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Grab a seat, these college achievers are worth some time

Take a load off and enjoy the spring heroics of some DuPage County collegiates...

Trailing 2-1 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning against No. 1-seeded Florida in Friday's NCAA Division I Super Regional softball game in Gainesville, Florida, Maeve McGuire (Benet) singled to keep No. 16 seed Georgia's hopes alive. Pinch-hitter Kaylee Puailoa cracked a home run and the Bulldogs walked off with a 3-2 win and ticket to the Women's College World Series beginning Thursday against Florida State. A junior utility player who has started all 63 games, McGuire is hitting .337 with 8 home runs, 34 runs batted in and 44 runs scored. In the two wins over Florida she was 4 for 6 with 2 RBI and a run scored.

Younger sister Rowan McGuire started 18 games this season as a Georgia Southern freshman; older sister Nora McGuire played at Buffalo before graduating.

Southern Illinois shortstop Kelsey Gonzalez (Naperville Central) graduated with a 3.97 grade-point average in marketing to earn a second Missouri Valley Conference All-Academic first-team berth. The Salukis two-year co-captain hit .309 with an all-MVC Tournament nod this spring and overall made 198 starts.

Purdue senior pitcher Lily Fecho (Glenbard North) was Division I Academic All-District and third-team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The 3.74-GPA math major was a three-time all-Big Ten pitcher, first-team this year. The lefty leaves the program ranked first in strikeouts, second in games started, third in wins, complete games and innings pitched and tied for third in appearances.

CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in Division III: Wheaton College senior pitcher Katie Thornton (Wheaton North), Dominican junior infielder Alyssa Domico (Neuqua Valley), Aurora junior designated player Laura Dierking (Naperville Central). Second-team All-America, Domico aced a region-high 4.00 GPA in neurobiology.

Thornton had a whale of a season, the first player to win outright both College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) pitcher and player of the year awards in the same season (and first back-to-back POY). The pitcher-first baseman went 24-9 on the mound with a 0.78 earned run average in 225⅓ innings pitched, all program records. Leading the Thunder to a historic 32 wins and first Division III championship playoff appearance, she hit a team-high .376 with 19 runs and 18 runs batted-in. One week she went 5-0 and was named Louisville Slugger Division III national pitcher of the week.

Younger sister Kelly Thornton (Wheaton North), Thunder freshman first baseman, earned all-CCIW after hitting .347 with 8 home runs and 35 RBI. Carthage junior designated player Darian Pelsor (Willowbrook) also was first-team CCIW after hitting .407 with 50 hits, 8 home runs, 40 RBI and a slugging percentage of .726. Her 8 RBI in a win over Elmhurst is a Carthage record.

A four-year starter, Bradley senior third baseman Kendall Duffy (Benet) made the Missouri Valley all-Defensive Team. Interestingly, while recording a .948 fielding percentage, 105 assists and 59 putouts, her offensive stats improved across the board. Duffy also won Bradley's 2016 Carl Grose Service Award.

Four years ago Alex Diab (Glenbard West) won the Illinois High School Association boys gymnastics all-around title. Diab had another great freshman year at the University of Illinois. The two-time Big Ten freshman gymnast of the week won the conference still rings title and a sportsmanship award as well. At the NCAA Championships he was All-American on high bar. Diab won the program's spirit and "Stick" awards and as of this writing was up for Illinois' male newcomer of the year.

Fellow Illini, senior Logan Bradley (Naperville North) earned his third All-America honor on pommel horse, the fifth Illinois gymnast since 1938 to nab three pommel horse honors and the 22nd since then with three on the same apparatus.

In 2015 no Utah State female gymnast scored above 9.875 in an event. This season junior co-captain Hayley Sanzotti (Wheaton North) was among four such Aggies, netting hers on beam. Sanzotti won her event five different times this season, three on beam and two on floor.

Lewis University redshirt freshman Michael Simmons (Waubonsie Valley) moved to libero from outside hitter well into the volleyball season. Shazam, he earned Midwestern Collegiate Volleyball Association defensive player of the week honors March 22 and again on April 12. Simmons finished the season with 165 digs, second on the team.

