A quartet worth following

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The term “time off” really is relative for high school athletes.

Sure, there are no classes or homework for most of them over the summer, but there is considerable time to be spent lifting weights, conditioning and honing their skills.

When you see an athlete succeeding in the 2007-08 school year, chances are it will be someone who used their summer vacation as anything but a vacation.

For the next two months, the Northwest Herald will run a feature called “Four to Follow” which will chronicle the training and competition of four prominent local high school athletes. This year’s group is Jacobs’ Lauren Arceneaux, Johnsburg’s Michelle McDonald, Cary-Grove’s Paul Rands and Dundee-Crown’s Mike Williamson.

All four have aspirations to compete at the NCAA Division I level after their high school careers, and the summer before their senior years can be vital to providing the needed exposure.

Arceneaux specializes in softball and will play on varsity next spring for the fourth time. She was a Northwest Herald All-Area first team selection in 2006 and committed to Loyola University early in her junior season.

“I didn’t want to tell anyone [about committing] until after the high school season ended,” Arceneaux said.

This summer, Arceneaux is playing for the Midland Magic, a high-level tournament team with no real home field. Arceneaux drives on weekends to the Bloomington-Normal area to meet with the other players, most of whom are from central Illinois.

McDonald competes for Johnsburg’s volleyball, basketball and softball teams, but the 6-footer’s best sport in college will be basketball, where she has heard from several Missouri Valley Conference schools. Currently, she is concerned about her aching feet because she missed 10 games last season with a stress fracture in her left foot.

“I just want to make sure it doesn’t get worse,” said McDonald, a Northwest Herald All-Area first team selection.

Rands (6-0, 212 pounds) hasn’t decided whether he will play football or wrestle in college. He is attending summer camps for both sports. Rands was a Northwest Herald All-Area pick in football, where he has started two years for the Trojans at linebacker.

“It’s a tough decision,” Rands said. “That’s a good problem, I guess.”

Williamson, who is 6-4, was the Northwest Herald Tennis Player of the Year this spring, finishing in the top 32 at the IHSA State Tournament. He was the Fox Valley Conference champion at No. 1 singles.

“I haven’t gotten a lot [from colleges] yet,” Williamson said. “I want to stay on the East Coast somewhere warm, like Florida.”