College Achievers: They made the Good List

Santa Claus isn't the only one whose mailbag was bursting.

It's high time to unearth the faxes, e-mails, even investigate rumor and innuendo about the athletic exploits of some local graduates.

Without further ado...

• Tom McAndrew, a senior defensive end for the Stanford Cardinal football team, a 2005 graduate of Glenbard West and a cousin of Wheaton Warrenville South receiver Greg McAndrew, earned Pacific-10 Conference All-Academic First-Team accolades this fall. Tom McAndrew, who has made 19 tackles with a sack and a fumble recovery for Sun Bowl-bound Stanford, has a 3.58 grade-point average in his fields of science, technology and society.

• Michigan State soccer co-captain Jeff Ricondo, a junior forward out of St. Francis' Class of '06, helped lead the Spartans - Michigan State, not Frannie - to a third straight NCAA Tournament berth. Ricondo, named Big Ten offensive player of the week Oct. 19 after his game-winning goal in double-overtime against Indiana, tied for first in the Big Ten with 7 assists. Those were the most for a Michigan State player since the 2004 season.

• Taryne Lee, a Wheaton College senior forward out of Wheaton Academy, has been selected First-Team All-America by the National Soccer Coaches Association. It's the third straight year Lee has received the honor. She also earned First-Team All-Central Region honors for a fourth straight season.

Lee, who scored 20 goals with 15 assists this season, will graduate with Wheaton College records for goals, assists and, of course, points: 97, 51 and 245, respectively. She is the fifth player in Division III history to score at least 90 goals with at least 50 assists.

• Kayla Radloff, a sophomore goalkeeper for Augustana out of West Chicago High, was an NSCAA Third-Team selection. Radloff is the first All-America pick in Augie women's soccer history, after going 19-2-1 with 11 shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.55 during a Sweet Sixteen run. Radloff joined teammates Anna Carey (Wheaton Warrenville South), Lauren Polock (Wheaton North) and Katie Oakes (Wheaton North) on the All-Central Region team as well as Wheaton College players Maria Della Torre (Wheaton Academy) and Jaime Orewiler (Wheaton North). Radloff was also an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Third-Team pick.

• Speaking of smarties, there were ESPN the Magazine All-District V Women's Volleyball Team members Laura DeBruler (Downers Grove North) of Illinois and Alyse Serritella (Downers Grove South) of Loyola on the First Team, University Division; and Stephanie Ryding (Naperville Central) of North Central College on that magazine's College Division All-District second team. The college's Lincoln Laureate has a 3.93 GPA while ranking second in career digs for the Cardinals.

• On a layup five minutes into the second half of the eighth basketball game of his senior season at Cardinal Stritch University, on Dec. 3 Lisle graduate Trey Triplett set the Wolves' all-time career points total. The 6-foot-4 forward entered the game 8 points shy of the record, and after finishing with 15 in a 90-77 win over Wisconsin Lutheran, had the record with 1,774 points.

Triplett - whose teammate is current Stritch high scorer Brandon D'Amico, son of former Lisle boys coach Mark D'Amico - is a three-time first-team all-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference selection.

• Olivet Nazarene University senior goalkeeper Danielle Johnston, a Lake Park graduate, was among five finalists for the 2009 Michelle Akers Award presented by the National Christian College Athletic Association. An NAIA Honorable Mention All-America, Johnston was 13-2-2 in net this season with a 0.59 goals-against average.

• Scott Helton, a York graduate who won only two wrestling matches as an eighth-grader with the Junior Dukes program, brought home the gold in the 120 kilogram/264.5 pound class at the Junior Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Helton, York's captain by the time he was a senior, attends Northern Michigan University and is part of the U.S. Olympic Education Center's Greco-Roman wrestling program.

• Upon earning Missouri Valley Football Conference first-team honors a third straight year, Southern Illinois University punter Scott Ravanesi was named to the conference's 70-man "Silver Anniversary Team." This season the Glenbard North graduate is averaging 42.4 yards a punt with 11 over 50 yards, 20 inside the 20-yard line, and a long of 67 yards.

• Players of the week: Big East soccer, West Virginia's Meghan Lewis (Neuqua Valley); Northern Athletics soccer, Aurora University's Justin Pedersen (Glenbard North); College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin swimming, Illinois Wesleyan's Michael Kozak (Waubonsie Valley); CCIW football, North Central's Josh McLeod (Lisle); Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association soccer, Albion's Stephanie Beattie (Benet).

• All-America: Carthage's sophomore outside hitter Michelle Madeja (Neuqua Valley).

• Another Neuqua Valley graduate, Jeanette Nolte, swam a personal-best time of 1 minute, 57.63 seconds as Illinois State - aided by Rosary graduates Sarah Coghlin and Amy Schaefer set a new Horton Pool record in the 800-yard freestyle relay of 7:50.76. That same day Nolte swam on a winning 200-yard medley, had a personal-best in the 200 free and took first in the 100 butterfly.

• Beloit College senior Erika Zevin (Hinsdale South) became the fifth player in Midwest Conference women's tennis history to win three MWC singles championships. Zevin won No. 3 singles in 2006, No. 2 in 2007 and 2009.

• Another Hinsdale South grad, Illinois State's Danielle Mutters, capped a college soccer career as the two-time Missouri Valley Conference defensive player of the year. Mutters played 1,770 minutes this fall to capture ISU season and career records for playing time, and ranks third in starts with 72.

• Courtney Jungnickel, a junior volleyball player at Augustana out of Naperville Central, was the female winner of the CCIW's Jack Swartz Award saluting athletics and academics. Jungnickel, a business administration major with a GPA of 3.50, ranks among Augustana's career top 10 in aces, kills and digs.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com