Simmons' teammate Jacob Schmiegelt (Willowbrook), who recorded 179 kills and 113 blocks, was second-team all-MIVA and American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II All-America honorable mention. Loyola sophomore Jeff Jendryk (St. Francis) was first-team all-MIVA, second-team All-America. The 6-foot-10 middle blocker powered 278 kills with 101 blocks, then represented the United States at the NORCECA Pan American Cup in Mexico City - where former Lewis star Greg Petty (Downers Grove North) was named the tournament's best server.

Elmhurst College senior tennis players Chris Harrison (Naperville Central) and Quinn Jennings (WW South) were first-team all-CCIW. No. 2 singles winner Jennings' 62 singles victories ties for the Bluejays' fifth-best; Harrison's 56 wins rate him 10th.

Calvin College sophomore swimmer Sarah Bradley earned CoSIDA Division III Academic All-District. A two-time national diving qualifier, 14th on the 3-meter board this season, she carries a 3.96 GPA in engineering and Spanish.

High Point University senior lacrosse midfielder Tyler Cook (Wheaton Warrenville South) minors in Spanish. He earned CoSIDA Division I All-District for a second straight year, a four-time High Point Mills Scholar with a 4.00 GPA in psychology. Cook played in all but one game in the first four years of Panthers lacrosse.

Illinois Wesleyan junior defender Max Porter (St. Francis) was all-CCIW in lacrosse. He caused 18 turnovers, led the Titans with 109 ground balls and won 58 percent of his faceoffs.

Courtney Taylor (Neuqua Valley) was named Illinois State's female swimmer of the year. A four-time first-team all-Missouri Valley swimmer, in 2015-16 Taylor set Redbirds records in the 200 and 400 individual medleys and 200 breast. Freshman Molly Hill (Willowbrook) shared program most-improved honors

Dartmouth sophomore relief pitcher Patrick Peterson (Benet) repeated as a first-team all-Ivy League selection. The right-handed closer also was a third-team pick by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association. Peterson went 3-0 with 4 saves and a 1.65 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. Foes hit just .165 off him.

Louisville junior second baseman Nick Solak (Naperville North), hitting .390 for the Cardinals entering NCAA playoffs, nabbed CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. Carrying a 3.69 GPA in finance Solak is a second-team Atlantic Coast Conference pick - while teammate Zack Burdi (Downers Grove South) is a first-team ACC pick. A junior reliever, Burdi has 42 strikeouts in 25 innings with his 100-mph heater and leads the ACC with 10 saves.

Another CoSIDA honoree? McNeese State sophomore Joe Provenzano (Downers Grove North). The 2015 Southland Conference freshman of year aced it with a 3.75 GPA in chemical engineering.

Elmhurst senior pitcher Mike Rostine (Glenbard North) earned all-CCIW honors. The Holy Cross transfer was a clean 4-0 in league play and his 3.72 earned run average was sixth in the league. Overall Rostine went 6-1 with 44 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 60⅔ innings pitched.

Morolake Akinosun (Waubonsie Valley) became the first woman in Big 12 history to win the 100- and 200-meter dashes three times each after the Texas senior wrapped up the conference meet in Fort Worth May 13-15. Akinosun also anchored the winning 400 relay for the conference champions. Then, at the NCAA West Preliminary, Akinosun qualified in those three events for the Division I outdoor track and field championships June 8-11.

In Waverly, Iowa, Illinois Wesleyan senior Nia Joiner (Glenbard East) helped the Titans win the Division III women's track title. A CoSIDA All-District academic herself (and national indoor record-holder), Joiner finished second in the 100-meter dash at 12.11 seconds, seventh in long jump at 18 feet, 9 inches.

National runners-up included Loras College junior Elizabeth Brandenburg (Metea Valley) in pole vault, already her third All-America honor at 12 feet, 11½ inches; and Washington University's Rebecca Ridderhoff (Downers Grove North), who ran the lead leg of a second-place 1,600-meter relay (in March she'd led off a national indoor champion) and took fourth in the 400. Also Hope College junior Erin Herrmann (WW South) finished second in the Division III 3,000-meter steeplechase at Wartburg College. Her time of 10 minutes, 41.30 seconds was just off the program-record 10:40.44 she ran at North Central College. Hope's "Be Strong. Be True" female athlete of the year, Herrmann set a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association record repeating as steeplechase winner.

Hope and steeplechase? Northern Illinois junior Hope Schmelzle (WW South) rallied out of the turn to win that event by .02 seconds at the Mid-American Conference women's outdoor meet. The Purdue transfer set an NIU record with a time of 10:10.90.

