Goggin, Kenney letting field hockey take them places
Playing field hockey may not land you a scholarship, but it can attract a college of your choice.
That's what Glenbard West seniors Cassie Goggin and Erin Kenney realized. On Feb. 18 they signed letters of intent to Bucknell and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively.
"We've always encouraged kids to play field hockey, first because you really love it and, second, because it may open some doors for you to help you get into a college that you might otherwise not be able to get into, or might be borderline," Goggin's mother, Sally, said Tuesday.
Scholarship monies for field hockey are not available to either Cassie Goggin or Kenney, but the girls come from a team that placed fourth in state in 2008 and third in 2009 to enter solid collegiate programs. (Another Hilltopper, Jenna Ortega, was going to take an official visit to Ohio Wesleyan, Sally Goggin said.)
MIT is one of the top Division III field hockey programs in the country, she said, while Bucknell is a Division I program that plays in the Patriot League.
"It's really fun," Sally Goggin said. "It's kind of the big-time in the sport, which is great."
Another Tiger to bootWe heard about kicking phenom Nick Immekus before he even enrolled at Wheaton Warrenville South High School.Now Immekus' prep football resume is complete with the announcement that he's the winner of the DuPage Heritage Gallery's 2009 Red Grange Award. First presented in 1974, the Grange Award salutes a District 200 football player who embodies athletics, sportsmanship and academics.Immekus, a Daily Herald DuPage All-Area pick, boomed 70 of 88 (80 percent) of his kickoffs for touchbacks this year for the Class 7A state champion Tigers. He converted 10 of 12 field goal tries, with three 47-yarders. Immekus will receive his trophy in a June presentation.For those keeping score at home, WW South has fielded the last seven Grange winners. WW South Tigers have won 14 awards (Jon Beutjer and Jon Schweighardt shared the honor in 1998) to 12 for Wheaton North. Wheaton Central landed 6 and Wheaton Warrenville 5.'Cat powerIn 2007 Neuqua Valley's Chris Derrick was named the Gatorade national boys cross country runner of the year before he started running for Stanford.The Wildcats strike again. Bryan Ciesiulka was named the 2009-10 Gatorade Illinois boys soccer player of the year. The senior midfielder scored 16 goals with 22 assists to help 28-1 Neuqua Valley to the Class 3A quarterfinals. Ciesiulka was a National Soccer Coaches Association All-American, the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association's player of the year and honorary captain of the Daily Herald DuPage All-Area Boys Soccer Team.The Gatorade folks value stuff besides athletics, too. Ciesiulka, signed to Marquette, will be eligible for the national award based also on his 4.0 grade-point average and volunteer work including a service mission to Mexico.All over the mapBob Mamminga, a 1998 graduate of Batavia High School, teaches music at St. Francis High School. Among other tasks he directs the energetic and often goofy-hatted St. Francis Pep Band at home basketball games. A four-year member of the Marching Illini himself, Mamminga has built St. Francis' pep band from 6-10 musicians playing at games in 2004 to about 70 this year. The unit is as likely to play a contemporary hit as it is to bolt into Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." Sidelines loves music, so we asked Mamminga to name his top five influences and to explain their sway on him.1) Wynton Marsalis: "A master of two musical genres in classical and jazz. As a trumpet player, I heard the album 'Carnival' as a kid and was absolutely blown away (by) his mastery of the horn."2) Counting Crows: "'August and Everything After' is my favorite album of all time. In my opinion nobody conveys their personal side better through music than Adam Duritz. 'Mr. Jones' is why I picked up a guitar, and I find myself playing 'Holiday in Spain' and 'Raining in Baltimore' constantly on the piano."3) Van Halen: "Similar to Marsalis, I was in awe with (guitarist Eddie Van Halen's) 'Eruption' and his solo in Michael Jackson's 'Bad.' The combo of Eddie, Alex and Michael Anthony is a pretty impressive group no matter who sings."4) Miles Davis: "'Kind of Blue' is such a classic jazz album and 'So What' was the first solo I transcribed on trumpet, making me aware of how simple yet genius Miles was in his use of Modal Jazz."5) Chicago: "While not as influential as the other four, Chicago combines all the things that I love, in great horn playing, classic melodies and great rock music."Honorable mentions: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Maynard Ferguson, Dave Matthews Band.