Catching up with some local College Achievers
We're a little behind schedule, so let's wade right into these athletic achievements from some DuPage County graduates this fall ...
Auburn senior soccer forward Kristen Dodson (Waubonsie Valley) became the eighth player in program history to earn a second straight all-Southeast Conference first-team selection. Dodson scored 8 goals and notched 20 points this season after setting the program record of 38 points as a junior. A two-time Top Drawer national player of the week - also a first at Auburn - Dodson finished fourth in program history in points, assists and game-winning goals, and fifth in goals.
Washington University midfielder Darcy Cunningham attended St. Charles East, the 2015 honorary captain of the Daily Herald Tri-Cities All-Area girls soccer team, but she came out of West Chicago. The junior was named a United Soccer Coaches Association Division III First-Team All-America. Helping the Bears go 17-2-1 and reach the Sweet Sixteen, Cunningham scored 4 goals with 11 assists. All-University Athletic Association, she scored 2 game-winning goals and had a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over No. 1 Chicago, earning USCA Division III national player of the week and UAA offensive athlete of the week on Nov. 7.
Lewis University's Devon Amoo-Mensah (Naperville Central), a senior midfielder-defender, earned USCA Division II First-Team All-Midwest Region. One of five players to start all 18 games for the 12-4-2 Flyers, Amoo-Mensah scored 2 goals with 2 assists including the game-winner at Missouri-St. Louis. The defensive-minded Amoo-Mensah helped Lewis record 5 shutouts and a 0.99 goals-against average.
On the Michigan State volleyball team, four-year starting setter Rachel Minarick (Waubonsie Valley) was a First-Team All-North Region selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Also honorable mention all-Big Ten, entering Friday's NCAA Tournament game against Illinois, Minarick averaged 11.19 assists and 2.23 digs a set. Her 11.71 assists in the first two tournament games ranked eighth nationally. Minarick also was all-North as a freshman; her current 4,493 assists ranks second all-time at Michigan State and her 133 service aces ranks 10th.
The women's volleyball team at Lewis University, No. 1 in Division II for a spell, won a 10th conference title, most in the Great Lakes Volleyball Conference. Sophomore left-side Ronni Katarzynski (West Chicago) was fourth on the team in sets played, leading the Flyers with 4.83 digs per set and in service receptions with 29. Right behind her in that department was sophomore outside hitter Alexandra Preuss (York) with 26 receptions.
St. John's senior libero Delaney D'Amore (IC Catholic) played in all of the Red Storm's 119 sets and 33 matches. In a 3-1 win over Sacramento State she recorded 31 digs, the most by any Big East player this season over a four-game match. D'Amore recorded her 1,000th dig Nov. 11 against Seton Hall.
College of DuPage sophomore Amanda Jones (Wheaton Warrenville South) earned National Junior College Athletic Association Region IV runner of the year for her first-place finish at the NJCAA Division I women's regional meet at Sauk Valley College in Dixon on Oct. 28. Finishing 90th at the 2016 national meet, Jones improved to 79th at the 2017 nationals in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Illinois State junior Kyle Mattes (York) became the first Redbird to qualify for the NCAA Division I cross country championships since 2002. His third-place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference meet, his best finish yet, made Mattes only the third ISU runner to earn all-MVC as a freshman, sophomore and junior. At nationals the former MVC freshman of the year passed 60 runners to place 99th out of 247, finishing the 10-kilometer course in Louisville in 30 minutes, 41.93 seconds, third all-time by an ISU runner and the fastest Redbird ever at the national meet.
Way back on Sept. 2-3, Augustana sophomore golfer Grace Ludwig (Glenbard East) helped set two records for a Vikings four-woman team at the Highland Classic Golf Tournament in Rock Island - lowest score for a two-day event, and the program 18-hole team record.
A former walk-on football player at Wisconsin, senior Troy Fumagalli (Waubonsie Valley) was named the Big Ten's Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year, named for former Big Ten and NFL tight ends Ted Kwalick and Dallas Clark. Voted first team by the coaches, second team by media, through 12 games Fumagalli leads the 12-1 Badgers with 43 receptions for 516 yards, with 4 touchdowns.
