Wrede swings into action with Bengal Bouts at ND

Former Prospect standout athlete Jackson Wrede is wrapping up a four-year association with the University of Notre Dame's boxing club, which has an 88-year history of sponsoring the Bengal Bouts currently taking place on the campus in South Bend, Ind.

Wrede was a four-year, three-sport athlete (football, wrestling and baseball) and won the District 214 Howard Lester award.

He has been a captain for the Notre Dame boxing club the past two years.

Prospect graduate Jack McDermott is also heavily involved in the club. McDermott's father attended Notre Dame and also fought in the Bengal Bouts, which legendary Irish football coach Knute Rockne first organized in 1920.

Athletes train from September through February for the Bengal Bouts, a tournament featuring 200-plus athletes from Feb. 15 to March 2.

Bengal Bouts provides an excellent opportunity for former high school athletes to continue their careers in a new sport while supporting a worthwhile cause.

The motto is 'Strong Bodies Fight That Weak Bodies May Be Nourished' as Bengal Bouts raises funds to support Catholic missions and the people of Bangladesh.

The club also sends four athletes each year to Bangladesh for nine weeks so they get to see first hand where the money goes and continue the mission of their work.

Wrede had the incredible experience to live in Bangladesh this past summer

There are four rounds to the Bouts with the final one on March 2. The finals are shown on ESPN3 online.

Women's swimming

South Dakota senior Theresa Godlewski (Wheeling) completed her collegiate swimming career with a stellar showing at the Summit League Championship meet in Sioux Falls, SD.

Godlewski was named to the All Summit League team by finishing third in the 200 backstroke (2:01:88) and anchoring two all-conference relays (400 medley and 200 free).

She finished her career for the Coyotes as a member of four school-record relay teams (200 medley, 200 free, 400 medley and 400 free).

She recorded the second-fastest 100 back in school history (55.94), the second-fastest 200 back (2:00.69) and fourth-fastest 50 free (23.66).

Godlewski was twice named to the Summit League all-academic team and all-conference team. She was one of three captains this season.

A math major with a minor in Spanish, Godlewski hopes to one day teach high school math and coach swimming and water polo.

• University of Findlay freshman Sarah Miles, a Hoffman Estates graduate, won bronze with a time of 2:06.16 in the 200-yard backstroke at the inaugural GMAC/MEC Team Championships won by the Oilers.

• Wisconsin-Whitewater freshman Jessica Lenhart of Buffalo Grove (Stevenson High School) captured six All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors at the Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis.

Included in her big meet were three individual championships and two relays.

Lenhart helped the Warhawks tie for their highest finish at the conference meet by placing second. She claimed the title in the 500-yard freestyle with a personal best 5:09.55.

She was part of the Warhawks' 400-yard medley winning relay (3:54.38) and was part of the 200 medley team that won with a season-best mark of 1:46.45. Lenhart won the 100-yard butterfly by two-hundredths of a second (56.32) setting a career record and NCAA "B" cut.

She was also a member of the 800-yard freestyle that collected All-WIAC medals with a 7:47.42, only eight-hundredths of a second off the winning pace.

Lenhart claimed her third individual championship with a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, collecting a NCAA "B" cut and personal record time of 2:04.45.

Men's basketball

Drake University senior Ore Arogundade (St. Viator) had 13 points and 5 rebounds in an 89-81 loss to Illinois State.

In his final home game on Saturday, St. Viator's all-time leading scorer collected 8 points in a 69-64 loss to Valparaiso.

But the game had much more meaning for the 2014 Daily Herald all-area boys basketball honorary captain.

Prior to the tip off, he proposed to his girl friend at center court. His hashtag on his tweet? #SheSaidYES.

Women's basketball

Cornell College (Iowa) senior Diamond Boyd (Elk Grove) matched her season high with 29 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field to help lead the Rams to a 66-55 over Lake Forest in the Midwest Conference Tournament championship game.

The Rams (20-5) reeled off their 12th consecutive win and earned the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament beginning March 2. The field of 64 will be revealed on the NCAA Selection Show at 1:30 p.m. (Iowa time) Monday on NCAA.com.

It is Cornell's second NCAA bid in program history. The Rams also qualified in 2013.

Boyd, who made 7 of 8 free throws, also collected 11 rebounds and 3 steals as she closed out her MWC career.

The Rams turned up the heat in the third quarter with a 17-1 flurry that ultimately decided the game. Cornell senior Renee Poulos (Hersey) had 4 points during the run that put Cornell ahead 50-36 after three quarters.

• Northwestern sophomore Bryana Hopkins (Fremd) scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Wildcats in a 68-61 Big Ten victory over Illinois.

• Yale coach Allison Guth (Buffalo Grove) watched her team (15-10, 8-4 in Ivy League) bounce back from an emotionally draining 64-62 overtime loss to Dartmouth to defeat Harvard 69-63 one day later.

"I am so proud of our kids' gumption," Guth said on the school's website. "It's not just the results, it's that we took care of the little things to get the result.

"After the gut-wrenching loss last night, you really find out about the character of a team - the way that they respond. These guys came in at 1 p.m. today with such a positive attitude about who we are and what we're about. That's what I'm stepping away with. I'm really proud of them and what their attitude was. Any greatness in athletics is not marked by perfection, it's about the consistency of responding to adversity. Last night felt like the biggest punch in the gut."

Guth's club won its next two games over Cornell and Columbia for a current three-game winning streak.

Women's track

Concordia-Chicago's Sarah LaCost (Prospect) took sixth with a height of 7-10½ in the pole vault at University of Chicago meet where the Cougars took second place.

Men's volleyball

Augustana freshman Matt Schiferl (Wheeling) leads the Vikings (3-9) with 118 digs in 12 matches of their inaugural season in the sport.

Men's swimming

Augustana sophomore Ben Peinsipp (St. Viator) took 14th in the 100 freestyle (48.38) on the final day of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships, where the Vikings placed third at Carthage College.

Niro III honored

Barrington senior running back Ray Niro III was awarded the Chicago Bear Community Champion from the Bears and the National Football Foundation at Halas Hall last week.

Rugby

The Arlington Stallions Rugby Club will begin outdoor training for the 2018 competitive season at Olympic Park in Schaumburg today and Thursday. Sessions take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Stallions are coming off one of their most successful years in 2017, taking third place in Rugby Illinois' 15's State Championship Tournament and winning the State crown in 7's competition.

New players are always welcome. For more information, visit the club's website at www.arlingtonstallionsrugby.com

• Email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com