Sycamore, Kishwaukee alums help spark WIU volleyball program
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| Sycamore's Jennifer Alexander completed an impressive first year at Western Illinois being named the Mid-Continent Conference Freshman of the Year. In addition to being one of three WIU frosh named to the Mid-Con all-frosh unit, she joined former Kishwaukee College standout Kali Landis in earning Second-Team All-Mid-Con accolades. WIU Provided Photo
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Daily Chronicle Campus Notebook
By Chronicle Staff
MACOMB - Western Illinois University volleyball coach Kym McKay certainly might plan another recruiting trip to DeKalb County after the past fall's Westerwind season.
Two of the best contributors to WIU's success and fueling optimism for the future were Sycamore High School graduate Jennifer Alexander and Kishwaukee College alum Kali Landis. While both players earned Second-Team All-Mid-Continent Conference acclaim, Alexander's resume also included Mid-Con Freshman of the Year accolades.
"We knew that everyone in the conference respected Jen, but for her to be named the top freshman is a great tribute to what she did on the court," McKay said.
It was also the first time Western Illinois had two players named all-conference since the 1997 campaign when the Westerwinds had three players honored.
Alexander, a defensive specialist, recorded a team-best 474 digs for the 2003 season and ranked third in the Mid-Con with a 4.51 digs-per-game aveage. The 474 digs make the WIU record book as the most by a freshman and rate second in all-time single-season digs. She had seven matches of 20 digs or more with a season-best 34 in a four-game victory over Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis (IUPUI). Alexander gave Western Illinois its second consecutive Mid-Con Frosh of the Year plaque, following in the footsteps of teammate Jessica Manning. Alexander also led WIU in terms of games played, having competed in 105 games for Western Illinois, which finished 7-22 and 5-9 in the M-CC.
The former Spartan was joined by fellow frosh Ashley Baker and Patt Melinauskas in being named to the Mid-Continent All-Freshman unit.
Landis, who was instrumental in Kishwaukee's back-to-back NJCAA Championships, led the Westerwinds in totals kills with 336 and was second to Alexander in digs with 383. She became the first WIU player to record a 300 kill/300 dig season since Amy Damon accomplished that feat in 1993. Landis also led Western Illinois in ace serves with 29 to go with her season .191 hitting efficiency.
"The best thing is that Jen (Alexander), Kali (Landis), Ashley (Baker), and Patty (Melinauskas) are all underclassmen and will be back next year," McKay said. "With the recruits we have coming in and the players we have returning, we are very excited about what's to come."
Wood letters with Illinois Wesleyan women's soccer
BLOOMINGTON - While the Illinois Wesleyan University women's soccer team had a stellar 2003 fall, Sycamore High School alum Kristin Wood is looking forward even more to this autumn's 2004 season.
That's when Wood will serve as a co-captain for a Titan squad which welcomes back 20 of this year's 22 letterwinners off a sdquad that posted a 12-3-4 record and shared the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular-season title.
Wood is among six juniors expected to lead the fortunes for coach Dave Barrett, who does lose an NCAA Division III All-America in Amy Bernard. The former Spartan regular had two goals and two assists for six points, which placed her eighth among 14 IWU players who had points during the season. Wood booted the final goal in 6-0 road win over Lawrence University and capped the offensive onslaught in an 8-0 triumph at North Central College. She garnered both assists in a 4-0 victory at Webster University.
Area duo boost IWU football
BLOOMINGTON - Two area gridders did their part in helping the Illinois Wesleyan University football prorgram post a 5-5 overall record during the 2003 season with a 4-2 ledger within the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).
Sycamore High School's Bob Cullen and Genoa-Kingston High School alum Garrett Oleson were among the Titans' 58 letterwinners after the fall campaign with Cullen also earning "Best Big Skill" accolades from coach Norm Eash and his staff.
Cullen made 22 catches for 307 yards and had six reeptions for 70 yards in the a visit to Wheaton College. Cullen, a tight end, was one of a 20 junior letterwinners looking to spearhead IWU's fortunes in the fall of 2004. Oleson was one of 17 sophomores to earn varsity letters with the defensive back compiling seven total tackles including three solo stops.
DHS athletes fuel Prairie Fire success
GALESBURG - Knox College has a pair of DeKalb County standouts earning varsity letters this past fall for the Prairie Fire athletic program.
Former DeKalb High School volleyball player Emily Quade earned a varsity monogram as a freshman on the 2003 Knox volleyball squad while ex-Barb cross country regular Justin Griffiths not only lettered for KC, but was selected as an Academic All-Midwest Confer-ence pick. A mathematics major, Griffiths was a regular on the Knox cross country squad and met the requirement of having a minimum 3.2 grade-point-average.
Ex-Barb letters for Case Western Reserve
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Anna Booth, a 2003 DeKalb High School graduate, earned her initial varsity letter as a member of the Case Western Reseve University women's cross country program.
Booth had a season-best time of 20:16 at the Loyola University Invitational with a best place finish of 13th in the Great American Festival, where she finished in a time of 21:21.5. CWRU's Spartans finished seventh in the competitive Univesity Athletic Association and also placed 20th in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships. Booth is majoring in biology.
Elmhurst has another SHS harrier in the lead
ELMHURST - While Sycamore High School standout Jason Malmassari completed a stellar Division III All-America career for Elmhurst College, the Bluejay cross country program continued to rely on yet another ex-Spartan in Mark Heintz.
Heintz became an EC letterwinner after competing all season for Elmhurst as the Bluejays finished third in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) league championship meet. Heintz was Elmhurst's top finisher taking ninth in 25:56 in order to head up EC's 72 points as the Bluejays placed behing North Central College (19) and Augustana College 961).
Forbes shines in initial collegiate wrestling meet
MILWAUKEE - Former Sycamore High School wrestler Ryan Forbes took first place in his weight class and helped lead the Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders, to its first victory at the competitive Lawrence University Invitational.
This was the first college tournament championship for Forbes, who is a freshman studying electrical engineering. Forbes won all three matches in the 141-pound weight class and took first place in the tournament, while teammate Matthew Schoenherr also dominated his class and won. The Raiders scored team points in all 10 weight classes and had placewinners in nine of the weight classes
"This is a terrific win for the team and an especially exciting win for Ryan, who has been doing an excellent job for us and is one of our most promising freshmen. Ryan will win many more tournaments during his career at MSOE," said head coach Kevin Morin.
Since the tournament, the Raiders defeated Wheaton College, and then fell to No. 27-rated UW-Whitewater. MSOE grapplers defeated Maranatha 46-4 in order to get off to a 5-1 start.
