Taylor Schoonveld (Kankakee Valley) closed out her junior track and field season at Indiana University by competing in the high jump at the Big 10 Outdoor Championships in the spring.
Schoonveld placed 18th in the event after finishing 15th a year earlier. She competed in all of IU’s indoor and outdoor meets, recording jumps of 5 feet, 3 1/2 inches or more.
Her career best came during the season when she leaped 5-9 1/4 in the Midwest Classic Invitational at the Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion in Indianapolis on Jan. 31-Feb. 1. She placed second in the event.
The former Kougar also picked up a third-place finish at the Billy Hayes Invitational prior to the Big 10 championships, clearing 5-7 3/4 for a medal.
CREE EXCELS IN 2ND YEAR AT WABASH: Former Rensselaer Central all-state lineman Jordan Cree played in all 11 of Wabash College’s games last fall, recording 43 tackles with 12 tackles for loss. He had six sacks for 36 yards, forced a fumble an recover a fumble. He led the team in blocked kicks with two.
A sophomore defensive lineman, Cree’s best game came against Wisconsin-Platteville in which had recorded seven tackles.
The Little Giants finished 8-3 overall and 7-1 in the conference.
MAIENBROOK HELPS DEPAUW CAPTUE 1ST TITLE: DePauw University’s strong distance program, with Amzie Maienbrook (Rensselaer Central) providing depth, propelled the Tigers to the women’s track and field team to its first North Coast Athletic Conference title this past spring.
DePauw had 235 points to 171 for runner-up Wittenberg to make history. Other NCAC teams include Denison, Wabash, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, Oberlin, Kenyon and Hiram.
Maienbrook, a junior, earned valuable points by placing fifth in the 10,000 meters in 38 minutes, 6.44 seconds.
The Tigers had three distance runners in the top five, with senior Sophie Porter first at 37:28.57 and sophomore Grace Flores third at 37:43.41.
Porter was also second in the 5,000 meters and was later declared the distance/mid-distance athletics of the year in the NCAC. Flores was third, Kendall Mann placed ninth and Maienbrook finished 11th overall.
BASHAM A VALUABLE STARTER AT INDIANA TECH: Carly Basham (Kankakee Valley) capped a four-year career at Indiana Tech by hitting .301 over 42 games this spring. She made 27 starts in the outfield for the 30-16 Warriors.
She finished with 22 hits, including three doubles, and drove in eight runs. She scored 18 runs and swiped 11 of 12 bases. Basham was also named to the conference’s all-Academic Team for the second straight year.
HOLMES A RELIEVER AT MARIAN: Kankakee Valley’s Dylan Holmes finished his sophomore season at Marian University in Indianapolis by making eight relief appearances. The sophomore right-hander was 1-0 over 9 2/3 innings pitched with nine strikeouts.
His first win as a member of the team came against Goshen after he tossed a scoreless inning of relief.
IU-SOUTH BEND ROSTER INCLUDES PARKER: Andrew Parker (Kankakee Valley) made nine appearances — including four starts — as a member of the Indiana University-South Bend baseball team.
His best outing came in a complete-game effort, 7-2 win over Trinity Christian on April 11. He allowed one earned run on eight hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
Parker has three wins across two seasons for the Titans.