College achievers: First-semester finals

As long as they keep sending them, we'll keep running them — highlights from local grads done good.

Most deserving

Augustana senior volleyball player Courtney Jungnickel (Naperville Central) earned the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin women's Jack Swartz Award for the fall season for a second straight year. One female and one male athlete receives the award honoring scholastics and athletics from a pool of nominees submitted by each of the eight CCIW colleges. The male winner was Augustana football player John Mago, a Cary-Grove graduate.

Jungnickel earned all-CCIW honors four straight years at outside hitter, making first-team this season. The two-time Augie MVP leaves the program as its all-time leader in service aces with 215, and second in career kills and digs.

A business administration major with a 3.65 GPA, Jungnickel was named to nine all-tournament teams and earned all-academic all-conference each of her four years.

In a match against North Central College the fall of her freshman season — after which she was named Augustana's best offensive player — Jungnickel spearheaded a cancer awareness night in response to the plight of her mother, Elaine, who died in January 2008 after a long bout with ovarian cancer.

Batter up

Illinois State junior second baseman Kevin Tokarski (Downers Grove North) will be honored Jan. 30 in Rosemont by the 2011 Pitch & Hit Club of Chicago. Last year he set six single-season ISU program records as well as the career stolen base mark of 60 in just two seasons. Tokarski earned three All-America selections, was the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year and the State Farm Valley Tournament MVP. In December he was accorded preseason All-America recognition by Louisville Slugger and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Proud heritage

A couple old Montini Broncos, Benedictine University sophomore tailback John Borsellino and senior receiver Mike Trombetta, were first-team selections in the Northern Athletics Conference. Benedictine coach Jon Cooper, whose Eagles went 8-3 overall, 7-0 in conference, was named coach of the year.

Brainiacs

Illinois Wesleyan senior Alli Novak (Naperville North) was the first-team goaltender on the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Women's Scholar All-America Team, College Division. A business and marketing student with a 3.59 grade-point average, Novak was among 41 players out of 860 teams spanning Divisions II, III and NAIA to be chosen.

University of Chicago senior Claire Denz (Wheaton North), an economics major with a 3.67 GPA, earned second-team honors. Denz, a defender who helped the Maroons hold foes to 9 goals in 19 games with 11 shutouts, already has a job lined up at JP Morgan in New York City.

Both Novak (first team) and Denz (third team) also earned honors as NSCAA/Performance Subaru Division III All-Americas. Wheaton College junior forward Jaime Orewiler — a former Wheaton North teammate of Denz — joined Novak on the first team. Novak finished as Illinois Wesleyan's career leader in wins, saves and shutouts — 50, 310 and 34, respectively.

Speaking of NSCAA/Performance, Illinois State junior forward Jessica Carlson (Hinsdale South) became the first Redbird to earn all-Great Lakes Region honors. The first-team selection led Illinois State in all offensive categories, tallying 19 points on 7 goals and 5 assists.

The big guy

Colin Madison (Willowbrook), a senior offensive guard for the Temple Owls, earned repeat all-Mid-American Conference honors. The 6-foot-4, 319-pounder and team captain also earned all-MAC first team honors by Phil Steele and was on the New York Post's “Most Under-Publicized Team,” according to the Temple website.

Going national

John Shodipo (Lisle), a senior at Mid-American Christian University in Oklahoma, was named the National Christian College Athletic Association student of the week Feb. 4. The 6-foot-6 forward registered 26 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in Mid-American's fifth straight win, the Evangels' longest streak since 2007. Shodipo, who went 4 for 4 from the arc, also was named the Sooner Athletic Conference men's player of the week.

Once in a lifetime

Helping Augustana's men's basketball team to an 11-0 start, its best in 75 years, Kameron Norton (Downers Grove North) was named to the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament all-tourney team.

Ready for some futbol

North Central College's Steve Hlavac (Naperville North), Augustana's Drew Hansen (Downers Grove South) and Wheaton College's Ray Krishock (St. Francis) played on the all-star Division III football squad, Team Stars and Stripes, that beat a Mexican all-star team 48-7 in the 2010 Tazon de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars) football game on Dec. 18 in Toluca, Mexico.

As predicted

North Central College senior offensive lineman Kyle Antos (Wheaton Warrenville South) had been tabbed a preseason All-America. That came to light Dec. 20 when the 6-foot-1, 272-pounder was named to the D3football.com All-America Team, a first-team selection. Former Tigers teammate Jim O'Brien, a senior tailback at Washington University in St. Louis, and Washington linebacker Kyle Larkin (Hinsdale Central) were on the University Athletic Association first team.

We knew him when

Former Downers Grove North All-Area footballer Ryan Gresko, a junior linebacker at Illinois Wesleyan, received that program's “Best Big Skill” award for his defensive play. Gresko led the Titans with 86 tackles, 48 of them solo tackles, including 13 tackles for loss and 6 quarterback sacks. Fenton graduate Dennis Zic, the Titans' punter, earned the special teams award.

Auspicious debut

Messiah College (Penn.) freshman defender Josh Kremers (Wheaton Academy) played in all 24 games for the No. 1 ranked men's Division III soccer team. After losing its season opener Messiah ran the table en route to its third straight national title and eighth in 11 years. Kremers scored a goal and assisted on another this fall.

One for the future

On Dec. 13, Benet Academy senior Sean Mogan, the Redwings' most valuable soccer player last fall, received a letter from U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13th) nominating him to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. Coaches from the Division I Cadets had scouted the young Naperville resident at the Dallas Cup in March, and he verbally committed in August.

Biggert's letter is only the latest among Mogan's slew of accomplishments.

A member of the Chicago Fire Under-18 Academy team, the Daily Herald All-Area selection made the Olympic Development Program State and Midwest Regional teams in 2009, and was part of several state and regional championship teams on the travel circuit.

This fall he was chosen for the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-Sectional Team, as well as the Chicago Fire's All-Academic All-State Team, a First-Team selection. Mogan carries a 3.6 grade-point average at Benet.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com