(At Stanford in early April, Illinois State senior Kelly McShea of St. Francis ran a personal-best 10:09.56 in the 3,000 steeplechase, third all-time for the Redbirds.)

The men's MAC meet was the last time senior twins Matt and Joe Stewart (Metea Valley) both ran for Miami University. Matt finished seventh in the 10,000 run and Joe took second, and third in the 5,000. Also in Terre Haute, Illinois State junior Jalen Lewis (Downers Grove South) helped the Redbirds' 400- and 1,600-meter relays both set venue records in first-place finishes.

Good things happen to good people. Iowa senior high jumper Kevin Spejcher (Lake Park) won his first Big Ten Conference outdoor title in Lincoln, Nebraska. Having cleared at least 6 feet, 11 inches in his prior four meets, Spejcher's preparation led to victory on his first attempt at 7 feet, 1¾ inches. Taking it easy as Olympic decathlon training approaches, Wisconsin senior Zach Ziemek (Lake Park) settled for the Big Ten pole vault title at 17-3.

Another Lancers alumnus, Northern Iowa senior Shawn Koch landed a personal-best 50-foot, 8-inch triple jump on his first try at the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor meet. That was third at the meet, fourth in school history.

On April 23 at Augustana, North Central College senior Nick Boesso (Glenbard South) had a day. He set records in the discus, hammer and shot put all in the same meet. Later at the CCIW men's outdoor meet Boesso won shot put at 52-4¾.

Junior Tanner Obal (York) shared men's golf MVP honors at Augustana for 2015-16. Obal averaged a team-best 77.3 strokes and played in 13 events this season with a top-five finish and another top-10 finish. Women's MVP was senior Caitlin Doherty (Westmont), who scored for Augustana in each of her 11 events. She had two top-10 finishes.

In other Augie ball sports sophomore outfielder Peter Doughty (York) had only 57 official at-bats but led the Vikings with a .404 batting average and .477 on-base percentage. In women's lacrosse, senior Kendall Maduro (Neuqua Valley) scored 38 goals and caused 30 turnovers while sophomore goalkeeper Analia Fowler (York) helped the Titans again reach Division III's Sweet Sixteen, recording 16 of Augie's 18 victories.

This is cool: Spring Arbor (Michigan) University has hired Tim Daniels (Wheaton Academy) as an assistant men's soccer coach. Formerly an assistant at Naples (Florida) High School, he was recruited by Spring Arbor coach Tim Miller - who previously had recruited Daniels to play at Taylor University when Miller was an assistant there. Daniels still plays soccer, with the National Premier Soccer League's Lansing United.

At the Big Blue Student-Athlete Awards May 15 in Decatur, Millikin University presented its individual and team awards. Picking up the Comeback Award for men was senior men's golfer Alex Koulos (Waubonsie Valley), and for women it was junior volleyball player Emily Mihalkanin (Hinsdale South). Senior volleyball player Geena Mancuso (Waubonsie Valley) won the woman's Big Blue Leadership Award.

Illinois State junior soccer defender Sarah Stankoskey (Glenbard North) represented her school and the Missouri Valley Conference at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum April 7-10 in Phoenix. An exercise science major who is president of ISU's Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), in May she earned ISU's School of Kineseology and Recreation Clifford E. Horton Scholarship Award.

Southern Illinois sophomore golfer Hanna Netisingha (West Chicago) was among the MVC's 10 State Farm Good Neighbor Award honorees for spring. The sophomore had 21 rounds in the 70s. The sole sophomore honoree with a 3.643 GPA in zoology earned MVC Scholar-Athlete honors for the first time; SIU listed her 13 different service efforts. Bradley junior golfer Bobby Jacobs, born in Carol Stream but raised in Valparaiso, Indiana, was another Good Neighbor winner.

Finally, on March 13 Lewis University's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and its chapter of Best Buddies International hosted a sports clinic at the school field house in Romeoville. Best Buddies is a volunteer-driven organization providing opportunities to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Sophomore volleyball player Joyce Balash (Montini) and sophomore golfer Jack Korzon (Downers South) were among the Lewis student-athletes who participated.

That's good karma for 2016-17.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

Follow Dave on Twitter @doberhelman1

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