Barrington graduate Peipert excels as next man up at St. Thomas

Nick Peipert was a star quarterback at Barrington High School, but last year as a freshman at the University of St. Thomas he didn’t see the field.

The Tommies’ No. 3 quarterback in 2025, his responsibility was to call in plays from the sideline. Peipert’s situation looked more dire before this season when a transfer came in, demoting him to fourth string.

Then came injuries to St. Thomas quarterbacks. That allowed Peipert, a redshirt freshman, to see time in a 62-26 loss to North Dakota. He threw a 27-yard touchdown pass, the first time the Tommies dented the end zone. Peipert finished completing five of nine passes for 111 yards.

Peipert drew the start the next week, a 56-14 win over Northern Michigan. He threw for touchdowns of 27 and 32 yards and ran for a nine-yard score.

Completing 15 of 27 passes for 270 yards, Peipert earned the Pioneer Football League’s offensive player of the week and its freshman of the week.

Starting again Sept. 19 in a 28-26 St. Thomas win over Southern Utah, Peipert opened the scoring with a 63-yard touchdown pass. His one-yard run as the first half ended gave the Tommies the lead for good.

Competing 16 of 29 passes for 231 yards, with another 44 yards rushing, Peipert was named the Pioneer League’s freshman of the week.

Clean sheet

Indiana University junior Michal Mroz (Elk Grove) was named Big Ten goalkeeper of the week Sept. 22. He made a season-high eight saves in a 1-0 win over No. 16 Washington, the first time the Huskies had been shut out this season.

A transfer from Evansville, it was Mroz’s fifth shutout and seventh win of the season for the No. 2 Hoosiers. As of Sept. 23, Mroz led the Big Ten in shutouts, goals-against average, and save percentage.

Run, Amelie, run

Another Sept. 22 athlete of the week, Northern Illinois University sophomore Amelie Ojeda (Willowbrook) earned Horizon League runner of the week after the Huskies competed in a cross country meet at Illinois State.

Ojeda placed fifth overall in the field, running a time of 21 minutes, 35.6 seconds over the six-kilometer course. Teammate Sarah Maggio (Metea Valley) placed 11th. It was Ojeda’s second top-five finish of the season, leading the Huskies both times.

Pick-six

Illinois Wesleyan’s Lucas Lappin’s (Lake Zurich) 30-yard interception return for touchdown and 11 tackles in a 17-10 win at Augustana made Lappin the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin defensive player of the week on Sept. 21.

A junior defensive back, Lappin’s pick-six, the first by a Titan since 2023, and his career-high in tackles helped Illinois Wesleyan improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2015.

Titans unite

The week before, Illinois Wesleyan junior libero Alysa Lawton (IC Catholic) was named CCIW defensive player of the week in women’s volleyball. It was her second straight award and fourth overall at Wesleyan.

In a three-game stretch Lawton tallied 76 digs, 6.63 per set, with a high of 31 against Centre College. As of Sept. 24 Lawton was third nationally in Division III in total digs, and 12th in digs per set.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com