Simnick's role is special; Cook kicks into national spotlight
The importance of special teams in football, besides being involved in one-third of all plays, is that the outcome often dictates field position.
That's why any award given to a special teams player should be applauded.
Ray Simnick (Lake Zurich) of Princeton University received The Class of 1952 Award that is presented annually to the player who has excelled on special teams play, exemplifying pride, hustle and determination. Simnick played on both return and coverage teams.
Simnick, who will graduate in June with degrees in both Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, also ran track as a junior and finished sixth in the 100-meter dash in the Ivy League Championships.
• Redshirt freshman Kevin Cook (Carmel) of Eastern Illinois University is No. 1 in the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks fourth in the nation in punting with an average of 44.6 yards on 35 punts. He had 9 inside the 20-yard line. He is the only freshman to rank in the top five in the nation and was above a 43-yard average all season.
The punting average set a school record.
Cook earned second team all-OVC honors and was an All-Newcomer selection.
• Patrick Kimener (Carmel), captain at the University of Pennsylvania, ended the season as the team's fourth-leading tackler on a defense ranked No. 17 in the country. He was honorable mention all-Ivy League as a defensive back and Academic All-District as selected by CoSida/ESPN The Magazine.
• Derek Blanchard (Lake Zurich) will be making his third appearance in the Division III National Championship game for Mount Union College on Saturday, Dec. 15. The Stagg Bowl game will be televised at 3 p.m. on ESPN.
Blanchard, one of four finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy honoring the top Division III player, will be making his 58th consecutive start Saturday. He also was selected as first team Division III North Region.
• James Hardy (Stevenson), a 6-foot-5, 270-pound offensive lineman, was on the Grand Valley State University football roster that reached the semifinals of NCAA Division II tournament.
Volleyball
Kristie and Jennifer Berwanger (Lake Zurich) of Southern Illinois University Carbondale both earned all-conference honors.
Kristie was named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete first team, one of 12 student-athletes selected to carry a perfect 4.0. Jennifer was one of six freshmen named to the MVC freshman team.
Kristie also was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team.
Southern Illinois qualified for the conference tournament, and Kristie led the Salukis with a kills-digs double double. She had 11 kills and 11 digs and was named to the all-tournament team. Jennifer added 9 kills and 15 digs.
Basketball
Kayla Ming (Grayslake) of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside scored 27 points against the Robert Morris Eagles. She was 7-for-13 from the floor, 4-for-8 from 3-point range. She also was 9-for-10 at the free-throw line and had 4 assists and a steal.
True freshman Brittany Hogen (Hersey) came off the bench in the second half and scored 11 points.
• Gabrielle Cottrell (Prospect) hit four 3-pointers and had 14 points and 7 rebounds as Manhattan College opened its conference season with a 57-52 win over Siena College.
• Melissa Gorski (Buffalo Grove) of Monmouth College scored 22 points against both Grinnell and Augustana. She also had 13 rebounds against Grinnell and 12 boards and 5 assists against Augustana.
She was named Performer of the Week in the Midwest Conference.
• Kristin Paczosa (Buffalo Grove) had her first career double-double at Cornell College with 11 points and 13 rebounds against Mount Mercy. She also had 2 blocks and a steal.
In the same game, Charlotte Milas (Rolling Meadows) had 11 points and 2 rebounds and Melanie Duplessis (Warren) scored 15 points with 4 assists.
Tennis
Brian Silverstein (Warren) of Quincy University was named student of the month. He is editor-in-chief of the Falcon, resident advisor at Padua Hall, member of the tennis team and regular on "The Press Box" radio show each Tuesday. He also is in the national communications honor society and received the Quincy Emerging Leader Award.
Swimming
Freshman Katie Rowland (Libertyville) of Augustana College raced to a top finish in the 100 butterfly (1:08.03) in the Augustana Invite.
Wheeling ceremony
Mark Newman, Kristen Stoudt-Hill, Jim Nagel, Keith Vernon and Bob Schulze.
The second class of the Wheeling High School Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducted on Friday, Feb. 1 at halftime of the boys basketball game with Rolling Meadows.
The ceremony should begin at approximately 8 p.m.
A reception will be held in the cafeteria after the game.
Background of each Hall of Famer will appear closer to the ceremony.
For more information on the event, contact Steve May, assistant principal for student activities, at (847) 718-7018 or e-mail steve.may@d214.org.
The first class of Wheeling Hall of Famers featured Pat Ritchie, E. E. "Bus" Ormsbee, Jack Bastable, Dana Miroballi and John Peterson.
Soccer
Senior Amy Jenkins (Grayslake) of Judson College received the NAIA Scholar-Athlete Award.
• Kourtney Willert (Conant) was a four-year varsity starter at Grand Valley State University, and she played a key role on a defense that was nationally ranked all four seasons.
Grand Valley State was 59-6-2 over the past three seasons -- 21-1-1 in 2007 with the only loss to Tampa in the Final Four of Division II. They also lost in the 2006 national title game to Metro State of Colorado to finish 19-2-1.
In her college career, Willert was a Daktronics first team All-American honoree, and she also earned all-conference recognition for three years.
• Colleen Wagner (Rolling Meadows) of Hannibal-LaGrange College (Hannibal, Mo.) was named to the American Midwest Conference first team. She anchored the defense from the stopper position and helped her team win its second straight AMC Conference Tournament Play-In Championship.
Wagner, a junior, was named defensive player of the year by her teammates.
Baseball
TSA Northwest Sports Academy is offering several programs for baseball players hoping to improve their skills so they can enjoy the game.
There will be high school pre-season training camps, pitching and hitting clinics, fundamentals camps and strength, conditioning, speed and agility clinics.
Team America 2008 is planning tournaments and sightseeing in Italy and Sicily July 20-30. A few positions are open on the International Travel Baseball teams (14U and 16U).
Contact peter@tsanorthwest.com to schedule a private tryout.
For information on the camps and clinics, e-mail info@tsanorthwest.com or call (847) 279-3934.