On Campus: Crystal Lake South alum Cameron Sengstock making impact for Lewis University

Growing up, speed made Cameron Sengstock a natural athlete in track and soccer.

“I’ve always been a fast player,” she said. “In middle school, I ran track. So, going into high school, I was deciding, ‘Should I stick with soccer? Should I branch off to track?”

The nerves that came with individual track competitions was a downside that led Sengstock to soccer, where she continues to thrive as a senior forward at NCAA Division II Lewis University in Romeoville.

This fall, the Crystal Lake South graduate leads the Flyers (7-4-1) in four different offensive categories, including goals (six) and points (14). Her goal Sunday in the 69th minute against Truman State gave Lewis its fourth consecutive victory, a 1-0 triumph.

“A big thing for us is treating every game like it’s against the top team (in the Great Lakes Valley Conference),” she said. “That mindset is super important. Otherwise, you can underestimate them, and it doesn’t work out.”

The Flyers sit in fourth place in the 13-team league. The top eight teams advance to the GLVC tournament, which begins Oct. 30.

Lewis recently switched to a 3-5-2 formation with Sengstock as one of the two forwards. Over the past three games, the Flyers have scored 11 goals, with two goals and two assists from Sengstock.

“We’ve had a lot of success and goals from the 3-5-2,” she said. “I’m able to roam around a little bit more.”

Sengstock’s fleet feet have been an important aspect of her piling up a team-best 29 shots and 12 shots on goal.

“Most of them come from through balls that I can run onto,” she said. “My speed is probably my best trait on the field. My team knows if you play a through ball, I’ll just run onto it.”

Hawks hotshot: Marengo grad Cole Davis, a redshirt freshman defensive back at North Dakota, earned co-Newcomer of the Week honors Sunday from the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Davis blocked a fourth-quarter punt and returned it 3 yards for a touchdown last weekend to propel the Hawks (3-2) to a 35-30 conference victory against Youngstown State. The score was the first career touchdown for Davis, who has five tackles this season.

WIAC’s best: Prairie Ridge grad Erin McNeil, a senior outside hitter at Wisconsin-Whitewater, was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s offensive player of the week Tuesday.

While helping her team to a 4-1 record last week, McNeil compiled 55 kills, highlighted by 16 kills in a loss to 10th-ranked New York University. She posted a .319 hitting efficiency during the five matches. She also added 10 blocks.

McNeil leads the ninth-ranked Warhawks (20-4 overall, 4-0 WIAC) with 2.77 kills per set this season.

Whitewater claims golf crown: UW-Whitewater’s women’s golf team claimed its sixth consecutive WIAC championship last weekend, along with the league’s automatic bid in the NCAA Division III Championships.

Sophomore Elizabeth Johnson (Johnsburg) finished sixth as an individual with a three-day total of 25-over-par 241 (79-80-82) at Reedsburg (Wis.) Country Club. She was the second-lowest scorer for the Warhawks, who beat Wisconsin-La Crosse in a one-hole playoff for the team title.

Fellow Johnsburg grad Lauren Winter, a Whitewater senior, placed 29th individually with a three-day score of 261 (82-90-89).

Wood shines at Dubuque: Sophomore linebacker Dalton Wood (Richmond-Burton) is the leading tackler this fall for D-III University of Dubuque’s football team.

Wood has compiled 35 tackles and a team-leading four pass breakups, along with 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble for the Spartans (3-3 overall, 3-1 American Rivers Conference).

In its past two games, Dubuque has allowed only 15 points a game.

La Crosse soccer thriving: Chelsea Gale, a sophomore midfielder at 17th-ranked UW-La Crosse, has five goals and two assists this season.

On Wednesday, Gale (Prairie Ridge) scored a goal at the 58:36 mark of the Eagles’ 5-0 victory against Luther College, which marked La Crosse’s eighth shutout win of the season.

La Crosse is 3-0 in the WIAC and 12-1-1 overall. Gale has 12 points and nine shots on goal this season.

• Barry Bottino writes about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at barryoncampus@hotmail.com and follow @BarryOnCampus on Twitter.