Roundup: Sandifer named UEC Valley Player of Year
FROM STAFF REPORTS February 23, 2013 5:42PM
Neuqua's Jabari Sandifer puts up a shot while being defended by Larkin's Brayden Royse on Friday in Naperville. | Mike Mantucca ~ For Sun-Times Media
Updated: March 25, 2013 6:58AM
BOYS BASKETBALL
Neuqua’s Sandifer named UEC Valley Player of Year
Senior Jabari Sandifer, who led Neuqua Valley to the conference title, has been Upstate Eight Valley boys basketball Player of the Year.
Sandifer joins teammate Pat Kenny on the all-UEC Valley team announced on Friday.
Waubonsie Valley’s Jared Brownridge and Bryan Jefferson were named to the all-UEC Valley team, while Trayvond Taylor and Sean Davis represented Metea Valley on the all-UEC team.
Also on the team were Jonathan Villezcas of East Aurora, Lance Whitaker of Bartlett and Jake Ktsanes of Lake Park.
All-DVC team— Nick Czarnowski and Mike Blaszczyk of Naperville Central and Naperville North’s Derek Westman were each unanimous choices for the all-DuPage Valley Conference boys basketball team.
Receiving special mention status were Naperville Central’s Nick Lopez and Naperville North’s Bryan LoLordo, while Central’s Ryan Antony and North’s Anthony Rehayem both were named honorable mention.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
All-CCIW team— North Central College sophomore Larynn Shumaker has been named to the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin All-Conference Women’s Basketball Team, earning second-team honors.
Shumaker was one of only two underclassmen to be honored with the selection as the sophomore led the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 ppg and 14.1 ppg in CCIW play. She has scored in double figures in 16 of 22 games played this season, including a career high 22-point performance in a 104-90 victory over Goucher College on Dec. 21 in the Las Vegas Hoopla. Her 5.6 rebounds per game also lead the Cardinals, while her .519 field goal percentage is good for second on the team.
COLLEGE HOCKEY
Neumann heading to UConn— Chicago Steel defenseman Christian Neumann, a graduate of Naperville Central, has committed to play for the University of Connecticut beginning in the fall of 2013. He is in his second season with the Steel and has scored one goal and added 11 assists in 36 games in 2012-13.
Neumann verbally committed to the Air Force Academy last May, but reopened the recruiting process earlier this season. After making visits to other Division I hockey programs, the 6-foot, 185-pound Naperville resident decided to play collegiately for the Huskies.
“We are excited that Christian will continue his hockey career at UConn,” Chicago Steel head coach Scott McConnell said. “Christian has worked hard at every stop along his hockey career and will continue develop under the tutelage of Connecticut’s coaching staff. Christian is an excellent leader within our organization and it is nice to see his hard work pay off.”
UConn is a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association. The Huskies will join Hockey East as the conference’s 12th member starting in the 2014-15 season.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Two NCC runners are all-academic— North Central’s Tim Hird, a senior from Rock Island Alleman, and Daniel Kerley, a senior from downstate Vienna, are among the 162 athletes earning NCAA Division III All-Academic honors by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Hird, a senior sport management major, earns his second All-Academic Award from the USTFCCCA. He recorded three top-10 finishes in 2012, along with a 25th-place effort at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championships and a 121st-place finish at the Division III National Championships in November.
Kerley, a senior psychology major, receives his third straight All-Academic Award. He was the CCIW’s individual champion in 2012, leading the Cardinals to their 39th straight conference title, then placed third at the Midwest Regional before crossing the line 14th at the national championships to earn All-America honors.
The pair helped lead North Central to its 15th national championship in men’s cross country and its 30th national title overall in 2012.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
NCC earns Team All-Academic— For the eighth straight season, the North Central College women’s cross country team has been honored for its continued success in the classroom and in the field of competition, earning the Team All-Academic Award from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for the 2012 season.
To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team, the team must have had a cumulative team grade point average of 3.10 or better and have compiled a score (finished at least five runners) at their respective NCAA regional championship.
The Cardinals compiled a team grade point average of 3.41 through the fall term to claim the honor for the eighth consecutive year. North Central was one of six College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin institutions to be so honored, joining Elmhurst College, Illinois Wesleyan, Millikin, North Park and Wheaton College as a total of 197 NCAA Division III programs earned the honor during the fall.
North Central placed fourth in the 2012 CCIW Championships before recording a 15th-place finish at the Midwest Regional Championships.
