Naperville Central senior Mae Binkowski is always busy.
Binkowski excels in sports and classrooms, and she also is the president of the school’s chapter of the Special Spaces club.
“It is a national nonprofit organization, and they build bedrooms for kids with cancer,” she said. “We fundraise money to do a bedroom makeover, so our purpose as a club is to find out the best way to fundraise money, and then everyone gets to go out one day, and we work on the remodel of the bedroom.
“We get to go and actually do the work and build the furniture and stuff. It’s really fun. It takes a lot to get it all done in one day, which is what we do.”
Getting a lot done in a day is par for the course for the 4-foot-10 Binkowski, who will graduate with eight varsity letters in four sports. She has earned four letters in golf, two in gymnastics and one each in softball and track.
Binkowski is competing in the latter two concurrently this season. She plays second base and outfield for Naperville Central’s softball team and is a sprinter in track.
“It’s definitely been busy,” Binkowski said. “I’ve been trying to juggle the two sports, and I think it’s been going pretty well so far.
“It’s lined up pretty nicely where I’ll have a track meet on the day that I have just practice for softball, so I choose whatever is the higher priority that day.”
Binkowski has always prioritized new experiences, going back to the early years of her childhood.
“I love trying new things,” she said. “I think it’s really exciting. I also like being good at them, so when I do things, I just kind of get the competitive spirit and always try to do my best.”
Binkowski said she began by playing “all the park district sports” and competing in tumbling and trampoline, a niche variation of gymnastics. She advanced to nationals several times and then gave up the sport after eighth grade. That whetted her competitive desire.
Binkowski competed for Naperville Central’s gymnastics team in her first two years, barely missing qualifying for sectionals as a sophomore. Then she concentrated on the other three sports.
While golf is probably Binkowski’s best sport, her tenacity is best demonstrated by her rise through the softball program. She played center field for the junior varsity team before finally making varsity this season and seeing action at second base. In 23 games, Binkowski is batting .316 with 12 runs scored.
“She’s done a nice job at the plate lately,” Naperville Central softball coach Andy Nussbaum said. “She’s been getting on base, making things happen.”
That’s why Nussbaum played Binkowski in left field for the first time in a DuPage Valley Conference game against visiting Naperville North on Wednesday. Batting ninth, Binkowski went 1-for-2, reaching base in the fourth inning by beating out a drag bunt and later stealing second as part of delayed double steal with freshman Gianna Ecklund, who scored the final run of the Redhawks’ 4-0 victory on the play.
“She puts a good bat on the ball,” Nussbaum said of Binkowski. “I mean, she’s not going to crush the ball over the fence. But she hits it hard, and even when she doesn’t hit it hard, like today, her speed beats it out. She’s had a good year.”
As have the Redhawks (22-9, 14-0), who rolled to the DVC title and earned the No. 3 seed in the Class 4A Yorkville Sectional. Binkowski’s teammates sing her praises.
“She’s super athletic, and she’s always ahead on academics,” senior catcher Natalie Enright said. “She’s just a very well-rounded person in every way.
“Most importantly, she’s just an awesome person. She lifts everyone up all the time. Whether you’re feeling down or if you’re super excited, she will always be there to support you.”
Binkowski’s athletic career will end when she graduates, but she intends to continue to support others. She will attend Michigan State and aspires to become an osteopathic doctor.
“I really enjoyed taking a sports medicine class last year and really enjoyed that,” Binkowski said. “I got accepted in the osteopathic medical scholars’ program at Michigan State, so it’s a direct pathway to their DO school, which I’m really excited about.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