Another amazing story is that of Wisconsin sophomore offensive tackle David Edwards (Downers Grove North). An option quarterback in high school, Edwards now packs 315 pounds on his 6-foot-7 frame and plays right offensive tackle, where he's started all 12 games this season and seven last year as a redshirt freshman. Edwards earned all-Big Ten second team by both media and coaches this season.
We noted this last week in the item about Northwestern's Justin Jackson (Glenbard North), but also voted either second or third team all-Big Ten are: Jackson - Northwestern's Sportsmanship honoree and one of 13 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy - Michigan State lineman Brian Allen (Hinsdale Central) and Northwestern's Clayton Thorson (Wheaton North). Indiana receiver Simmie Cobbs, who spent a year at Montini, was a consensus first-team pick after catching 72 passes for 841 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Dayton 6-foot-2, 227-pound senior linebacker Jack Crain (Benet) earned all-Pioneer League first-team honors. A team co-captain, he made 80 tackles, 6.5 for loss and returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown. Crain played in every game for the Flyers during his career. A semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy - known as the "Academic Heisman" - Crain is a three-time Academic All-Pioneer first-team honoree, already having earned degrees in accounting and finance (magna cum laude; 3.87 grade-point average) and currently working toward his master's in accounting.
A Dayton co-captain as well, senior quarterback Alex Jeske (Glenbard South) also is a three-time Academic All-Pioneer first-team pick. Jeske carries a 3.76 GPA in finance. He completed 57 percent of his passes for 892 yards, 5 touchdowns to no interceptions, and ran for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Demetrius Carr (IC Catholic) leaves Minnesota State University Moorehead with two school records at quarterback. The senior is the Dragons' all-time leader in passing yardage and total offense, with marks of 7,564 and 8,634, respectively. In 2016 he set another record with 507 yards passing in a season-ending win over Northern State.
Illinois Wesleyan senior linebacker Jordan Hassan (Glenbard West) was D3football.com North Region defensive player of the year. Winning the same honor in the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin, Hassan made 108 tackles with a program-record 76 solo tackles. He also recorded 11 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks while helping forge a tie with North Central College for the CCIW title, the Titans' first since 2009.
Along with Hassan, Illinois Wesleyan junior linebacker-defensive lineman Eric Dubose (Hinsdale South) and North Central sophomore quarterback Broc Rutter (Neuqua Valley) were CCIW football first-team selections on defense and offense, respectively. Dubose made 42 tackles, 11 for loss, and 10 of those were sacks. Rutter, the 2016 CCIW offensive player of the year, completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,898 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Former IC Catholic Prep football teammates Jim Kenneally and brothers Pat Guinan and Tommy Guinan all played on Navy's Sprint Football team, a varsity sport fielding players who must weigh in twice weekly at no more than 178 pounds in order to play. Kenneally, a freshman Fourth Class Midshipman who trimmed down from 230 pounds as a high school tackle, played all offensive line positions before starting the last five games at right guard. Pat and Tommy Guinan - Third Class and First Class, respectively - each were starting safeties.
Navy placed second behind Penn in the South Division of the nine-team Collegiate Sprint Football League, which culminated Nov. 10 with unbeaten Army West Point's 10-0 win over Penn in the inaugural CSFL Championship game at West Point. Participating schools Franklin Pierce, Caldwell, Post, Chestnut Hill, Mansfield and Cornell draw players mainly from the Eastern Seaboard with rare exceptions such as Cornell sophomore defensive lineman John Rutkauskas (Hinsdale Central).
Naturally a highlight is the Navy-Army game, which drew 2,174 people to West Point's Shea Stadium. Army won this one 40-6 despite Tommy Guinan's 5 tackles. Army was led defensively by senior lineman Nathan Lopez (Wheaton Academy), an all-CSFL second-team defensive selection who made a team-high 10 tackles, 1 for loss, and returned an interception 21 yards.
Next week: More!
doberhelman@dailyherald.com