College Achievers: Stephen vaults to another Big Ten award
A three-time first-team all-Big Ten Conference gymnast with numerous academic honors to her credit, Michigan State University senior Gabrielle Stephen, a graduate of Bartlett High School, earned her third Big Ten women’s gymnast of the week award.
It came after a Feb. 22 win over Rutgers in East Lansing, where Stephen won her second all-around title of the season with a season-best score of 39.500.
Stephen also placed top-three on floor, uneven bars and vault. Her 9.925 score on uneven bars helped Michigan State tie the second-highest score in program history on the apparatus. The Spartans were ranked seventh in the nation as of Feb. 24.
Last season Stephen helped Michigan State win its first Big Ten women’s gymnastics title. She also picked up her second Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-American honor to go with other academic awards including a 2023 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar award.
Gone in 50 yards
Southern Illinois University finished second to Miami (Ohio) at the Missouri Valley Conference men’s swimming championships, but for a second straight year the Salukis’ Alex Santiago (Buffalo Grove) was named MVC swimmer of the year. A 2024 NCAA-qualifying sprinter, the Salukis senior earned six gold medals in individual events or relays, all of which set either championship, conference or Miami pool records.
Well-rounded
Bradley University senior cross country runner Brandon Kamp (Naperville Central) was among 12 athletes to earn the MVC State Farm Good Neighbor Award for the winter season. Competing in five meets for the Braves in 2024 while carrying a cumulative 4.0 grade-point average, Kamp has been on Bradley’s dean’s list, the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the MVC Honor Roll since 2021. He’s vice president of the Braves Council and a videography intern with the school athletics department. Outside of the university he’s volunteered in schools, led mental health efforts for teens and has created videos for multiple nonprofit organizations.
On the hard court
As a freshman at Colorado State University, Brooke Carlson (Batavia) has played in all 30 basketball games for the Rams, making 13 starts. Heading into Saturday’s game against Wyoming, she was second on the team in free throw percentage, assists and steals, first in assist/turnover ratio among players with more than 16 assists, at 2.06.
By a wide margin, Troy Glover (Glenbard West), a 6-foot-10 junior at Missouri-St. Louis, leads the Tritons with 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game. He also leads UMSL in steals.
Illinois College senior Josh Harris (Timothy Christian) averages 15.1 points for the Blueboys. He leads the team in assists and came into Friday’s Midwest Conference Tournament game against Grinnell with 42 three-pointers, second on the team. His 140 threes rank sixth all-time at Illinois College, his 1,178 points are 15th.
Close counts
Earlier this indoor track and field season, at Notre Dame’s Meyo Invitational, University of Illinois-Chicago freshman Zac Close (Neuqua Valley) set a new freshman school record over 5,000 meters, at 14 minutes, 29.99 seconds. That’s the second-fastest time in Flames history.
Two for the books
Feb. 22 was a good day for University of Illinois distance medley relay teams at Notre Dame’s Alex Wilson Invitational indoor track meet. The women’s foursome, including senior Sam Poglitsch (Wheaton Warrenville South), recorded the second-fastest time in Illini history. The men’s group, with Nic Dovalovsky (Neuqua Valley) aboard, set a school record at 9:24.45.