South Elgin’s Heine to Air Force
For South Elgin senior Dan Heine, not even the sky is the limit.
A top honors student with a 4.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale, Heine achieved his lifelong goal in December when he was accepted to the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs.
“I’ve wanted to be a fighter pilot since I was really little, so the Air Force Academy has always been my dream” said Heine, a Bartlett resident who turned 18 Monday. “I’m really excited. I was so happy when I got the letter.”
In addition to being one of South Elgin’s top students, the son of retired Bartlett fire chief Kevin Heine was a tight end, backup linebacker and special teams holder for the Storm football program.
Heine will compete in his second varsity baseball season as a catcher this spring. He said he hopes to join the Falcons’ baseball team as a walk-on.
Heine was nominated to the Air Force Academy by former Illinois Senator Roland Burris (D) and applied last June. He was also nominated to the U.S. Naval Academy by former congressman Bill Foster (D), but has yet to receive a decision.
Heine is a member of the National Honor Society and has been named to all-academic Upstate Eight Conference teams in football and baseball.
He intends to leave for Colorado on June 23 to begin five weeks of basic training before classes begin next fall.
“I can’t begin to explain how excited I am,” Heine said.
Blue Stars to play at Redbird: Congratulations go out to the Elgin Area School District U-46 Blue Stars, whose A team won the Special Olympics area tournament in Vernon Hills Sunday.
The Blue Stars have competed this season in front of huge crowds at the United Center and at halftime of the Elgin-Larkin game at Chesbrough Field House.
They will play in yet another large venue this March, when the Blue Stars compete in the state tournament at Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena.
Lamberti, Smith in the running for national award: Cary-Grove senior Kelly Lamberti is among 41 finalists for prepvolleyball.com’s Player of the Year award, which will be announced this week.
An all-state outside hitter who finished the season with 320 kills, 214 digs and 68 aces for the state runner up Trojans, Lamberti, was already named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinois. She is committed to Ohio University.
Cary-Grove senior setter Colleen Smith (Indiana) is among 80 finalists for the Andi Collins Award, which goes to the nation’s top setter. Also an all-state selection for the 41-1 Trojans, Smith finished the season with 740 assists in just 87 games, an average of 8.5 per game.
Judson webcast set for Thursday: Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams from Judson University will be featured in live webcasts this Thursday against CCAC rival Cardinal Stritch. Originally scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2, the games have been switched to Thursday due to impending weather conditions.
Both games will be filmed and broadcast exclusively by Judson University students, whose feed will be picked up by the Victory Sports Network. The women’s game begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m.
The webcast can be accessed at www.livestream.com/victorysports.
Huntley baseball to host parent/player camp: If you’d like to help your young baseball player improve his/her skills but don’t know what drills to practice, the Huntley High School Baseball Parent/Player camp can help.
Led by head coach Andy Jakubowski, who guided the Red Raiders to their first downstate appearance last spring, the Huntley coaching staff and players will teach parents and players drills designed to help youth players improve in five areas of emphasis: throwing, fielding, hitting, pitching and base running/conditioning.
The one-day event will take place in the central and east gyms of Huntley High School on Sunday, Feb. 27 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The cost is $50 per family. Registration runs through Feb. 14.
For more information, contact Andy Jakubowski at ajakubowski@district158.org.