Colleges: Central’s Bray named to all-Summit first team
BY DAN CHAMNESS For Sun-Times Media January 27, 2013 9:28PM
Naperville Central graduate Meghan Bray, an outside hitter for Oakland University, earned first-team honors for the Summit League all-conference team recently. | submitted photo
Updated: January 31, 2013 6:51PM
Naperville Central graduate Meghan Bray had one goal when she joined the Oakland University volleyball team.
“With each passing year, I wanted to get better,” said Bray. “I loved hitting on the front row. It felt natural to be an outside hitter.”
Bray did just that. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter, who recently finished her career, was named to the Summit League All-Conference first team for the second consecutive year.
“When they called my name, I was shocked,” said Bray. “For me, going to those conference banquets is more about being with my team. I miss it already.”
In the 16 league games, Bray finished with 273 kills and 259 digs. She also had 27 assists, 24 blocks and 11 service aces. A total of 12 athletes were named to the first team. Bray was the only Oakland player named to the first team. She was one of eight seniors named to the team.
She helped Oakland take third in the league with a 9-7 mark. They were 16-13 overall.
Host Illinois easily won the Illini Classic track meet held at The Armory. Morolake Akinosun (Waubonsie Valley), Meagan Hynes (Neuqua Valley), Michelle Stratton (Naperville North) and Kristin Morrison (Neuqua Valley) all competed in the women’s division, while Brett Einbecker (Waubonsie Valley) competed for the Illini men.
Akinosun won the 60-meter dash, finishing in 7.38 seconds. She was second in the 200-meter dash, crossing the finish line in :24.29. Morrison was second in the indoor pentathlon, scoring 3,349 points. Stratton was sixth in the 3,000-meter run (11:07.84), while Hynes was ninth in the one-mile run (5:15.20). The Illini women scored 204 points. Southern Illinois took second with 121 points.
Einbecker took eighth in shot put, recording a toss of 15.71 meters. He was also 11th in the weight throw with a toss of 16.96 meters. Illinois took first with 241.5 points. Southern Illinois took second with 108 points.
In Northwestern’s 68-54 win over Illinois, Dave Sobolewski (Benet) scored 10 points, six assists and two rebounds. The Naperville resident hit two field goals (one trey) and five free throws. The starting guard played 34 minutes. Northwestern was not as fortunate against Indiana, the second ranked team in the AP poll. In the 67-59 IU victory, Sobolewski had nine points and two assists. More recently, Sobolewski had five points in the Wildcats’ 55-48 upset of Minnesota and 21 points in a 64-49 loss to Nebraska on Saturday. Northwestern is 12-9 overall and 3-5 in the Big 10 Conference.
Millikin’s Bria Williams (Neuqua Valley) scored 10 points, but it was not enough to power the Big Blue past Illinois Wesleyan, who won a 72-67 decision. The 5-10 junior forward was perfect from the field and the charity stripe, hitting 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-4 from the stripe with six rebounds. In Millikin’s 69-55 loss to Augustana, Williams had six points and six rebounds. She started both games and played 17 minutes in each contest. Millikin is 5-11 overall and 0-6 in the CCIW.
Shannon Larson (Neuqua Valley) scored 10 points for Milwaukee School of Engineering in a 64-46 loss to Concordia-Wisconsin. Larson, who hit 5-of-11 from the field, also had seven rebounds and two blocked shots. The starter played 21 minutes. Milwaukee School of Engineering is 1-16 overall and 1-10 in the Northern Athletics Conference.
Tyler Jermann (Naperville Central) took 13th in the seeded 3,000-meter run at the Iowa State University Open, which was held at the Lied Center in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State sophomore finished in 8:58.40. Team scores were not kept.
Roosevelt University put two more in the win column, beating Holy Cross College (86-80) and Indiana University-South Bend (60-59). In the win over Holy Cross, Becky Williford and Erica Jordan, both of Waubonsie Valley, each scored six points. Williford had three rebounds and two assists, while Jordan had three rebounds. In the triumph over IU-South Bend, Jordan had six points and two rebounds, while Williford tallied three points and three rebounds. Roosevelt is 18-5 overall and 13-3 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Oberlin defeated John Carroll 134-97 in a dual swimming meet. Oberlin freshman Allison Susin (Naperville Central) was third in the 500-yard freestyle (5:39.86) and fourth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:22.98). She was also a member of Oberlin’s 200-yard freestyle relay, which finished third in 1:48.47.
Cornell College split a pair of games in Midwest Conference play. In their 92-78 win over Monmouth, freshman Peter Catchings (Neuqua Valley) had four points, six rebounds and two assists. Catchings started at guard and played 32 minutes. He played 33 minutes in the 80-63 loss to St. Norbert College. Catchings finished with two points, seven rebounds and three assists. Cornell is 6-10 overall and 5-6 in the Midwest Conference.
Washington University won the Interstate 55 Triangular, held at the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan. Washington’s Katy Barron (Benet) helped the Bears take second in the distance medley relay. The Naperville resident and three other WU runners finished the race in 13:00.75. Individually, she was eighth in the 800-meter run, finishing in 2:32.25. Washington pole vaulter Kevin Lind (Naperville Central) vaulted to an eighth-place finish, finishing with a leap of 11-11.75. Washington took first with 123 points. University of Chicago took second with 107 points. The Washington women’s team took second with 98 points. Illinois Wesleyan won the women’s title with 119.
