Wheeling grad Nowry stars on international mat stage

Max Nowry has been a success at every level he has wrestled.

So, it should be no surprise the former IHSA state champion at Wheeling High School and junior national champion is now succeeding on an international level.

Nowry, who is a freshman at Northern Michigan University, captured a gold medal and most valuable wrestler award this weekend in the Petro Sirakov and Ivan Illiev Junior International Greco-Roman wrestling rournament held in Varna, Bulgaria.

Nowry won all three of his matches in the 50 kilogram/110 pound class. He defeated Aldabergenov Alikhan (Kazakhstan) 4-0, 1-0, Gartvrmni Vilayat (Azerbaijan) 3-0, 1-1 and U.S. teammate Tyler Cox of Wyoming in the finals 3-0, 4-0.

Nowry's impressive throws earned him the most valuable wrestler award. He is currently a member of the U.S. Olympic Developmental Program at Northern Michigan.

• Josh Terrell (Round Lake) captured the first individual conference title by a University of Dubuque wrestler since 1990 when he won the 165-pound crown in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet. Terrell's title was only the 20th for the school since 1960.

Derrick and Dillon Pousson (Round Lake) finished first and third, respectively, for Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the North Central Conference tournament. Derrick won the title at 149 and Dillon wrestled at 141.

Basketball

Bryan Yelvington (Hersey) capped his stellar Kenyon College career with the highest honor awarded by the North Coast Athletic Conference. The league's 10 head coaches voted Yelvington the 2008-09 NCAC player of the year.

The 6-foot-6 senior forward led the NCAC in scoring at 19.9 points a game. He was third in the conference in rebounding (7.4 per game) and in the top 10 for field-goal percentage (.532), free-throw percentage (.773), steals (34) and blocked shots (12).

A three-time All-NCAC selection, including first-team honors the past two seasons, Yelvington finished his career with 1,413 points, a total that ranks 13th all-time at Kenyon. He is the school's second player to win the NCAC player of the year award.

• Nikki Preston (Wheeling) and Kylie Castans (Schaumburg) kept Illinois Wesleyan's dream of becoming the top Division III team in the country alive.

Preston had 7 points and 4 rebounds in a win over Ohio Wesleyan, and Castans had 8 points in a win over Wisconsin-Eau Claire as the Titans, the top-ranked D-III team, improved to 29-0 and advanced to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Preston is averaging 7 points and 3.2 rebounds a game and has hit 35 3s. Castans is averaging 6.7 points and 3 rebounds and has hit 25 3-point baskets. The Titans, who won CCIW regular-season and tournament titles for the second straight year, host Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the start of sectional play Friday.

• Former Schaumburg teammates Zach Pancratz and Craig Reichel finished their college careers by leading Rollins College to the Sunshine State Conference championship game.

Pancratz had 16 points, 10 assists and 3 steals, and Reichel had 17 points on 4-for-7 3-point shooting in Rollins' semifinal win. In a 77-76 overtime loss to Florida Southern in the championship game, Pancratz scored 11 points and hit a 3 in the final minute of regulation to force overtime.

• Junior Jake Pancratz (Schaumburg) earned all-University Athletic Association honors for the second straight year for the University of Chicago. The honorable-mention selection averaged 10.8 points and 2.9 assists and shot 41 percent from 3-point range.

Senior Alex Leach (Warren) also was an all-UAA honorable mention selection for the third time for the Chicago women's team as she averaged 12.9 points in conference play and 11.1 points overall. She led the team with 16 double-digit scoring games.

• Brittany Hogen (Hersey) was leading scorer and rebounder for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in its last two conference games and first conference championship game. Hogen had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Lewis, 19 points and 8 rebounds in a loss to Indianapolis, and he added and 20 points and 13 rebounds in a season-ending loss to Missouri S&T.

Swimming

Hope College freshman Sarah Sohn (Prospect) set a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association record when she won the 1,650 free (17:26.54) at the conference championship finals. She also set a Hope school record by finishing second in the finals of the 400 IM (4:31.75).

Sohn took third in the 500 free (5:04.70) and was also part of the 800 free relay (7:40.1), which set a school record. She also time-trialed in the 200 fly (2:07.30), and all of her times were lifetime bests.

Sohn was named to the 2009 MIAA all-conference women's swimming and diving team and has been invited to compete at the NCAA Division III national championships at the University of Minnesota this month.

• Sophomore Joanie Cullen (Maine West) swam personal bests for Ball State in the 50 free (24.58), 100 free (53.69) and 100 fly (58.83) at the Mid-American Conference Swimming Championships.

• Sara Fogle (Barrington) swam two personal bests for the University of Vermont in the America East Championship swimming and diving conference championships.

Fogle was ninth in the 1,650-yard free (17:30.3) and 15th in the 500 free (5:04.43) as the team finished an all-time best third place.

• University of Nebraska senior Jenny Toler (Elk Grove) finished off her career on a positive note at the Big 12 Swimming Championships.

Toler swam three individual career-best times and was ninth all-time in Nebraska history in the 100 free (50.51) and 200 free (1:50.47) and 10th all time in the 50 free (23.53).

She is also part of three relays that rank all-time in school history - third-best 400 free (3:20.13), fourth-best 200 free (1:32.44) and seventh-best 800 free (1:49.42).

Baseball

Mark Kelly (Hoffman Estates) went 3-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI to extend his hitting streak to six games in Southern Illinois' 9-7 win over Northern Illinois.

• Matt Burke (Palatine/Harper College) went 3-for-4 with a homer for North Central College in the second game of a season-opening doubleheader at Franklin College.

• Junior Ryan Copeland (Elk Grove) struck out eight batters and scattered 4 hits over 9 innings while leading Illinois State to a 2-1 win over South Dakota State at the Metrodome.

Copeland threw 66 of his 87 pitches for strikes in his third complete game in 3 starts. The left-hander improved to 2-1 with an 0.89 ERA.

• Slammers Baseball & Softball Training Academy in Lake Forest will hold a Spring Break baseball camp, March 30-April 2.

The camp, which has sessions for kids ages 11 and under and ages 12 and older, will focus on all skill areas. The camp is limited to 40 participants per session, with costs from $59-$199 for members and $69-$229 for nonmembers.

Instructors include former big-league catcher Gary Bennett, former Hersey stars Tom Knauss and Ed Tolzien, former Carmel standout Sean Walker, former Warren coach Dar Townsend and Todd Fine and Kyle Frischmann.

For more information go to slammersillinois.com or call (847) 549-1687.

Lacrosse

Mary Handrahan (Lake Zurich), a freshman playing attack for Trine University in Indiana, had 6 goals and 2 assists in its season-opening 11-10 win against Butler.

• Sports notes items can be sent by e-mail to mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com or by FAX to (847) 427-1173.