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Women's soccer: Huntley grad Jakubowski producing at Creighton

Former Huntley girls soccer standout Taryn Jakubowski finds herself in the fast lane.

And that's completely fine with her.

Jakubowski, a freshman midfielder on the Division I Creighton University women's soccer team, has picked up her pace of play since coming to the Omaha, Neb., school.

"My speed of play has improved," she said. "I'm playing a lot faster because the college game is a lot faster. I'm learning to move a lot quicker and get passes off faster and not hold onto the ball like I did in high school and club. The girls we play against in the Big East, they have a lot of experience and are bigger, faster and stronger. I was told this before I went to college. People don't understand the extent of it until you experience it. The girls at this level also have a lot of experience, which makes a big difference."

Through Wednesday, Jakubowski, the 2015 honorary captain of the Daily Herald's All-Area soccer team, had played in 13 games (all starts) and had registered 2 goals and 5 assists, while taking 22 shots and 14 shots on goal (both rank second on the team to goals leader Lauren Sullivan).

"I love everything about playing in college," said Jakubowski, the daughter of Huntley baseball coach Andy Jakubowski and Barrington girls volleyball coach Michelle Jakubowski. "I love my coaches and my teammates. It's a great atmosphere. It's something that is bigger than just one person. It's a whole community here. I love playing in the Big East and playing with my teammates."

Jakubowski said she did not expect to make the impact she's made right off the bat. "I wanted to work as hard as I could and do the best I could and contribute as much as I could as a freshman," she said. "To do what I'm doing right now has required a lot of hard work and the help and support of so many great people. We have great coaches and I have great teammates. I wouldn't be here without them."

Jakubowski tipped her cap to Sullivan for her help in setting up one of her goals this season. "Against Yale, she was sprinting down the right side and I was pretty sure she was going to cross it," she said. "I sprinted half the field to the front post and was able to hit it in. That was a lot of hard work for both of us."

Off the field, Jakubowski is enjoying the academic end of things as well. "It's very challenging academically here," she said. "But it's nothing I can't handle. I love the atmosphere and the teachers. The classes are smaller like they were in high school. The teachers know you on a personal level."

Creighton was 8-3-2 overall and 3-2 in Big East play through Wednesday.

"We are looking pretty good," said Jakubowski. "We have a lot of team chemistry which is good because we had a lot of freshmen come in. Sometimes that can be hard on the people already here, but everybody has been very supportive of us. Some of my best friends are seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen. We're like one big family."

Spagnola at Minnesota: West Aurora product Emma Spagnola, a 12-time Top-10 finisher at the IHSA Class 3A state meet, recently was profiled by the University of Minnesota's GopherSports.com website. Spagnola is a junior hurdler who helped Minnesota win the Big Ten Conference outdoor title this past spring. Here are a few excerpts from the interview.

Regarding what she was up to during the summer, Spagnola worked for the Minnesota Twins grounds crew with some of her teammates. "I stayed on campus and trained and lifted all summer," she said. "I worked for the Twins grounds crew with some teammates, Erin Hawkins, Ke-ke Burks, Kiley Sabin and Allie Heifort. Jess Lehman and Nicolle Murphy worked the same job in the past and said it was a fun job so they connected us. It was the best part-time job ever. We basically just made the field look pretty. We raked grass, put the bases out, painted the lines and that kind of stuff. Pulling the tarp was our main job when it rained. It was really fun."

Spagnola also listed her personal goals for the year. "I want to get sub-13 for the 100 hurdles and hit 57 in the 400 hurdles," she said. "I haven't figured out my exact goal for the 60 hurdles yet, but I definitely want to drop my time. I want to make it to the finals in every race and I hope to medal at Big Tens. I was really close last year, It would be nice to win another Big Ten team title, too. I think we can do it. Even though we lost some people, we're gaining some with our incoming freshmen and other people who were here last year moving up and performing better."

Castoro at Loras: St. Edward alum Mikey Castoro is a junior wide receiver on the Loras football team.

Through six games, Castoro had 16 catches for 196 yards (12.25 yards per catch) and 1 touchdown. He has a long reception this year of 31 yards. Castoro caught his touchdown pass in a Week 1 game against Elmhurst College (4 catches for 63 yards and a score). He also had 4 catches in a game against Aurora in Week 2. Loras was 0-6 heading next Saturday's game at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. Five of the team's six losses have come by 10 or less points.

Voltolina at Carroll: St. Charles East alum Dana Voltolina is a 5-11 junior right-side/outside hitter on the Carroll University women's volleyball team.

Through Wednesday, Voltolina was averaging 2.44 kills in 77 sets (22 matches). In a recent contest against CSS, Voltolina had a season-high 17 kills against only 1 error on 41 swings (. 390 hitting percentage). She also had 8 total blocks in the match. Voltolina recorded 15 kills in an earlier match against St. Catherine, and had 14 kills each in matches against Illinois Wesleyan and Dominican. She also had 41 attempts in the Illinois Wesleyan contest.

Carroll was 6-16 and 0-4 in conference play through Wednesday.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at mjm890@gmail.com.

Huntley graduate Taryn Jakubowski is having a productive season for the Creighton University women's soccer team. Photo courtesy Steve Branscombe
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