Former St. Edward stars Childers, Leyden excelling
October had not been proclaimed St. Edward High School month. But as far as Green Wave graduates Caiti Childers and Kayla Leyden are concerned, it might as well be.
Childers, a St. Ambrose University golfer, recently wrapped up the fall portion of her season. She finished in the top three in four tournaments this fall, including a third-place finish in her final tourney, the Midwest Collegiate Conference Invitational.
"That was not one of my better outings this fall," said Childers, who finished with an average stroke count of 83.42 per 18 holes. "I was hoping to average closer to 80.00 strokes per round. I will be practicing quite a bit this winter indoors."
Childers golfed in 12 rounds this fall and posted a total stroke count of 1,001. She shot her lowest round, a 77, at the Wartburg College Fall Invitational.
One week after the fall portion of SAU's season ended, women's golf coach Dr. Michael Orfitelli passed away. Dr. Orfitelli coached both golf and soccer during his time at SAU.
"It is going to be very tough to play the spring season without coach," said Childers. "I think we will be very motivated to play well in his honor, but we all miss him already."
Leyden, who plays volleyball at Benedictine University, opened the month of October with her second Northern Athletics Conference Player of the Week award. The former St. Edward player has long been BU's go-to girl at the net. This year has been no different, as she has amassed 410 kills -- more than double any other Eagles player. She also has a team-high 359 blocks.
"Kayla is not sneaking up on anyone at this point," said Benedictine coach Jennifer Wildes. "She is a well-known commodity for us and she has the potential to be named an NCAA Division III All-American on the second or third team. I knew when I recruited her she would be a difference-maker, but not this quickly."
Leyden helped Benedictine win seven of its past eight matches. With two more matches to play, the team is 15-14 overall. Benedictine finished the NAC schedule with a 10-2 mark.
In her career, Leyden has been named the NAC Player of the Week a total of four times.
• The University of Illinois cross country team raced to a perfect score of 15 at the Illinois Open, which was held at the University of Illinois Arboretum. Former Dundee-Crown harrier Kelsey Seiler , a freshman at Illinois, finished fourth with a 5,000-meter time of 18 minutes, 54 seconds. Illinois State took second with 53 points.
• Josh Ross currently leads the Rockford College football team in total tackles (47), solo tackles (29) and assisted tackles (18). The Larkin grad has 3.5 tackles for 19 yards of loss, which includes two sacks for 17 yards of loss. He also has one interception return of six yards. Teammate Victor Domich , a Dundee-Crown grad, has five tackles (two solos).
In the team's most recent game, a 40-14 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran College, Ross finished with seven tackles (3 solos). Domich recorded with two tackles (one solo). Rockford, which has four games left, is 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the Northern Athletics Conference.
• The Ohio University volleyball team is cruising toward the Mid-American Conference title. Ohio improved to 16-4 overall and 8-0 in the MAC by beating the University of Toledo (3-1) and Ball State University (3-0).
Former Streamwood player Katie Post had seven kills, six assisted blocks and four digs in the win over Toledo. The 6-foot-3 Ohio sophomore had two kills, two aces and two digs in the win over Ball State. Ohio has won its past seven consecutive matches. Miami University is in second place in the MAC-East Division with a record of 6-2.
• Dundee-Crown grad Matt Fryer , a senior with the Northland College soccer team, made 11 saves and allowed five goals as Northland lost a 5-1 decision to Crown College. Fryer worked 66 minutes, 24 seconds in goal. In Northland's 2-1 win over Northwestern College, Fryer worked 100 minutes in goal and made seven saves. He allowed one goal. Northland is 3-11-1 overall and 2-9 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
• Dundee-Crown grad Amanda Lutzow had 11 digs as the East Carolina University volleyball team defeated the University of Texas-El Paso 3-2. Lutzow also had eight digs in ECU's 3-0 loss to Tulane University.
• The Western Illinois swimming team started the season with a 161-112 loss to Missouri State University. Former St. Charles East diver Molly Carrigan , a Western Illinois junior, finished second in the three-meter dive (198.98) and third in the one-meter dive (189.83).
• St. Charles North grad Garry Moss , an Illinois College football player, had one solo tackle and one forced fumble as IC defeated Beloit College 50-42.
• The Western Illinois volleyball team took it on the chin from Drake University and North Dakota State University, falling by scores of falling 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. In the loss to North Dakota State, Huntley grad Krissy Bergquist , a Western Illinois sophomore, finished with nine kills and two digs. Bergquist had three kills in the loss to Drake.
• The Illinois State women's swim team finished third at the Dennis Stark Relays, hosted by Notre Dame. Emily Susmarski , a Jacobs grad who is a freshman freestyle swimmer at ISU, was a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay, which finished in 8:10.79 seconds.
