West Chicago grad Bartlett sparks North Park with two-way effort
Lots of local representation on Chicago’s north side …
North Park University and Millikin shared the College Conference of Illinois Wisconsin baseball title, each with 16-4 league records.
It was North Park’s first CCIW title since 2012, Millikin’s first since 1975.
North Park senior left-handed pitcher-first basemen Bobby Bartlett (West Chicago), a two-time all-CCIW pick, earned league MVP honors after hitting .388 and going 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA against league foes. Vikings senior first baseman-designated hitter Garrett Bragg (Geneva) earned his second first-team honor.
North Park contributors include seniors Brett Brueske (St. Charles East), Cole Fiorenza (Libertyville) and Joe Schaffer (Wheaton Academy). More area athletes are in the pipeline for North Park, which was picked to finish fifth in the CCIW.
North Park junior Nate Sommerfeld (Plainfield Central) is the son of St. Charles East athletic director Mike Sommerfeld. CCIW co-manager of the year Luke Johnson starred at Elmhurst University and lives in Wheaton.
Millikin senior second baseman Tommy Shaw (Kaneland) also earned CCIW first-team honors, as did Illinois Wesleyan junior Justin Gadomski (Schaumburg) and Wheaton senior Joe Klein (Wheaton North). North Central’s Jackson Bland (Batavia) was freshman of the year.
Also in the CCIW, North Central College women’s tennis team won its fifth straight tournament title and 46th straight CCIW match dating to 2019. Helping the Cardinals’ cause was senior Mikayla Edquiban (Mundelein) in both singles and doubles, and freshman Kate Herlihy (Stevenson) in singles.
In Big Ten softball, Michigan junior pitcher Lauren Derkowski (York) was a first-team all-conference selection. Overall as of Friday, Michigan’s No. 1 starter was 17-8 with a 2.13 ERA and had struck out 185 batters in 180⅔ innings. She was second-team Big Ten as a sophomore, the first Wolverines softball pitcher to throw no-hitters in consecutive starts.
In an April 27 doubleheader split against Kenyon College, DePauw senior outfielder Danny Glimco (Benet Academy) broke the Tigers’ career home run record. In a Game 2 loss he cracked a grand slam for his record 22nd homer, also his third grand slam. Glimco hit a home run in the first game against Kenyon, too.
USA Hockey invited St. Cloud State women’s hockey goalie Jojo Chobak (Glenbrook North) to its 2024 National Goaltending Camp May 15-18 in Plymouth, Mich. A member of the 2023 Collegiate Select Under-22 team that swept Canada, Chobak last season had a 1.64 goals-against, a .939 save percentage and recorded 4 shutouts.
On April 26 in Philadelphia, Villanova won its Penn Relays-record 103rd relay title in the distance medley relay. It was Villanova’s 26th win in that event, another meet record. Villanova freshman Dan Watcke (Hinsdale Central) ran the third leg, the 800-meter portion, running a split time of 1 minute, 48.34 seconds.