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St. Charles East grad Muzzalupo thriving at Monmouth

St. Charles East alum Danny Muzzalupo is soaring to new heights on the football field this fall.

Muzzalupo, a senior place-kicker at Division III Monmouth (Ill.) College, has connected on 34 of 34 extra-point attempts this season and on 6 of 12 field-goal tries. He's averaging nearly 62 yards per kickoff and had 13 touchbacks to credit.

In a recent game against Grinnell, Muzzalupo drilled a career-long 50-yard field goal as time expired before halftime. The 50-yard boot was a yard shy of the school record.

But none of his success at Monmouth would be possible without the hard work he's put in over the years.

"I put in a lot of preparation in the off-season," Muzzalupo said earlier this week. "I kick about 200 balls a week in the off-season. Repetition is everything with this. The more you practice the better you are going to get. I stick to it and focus on my form."

And on attention to detail. He kicks on a turf field in Geneva instead of at St. Charles East.

"I practice what we play on," he said. "We have no grass games this year."

Muzzalupo was waiting for halftime to come in the Grinnell game when a major shift in momentum occurred.

"A guy on our team made a huge catch that got us in (field-goal) range," he said. "The farthest I've hit in practice is 62 yards. Coach knows my range. I was just sitting there waiting for halftime and he said let's get some money."

The money reference is a ritual that is said when extra-point and field-goal opportunities occur during games. It's in reference to the Nelly song "Ride Wit Me," which contains the lyrics, "Hey, must be the money."

"I ran out on the field and the holder is sitting there on the 40-yard-line on the left hash and I was like, 'Wow, I'm getting ready to try a 50-yarder,' " Muzzalupo recalled. "But when you are out there you don't want to think of anything. It's all repetition. From the minute I stepped on to the minute I stepped off it was a big blur. I let my fundamentals take care of it. It was a huge honor to put it through."

Muzzalupo's kicking prowess extends off the field as well. He teaches private kicking lessons in his spare time and has been doing so since the summer of 2013.

"It's helped me because I'm breaking down their movements and fundamentals and I'm able to carry that knowledge over to my fundamentals as well," said Muzzalupo, who noted his students range from fifth graders to seniors in high school (St. Charles East kicker Nick Candre is a one of his charges).

Muzzalupo said he started his business based on past personal frustrations with finding proper instruction.

"Through my experiences it was very hard to find a local kicking coach," he said. "You would go out and spend $200 for a single, two-hour session and you might drive five to six hours to get a session in. I wanted to provide a local place for kids to come and get that experience at a cheaper cost. It's worked out great. I'm helping them get ready for the bigger events. They are getting some more experience so they can go to these elite kicking camps and get recognized by these colleges."

Football wasn't always in the cards for Muzzalupo. He was a soccer player until he suffered an injury.

"Sophomore year I got hurt in soccer pretty bad," he said. "I talked with my dad. I was slower but I could still kick a soccer ball pretty far. Dad said why don't you try kicking a football. I went out and hit a 45-yarder. I went out for football junior year and have been doing it ever since."

An exercise science major, Muzzalupo has his sights set on playing beyond college. "Ideally, I would like to get a shot at the NFL. I am going to be here at Monmouth an extra semester (the fall of 2016) and I talked to our head coach and he wants me to come back and coach the kickers and special teams. I'll work out on my own and see if I can get a shot somewhere."

But before the curtain closes on his senior season, Muzzalupo has some more kicking to do. Monmouth (7-1) faces rival Knox College (3-5) Saturday in Galesburg and then could square off with St. Norbert for the overall Midwest Conference championship the following Saturday. Both Monmouth and St. Norbert are leading their respective divisions with 4-0 records.

"I would love to have an opportunity to kick in these big games," he said. "I thrive in those situations. I'm a pressure player. It's what I live for."

Schneider at Illinois: Bartlett graduate Alyssa Schneider recently finished third at the Big Ten Conference women's cross-country championships in Chicago. Schneider earned all-conference first-team honors after covering the 6K course in a personal-best time of 19:58.6.

Schneider had come off a month of inactivity due to injury. "I definitely had some nerves but I was trying to pull confidence from all my years of college and just building on that," Schneider told the Illinois athletics website. "I was really focusing on relaxing and trying to make it a smooth transition and I think I did it right with perfect timing."

Earlier this season Schneider was named the Big Ten Conference athlete of the week for her performance at the Roy Griak invitational in Minneapolis where she placed fourth with a time of 21:27.3.

Schneider and Illinois will compete in the NCAA Midwest regional Nov. 13 in Kansas.

Siebert at Augustana: Kaneland alum Kylie Siebert recently was named the defensive player of the week in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. A senior libero on the Augustana women's volleyball team, Siebert recorded 60 digs in 4 recent matches, averaging 4.62 per set. She had 13 digs and 2 assists in a 3-0 win against Wheaton College. In the Dig Panici Classic at Whitewater Siebert had 25 digs and 6 assists in matches against Whitewater and Webster. She also had 22 digs in a four-set loss to Edgewood. Siebert is the program's career leader in kills.

Niski at James Madison: Meghan Niski, part of the 2008 St. Charles East girls' volleyball state-championship team, is now a senior on the James Madison University women's team.

Niski, whose sister, Caroline, also played at East and went on to a career at Maryland, had played in 26 matches to start the week and was averaging 2.63 kills per set (250 total kills) and 2.59 digs per set (246 digs). Her play has helped James Madison to a 21-5 mark (11-2 in conference play) through midweek. Both her kill and dig totals rank second on the team.

Rosch at Illinois State: Cary-Grove product Ashley Rosch continues to play a major role for the Illinois State University women's volleyball team. Rosch, a three-time all-conference first-team selection for the Redbirds, was leading the team in kills (364; 3.75 per set) and service aces (25) through midweek. She also was second on the team in digs with 267 (2.75 per set) and was hitting .260, while leading the team in points scored with 416. Rosch and Illinois State were 18-8 and 8-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play through midweek.

Mike Miazga has been writing about sports in the Fox Valley for more than two decades. Email him at mjm890@gmail.com.

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