Kelly salutes Salvi with game-day captain’s honor
Chris Salvi, a former two-year starting defensive back for Carmel’s football team, made two special teams tackles for Notre Dame in its 56-14 rout over Navy on Saturday.
The senior walk-on safety took advantage of his game-day captain title which he received from Irish coach Brian Kelly in a special moment at Friday night’s pep rally.
Salvi is the first walk-on to be named a captain since Kelly arrived at Notre Dame.
“Ever since I was a kid I was watching Notre Dame football, I loved it for something like this to happen — it’s a dream come true,” he told the crowd at the pep rally inside Purcell Pavilion.
Salvi was one of the leading tacklers on Carmel’s 2007 team.
“I think he represents all of the great things that we want in our football players,” Kelly told the South Bend Tribune. “He’s a non-scholarship player. He loves Notre Dame. And he was very emotional when we named him captain. But more importantly, I think our players were more emotional. They were so happy for him being named a game day captain.
“He’s a very important part of our football team in what he represents and how hard he works. He’s also very productive for us in our special teams.”
Ÿ Case Western Reserve junior linebacker Wade Self (Lake Zurich) was selected as the University Athletic Association’s “Defensive Player of the Week” for his performance in a 24-21 overtime victory at The College of Wooster.
Self recorded 10 tackles and a sack in addition to forcing a key fumble that set up the Spartans’ game-winning drive in overtime. In his first season as a starter, Self is third on the team with 49 tackles, including 4 for loss, with 2 forced fumbles.
Ÿ MIT running back Justin Wallace (Fremd) ended his freshman season in stellar fashion by tieing the school record with 41 carries, while gaining a career-high 190 yards with 3 touchdowns (20, 4 and 9 yards) in a 23-0 win over Nichols College.
Wallace was also voted the New England Football Conference “Offensive Player of the Week.”
Feeder basketball
The Warren Lady Jr. Blue Devils 6th grade feeder basketball team is still looking to fill out its team roster. Any girl who is in fifth or sixth grade and resides in High School District 121 is welcome to try out for the team. Contact Ron Dorsey at 847.599.3758 or ron@gurneeparkdistrict.com for additional information.
Men’s cross country
Carthage senior Derek Hall (Grant) was 45th (28:12.96) in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin cross country championships at the Montrose Harbor and Golf Course in Chicago.
Women’s cross country
North Central’s Kala Bingham (Barrington) finished fourth at the CCIW Championships at North Park University with a time of 23:17. Her finish earned her an all-conference award. North Central won the team title with 30 points.
Men’s soccer
Scott Sutarik, an all-state goalie from Fremd’s 17-3-2 soccer team last year, was recently moved from the third goalie slot to the starting role at Division I Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
In his first three starts, Sutarik registered 2 shutouts and allowed 1 goal. He continues to focus on the remainder of the season, the upcoming Big South conference tournament and a hopeful NCAA playoff spot for his team.
Women’s soccer
Rockhurst University freshman forward Taylor Skala (St. Viator) was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the Week. Skala paced the Hawks to wins over St. Joseph’s and Indianapolis in league play.
In a 3-0 win over visiting Indianapolis, Skala iced the match by putting the Hawks up 2-0 in the 85th minute on an assist from Morgan Dahm. Skala also help the Hawks to a 6-0 decision over visiting St. Joseph, putting home a goal just inside the left post from 15-yards out against the Pumas to notch her second goal of the week. In two matches, Skala had 4 points on 2 goals and finished the week with 10 shots, including five on goal. She now has 28 points on the year with 12 goals and 4 assists.
Skala ranks fourth in the league in points per game (1.75), second in the GLVC in goals per game (0.75) and fifth in the league in shots per game (3.69).
Ÿ Wisconsin senior goalkeeper Michele Dalton (Hersey) was named the Big Ten “Co-Defensive Player of the Week.”
She recorded 9 saves, including 1 shutout, in wins over Purdue and Indiana. She secured her sixth shutout of the season with 4 saves in a 2-0 win over the Hoosiers and posted 5 saves against the Boilermakers in a 5-1 win.
It was her second weekly award of the season and the sixth of her career.
Ÿ Emily Haeger (Rolling Meadows) is a freshman goal keeper for Wisconsin-Whitewater. In limited play this season, she is 1-0 in the net with a goals-against-average per game under 1. Haeger started and played the entire game in a 2-1 victory on the road in Dubuque, Iowa vs. Clarke College.
Football
Millikin quarterback Matt Holmes (Wheeling) threw for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 43-36 loss at Elmhurst College.
Ÿ Please e-mail Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com or FAX to (847) 427-1173.