Oregon grad Emy Wright taking over offensively at NAIA Judson

The road to recovery for Emylyn Wright has been arduous, but the 2015 Oregon graduate is reaping the rewards of her hard work as a junior at NAIA Judson University.

Wright was set to be one of the Sauk Valley’s top girls basketball players for the 2014-15 season, but a torn ACL in her right knee forced her to miss most of her senior season.

Adversity struck once again in her college debut.

“I re-tore my ACL in the first game of my freshman season,” Wright said. “So I never got to make an impact until almost 2 years into my college basketball career. I’ve definitely had to work harder to rehab the knee.”

Now healthy, Wright is terrorizing nearly every team she goes up against. The former Hawk is leading the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference in points per game (22.5), almost almost 3 points more than any other CCAC player.

Wright dropped 40 points on Trinity International back on Nov. 28, the most points in a game in program history, and the most among any CCAC player this season.

“I just try to do my best in each game,” she said. “Teams know they’re going to throw multiple defenders at me, so that opens up things for my teammates.”

Wright is seventh in the CCAC in rebounds per game (7.3), and tied for seventh in steals per game (2.0). She is also fourth in free-throw percentage at 83.6 percent, and tied for ninth in 3-pointers per game (2.1).

“I just knew I needed to step up for my teammates this season,” Wright said. “It’s definitely been different, because I didn’t expect to have this sort of success.”

Judson is 14-14 overall entering the weekend, and 10-9 in CCAC play after splitting a pair of games recently. Wright stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and two steals in a 72-57 home win over Calumet College last Saturday.

She was held to just seven points on 1-for-13 shooting, but grabbed 11 rebounds and swiped two steals in a 70-51 road loss to Saint Xavier on Wednesday. Abbee Sigel – a 2018 Rock Falls grad – made two 3s in 7 minutes of action for Saint Xavier.

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One of Wright’s former teammates at Oregon – Sam Lambrigtsen – had 10 points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals for D-II Hawaii Pacific in a 76-46 home win over Academy of Art (Calif.) last Sunday.

Another local 2014 grad, Dixon’s Brooke Bailey, recorded four points, four rebounds and two assists for D-II Truman State in a 65-46 home win over Quincy University last Saturday. Bailey was held to two points while dishing six assists in an 86-72 road loss to William Jewell on Thursday.

Fellow Dixon grad Britney Pitzer finished with 10 points and two assists in D-III Benedictine University’s 74-54 home win over Lakeland last Saturday.

Lyndon native Clare Kramer had seven points and seven rebounds for D-III Augustana in a 62-53 home win over Millikin last Saturday.

Olivia Babcock, a 2017 Rock Falls grad, stuffed the stat sheet with five points, five rebounds and five assists in Parkland College’s 69-54 road loss to Lewis & Clark Community College last Saturday.

Two locals played big roles for Carl Sandburg in a 65-55 road loss to Illinois Valley on Wednesday. Fulton grad Jordan Price had five points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Chargers, while West Carroll grad Hayley Guilinger finished with 11 points, two boards and two assists. Price chipped in eight points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 65-53 home win over Sauk Valley on Thursday.

Men’s basketball

D-III Illinois College suffered a 96-66 road loss to Lake Forest College last Saturday. Dixon grad Riley Mehrens scored six points for the Blueboys, while Oregon grad Trevor Otten added three points and three rebounds. Mehrens had 11 points, two rebounds and three assists in an 84-55 road win over Knox College on Wednesday, and Otten helped with three points and three boards.

Fulton grad Tyler Bruggenwirth scored four points for Illinois Central College in a 77-67 road loss to John Wood on Monday. He also scored four points in an 81-66 road loss to Southeastern on Wednesday.

Wrestling

A pair of locals had success at their respective Division III schools.

William Penn sophomore Joe Eads – a 2017 Morrison grad – finished second at 149 pounds in last Saturday’s Central College Last Chance Invitational. Eads recorded two pins in a combined 2:03 to reach the semifinals, where he pinned Dubuque’s Isaiah Williams in 4:58. He then lost a 4-2 decision to Loras’ Adam Valdez in the finals.

Wisconsin-Platteville freshman Garrett Passmore – a 2018 Erie grad – took fifth place at 165 pounds at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Eau Claire, Wis. last Friday. Passmore lost in the first round via technical fall, but bounced back to win a pair of decisions before losing in the consolation semifinals. He then pinned UW-Whitewater’s Ryan Vedner in 4:35 for fifth.

Men’s swimming

D-II Drury University finished fourth out of 10 teams with 579 points at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships in Crawfordsville, Ind. Dixon native Caleb Carslon claimed third in the 100-yard breaststroke (54.76) last Friday. He then anchored Drury’s second-place 400 freestyle relay team (2:58.72) and finished fourth in the 200 breaststroke (1:59.34) a day later.

