McKenzie helps Calvin to best-ever soccer finish

Former Antioch High School standout Alex McKenzie closed out a successful soccer career at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., serving as an integral part of a team that was runner-up in the NCAA Division III championship in San Antonio, Texas.

Calvin defeated Dominican University 1-0 in the semifinals and lost to Messiah 2-0 in the finals.

Dominican had a number of local area players on its squad including Edwin Luganas (Carmel), Leo Elizalde (Wheeling), Stan Micic (Prospect), and Andy Lynch (Lake Zurich).

McKenzie, a senior midfielder was the leading scorer for Calvin College and in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association with 9 goals and 6 assists.

He scored 2 goals and had an assist in the NCAA tournament. He was Player of the Week after a hat trick against Alma.

McKenzie also received first team all-conference in the MIAA.

The NCAA second-place finish is the highest finish for the Calvin men's soccer program.

Football

Only a junior, Boston College offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo (Lake Zurich) was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team.

Last season, he was named to the preseason All-ACC team as he made the move from right tackle to left tackle. He was a College Football News All-Sophomore First Team selection.

Wrestling

North Central College's Vinnie Sapienza (Libertyville) defeated Augustana's Hunter Feraco by a technical fall (18-2) at 197.

The Cardinals won nine of 10 matches and won by a major decision or better in five weight classes, posting a 37-3 decision while improving to 6-1 on the season.

Volleyball

Just a few weeks ago, Kristin Paczosa completed one of the most successful volleyball career in Cornell College history, ending up No. 2 all time with 1,339 kills.

So the former Buffalo Grove standout deserves a relaxing winter, right?

That's hardly the case.

Paczosa has switched to the basketball court and is already making her impact in that sport.

The senior forward averaged 9.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals in back-to-back victories over Knox (58-51) and Heidelberg (69-56).

The Rams (3-3 overall, 0-0 Iowa Intercolleigiate Athletic Conference) held their two opponents last week to a combined 32.7 percent shooting, including 6-of-33 (18.2 percent) from 3-point range.

Paczosa notched her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 4 steals while Charlotte Milas (Rolling Meadows) chipped in eight points.

Paczosa had a solid all-around game with seven points, 12 rebounds and four steals.

"The team works hard in practice and because of this I can see improvement each day in practice and in the games," said Cornell coach Brent Brase. "Our two seniors, Char (Milas) and Kristin (Paczosa), do a great job of setting the tone in practice and the rest of the team follows very favorably."

Paczosa has become the fourth Ram in school history to reach 500 points and 500 rebounds in a career. She currently has 536 points and 512 rebounds. Paczosa ranks fourth on Cornell's career list for rebounds.

The only other Rams to accomplish the feat are Lisa Fry (1,189 points, 700 rebounds), Tiffany Cowan (1,122 points, 694 rebounds) and Joyce Weeg (935 points, 927 rebounds).

Paczosa leads the IIAC in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and ranks fourth in free throw percentage (87.5) and seventh in steals (2.5 spg).

• The University of Wisconsin-Parkside defeated visiting Saginaw Valley 79-60 in the DeSimone Gymnasium as the Rangers improved their record to 4-1.

Parkside's Brittany Hogen (Hersey) was 7-of-11 from the floor and tallied 15 points to go with her game-high eight rebounds.

• Kylie Castans (Schaumburg) and Nikki Preston (Wheeling) are the No. 2 and 3 leading scorers (average-wise) for Illinois Wesleyan. After six games in which the Titans won all of them, Castans is averaging 11.2 points along with 4.5 rebounds. She has started every game and averages 19.8 minutes on the floor.

Preston has played in three games, coming off the bench in each. She has scored 30 points with 7 rebounds, 7 steals and 6 assists.

Men's basketball

Geoff McCammon (Conant) led Loyola (5-2) with 18 points in a 69-64 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

McCammon also collected 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steals while hitting 4 of 6 3-point attempts.

Sean Dwyer (Hersey) has come off the bench in six games for Illinois Wesleyan to collect 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for the 5-1 Titans. He averages 19.2 minutes per game.

Teammate Kevin Reed (Prospect) has played in three games with 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Football

• Indiana University junior quarterback Teddy Schell (Barrington) was one 93 Academic All-Big Ten selections for the fall term. Indiana boasted the second-most honorees in the conference with just two fewer than Ohio State.

• Please e-mail items to jleusch@dailyherald.com