Willowbrook graduate Ojeda off to strong start at NIU cross country
The Northern Illinois University women’s cross country team has competed in two meets so far this season. Amelie Ojeda, a freshman out of Willowbrook High School, led the Huskies in both of them.
Ojeda’s collegiate debut came at the University of Illinois’ Fighting Illini Open. She finished in 20th place overall with a 4-kilometer time of 14 minutes, 16.1 seconds.
At the Huskie Classic in DeKalb, Ojeda ran 18:39.6 to lead all Northern Illinois runners and place fourth overall. DePaul won the meet, getting a second-place finish by sophomore Vivian Wyller (Rosary).
Last fall as a senior at Willowbrook, Ojeda finished fifth overall in the Class 3A state cross country meet. It was the best finish by a Warrior girl in the state meet in 26 years. Ojeda earned more all-state honors last spring, ninth place in the 3A 3200-meter run.
Miller time
Last Tuesday, Northwestern senior Nicole Miller (Neuqua Valley) earned the award for the Big Ten Conference’s defensive player of the week in women’s soccer. Gatorade’s 2021-22 girls player of the year for Illinois, Miller got the award after the unranked Wildcats beat then-No. 4 Texas Christian University 1-0.
It was Northwestern’s highest-ranked road win in program history and the first time Northwestern beat a top-five team since 2010. Miller helped limit the Horned Frogs to 6 shots and 1 on goal, TCU’s fewest shots in nearly three years.
Wildcats unite
A second Neuqua Valley graduate earned notice in his conference the same week as Miller when the Mid-American Conference named Western Michigan University kicker Palmer Domschke as its football special teams player of the week for Week 2. The redshirt junior accounted for 12 of Western Michigan’s 30 points in a 33-30 overtime loss to North Texas.
Domschke was 3-of-3 on extra points and also — getting a friendly bounce off an upright — made all 3 of his field goal attempts, from 40, 43 and a season-high 48 yards. (He kicked a 52-yarder as a freshman.) Domschke’s 48-yarder in overtime gave the Broncos a 30-27 lead before North Texas scored on its overtime possession to win the game.
Net returns
Micah Barton (Wheaton Academy), a 6-foot freshman, is part of the men’s tennis team at Taylor University in Upland, Ind. Barton is among a group of freshmen and sophomores helping rekindle Taylor’s men’s and women’s tennis programs, which were started in 1933 and 1971, respectively.
The Trojans haven’t competed since the fall of 2019 and their programs were halted during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020.
It’s a first
Last month, senior golfer Michelle Beggs (Aurora Central Catholic) helped Aurora University win Carthage College’s Firebird Fall Classic at Ives Grove Golf Links in Sturtevant, Wis. It was the first time the Spartans won the 18-team tournament in program history, which dates to 2005. Beggs placed fourth overall in the two-day tournament.
Readers, if you know of any area student-athletes doing good things in college, on or off the field, send an email to doberhelman@dailyherald.com.