A whole lot of achieving going on
Time once again to review the collegiate exploits of some local athletes ...
Iowa junior guard Kathleen Doyle (Benet) drew first-team all-Big Ten honors by the coaches, second team by the media; as a sophomore she was a second-team coaches pick. Her 6.3-assist average led the Big Ten, and as the 28-6 Hawkeyes enter the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen overall Doyle is averaging 12.2 points, 5.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals. UCLA senior guard Chrissy Baird (Wheaton North) is the only other DuPage County player in the Sweet Sixteen.
A senior guard for the Purdue Fort Wayne men's basketball team, John Konchar (West Chicago) earned first-team all-district honors by the National Association of Basketball Coaches for Division I. A second-team pick the last two seasons, the 6-foot-5 Konchar led the Summit League with 5.4 assists a game, 1.9 steals, a 54.6 field-goal percentage and was second in scoring at 19.5 points a game. First-team all-Summit all four seasons, Konchar recently recorded the league tournament's first triple-double; overall he raked 46 double-doubles. Konchar is the first player in men's Division I history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 200 steals.
In a different district, Furman senior Matt Rafferty (Hinsdale Central) earned NABC first-team honors. The 6-8 forward ranked in the Southern Conference's top five in all major categories, averaging 17.5 points, 9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.5 steals, 1.1 blocks and a league-high 61.5 field-goal percentage. Rafferty led the Paladins - Top 25 by the Associated Press for three weeks - to a school-record 25 wins and a first NIT appearance since 1991. The four-year starter ranks in Furman's top eight in four categories.
In Division III, North Central College junior guard Connor Raridon (Neuqua Valley) drew first-team Central Region honors by the NABC and D3hoops.com. A unanimous College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin first-teamer, the Cardinals' all-time assists leader tied his own record with 13 assists at Illinois Wesleyan and broke his own record making 17 of 17 free throws against Loras.
Speaking of Loras, Duhawks senior guard Josh Ruggles (Wheaton Warrenville South) earned second-team West Region honors, as did Washington (St. Louis) freshman Jack Nolan (Benet) in the Central.
A junior guard-forward at William & Mary, Justin Pierce (Glenbard West) averaged 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists, the first Colonial Athletic Association player since 1992 to average at least 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. The 6-foot-7 Pierce's 8.9 rebounds were the best for a Tribe player since 1996.
Back on Nov. 10, senior forward Jake Heggeland (Wheaton North) became Taylor University's 42nd men's basketball player to top the 1,000-point mark, in an 85-68 win at Governors State. Heggeland finished 37th in program history with 1,199 points. On Dec. 7 against Grace Christian during the Trojans' annual Silent Night game, his free throw for Taylor's 10th point broke the silence for a second straight year.
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference first-team picks included Benedictine junior forward Eric Grygo (Addison Trail) and Aurora sophomore forward Bailey Vance (Lake Park). Hitting 42 3-pointers, Vance led the Spartans at 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds a game; Grygo averaged a double-double at 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds and set school and NACC records with his .692 field-goal percentage.
In indoor track and field, Loras junior Patrick Mikel (Glenbard East) was named most valuable male performer at the American Rivers Conference championships, winning the 200- and 400-meter sprints and anchoring a victorious 1,600 relay all in school-record times. The Division III Central Region indoor track athlete of the year, at the Division III finals in Boston Mikel increased his indoor-outdoor All-America honors to nine with a third-place 1,600-relay finish and repeat 400-meter title (just ahead of Batavia grad Peyton Piron), breaking his own course record with a time of 47.53 seconds.
University of Chicago freshman Isabel Maletich (Downers Grove North), the University Athletic Association "rookie of the year" for women's indoor track, was named the Division III finals' most outstanding women's field performer by winning long jump at a school-record 19 feet, 4¾ inches and placing sixth in triple jump at 38-7½. Maletich was the first Maroons' first-year athlete to win a national title.
Middlebury junior Nathan Hill (Hinsdale Central) got the Panthers' distance medley relay off to a strong start toward the Division III indoor title, Middlebury's first indoor national event championship in program history.
(As we said after last outdoor track season, we'd be remiss not to mention North Central College's Luke Winder, a Joliet native. Helping the Cardinals men win their fifth Division III indoor championship, in his last season of eligibility Winder won his fourth straight indoor pole vault title to go with three outdoor titles. He's the first college pole vaulter to win seven overall national championships and four indoor titles.)
