Dream comes true for Neuqua's Mener

DePaul was always Amanda Mener's dream school.

Right around Halloween her dream came true.

The Blue Demons' softball program offered her a scholarship, the Neuqua Valley senior quickly accepted and last week Mener signed to make it official.

DePaul had been Mener's first collegiate visit, last fall. Things were put on the back burner until interest recently heated up again.

“I almost wasn't expecting it,” Mener said, “and I didn't want to get my hopes up. It's not a surprise; I just didn't want to overthink it. I'm excited.”

As a junior, Mener hit .366 with 38 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. The speedy center fielder hit leadoff for the regional champion Wildcats.

At DePaul, she will join former Stone City Sharks teammates Kirsten Verdun, now a college freshman, and West Chicago senior Mary Connolly.

The general manager of Mener's current summer team, the Orland Park A's, is DePaul assistant coach Liz Jagielski.

“It's kind of a little bit of everything,” Mener said of DePaul's attraction. “They're a great top 25 program, it's in a nice part of the city. It's a perfect spot for me.”

Also signing a softball scholarship this week was Wheaton North senior Paige Wilson.

Wilson signed with Georgia, a school she committed to in June of 2009.

Wilson hooked up with Georgia through a connection of her Illinois Chill summer coach Jerry Quinn. She was thankful to be done with the process of e-mailing countless coaches updating where her game was.

“I wanted to go to a D-I school where it is warm,” said Wilson, “and I wanted to go to a school that's been to the World Series for softball. They have been.”

Wilson plans to major in accounting at Georgia. As a junior the Daily Herald All-Area shortstop hit .447 with 14 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homers, 30 runs scored and 25 runs batted in while striking out just five times. She also stole 15 bases for the 26-11 Falcons.

“You don't see an athlete like Paige come through too often, at least at Wheaton North,” Falcons coach Karen Calabrese said. “Ever since she was a freshman we knew she was something special. She has things that a coach can't teach. And she hits non-stop.”

Signing this week will be Naperville North senior Sammy Marshall, who has already committed to the Western Illinois softball program.

Many have told Marshall that she could take her talents to a bigger school. But she was attracted to Western Illinois' kinesiology program. She hopes to one day own her own business to train kids, or become a personal trainer.

“I'd rather be a big fish in a small pond,” Marshall said, “and make my skills useful for four years.”

The fleet-footed Marshall, who has been timed as fast as 2.5 seconds from home to first, hit .586 last year for Naperville North with 49 stolen bases, both best in the area, and scored 42 runs.

“I loved Western's coach,” Marshall said. “She's always positive. If she does yell it's constructive criticism. She's an awesome coach for them.”