The NCAA signing period for football, soccer, cross country and track and field, begins today. Here is a list of local athletes who can sign their NCAA national letters of intent in those sports, compiled with help from area athletic directors.
Football
Athlete, High School College (Div.)
Evan BIshop, Jacobs Northern Michigan (D-II)
Collin Corcoran, Prairie Ridge Winona State (D-II)
Maciej Kozlowski, Jacobs Southern Illinois (D-I)
Nick Margiotta, , Prairie Ridge Winona State (D-II)
Colt Nero, CL South Minnesota State (D-II)
Scott Taylor, Marian Central Northern Illinois (D-I)
Robert Tonyan, McHenry Indiana State (D-I)
Brad Walovitch, CL South Winona State (D-II)
Men’s Soccer
Athlete, High School College (Div.)
Drew Connor, Cary-Grove Wisconsin (D-I)
Women’s Soccer
Athlete, High School College (Div.)
Madie Edwards, CL Central Upper Iowa (D-II)
Erin Flores, Jacobs Nicholls (La.) State (D-I)
Lauren Grady, Jacobs Lewis (D-II)
Korey Kronforst, Cary-Grove Minnesota State (D-II)
Laura LeFevour, Marian Central Louisiana Tech (D-I)
Savannah Schinto, Richmond-Burton Upper Iowa (D-II)
Cassidy Sherman, Jacobs SIU-Edwardsville (D-I)
Lizzy Travis, Jacobs Saint Joseph’s, Ind. (D-II)
Men’s Cross Country and Track
Athlete, High School College (Div.)
Mitch Wilkins, Prairie Ridge Grand Valley State (D-II)
Women’s Cross Country and Track
Athlete, High School College (Div.)
Cassie Kruse, Hampshire New Hampshire (D-I)
Allison Rogutich, Marengo-* Grand Valley State (D-II)
*-Track only
'The Rosster' is back for its second week. We've come up with a new team and the list is up on the bulletin board.
For those who missedlast week's edition, every Monday I'll give a rundown of the best performances in the spotlight and under the radar from the past week of girls basketball.
The column will be a series of one-sentence quick-hitters featuring athletes who scored in bunches, made a difference on the defensive end or came up big in the clutch. We'll wrap it up with a quote from a local coach.
Just like after tryouts for any team, you'll have to read through the list to see who was good enough to make 'The Rosster' each week.
I'll also link to our featured game stories.
So here's another edition, and as always, reader nominations, feedback and suggestions are encouraged.
SCORERS
Jessica VIllie had 23 points for Marengo as the Indians beat Prairie Ridge, 49-38.
Junior Shannon Wuensch scored 27 points, including five three-pointers, for Marian Central in a 70-60 loss to St. Edward.
R-B’s Erin Thomas didn’t seem bothered by her recent thumb injury, scoring 21 points in a win over Genoa-Kingston.
ROLE PLAYERS
Emily Michalski added 11 points for the Chargers in Dundee-Crown’s five-point win against McHenry.
Junior Andrea Fox had nine first-half points for R-B and was a big presence in the Rockets’ 2-3 zone against Marengo.
Kesley Bear (6 points), Sarah LeBeau (8 points), Marisa Gerstbrein (8 points) and Kailey Aldridge (6 points)all contributed to Prairie Ridge’s balanced scoring attack in the win over D-C.
McHenry’s Brittany Avonts had nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks off the bench against Marian.
Paige Lincicum had 11 points in Cary-Grove’s FVC Valley win over Crystal Lake South.
Prairie Ridge’s Brianne Fenton had six assists (all in the first half) and two steals against Crystal Lake South.
ALL-AROUNDERS
Senior Morgan Berge scored a game-high 21 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and six steals in Johnsburg’s road victory over Grayslake North.
Richmond-Burton’s Alex Callanan led the Rockets with 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the Rockets’ win over Marengo.
Huntley’s Haley Ream had six points, eight rebounds and three assists in the Red Raiders’ loss to Crystal Lake South.
CLUTCH PERFORMERS
Senior Stephanie Melone scored seven of her 10 points in the fourth quarter and went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes to help the Gators rally against Huntley.
Prairie Ridge’s Haleigh Danek hit a go-ahead three-pointer with under two minutes remaining to help the Wolves to a 44-41 win over DC.
Crystal Lake South’s Lauren Del Vecchio made one of two free throws with 7.2 seconds remaining to give the Gators a 49-48 win over Prairie Ridge. She also had six rebounds and five steals.
COACH'S FINAL WORD
“There’s not one of these kids who would want to go back and relive the week we just had with practices and games,” Crystal Lake South coach Kyle McCaughn said after his team’s comeback victory over Prairie Ridge. “But I think right now they realize it was worth it.”
Talk to older generations and they often wax nostalgic about the good ol' days when everything in life was more simple. Televisions had a single-digit number of channels and computers were reserved only for elite universities and high-tech companies. Social media was passing on front-porch gossip to the neighbors walking by.
2011 was a simple year for the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division. Everything was clear-cut and defined.
Undefeated Cary-Grove (27-3 overall, 10-0 FVC Valley) was the class of the division. Huntley (20-9, 8-2) was second-best, with its only two losses coming to C-G, and McHenry (21-10, 6-4) was No. 3, only losing to Huntley and C-G in conference.
Jacobs (4-23, 2-8), Dundee-Crown (9-18, 3-7) and Crystal Lake South (3-24, 1-9) all battled it out for the best of the bottom tier.
One year later and the conference is a jumbled mess resembling a Rubik's cube. Looking at the standings (through Jan. 26), every team has at least eight losses overall and one loss in conference.
Want to know just how unpredictable this division is? Common sense says the teams at the top of the standings beat up on the teams below them. But I'll start at the bottom and go up the ladder, showing how no FVC Valley matchup can be considered a gimme.
Jacobs defeated Prairie Ridge, 60-54
Prairie Ridge defeated Crystal Lake South, 54-38
Crystal Lake South defeated McHenry, 34-33
McHenry defeated Huntley 43-26
Huntley defeated Cary-Grove, 46-35
Cary-Grove defeated Dundee-Crown, 51-31
Dundee-Crown defeated Jacobs, 42-40
We still have two weeks of conference play left before the postseason starts in February, and maybe everything will sort itself out. But with the way this season has gone, I wouldn't bet on it.
Think you can sort out the FVC Valley? Post your rankings in the comments.