D-III Calvin College went on the road to beat Hope College 168-122 in in Holland, Mich. last Saturday. Fulton grad Sam Norman finished fourth in the 50 freestyle (22.39) and sixth in the 100 freestyle (50.77) for the Knights.

Women’s swimming & diving

Illinois-Chicago sophomore Kallie Zuidema – a 2017 Sterling grad – finished ninth in the 1-meter diving with a score of 233.35 points Thursday at the Horizon League Championships in
Indianapolis.

Calvin’s women’s team beat Hope College 177-123 on the road last Saturday. Dixon grad Kylie Shaw took second in the 200 breaststroke (2:33.27), was a part of the Knights’ fourth-place 200 medley relay (1:53.18), and was fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.65).

Men’s track & field

Loyola-Chicago senior Regan Todhunter finished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles open race (8.43) at the Grand Valley State Big Meet last Saturday. The 2015 Newman grad was 21st in the 60 hurdles (8.41) a day previous.

Fellow Newman grad Chris Ahlers took 11th in the 800 (1:55.94) and 13th in the 600 (1:23.18) for DePaul last Saturday at the Spire Division I Invitational in Geneva, OH.

Rock Falls grad Brayden Hamblen was 19th in the 1-mile run (4:21.33) for Tennessee at Clemson's Tiger Paw Invite last
Saturday.

Mason Wright – a 2017 Polo grad – won the triple jump with a top distance of 13.57 meters (44-6 1/4) for Augustana Grinnell College’s Darren Young Indoor Invitational last Saturday.

Augustana claimed third out of 12 teams with 98 points, while D-III Central College was sixth with 46 points. Morrison grad Mason Muur finished 24th in the 1-mile run (4:55.48) for Central.

D-III North Central beat out nine other schools to win its own Pat Heenan Invitational in Naperville last Friday with 206 points. Dixon grad Kyle LeBlanc tied for second in the high jump with a clearance of 1.91 meters (6-3 1/4) for the host Cardinals.

Women’s track & field

A trio of locals competed at the Grand Valley State Big Meet last Friday.

Former state champion Lexy Duncan – a 2014 Dixon grad – took fifth in the long jump invite (5.62 meters, 18-4 1/2). Western Illinois’ Michaela Busch, a 2016 Rock Falls grad, was a part of the Leathernecks’ fourth-place 1,600 relay (3:58.21). Sterling grad Maggie McPherson was 33rd in the 3,000-meter run (10:16.86) for Eastern Illinois.

Duncan finished second in the long jump with a leap of 5.66 meters (18-5 3/4) a day later for the Division II hosts.

A trio of locals competed at Division III Monmouth College’s Fighting Scots Indoor Invitational last Saturday.

Corrie Reiley – a 2015 Prophetstown grad – was a part of NAIA St. Ambrose’s first-place 1,600 relay (4:15.56) and first-place distance medley (13:34.27). Erie grad Alissa DeShane took second in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.19 meters (10-5 1/2) for the Bees. Newman grad Teagan McKenna took seventh in the 1-mile run (5:56.60) for the host Scots.

Augustana was third out of 11 teams with 75.5 points at Grinnell College’s Darren Young Indoor Invitational last Saturday. Newman grad Lizzie Oswalt finished 14th in the 200 (27.75) and 19th in the 60 (8.47) for the Vikings.

Softball

Former SVM player of the year Lauren Rice started for Ohio State on Friday against defending national champion and top-ranked Florida State at the ESPN Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. The 2017 Morrison grad took the loss in the circle – allowing five hits, two runs and three walks while striking out two – in the Buckeyes’ 3-1 loss.

Rock Falls grad Madason
Shaw went 1-for-3 in
Missouri-Kansas City's 1-0 loss to Loyola-Chicago last Friday at the Rosemont Dome. Shaw was 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run in a 12-5 win over IUPUI a day later, but was 0-for-3 in a 2-1 loss to DePaul.

UMKC beat Mount St. Mary’s 7-1 to begin play at Georgia Southern’s Eagle Round Robin in Statesboro, Ga., on Friday, as Shaw went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run. She also went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run in a 10-0 win over IUPUI.

D-II Alabama-Huntsville wrapped up its own Charger Chillout last Saturday and Sunday. Sterling grad Shannon Long went 1-for-3 with a run in UAH’s 12-0 win over Lincoln, and 0-for-2 in a 5-1 loss to No. 1 Southern Indiana last Saturday. Long blasted a solo home run in the fifth inning of a 13-6 win over West Liberty, and was 0-for-1 with two walks in a 7-5 win over Missouri-St. Louis last Sunday.

McKendree beat Alabama-Huntsville 9-7 on Friday in Dahlonega, Ga., despite Long hitting an inside-the-park home win in the third inning.