Barrington's Smith drives her way to Wake Forest

The minute she saw the Wake Forest campus for the first time, Caroline Smith knew it was as perfect for her as one of her crushing drives straight down the fairway.

"When I drove onto it, I knew right away this is the place where I want to go to school," said Barrington's standout golfer, the three-time defending Mid-Suburban League champion who earned a state medal for her 10th place finish last Saturday in Decatur.

Demon Deacons coach Kim Lewellan loved Smith's game from the minute she saw it.

"I was playing in a tournament in Furman, South Carolina and she came to watch me," Smith said. "Then she called my swing coach (Dan Kochevar) and told him she loved my game and wanted me to come down for a visit."

The rest is history.

Smith made her commitment on Sept 5.

"Ever since I was little, I dreamed about being a Division I golfer," said Smith, who plans to study psychology in North Carolina.

"My other swing coach (John Perna) is really involved with the mental game,' Smith said. "Ever since he was telling me stuff about the brain I've been really interested in it, especially how it works in sports. He is really good in making us calm on the course and during practice."

There are no girls from Illinois currently on the Wake Forest roster, which includes women from Italy, Germany, Switzerland and China.

Three-time ACC Coach Lewellen is in her first season leading Wake Forest this school year. She came to Wake Forest after 11 seasons as the head coach at the University of Virginia.

She is the fifth head coach in Demon Deacon women's golf history, taking over the program after Dianne Dailey retired following a 30-year tenure.

Coincidentally, Smith is leaving a program in which her hall of fame coach, Jodi Schoeck, just retired after a 32-year career.

Schoeck watched Smith help lead her Fillies to three straight Class 2A state runner-up finishes, including Saturday when they placed behind St. Charles North.

Here they come.....

Instead of horses, it was high school boys and girls runners spinning out of the turn at Arlington Park on Saturday when St. Viator hosted the East Suburban Catholic Conference cross country meet.

Daily Herald correspondent Dick Quagliano covered the historic event, reported to be the first time the local thoroughbred racing venue hosted a cross country meet.

I'm guessing it may have been the first official high school event to be held at the track.

And wouldn't it be something if one of the runners went on to become a jockey and one day rode on the same turf course he or she ran on Saturday?

But I can think of only a handful of local jockeys, including E.T. Baird (tennis at Rolling Meadows), Jesse Campbell (wrestler at Lake Zurich), Jerry LaSala (baseball at Fenton), Kelly Wolf (Fenton) and Lupe Macias (soccer at Wheaton Central), who even participated in Illinois prep sports.

For the record the boys and girls from Benet Academy won both the boys and the girls meets over the Arlington sod.

Baseball

Former Prospect standout pitcher Jack Landwehr was an all-star for the Normal CornBelters in Frontier League this summer. He finished as runner-up in the voting for Rookie of the Year.

Landwehr played his college baseball at Illinois State University where he tied the Redbirds' single-season record by appearing in 32 games during the 2016 season. At Prospect, Landwehr went 7-3 with a 0.92 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 70.2 innings as a senior all-area selection for coach Ross Giusti. He was 14-2 with a 2.50 ERA as a junior, registering 114 strikeouts in 78.1 innings while batting .453 with three home runs, 14 doubles and 45 RBI.

• Wheeling resident Bill Fratto received recognition at the official ring presentation ceremony for Oakton College's national championship baseball team (47-16) on Sept 29 at the school's campus.

Fratto was the manager for the Owls' spectacular season. They went into it the with a goal of winning 40 games and surpassed all expectations by earning their first national championship in dramatic fashion during the final game of the 2018 NJCAA Division III World Series.

Postseason accolades poured in for Fratto.

He was named the American Baseball Coaches Association and Diamond Sports National Junior College Athletic Association Division III National Coach of the Year.

Fratto also was named World Series Coach of the Year after the Owls' performance.

Oakton athletic director Bruce Oates applauded Fratto and his players for the incredible accomplishment.

Fratto, who played at Oakton for two seasons before graduating in 1981, boasts a 475-255 record in 13 seasons with the Owls. He officially handed each player and coach a championship ring as the fans looked on in the bleachers of the school's baseball field.

"Without Bill, we wouldn't be here today," said hitting coach Mickey Scala. "He's put his heart and soul into Oakton for so many years."

Fratto returns a key cog next season in first baseman Dan Sullivan (St. Viator), a resident of Palatine. Sullivan led the Owls in almost every key offensive category including homers (13), batting average (. 399), RBI (71), hits (81) and slugging percentage (. 719).

Men's swimming

Lewis University's Colin Williams (Elk Grove) finished both the 200-yard butterfly and 100-yard butterfly in first place when the Flyers topped Eastern Illinois 174-84 in a dual meet in Romeoville.

Williams swam a 1:58.96 in the 200-yard butterfly and a 51.20 in the 100-yard butterfly.

Women's basketball

The University of Denver women's basketball team is picked to finish fifth in the Summit League in the preseason poll voted on by the coaches and the media. Returning to the team this winter will be sophomore guard Claire Gritt (Hersey), who was named second year all-conference after being named honorable mention as a freshman.

Earning 160 points in this year's poll, the Pioneers finished tied for fourth in the Summit League last year with a 7-7 record and a 16-14 overall mark. South Dakota State (624) is predicted to finish atop the standings while South Dakota (257) and Western Illinois (192) round out the top three.

Oral Roberts (173) is projected to take fourth, North Dakota (157) sixth, North Dakota State (95) seventh, Omaha (82) eighth and Fort Wayne (45) ninth.

Football

Washington (St. Louis) senior linebacker Jack Coon (Barrington) was selected as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Player of the Week when he helped lead the Bears' defense in a 23-10 win over Elmhurst. The Bluejays were held to 234 yards of offense as Coon led the way with 11 total tackles (7 solo) and added 2.5 tackles-for-loss and 1 interception for 18 yards.

• Augustana sophomore safety John Kappel (Wheeling) has 22 solo tackles and 10 assists for the Vikings.

• Augustana junior Bobby Jarosz (Prospect) has 212 yards and 5 touchdowns on 36 totes (5.9 per carry).

Men's soccer

Augustana junior Jeremy Klaber (Stevenson) of Buffalo Grove, has played every minute in goal (900) and is 3-7 with a 1.81 goals against average and a save percentage of .710.

Women's soccer

Augustana senior Abby Wendell (Hersey) had a streak of six straight games with an assist snapped last week. She leads Augustana with a half-dozen helpers on the season.

Men's cross country

Augustana freshman Karsten Zielinski (Schaumburg) placed 245th in 27:55 at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational. Augustana placed 30th with 822 points in the 50 team field. Teams flocked from all over the country for the opportunity to run on the national meet course. There were 17 teams ranked in the NCAA Division III top 35.

Let us know

Please send updates on former Cook County athletes from the Daily Herald circulation area to jleusch@dailyherald.com.