College Notebook | Stagg alum on fire in pool for Illinois-Chicago
By Mike Walsh
Correspondent
One of the top performers at the recent three-day House of Champions Invitational held at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis natatorium was UIC women’s swimmer Taira Juronis.
Juronis, a Stagg graduate, won the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:16.49, nearly two seconds faster than the second-place swimmer. Juronis also bested her own preliminary time, which was also the fastest in the field, by nearly a second.
Juronis, a junior, took the 100-breaststroke title in 1:02.75. It was a personal-best and over a quarter of a second faster than she had ever swam the race. Juronis also was victorious in the 200 IM with an effort of 2:03.07.
Juronis also contributed to the Flames placing second in both medley relays. As a team, UIC tallied 13 medals (four gold, five silver, four bronze) and 634.4 points, good enough for second place as a team behind Indianapolis (653.9 points). The Flames were the highest-placing Division I team.
Individually, Juronis had the third-highest point total at 724.7.
“Taira is a standout swimmer,” UIC coach Ashley Dell stated on the Flames’ website. “She is the true definition of working hard and trusting the process. I can’t wait to see how she finishes out the season.”
What’s up Doc?
Sandburg alum Ricky Kwak was one of 22 football players from Marian University (Indianapolis) to garner a place on the 2022 Daktronics National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Football Scholar-Athletes Team.
Kwak, a safety, played this season as a graduate student while attending medical school. In 11 games for the Knights in 2022, Kwak finished with 19 tackles. He added three passes defended, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
Talkin’ Tim
Lyons alum Tim Slusarczyk is one of six Indiana Wesleyan men’s soccer players named to the fall 2022 NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athlete Team.
On the pitch, Slusarczyk appeared in 19 matches this season for the Wildcats, making 17 starts. The sophomore defender recorded his first career goal on Aug. 23 in an 8-1 win over Anderson, played a total of 1,265 minutes this season and finished with five points on a goal and three assists.
The Rockford Files
Sophomore defender Bianca Tovar was one of six Rockford University women’s soccer players chosen to the 2022 Academic All-District Team by the College Sports Communicators. The 2022 CSC All-District teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in athletic competition and in the classroom.
Tovar, a graduate of Hancock, appeared in 17 matches this season for the Regents, tallying one goal for two points.
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