Wildcats net All-American honors
The end of the Illinois boys high school track season didn't mean an end to the Wildcats earning high honors.
At the New Balance Nationals, June 17-19 in Greensboro, N.C., three Wildcats relays placed top-eight and two were declared All-Americans.
Neuqua Valley - known in Greensboro as the Naperville Track Club - sent its 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter to North Carolina A & T's Aggie Stadium. In May at the Class 3A boys state track meet, those units finished a respective sixth, third and first to pace the Wildcats' third-place overall finish.
At New Balance, under Neuqua assistant varsity coaches Steve Saul and Matt Ragusa who made the trip, the group of Aryan Avant, Jamere Morrison, Jake Bender and Steve Carron finished sixth in the 400 relay, earning All-American status.
Carron, Morrison, Cale Brown and Avant placed eighth in the 800 relay.
In the 1,600 relay, which Neuqua won at the 3A boys state meet, Brown, Carron, Bender and Avant claimed All-American honors with their fifth-place finish in 3 minutes, 16.03 seconds, a program record that was faster than their winning time of 3:17.05 last month in Charleston.
In an e-mail to the Daily Herald, Saul said, "The York guys did have a good crew down there as well, and stuck around to cheer us on in the (1,600 relay). It was some good Illinois camaraderie."
York - known by their national club name of "Kroy" - produced two All-American fifth-place New Balance finishes, in the four-by-mile relay and the distance medley. Runners included Jack Driggs, Matt Schacht, Kusphal Sangha, Andrew Smith and Tre Kelly.
The Dukes, runner-up to Lake Park at Illinois' 3A state meet, actually had a "B" relay place 14th in the four-by-mile: twins Ron and Tom Hedman, Alex Mimlitz and Nick Gornick.
Mimlitz was a busy incoming sophomore. He placed eighth in the "Emerging Elite" 1,500-meter run, as well as the freshman mile, running the latter in 4:29.59.
Male athletes at New Balance included Waubonsie Valley state high jump champion James Davenport (tied for seventh) and triple jumper Rickie Walls (21st); Downers Grove South state long jump champ Shane Molidor (17th); and Downers Grove North's 1,600-meter relay (18th).
On the female side, Notre Dame-bound McKinzie Schulz of Benet finished 11th in the 2,000-meter steeplechase.
Downers Grove South's Tori Franklin, who won the Illinois girls 3A triple jump competition, earned All-America honors with her fourth-place finish in that event at New Balance. Franklin also joined younger sister, Jada Franklin, Melissa Radek and Rebecca Stearns on a 1,600-meter relay that ran the 14th fastest time.
Mad skills: Matt Miller, the former All-Area Waubonsie Valley point guard who continued through college into the European professional ranks and international play, is presenting his "Be a Pro" basketball skills camps starting next week at the Eola Community Center, 555 S. Eola Rd., Aurora.
Assisted by local stars like former Neuqua Valley players Bobby Catchings and Rahjan Muhammad and others such as Miller's former Southern Illinois University teammate Darren Brooks and former Manchester Magic teammate Andy Thomson, Miller is offering separate guard and shooting camps for boys in grades 6-12 from July 5-8, and for girls in grades 6-12 from July 12-15. Spaces are limited.
"Because of the position I play and actually because I wasn't tall or overly athletic I really had to have an unbelievable understanding of basketball," said Miller, a naturalized citizen of Rwanda, who was named the top 3-point shooter at the 2009 FIBA Africa Club Championships playing for Rwanda's national team.
"I had to know where the ball was supposed to be, the right time, the right place."
He stresses that his Be a Pro camps are the right place for any serious basketball player, not just guards, to learn drills and skills for improvement. For details, visit Miller's website, m14hoops.com.
Timothy Christian seeks volleyball coach: Timothy Christian High School is searching for a qualified Christian coach for the sophomore girls volleyball team for the fall season. Candidates should contact athletic director Jim Woudstra by phone at (630) 782-4027 or by e-mail at woudstra@timothychristian.com.