College Notebook | Sandburg grad Oblena has big season for Illinois-Chicago volleyball

By Mike Walsh
Correspondent

Illinois-Chicago women’s volleyball player Jaclyn Oblena was one of two Flames named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team.

Oblena, a Sandburg graduate, was named to the First Team.

Oblena, a junior libero, appeared in all but one set this season for the Flames, leading the team with 394 digs (3.46 per set) while finishing third in assists (77) and tied for fourth in aces (18). The defensive specialist picked up a season-high 24 digs in UIC’s regular-season finale against Valparaiso and had 10 or more digs in 21 contests.

Yay for Ray
St. Ambrose senior running back Ray Bouye III was named the recipient of the Bob Jurevitz Award for the 2022 season by the Fighting Bees’ football program.

Bouye, a St. Rita alum, rushed for 308 yards and a pair of touchdowns this season. He finished his college career with 819 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Bouye’s name will be etched on a plaque inside the Lee Lohman Arena lobby. The plaque is updated every year and lists all recipients of the award.

The annual award is named after Bob Jurevitz, a former St. Ambrose great who passed away in November 2011 after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is presented to a Bees football player, selected by St. Ambrose football coaching staff and the Jurevitz family, who best exemplifies the characteristics Jurevitz displayed both on and off the gridiron.

Another Famous Flame
UIC men’s soccer player Andres Moreno was selected to the fall 2022 Missouri Valley Conference’s scholar-athlete team in his respective sport.

The senior midfielder, a Morton graduate, achieved a 3.63 GPA.

On the pitch, he appeared in 15 matches for the Flames in 2022, making eight starts. Moreno finished with seven points this season, tallying three goals and one assist.

A Stirn Example
Elina Stirn, a junior at Earlham College, qualified for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s 2022 Tom Bohlsen Fall Academic Team.

Stirn, a Lyons alum who runs cross country for the Quakers, is one of 31 athletes and five cross country runners from Earlham who qualified.

To qualify, student-athletes must be in their second year of school and have at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA.

A Thrill for Thill
Youngstown State’s Cody Thill was lauded as the Horizon League’s Diver of the Week for the period ending Dec. 7.

Thill, a junior who graduated from Sandburg, finished 11th in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational. He scored a 235.95 in the 3-meter dive after scoring a 247 in prelims. In the 1-meter, he scored a 231.35 in finals after finishing the prelims with a score of 244.40.