Chicago-area colleges are cleaning up on NCAA Division III national championships.
North Central won its third straight men’s cross-country title and Rhaina Echols of the University of Chicago won the women’s individual title in last weekend’s national meets in Oshkosh, Wis.
Also Wheaton College, led by hometown All-Americas Rob Mouw and Eric Brown, competes at home this weekend in the men’s soccer semifinals.
Local runners dominated North Central coach Al Carius’ 12th NCAA title. All-Americans Colin Young (Naperville North) and Tim McCoskey (Washington, Ill.) finished 1-2 in the meet for the Cardinals. Charlie Califf (Wheaton North), Jeremy Borling (Sandburg) and Matt Fish from Chippewa Falls, Wis., also earned points for North Central.
North Central won the meet with 84 points. Keene State (N.H.) was second with 100.
Coach Joe Bean scored the 500th soccer victory in his 38th season at Wheaton when the Crusaders edged Salisbury State (Md.) 1-0 to reach the national semis.
The Crusaders, 18-2-2 and ranked third nationally, are hosts to No. 13 Stockton (N.J.) at 7 p.m. in Friday’s second semifinal. The first semifinal at 4 p.m. matches top-ranked, 20-0-0 St. Lawrence (N.Y.) and unranked 16-4-2 Alma (Mich.). The title game is at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Wheaton’s 1-2 punch has been former Wheaton Academy star Mouw (21 goals, 11 assists) and Wheaton Warrensville South grad Brown (20 and 9).
Color them maroon: Echols wasn’t the only Maroons athlete honored this week. Several players on team sports were recognized.
Six football players were named first-team all-University Athletic Association: cornerback Michael Turner (Chicago Vocational), middle linebacker Dan Philips (McHenry), tackle Rick Lloyd (Marist), defensive tackle Arlen Wiley (Bogan), kicker Roman Natoli (Romeoville) and safety Nick Freeman (Caldonia, Mich.).
Turner, a three-time all-league pick, interecepted six passes, returned them 159 yards and starred for a defense that ranked among the top 20 in Division III.
In basketball three men and two women were named all-tournament in the Midway Classic. They were freshman Derek Reich (Niles West), Jon Poyer (Collierville, Tenn.) and Kurt Riemer (Mequon, Wis.) from the men’s team and Jenny Ewald (Providence) and Rachel Thompson (Newark) for the women.
Ramblin’: Coach Liz Nelson’s women’s volleyball team has become Loyola’s first squad to make the jump from the Gentile Center to the NCAA postseason tournament.
Led by Julie Wiejak (Hammond Bishop Noll), the Ramblers beat No. 1 seed Wisconsin-Milwaukee in five games to win the Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament at Loyola. This earned Loyola the MCC’s automatic bid to the NCAA meet.
Wiejak registered 18 kills against Milwaukee and was tournament MVP. Ramblers Renee Nash (Mother McAuley) also made the all-tournament team.
Runnin’: Lewis tied for fourth place in the Division II national men’s cross-country meet. Colin Jones (Wales), Arturo Cabral (Fenton) and freshman Mike Cropper (Conant) finished 8th, 16th and 33rd, each making All-America.
