Jones, Bulandr earn Swartz honor for CCIW excellence
Two former Lake County prep athletes have been honored by the College of Illinois and Wisconsin Conference as top athletes at their schools.
Former Warren cross country runner Sarahbeth Jones is Augustana’s women’s winner of the Jack Swartz Award.
Peter Bulandr, a former football standout at Stevenson, earned the same honor for men’s sports at North Central College in Naperville.
The Jack Swartz Award, named after the former Wheaton College tennis coach and athletic director and CCIW Commissioner, honors one male and one female individual from each of the eight CCIW institutions each season for combining academic and athletic excellence.
Ÿ Sarahbeth Jones had been a solid top-seven performer in her first two years of competing. This year, however, she was the Vikings’ No. 1 runner in each of the eight meets in which she competed. She started the season with a victory at the Augie Open Sept. 1 in sweltering heat at Sylvan Island Park. That began a string of success that didn’t end until the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championship Nov. 13.
Jones won both the Augie Open and the St. Ambrose Invitational Oct. 8. She also recorded top-10 finishes in three other invitationals. After winning the Augie Open, she was ninth at the Luther all-American Invitational Sept. 10. She took seventh in the Brissman/Lundeen Invitational Sept. 23. Her next outing was the victory at St. Ambrose and she followed that with a third at the Loras Invitational Oct. 14.
She turned in a sterling performance at the CCIW championship meet Oct. 29 when she placed fifth with a time of 23:21. Her season ended with a 27th place finish at the Midwest Regional. The daughter of Elizabeth and Lewis Jones of Glen Allen, Va., Sarahbeth is an English and communications major with a 3.54 grade-point average. She graduated from Warren Township High School in Wadsworth, Ill.
Ÿ Peter Bulandr, an economics and finance major from Long Grove, Ill., was a team captain for the Cardinals this past season, helping lead the team to a 10-2 overall record and the program’s sixth consecutive CCIW Championship. He received First Team All-CCIW, All-North Region and All-America honors as a senior, and also became the fifth North Central player to be voted the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year. He was one of 10 nationwide finalists for the Galigardi Trophy, the premier individual award in NCAA Division III football.
He was a three-year starter for the Cardinals, also earning Second Team All-CCIW honors in 2010. He is an Academic All-CCIW selection for the third time this fall.
Softball
University of Findlay infielder Carly Borders (Grayslake North) has been honored by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and National Fastpitch Coaches Association for her academic achievements.
Borders was named to the GLIAC all-academic excellence team as well as NFCA all-academic All America squad. She plans to graduate in December.
In 25 games (16 starts) last season for the Oilers, Borders hit .294 with 2 home runs and 16 RBI.
Men’s soccer
Robert Morris sophomore forward Gordy Gurson (Stevenson) was named to the 2011 NAIA Men’s All-Mideast Team.
Gurson also was named an NAIA All-America Honorable Mention as he made an immediate impact for the Eagles after transferring from Memphis.
Among all NAIA players, Gurson ranked 12th in goals (18) and 16th in points (40).
The Buffalo Grove native was the 2011 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and he led Robert Morris to its first CCAC regular-season title.
“Gordy was an excellent addition this year and he was a pleasure to coach,” Robert Morris head coach Jake Truty said earlier this month in a release. “He molded with the team quite well and was able to perform with our returning players. He is explosive, creative and can make big plays when needed.”
Gurson started his collegiate career at Memphis in 2010, where he scored 3 goals and 2 assists in eight games off the bench. The highlight of his Memphis tenure included a hat trick against Alabama A&M.
Women’s basketball
Peggie Parhas (Lake Zurich/Harper Community College) scored a career-high 31 points for Roosevelt in a 110-44 win over visiting Stephens College. The senior is second overall in scoring for the 10-7 Lakers a 13.6 average.
Adult volleyball
The Gurnee Park District offers a women’s recreational volleyball program on Mondays from January to March (7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.) at the Hunt Club Park Community Center. To register for this program visit gurneeparkdistrict.com or contact Ron at 847.623.7788 for additional information.
The Gurnee Park District also offers an adult recreational volleyball program on Tuesdays in February and March (7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.) at the Viking Jr. High in Gurnee.
To register for this program visit gurneeparkdistrict.com or contact Ron at 847.623.7788 for additional information.
Lacrosse
An informational meeting for the Arlington Falcons (formally Huskies) High School Boys Lacrosse Club will be held Saturday. Jan 28 at the Rolling Meadows Library (3100 Martin Lane) at 2 p.m.
This club is changing the name from Huskies to Falcons and is made up of high school players from the Northwest Suburbs, primarily District 214 high schools. There are a large number of players from Prospect, but the club is open to all high school boys. It competes in the NILAX league run by Lacrosse America. It is planning varsity and junior varsity teams. There are about 13 returning players but about 15 more are needed to field both teams.
For more information: the website is http://arlingtonhuskieslacrosseclub.webs.com/
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