Helping Villanova repeat as Big East men's indoor track champions, junior Konrad Bayer (Benet) ran the 400-meter leg of a distance medley relay that won the league title. Bayer also helped the Wildcats win the event in 2017. At the Missouri Valley Conference women's finals Bradley freshman Hannah Ivy (Glenbard North) ran the third leg of the Braves' first DMR indoor title in history.
Minnesota-Mankato senior Jack Curtis (Glenbard South) was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference indoor field athlete of the year. He set personal records in high jump and pole vault on the way to the NSIC heptathlon title with 5225 points.
The Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association did great work by identifying each Illinoisan who reached the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship. DuPage County was deep at 133 pounds as Illinois sophomore Dylan Duncan (Montini) and Iowa State freshman Austin Gomez (Glenbard North) reached Pittsburgh last weekend. Duncan bowed out after two matches. No. 13 seed Gomez, third in the Big 12 Conference, won his opener on an 11-0 major decision. A 1-0 loss sent him into wrestlebacks where he won his next two matches before elimination.
In the CCIW, North Central College junior 125-pounder Moe Mitchell (Neuqua Valley), freshman 133-pounder Jaime Suarez (Wheaton North), junior 174-pounder Cam Hayes (Naperville Central) and senior 197-pounder Tyler Vittal (Lake Park) all won their respective titles.
At the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships in Indianapolis on March 16, Lewis University sophomore Stephanie Palczynski (WW South) set a school record of 1:58.97 in the 200-yard backstroke preliminaries. In the final Palczynski placed seventh at 2:00.00 for her second All-America swim in the event. Two days prior her 200 freestyle of 1:50.39 set another Lewis record. Earlier this season senior teammate Meghan Beese (Glenbard South) helped the Flyers set a 200 freestyle relay program record.
Nicole LaMantia (Montini), a freshman defender for Wisconsin's women's hockey team, got the third assist on the top-ranked Badgers' first goal in a 2-0 win over No. 2 Minnesota on March 24 in Connecticut, Wisconsin's fifth NCAA Division I title and first since 2011. LaMantia played in all 41 games for Wisconsin (35-4-2), recording 2 goals, 12 assists, 33 blocked shots and a plus-20.
A hockey-playing Granato strikes again. Elmira senior forward Katie Granato (Neuqua Valley) earned first-team CCM Women's Hockey Division III All-America and was the United Collegiate Hockey Conference player of the year. Among eight finalists for the Laura Hurd Award as the nation's best Division III women's player, in 27 games Granato scored 45 points on 26 goals and 19 assists. Her 73 goals at Elmira rank fourth in program history.
A senior goalie at Gustavus Adolphus, Amanda DiNella (Willowbrook) earned her third all-conference honor with a first-team nod in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. A two-time Division III All-American, the Gusties' all-time saves leader went 15-6-4 with 4 shutouts, a .933 save percentage and a tiny 1.49 goals-against average.
Wheaton native and St. Norbert College senior goaltender T.J. Black made the all-Northern Collegiate Hockey Association team for a third time. In 30 games he went 22-5-2 with a 1.70 goals-against and a .927 saves percentage.
Fellow netminder Dryden McKay of Downers Grove is a freshman at Minnesota State-Mankato, the goalie on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's All-Rookie Team. On March 14 he was named among 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award as the top goalie in NCAA men's hockey. With a record of 24-6-2, he ranks third in Division 1 in winning percentage, second at 1.65 goals-against and third with a .931 saves percentage. The Mavericks are the No. 3 seed entering the first round of the men's Division I Frozen Four playoffs this weekend. Kevin Fitzgerald (Hinsdale Central) has scored 10 goals as a sophomore forward for top-seeded St. Cloud State.
The news came well into winter: Millikin junior Lucy Koger (Naperville North) was named the Big Blue women's soccer team's offensive player of the year after scoring 7 goals with 2 assists for 16 points in 17 games.
Back to basketball, coaches' division: Loyola's Porter Moser (Benet) became only the second Missouri Valley Conference men's coach to share or win outright the regular-season title in consecutive seasons after having been on a title-winning team as a player.
On March 20 Bryan Mullins (Downers Grove South) was named men's coach at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Captain of the 2005 Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area Boys Basketball Team and 2018 inductee into the Saluki Hall of Fame, Mullins most recently was Moser's associate head coach at Loyola, where he'd served as an assistant since 2013. The 2009 MVC Scholar-Athlete of the year and two-time defensive player of the year signed a five-year contract.
Congratulations, Bryan, and good luck to all.
doberhelman@dailyherald.com
@doberhelman1