Prospect’s Maibuecher finds the right fit at Purdue
Even after winning Mid-Suburban League cross country championships the last two falls, Prospect senior Laura Maibuecher wasn’t sure if she would run at the college level.
“My parents suggested that if I was unsure, I should fill out the recruiting questionnaire to some of the colleges I applied to,” she said. “And see if there was any interest in me.”
Sure enough, Purdue liked what it saw.
The Boilermakers track and field staff invited Maibuecher for an official visit in January.
Once there, Maibuecher couldn’t resist when offered the opportunity to be a Division I competitor.
She signed a letter of intent on Feb. 23.
“Everything that Purdue offered helped make my decision easy,” she said. “From the facilities, the coaches, and the girls on the team to the academic side, I felt welcomed and wanted with many opportunities to pursue at this university.”
Maibuecher, who owns a 4.6 GPA on a 5.0 scale, plans to study speech pathology/audiology.
The honor roll student and Knights Way Leader has been a varsity runner for four years.
She finished fifth in the 4x800 relay in the 2011 track and field state finals.
And she was an all-state cross country runner in the fall of 2011 after recovering from mononucleosis the previous summer.
Maibuecher began running cross country as a freshman at Prospect to get in shape for basketball.
“But then I realized that I loved the sport even more than basketball,” Maibuecher said.
Although there isn’t one particular inspirational figure, Maibuecher said several people have made an impact on her running success, including her parents (Marty and Patti) and coaches (David Wurster and Pete Wintermute).
“Laura has had an outstanding career here,” Wurster said. “She has gotten better and better every year.
“As a freshman, she was a varsity runner by the end of the cross country season because she was running like a big-meet performer and she has kept it rolling ever since.”
While she loves the competitiveness of both sports, she likes the team aspect the most.
“I love my teammates and I look forward to spending time with them at practice each day,” Maibuecher said. “We push each other and we have made such good friendships.”
Women’s softball
University of Chicago junior pitcher Kim Cygan (Barrington) was selected the University Athletic Association’s “Athlete of the Week” for softball.
In four appearances, including 3 starts, Cygan posted a 2-1 record with a 0.29 ERA and 2 shutouts. In 24 innings, she allowed only 11 hits while recording 23 strikeouts.
Cygan was named MVP of the Wheaton College Invitational after tossing a 3-hit shutout against the host Thunder.
She then threw a 4-hit shutout in the Maroons’ 1-0 win over 22nd-ranked Illinois Wesleyan.
Cygan earned her first UAA weekly citation of the season and the second of her career.
Ÿ Wisconsin-Oshkosh freshman Julie Sweeney (St. Viator) threw a shutout in a doubleheader sweep over the University of Chicago.
Sweeney threw a 2-hitter and retired the first 12 batters in Game 2 for a 1-0 victory. Both hits came in the fifth inning. Sweeney grabbed a line drive and then completed a double play to get out of the inning.
Football
North Central senior Peter Bulandr (Stevenson) was recognized by the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin as one of his school’s winners of the Merle Chapman Leadership Awards for the 2011-2012 academic year.
The CCIW honored the winners on March 31 at its Student-Athlete Workshop at the Hyatt in Lisle.
Bulandr, an economics and finance major and a senior on the football team, was a team captain for the Cardinals this past season.
He helped lead the team to a 10-2 overall record and the program’s sixth consecutive CCIW Championship.
He received First Team All-CCIW, All-North Region and All-America honors as a senior, and also became the fifth North Central player to be voted the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year.
Girls basketball
The Elk Grove High School girls basketball program will host a free basketball clinic for girls from kindergarten to fifth grade on Sunday, April 22, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The clinic is for girls in the Elk Grove attendance area.
Participants will have an opportunity to work on basketball fundamentals with the Elk Grove High School coaches and varsity basketball players. Participants will receive a free Elk Grove basketball T-shirt. Contact head coach Ryan Kirkorsky to register: ryan.kirkorsky@d214.org.
Girls volleyball
Buffalo Grove senior Paige Smith will continue her education and athletic career at Augustana where she will be a member of coach Jamie Walters’ Viking volleyball program.
Smith, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter who earned three varsity letters for coach Marianne O’Shea at Buffalo Grove, was a Bison co-captain this past season.
Smith earned all-conference honors and was honorable mention on the Daily Herald all-area team.
Smith recorded 162 kills, 10 solo blocks and 107 digs as a senior. She had an .877 serve percentage with 9 aces. As a junior, she had 112 digs and a .913 serve percentage with 24 aces.
Smith also competes for the Top Flight Volleyball club and coach Kyle McCall.
She has also lettered twice as a midfielder in coach Pat Dudle’s Bison soccer program.
An honor roll student, Smith participated in chorus and show choir and volunteered with several organizations including the Special Olympics. She is a Mid-Suburban League Senior All-Academic team selection and is planning on a pre-physical therapy major.
Smith joins a Viking program that owns a pair of College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championships and has produced one CCIW Player of the Year and four CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
Lacrosse
Rutgers’ Brian Goss (St Viator) and Syracuse’s Matt Harris (Stevenson) will be starting for their respective teams in the ESPNU Warrior Classic at 10 a.m. on April 14 at the Bank Of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.
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