch caught 3 passes for 52 yards.
• Three area products at Carthage rank either first or second in the CCIW.
Heading into weekend action, quarterback Evan Jones (Grayslake) topped the CCIW in passing yardage (299.1 yards per game) and total offense (306 per game), and wide receiver Jeff Koeneman (Fremd) was second in receiving yards at 104.8 per game. Cornerback Danny O'Donnell (Elk Grove) headed the league in both kick returns (27.7 yards per return) and passes defended (1.62 per game).
Jones completed 16 passes for 246 yards and 4 touchowns Saturday against North Park.
Volleyball
Katie Lundgren (Stevenson) of Carthage College was named first-team All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, player of the year and CCIW tournament MVP.
Lauren Dembkowski (Hersey) and Drewann Pancratz (Schaumburg), also of Carthage, were second-team choices with Pancratz named the league's freshman of the year.
Earning honorable mention all-conference was Crystal Wright (Lake Zurich) of North Central.
Running
Micky Cobrin (Stevenson, University of Arkansas) finished third in 30:23, nine seconds behind the winner, in the Israel National Championships and has been invited to the World Road Championships. He also will be running the 1,500 in the indoor Europe championships.
Swimming
Tim Weidner (Prospect) will be inducted into the Valparaiso University Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 28 as part of the school's 150th anniversary celebration. At Valpo, Weidner set eight school records, was team captain twice and team MVP and all-conference each year.
Weidner, an engineer working in Sugar Grove and living with his wife and daughter in Yorkville, also was a three-time academic All-American, and as a senior, he became only the third Valpo athlete to receive the Mid-Continent Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.
• Sophomore Jeff Davis (Schaumburg) of Western Illinois University was named The Summit League's Swimmer of the Week. He out-swam his competition by 50 seconds in Ames, Iowa to win the 1,650-yard freestyle in 16:23.96. In the 500-yard free, he took first at 4:50.29 and then was on the winning 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:17.26.
Basketball
Tryouts for the Buffalo Grove Junior Bison Boys Basketball Feeder Program will be held from 4-8 p.m . on Sunday, Dec. 7 in the high school's main gym for 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade teams. Boys trying out must reside in the Buffalo Grove High School attendance area.
Parents must register their child when dropping him off.
The season runs from January through mid-March.
For questions, contact the Buffalo Grove athletic office at (847) 718-4020.
Coaching clinic
The American Sport Education Program (ASEP) Coaching Clinic will be held in Arlington Heights on Saturday, Nov. 22 at the La Quinta Inn. The clinic is set up for anyone interested in becoming certified to coach middle or high school athletics.
Successful completion of the ASEP program is required by the Illinois High School Association for all non-faculty coaches.
To register or for more information, contact Jeff Kyle at (217) 586-4799 or at thekyles@mchsi.com.
bfrisk@dailyherald.com