Storm's Johnson will continue at Lake Forest College
Ever since she was a little girl, South Elgin High School senior Genevieve Johnson has dreamt of playing college basketball.
She will now have that opportunity.
Last week, Johnson decided to attend NCAA Division III Lake Forest College and play for the Foresters and coach Tamilyn Mills.
"Ever since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to play in college, especially after watching (former Bartlett standout) Lindsay Schrader make it to Notre Dame," Johnson said Monday. "Even though (Lake Forest) isn't Division I, I'm still playing in college and I feel it's a goal I've accomplished for myself."
Johnson was an integral part of South Elgin's success from the program's inception right on through this season's 17-10 finish. An honorable mention choice on the Daily Herald's all-area team, she averaged just under 10 points for the Storm this season but more importantly, made a smooth transition from point guard to shooting guard, which allowed freshman Becca Smith to come in and run the point.
At Lake Forest, where Johnson says she's been told she'll have a chance to play right away, she will join a program that was 12-11 this past season and 9-7 in the Midwest Conference, a league that includes such schools as Carroll, Knox, Beloit and Ripon, among others. Tills, who had a successful six-year run at Concordia College in Chicago before taking over at Lake Forest, is a seasoned veteran. In addition to playing for the Wisconsin-LaCrosse team that won a national title in 1980-81, she was an assistant at Division I Marquette and Cal State-Fullerton prior to head coaching stints at Loras, Concordia in St. Paul, Minn., Loras College, and then Concordia in Chicago. One of Tills' assistants at Lake Forest is former Lake Park coach Lisa Smith.
"When I visited I just fell in love with it," Johnson said of Lake Forest. "The campus is beautiful and (Tills) is awesome. She's so energetic."
Johnson said she hasn't decided on a course of academic study, but that she has an interest in psychology.
Evans Scholar news: In Sports Monthly this past Friday we reported on Elgin High senior Devin Skopek, who has earned a Chick Evans Scholarship and will attend Marquette University. Turns out we have another Evans Scholar in the area in Bartlett senior Dan Noncek, who has earned the prestigious scholarship as a caddie at Medinah Country Club. Noncek, who carries a 4.0 GPA, will attend Northern Illinois University.
Ouch!: I wasn't the only one who cringed last week when the softball hit by St. Edward's Kristina Brockner hit Hampshire pitcher Tegan Singleton in the head. Had Singleton not got her right hand up in time to deflect the ball, it would have hit her flush in the face instead of just grazing off her forehead. While Singleton's injury wasn't serious, it brought back memories of the worst incident of that nature I've ever seen. It was back in the last 1990s or thereabouts and also at the Elgin Sports Complex and involved Larkin's Christine Kelly. Let's just say it was not a pretty sight.
Anytime something like that happens, it justifies pitchers wearing protective face masks. We'd like to think the game could be played without a pitcher having to protect herself like that but let's face it, the bat manufacturers have made those darn things so powerful ... it seems like the ball comes off the bat quicker every year.
Another move that needs to be made ASAP is for the National Federation of State High School Associations to mandate the 43-foot pitching distance. That extra 3 feet can mean a lot, and as most sanctioning bodies of travel softball have now gone to 43 feet at the 18U level, and some even at the 16U level, it's time for high schools to as well. The argument against 43 feet below the varsity level is that younger pitchers won't be effective, to which I say baloney. They just need to be taught properly and they'll develop just fine.
Good Friday: I'm still trying to figure out why the Upstate Eight Conference insists on playing baseball and softball on Good Friday. Not only is it a school holiday, it's also a holiday that many people observe as seriously as Christmas. This is just one guy's opinion, but there should not be school events on Good Friday. Nevertheless, this Friday the UEC will play a round of baseball and softball games, including a marquee matchup of two of the top-ranked softball teams in the Daily Herald area when Bartlett travels to Lake Park. Currently the game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. but word is the coaches are lobbying for a 10 a.m. game. All the rest of the UEC baseball and softball games scheduled for Friday are 10 a.m. starts.
Postseason news: Spring is a short enough season that postseason scouting starts about now. The IHSA released assignments for the spring postseason last week and in softball, most Fox Valley area teams fall into the pre-assigned regional group because Rockford schools are in their sectional. Local teams have been assigned to the Class 4A Woodstock sectional. Within that sectional, McHenry hosts a regional that includes Jacobs, Prairie Ridge, Crystal Lake South and Cary-Grove. Huntley has been assigned to the Rockford Guilford regional along with DeKalb, Rockford Jefferson and Woodstock, while Streamwood hosts a regional that includes Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin and Dundee-Crown.
Bartlett, as it was last year, is not included in the western mix. The Hawks are assigned to the Lake Park sectional along with a mix of Upstate Eight and Mid-Suburban League teams, along with a couple from the DuPage Valley and West Suburban conferences.
In Class 3A, Burlington Central and Hampshire are both in the Burlington regional along with Kaneland and IMSA. The BC regional is a part of the Rochelle sectional complex, which includes regionals at Rochelle, Geneseo and Rosary.
St. Edward is in the Class 2A Driscoll regional, and in Class 1A, Westminster Christian will play in the Ashton-Franklin Center regional.
jradtke@dailyherald.com