Jacobs golfer Cahill picks Miami (Ohio)

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Scott Cahill had Miami (Ohio) University ranked first on his list of prospective colleges for the better part of the past year.

So it came as no surprise July 13 when the Jacobs senior-to-be made it official that he would become a RedHawk. Cahill committed to attend the NCAA Division I school on an athletic scholarship and play golf for coach Casey Lubahn’s team.

“I’ve been talking to Miami since September,” Cahill said. “I went for a visit in October and played a tournament there this summer [on the Memorial Day weekend]. I knew when I was there that was the place. I could see myself there for the next four years.”

Cahill was the Northwest Herald Boys Golf Player of the Year in 2009 and won the Fox Valley Conference Tournament. He finished 17th in the IHSA Class 3A State Tournament. He said his scholarship offer was for half of the schooling costs for his freshman year.

Cahill started playing golf around age 8 with his father, Doug, at Randall Oaks in West Dundee. When Scott reached eighth grade, he grew more serious about golf and played an extensive tournament schedule. He made an immediate impact as a freshman at Jacobs.

“In the eighth grade, I really loved golf,” Cahill said. “I knew then and through high school I wanted to play in college. Probably my freshman year, I had some friends who played college golf, and I knew where I was. By my sophomore year I started talking to some schools and knew I was going D-I.”

Cahill considered Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri State, Notre Dame and Wisconsin. All along, though, it was Miami that Cahill liked best. He has been playing a demanding tournament schedule this summer of mostly American Junior Golf Association events. Aside from his Ohio trip, Cahill has played in Las Vegas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Macaulay to West Georgia: Crystal Lake South graduate Alex Macaulay will continue his football career at NCAA D-II West Georgia this fall. Macaulay was one of the most well-rounded athletes in the area and tied for fifth in Northwest Herald Male Athlete of the Year voting.

Macaulay earned All-Area second-team honors in baseball and was an honorable mention pick in basketball. In football, he missed most of the season after undergoing an appendectomy just before the season. He missed five games, then played parts of the next two before playing full-time in Week 8 against Cary-Grove.

“I wanted to go to St. Thomas (Minn.) and got in late [with West Georgia],” Macaulay said. “They have a new stadium and with the new recruiting class, they should be getting better.”

Macaulay will be a preferred walk-on at West Georgia, which was 1-9 last season. West Georgia’s entire athletic program was placed on NCAA probation for “lack of institutional control” this year. Still, it provides an opportunity for Macaulay, who will be used at wide receiver.

“It was tough to send film because I didn’t have a lot from my senior year,” Macaulay said. “I sent some from my junior year and explained that I’d missed half my senior year. I thought about trying to do baseball too, but football’s what I like best.”

Macaulay played an integral role for the Gators’ Class 7A playoff semifinal team in 2008, playing at linebacker and wide receiver. Another reason he chose West Georgia was for his family.

Cheryl Macaulay, Alex’s mother, was transferred to Georgia last year for her job with Allstate Insurance. George Macaulay stayed in Crystal Lake with Alex and his sister, Lauren, who will be a high school junior. Now, the Macaulays will be together again, with Alex about an hour away at West Georgia.

• Joe Stevenson covers high school sports for the Northwest Herald. He can be reached by e-mail at jstevenson@nwherald.com.