Grayslake prepped Johnson for rugby championship game

When Valerie Johnson was running track and field at Grayslake High School, she never imagined she'd one day be playing for a national championship in rugby.

But all her running in high school helped her energy in rugby, where you're basically on the go for 80 minutes.

Johnson and her Winona State rugby team will be on the go this April - to Orlando for the United States Rugby nationals. Fifteen other teams will be vying for the top crown.

A 21-year-old junior, Johnson is the forwards captain and president of the Black Katts Rugby team.

She credits her success in track and field and rugby and her college major of geology to her former Grayslake High School (Central, her senior year) teachers Jason Janczak, Nora Bowers and Dustin Cheirico.

"They taught me how to set goals and achieve them," said Johnson, who was an IHSA state qualifier in the triple jump.

But in college, rugby became Johnson's top priority thanks to her brother Erik, who played tennis at Grayslake High, where he graduated in 1999.

"He used to watch it all the time and I became a big fan of it," said Valerie, a three-year starter for the Black Katts who is minoring in tourism.

Johnson thought she would be continuing her track and field career at Winona, instead she fell in love with rugby.

"Rugby is nonstop," she said. "I tackle and hit people, so the back line can score.

"Rugby is like a combination of soccer and football. It's more like soccer, though, because there are no breaks for 80 minutes except when you walk when the ball go out of bounds. All the running I did in high school helps so much."

Basketball camp

Dennis and Kyle Kessel's in-season Training and Games will be held on Fridays from Jan. 8 to March 19 and Sunday from Jan. 10 to March 21 at a price of $200.

The youth basketball league is for boys and girls from first through eighth grade.

Football

Three former local players - sophomore Matt Blanchard (Lake Zurich), freshman Jimmy Norris (Fremd) and sophomore Jason Ford (Fremd) played for Wisconsin-Whitewater which won the Division III national championship last month with a 38-28 victory over Mount Union in Salem, Va.

Women's basketball

University of Wisconsin-Parkside junior center Brittany Hogen (Hersey) was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference women's basketball Player of the Week.

Hogen led the Rangers to a pair of wins in nonconference action.

In Parkside's 85-70 win over Robert Morris University, Hogen posted a career-high 28 points and career-high 21 rebounds. She made school history with the 20-20 effort.

Hogen was also 12-for-15 from the free throw line. Seventeen of 21 rebounds were on the defensive end, and she added 3 assists.

Hogen came right back and dominated on the glass against Cardinal Stritch, posting 15 rebounds in the Rangers' 72-45 win.

Hogen is averaging a double-double on the season with 15.2 points and a league best of 10.2 rebounds per game.

Whitewater coach Jenny Kenesie was quoted as saying "Brittany deserves the recognition for the weekend she had" and "she battled on both ends of the floor and was a beast underneath."

Men's basketball

Chris McCellan (Wheeling), a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, led a late second-half comeback for Lewis when the Flyers posted a 73-70 nonconference victory over Olivet Nazarene University.

McClellan led all scorers with 20 points, including 12 in the second half. He shot 6 of 10 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. He made all 5 of his free throws.

"Chris took over and hit some big shots and that's what we need from him," said Lewis coach Scott Trost. "I've been on him to be more aggressive, push the ball and search for his shot more and I thought he did that. When he plays with that kind of aggressiveness and confidence, he's a good player."

McClellan gave the Flyers a 69-67 lead on a driving layup. His layup with 12 seconds left put Lewis up for good 71-70. And his 2 free throws sealed the win with eight-tenths of a second remaining.

He scored the Flyers' last 6 points and had a career-high 6 rebounds.

McClennan also scored a game-high 15 points, all in the second half, as Lewis defeated Wayne State 61-49.

McClellan was instrumental in an 18-8 run to begin in the second half, as the sophomore guard scored 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, over a 5:38 span.

McClellan currently ranks 22nd in the GLVC with his 13.5 ppg and 2nd in free throw percentage (91.2)

Men's soccer

Three Illinois College student-athletes from the North Suburbs of Chicago area have been named to the 2009 Academic All-Midwest Conference Team. One of them is Andrew Perkins (Prospect) of Arlington Heights.

The elite squad includes male and female student-athletes from the 10 conference schools who lettered in a fall sport and who possess an academic grade point average of 3.20 or above.

Perkins, a junior, was recognized for his contributions in men's soccer.

Augustana senior midfielder Scott Wallner (Buffalo Grove) has been named to the 2009 All-Central Region team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Wallner was tabbed as a third team selection. He earned first team all-conference status in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin for the second straight season, finishing with 3 goals and 2 assists for a total of 8 points. He led the team with 59 shots on goal and played in 17 games as a starter.

Wallner also led the Vikings with a trio of game winning goals during the season.

He was a first team academic all-district selection by ESPN The Magazine, as named by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

During his career he had 12 goals and 7 assists.