Hollis repeats as NAIA national pole vault champ

PHOTO PROVIDED

NIU's Matt German gets set to fire a pitch earlier this eason.

By Jay Taft
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
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Olivet Nazarene’s Mark Hollis (Freeport) successfully defended his NAIA National pole vault championship last weekend.

Hollis entered the national meet with the best vault in the NAIA this season at 17 feet, 6 1/4 inches.

Although he did not equal that height, Hollis still won with a vault of 17-5 3/4. Mitchell Jones of Taylor University (Ind.) finished second at 15-11.

Hollis’ winning effort broke a Fresno Pacific University (Calif.) track record that he had set last year while winning the event.

RVC’s Turner takes step up

Rock Valley College’s Damian Turner recently accepted an athletic scholarship to play football for Minnesota State University in Mankato.

Turner, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound wide receiver, led the Golden Eagles in receptions (34) and receiving yards (493) while scoring three touchdowns. He totaled 359 return yards as RVC’s primary kick and punt returner.

This is the second big signing by an RVC football player this month. Freshman John Destin signed with the University of Tulsa two weeks ago.

Additional RVC players who have recently signed with four-year schools include: Billy Dragonetti, a freshman linebacker who recorded 60 tackles and three sacks last season, is on his way to the University of St. Francis in Illinois (Joliet); Kat Reyes, sophomore kicker/punter, has signed with the University of Saint Francis in Indiana (Fort Wayne).

Moskal earns another honor

Lewis University’s Mary Moskal (Boylan) was recently named the 2006-07 Great Lakes Valley Conference NCAA Woman of the Year.

She will now advance to represent the league on the NCAA national ballot for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. Moskal, a senior from Cherry Valley, helped guide the Flyers’ to the school’s first GLVC Championship in women’s basketball in 22 years this past season and was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2007 GLVC Basketball Tournament. The ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America First Team selection maintained a 3.96 GPA while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

NIU’s German named finalist

Northern Illinois’ closer Matt German was named one of five finalists for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award presented to the nation’s top relief pitcher. The record-setting closer earned unanimous First-Team All-MAC honors and a selection to All-MAC Tournament team and is the first Huskie in history to be named a finalist for a major national baseball award.

“This is a well earned honor,” head coach Ed Mathey said, “and it is great to see the college baseball world recognize the accomplishments that we have been privileged to see Matt achieve at NIU.”

German tied for ninth in the nation with 13 saves and posted a career-high five victories with a 1.76 ERA while leading the MAC with 34 appearances and fanning 56 in 46 innings of work this season. The left-hander totaled a school-record 26 saves during his career, a mark that ranks second on the all-time MAC list. During the 2007 campaign, German factored into 18 of the Huskies’ 34 victories by win or save.

Ifft, UIC qualify for regionals

Right-handed pitcher Peter Ifft (Boylan) has helped the University of Illinois-Chicago baseball team earn its third NCAA Division I Baseball Championship appearance, and it all begins in the NCAA Regional hosted by Long Beach State in Long Beach, Calif., this weekend.

Ifft, a 6-5 freshman reliever, appeared in five games, earning two saves with a 1.23 ERA.

The Flames (34-19), who earned an automatic national berth as a result of winning the 2007 Horizon League Baseball Championship, were seeded fourth in the regional and will play the host and top-seeded Long Beach State (37-18) at 9 p.m. today

UCLA (30-26) and Pepperdine (35-20), seeded second and third, respectively, also will compete in the NCAA Long Beach Regional. The Waves and the Bruins will play at 5 p.m. before the Flames’ game.

Locals fail to make D-III finals

Although the Rock River Valley contingent failed to make the finals, it was a very good weekend for the Augustana men’s and women’s track and field teams at the NCAA Division III national track & field championships in Oshkosh, Wis.

The men placed eighth in the team standings while the women were ninth.

Kyle Ekberg (Rockford Christian) and Jay Watson (Oregon) were part of a 1,600-meter relay team that finished fifth in their heat, but did not qualify for the finals.

Theresa Suwannapal (Winnebago) ran in the 100 hurdles and placed third in her heat with a time of 14.98. She did not advance to the finals, and neither did the 400 relay team that included Suwannapal.

Regent pair named All-Region

Three members of the Northern Athletics Conference Championship Rockford College baseball team received regional attention for their performances during the 2007 season.

Junior pitcher Fabian Gomez and senior outfielder Tim Rowe were selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association’s Central Region first team. Along with Gomez and Rowe, sophomore outfielder Shaun Dascher (Lena-Winslow) was named to the third team. The three Regents were among the top 50 players in the region listed by the ABCA.

College reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1382 or jtaft@rrstar.com.