Larkin grad Negron playing well at new school
Here at Off at College, we love reader requests!
Reader Rick Baier asked for updates on former Burlington Central girls basketball player Sam Pryor (now at Western Illinois University), as well as Geneva alum Margaret Whitley (Alabama-Birmingham) and Larkin product Christian Negron (now at Grand Valley State).
We knocked out the Pryor request in our previous installment earlier in the month. Here's the other two, Rick, enjoy, and thanks for reading.
Negron at Grand Valley State: Larkin product Negron, who transferred from Loyola-Chicago, is a 6-7 junior forward on the Grand Valley State men's basketball team.
Negron is one of five players on the team averaging 10 or more points. He's at 10.8 per game, while also pulling in a strong 7.5 rebounds per contest (second on the team). He's shooting .621 from the field on 118 of 190 attempts.
He recently had 3 points and 5 rebounds against Michigan Tech and 7 points and 9 rebounds against Northern Michigan. In a game against Northwood, Negron had a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. He shot 7-for-11 from the field in that game. Negron also had 14 points and 8 boards against Saginaw Valley. He's had 5 games of 10 or more rebounds this season.
Whitley at UAB: Geneva alum Whitley is now a sophomore guard on the Alabama-Birmingham women's basketball team where she has played in 26 of 27 games thus far this season. In those 26 games, Whitley is averaging just more than 12 minutes of playing time and has hit 26 of 78 3-pointers (.333) and is shooting .739 from the free-throw line. She also has 18 assists and 13 steals for a UAB team that is 17-10 overall to start the week.
Exline at Illinois State: Streamwood graduate Maddi Exline recently ran a personal-record in the 800 for the Illinois State University women's indoor track and field team.
Exline ran an indoor-best 2:13.09 at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa. She was one of three Redbird 800 runners established personal bests in the meet.
"Maddi Exline kicked it off in heat one and the momentum just took over and everyone was trying to top the next," said Illinois State director of track and field/cross country Jeff Bovee.
Exline also fared well at the Eastern Illinois University Friday Night Special where she ran a season-best time in the women's mile at 5:06.26.
Exline is coming off a freshman season where she took 22nd in the outdoor 800 at the Missouri Valley Conference championships.
Krutwig at Loyola: Jacobs grad Cameron Krutwig continues to play a big role for the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team.
To begin the week Krutwig is leading the Ramblers in scoring at 15.2 points per game and also is tops on the team at 8.1 rebounds per game. Krutwig has taken 318 shots this season and is shooting .572 from the floor and .691 from the foul line on 110 attempts. He also is tops on the team in assists with 124 against only 75 turnovers.
Krutwig also leads the team with 20 blocks and has 35 steals.
In recent action, the 6-9 junior had 11 points and 5 rebounds against Missouri State and also had 13 points and 11 rebounds against Illinois State. Against Northern Iowa, Krutwig had 21 points and 11 rebounds. His season-high is 24 points against St. Joseph's back in November.
Andrews at Illinois: Continuing the Division I basketball theme, Huntley grad Ali Andrews is one of five players on the University of Illinois women's basketball team averaging 8.0 or more points a game.
Through last weekend, Andrews has started 23 of 27 games she has played in and is averaging 8.3 points per game, while shooting .449 from the field, .378 from the 3-point line and .789 from the free-throw line. Andrews ranks second on the team in made 3-pointers with 34 and is second in attempts with 90. She's also averaging 3.7 rebounds and has 19 steals and 17 blocked shots. Illinois was 11-16 to start the week.
Keller at NIU: With the mercury hitting north of 50 degrees Sunday, why not add in a softball update? Geneva product Katie Keller is a sophomore on the Northern Illinois University softball team.
Keller already had racked up 36 at-bats and his hitting .389 in 10 games. She has 14 hits (4 doubles) and 4 RBI. She also has 4 stolen bases to her credit for the 5-5 Huskies. She recently went 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored, a double and an RBI against Delaware State. It was already her second 4-hit game of the young season.
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. Winter submissions are encouraged, but I'm open for baseball and softball submissions as well.