Antioch’s DeJong honored at ISU

Former Antioch baseball standout Paul DeJong recently received Illinois State’s Doug Collins Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

DeJong is working toward a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology while balancing the demands of being a student-athlete.

A two-year member of the Redbird baseball team, he was named to the Missouri Valley Conference honor roll and was the Valley Elite 18 Award winner, after ISU finished second place in the conference baseball tournament.

DeJong’s academic recognition didn’t stop there.

He also received the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award and achieved a 4.0 grade-point average during the fall of 2012.

In the field during the 2013 season, DeJong appeared in 39 games and made 32 starts.

He finished second on the team with a .420 on-base percentage and secured the starting second baseman position as Illinois State won 24 of its final 28 games en route to the first outright Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title in school history.

The male scholar-athlete of the year award is named after Redbird basketball legend Doug Collins, who was an All-American in 1972 and went on to a successful playing, coaching and broadcasting career in the NBA.

Paul, a 2011 Antioch graduate, was named to the Daily Herald all-area baseball team.

Women’s cross country

Southern Illinois sophomore Kelley Gallagher (Vernon Hills) placed fifth with a time of 17:41.6 to earn all-Missouri Valley Conference honors as the Salukis captured their first MVC title since 1992.

Southern was down by 8 points at the midway point and made an impressive charge for the victory, besting tournament favorite Bradley by 20 points.

Gallagher and the Salukis will now look to make a splash on the national scene at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Ames Iowa on Fri., Nov. 15.

The Saluki’s men’s cross country team also won the MVC title, marking

the first time since 1989 (Illinois State) that the same school has swept the MVC cross country championships.

Ÿ Augustana junior Becca Sund (Palatine), who has been the team leader all season, was that once again as she was the Vikings’ top finisher in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin meet at St. James Farm in Warrenville.

She placed sixth with a time of 22:51. Emma Gilbertson of Wheaton won the race individually with a time of 22:00.

Augustana scored 60 points to edge North Central (61) for its first league title since 1998.

Women’s soccer

Hope College junior goalkeeper Kat Dickson (Grayslake Central) was selected as the defensive player of the week by the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Dickson had back-to-back shutout performances in goal while leading Hope to two MIAA wins and sole possession of first place in the conference. She made 3 saves in a 3-0 win over Olivet and had 5 saves in a 3-0 blanking of Alma.

Dickson was honored as player of the week for the first time in her career.

She leads the MIAA in goals against average (0.66) and is second in the conference in save percentage and goals against.

Ÿ University of Chicago senior forward Natalia Jovanovic of Gurnee shared the University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week honor.

Jovanovic scored both goals, including an overtime game-winner, in a 2-1 victory against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

For the season, Jovanovic has 5 goals and 8 assists.

Ÿ Texas Christian University freshman Michelle Prokof of Gurnee scored a 68th-minute game-winning goal as TCU shut out Iowa State 1-0 in Big 12 play. Despite Iowa State outshooting TCU by a wide margin, the Horned Frogs capitalized by virtue of Prokof’s eighth goal of the season.

Ÿ DePaul senior forward Erin Pekovitch of Lake Zurich scored the lone goal in the 55th minute and the Blue Demons blanked host Xavier 1-0 in Big East Conference play in Cincinnati. It was Pekovitch’s second goal of the season and helped the Blue Demons move to 11-3-2 overall and 5-2-1 in the Big East.

Ÿ Ohio University redshirt freshman Carly Manso of Vernon Hills scored her third goal of the season when the Bobcats fell 2-1 to Northern Illinois.

Ÿ Tennessee Tech freshman Abi Gearing of Libertyville scored her second goal of the season when her team dropped a 3-1 decision to Eastern Kentucky.

Gearing gave the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute on a header off a Leigh Heffner free kick, but Tennessee Tech allowed back-to-back goals over the next seven minutes.

St. Hubert Coaches Clinic

Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame member John Ulrich, with 40 years of coaching and training experience, and his staff are presenting a free coaches clinic on Sunday, Nov. 10 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at St. Hubert School in Hoffman Estates.

St. Hubert is located at 729 Grand Canyon Street in Hoffman Estates. The gym entrance is door No. 34, which is around the corner from the church, facing the south parking lot. The gym sign is marked “MPR” (Multi-Purpose Room).

The Clinic is primarily for the St. Hubert Coaching Staff, but anyone from anywhere, at any level, grade school through college, is invited.

Everything from offensive philosophy, defensive philosophy, skills drills, team defensive development drills, team offensive development drills and offensive sets will be discussed as well any requests from the audience.

There will be a significant Q-and-A session. A number of Ulrich’s former and current players will be in attendance to run live demonstrations.

Men’s cross country

Wisconsin-Platteville junior Matt Smaga (Fremd) earned honorable mention all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic by finishing 20th with a time of 25:20

The Pioneers will join the other eight WIAC teams at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional on Nov. 16 at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, hosted by Augustana College.

Arlington Stallions Rugby

The Arlington Stallions Rugby Club will hold their annual Information/Recruiting Pizza Party on Saturday, Nov. 23 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Gatsby’s Pizza (427 E. Rand Rd.) in Arlington Heights. All interested players and parents are invited.

The Stallions have boys teams for players in grades 5-to-12. Their primary competitive season is in the spring, with indoor training starting in January.

The Stallions experienced one of their most successful years in 2013.

“Coming off a middle school state championship last spring and a 5-1 Fall Ball season from our high school side, we are looking forward to a very strong spring,” said coach Paul Bergman. “With the kind of leadership that we’ll get from our core of Zach Niro, Jack Tuttle, Cody Foss and Tony Lapiana, we think that we can compete better for a high school state championship in 2014 than ever before. And our middle school program just gets more skilled and exciting every year.”

Attending the Nov. 23 event will be Stallions coaches, a few former players and current players and parents to answer anyone’s questions about rugby and the Stallions.

For more information, call (847) 845-4982 or visit www.arlingtonstallionsrugby.com.

Ÿ Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com or FAX to (847) 427-1173.