Lindfors commits to basketball future at Southeast Missour State

Amber Lindfors started playing basketball competitively in the fourth grade.

"But my parents and siblings (Jake and Courtney) had me shooting and bouncing a basketball since I was a toddler," Amber said. "My whole family played, and watching my siblings play I just wanted to go out there and do exactly what they did."

She succeeded just fine.

The 6-foot-4 Elk Grove center recently made a verbal commitment to play for Southeast Missouri State.

"She got the call right before one of our preseason practices," said Elk Grove girls volleyball coach Stephanie Kezios, "So I think I was one of the first to know and was absolutely thrilled for Amber."

Lindfors was an all-area middle hitter for Kezios last fall.

"She could have committed to playing only basketball but she stayed with our program all four years and we are very grateful for that. We are so proud of her," Kezio said. "She is the first Division I athlete I have coached here in five years."

Former Buffalo Grove standout basketball player Jennifer Guth will be coaching Lindfors on the basketball floor this winter.

"I am so excited for Amber to play basketball at the next level," Guth said. "I know she has put a lot of hard work into basketball and it was a tough decision for her. I have no doubt she will be successful and Southeast Missouri State is lucky to have her."

Lindfors plans to study criminal justice/forensics or education at SEMO.

"I loved the whole coaching staff and the team at SEMO and the campus was beautiful," Lindfors said about her decision. "And most importantly it had my major."

Watching her brother Jake and sister Courtney play in college inspired Amber.

"Definitely my parents (Ron and Pam) have been the most influential people in my career," Amber said. "My mom was always there for me at games and my dad has taught me everything I know."

Ron was an all-state center at Leyden before playing at Bradley and Northern Illinois (1980 to 1983), where he was a center for an NCAA tourney team.

Amber's brother Jake was an all-stater at Driscoll before playing at Albany and Minnesota State.

"My brother is always hard on me, but it is for the good," Amber added. "And just watching my sister play college basketball and winning a state championship in high school (at Driscoll) made me work harder, and want it more."

Ambers wears No. 24, just like her brother and sister,

"My brother started his career wearing No. 24, then my sister got it the following year," Amber said. "So when I came to high school I wanted to have that number, being the youngest I have always looked up to my siblings and having the same number as them was something I wanted."

Now, she wants to enjoy her final year of high school basketball and then become the third sibling in the Lindfors family to play D-I basketball.

Women's cross country

Augustana senior Becca Sund (Palatine) was named the "Runner of the Week" in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

Sund was selected after an outstanding performance over the Labor Day weekend.

She took up right where she left off last year.

The team co-captain was the Vikings' MVP a year ago and she once again was the ringleader as the 2014 season kicked off at the Fighting Bee Open in Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Sund placed second in the 4,000-meter race (2.49 miles) with a time of 15:25. The only runner to beat Sund was junior Kristen Garwood of Hannibal-Lagrange with a winning time of 15:12. Sund bested a pair of St. Ambrose runners for the runner-up position. Rebecca Wilder and Dominique Guinnane, both of the host Bees, finished third and fourth respectively with times of 15:26 and 15:26.5.

Men's cross country

Tulsa freshman Steven Salvano (Buffalo Grove) finished 23rd in The Hurricane Cross Country Festival. a 4-mile event.

Women's volleyball

• Augustana senior outside hitter Emily Leazer (St. Viator) was named the Most Valuable Player as her team won the Viking Classic with a 4-0 record. Leazer averaged 2.25 kills per game along with four service aces and 44 digs.

Football

• Becoming the first freshman to start a season opener at quarterback coach during Norm Eash's 28 years as Illinois Wesleyan, Jack Warner (Hersey) completed 21 of 30 passes for 292 yards and 3 touchdowns while also rushing for 52 yards on 9 carries in a 42-35 victory over Franklin College (Ind).

• Luis Leguer, a two-sport standout from Prospect High School, is playing at Augustana for coach Rob Cushman's Viking program.

Leguer was a versatile performer for Coach Mike Sebestyen at Prospect, playing every where but on the lines on both sides of the ball.

In addition, he kicked, punted and returned kicks for the Knights, earning three varsity letters.

Leguer rushed 64 times for 325 yards, an average of 5.1 yards per carry. He also caught seven passes for 75 yards and completed two for 53 yards. With his return yardage included, he finished with over 1,000 all-purpose yards in 2013. He converted 9 extra points and 3 field goals with his longest being 32 yards.

Leguer was also a two-year letter winner as a sprinter and hurdler for coach Mike Kamedula in track and field at Prospect.

Women's soccer

DePaul freshman Alexa Ben (Schaumburg) is quickly making her presence felt in the collegiate ranks. She scored her first goal to help rally the No. 25 Blue Demons to a 3-1 victory against Illinois State in Chicago.

Trailing by a goal 26 minutes in, Ben responded just one minute later with her first college goal to tie the score at 1-1. The Blue Demons tallied twice more and never looked back.

• DePaul's Sarah Gorden (Conant) played a full 90 minutes on the back line, helping the Blue Demons improve to 5-0-0 on the season, tying for the fastest start in program history alongside the Blue Demons' 2001 squad.

• Augustana sophomore Jessa Rizzo (Fremd) is tied for the team lead with 2 goals for the Vikings who are 2-1 overall.

Women's tennis

Augustana sophomore Lauren Goggin (Buffalo Grove) currently leads the team with a 6-0 record at the No. 1 singles position. Sophomore Dana Goggin (Buffalo Grove) is 5-1 at No. 2 singles.

As a team, the Vikings are 26-2 in dual matches at the numbers one through four singles positions.

The Goggin twins are 6-3 at number one doubles to lead the team.

Rugby

The Arlington Stallions High School FallBall team began its season with a 41-12 victory over the Fox Valley Chiefs in Lemont. After giving up two quick tries and a 12-0 lead, the Stallions tightened up their defense.

They were able to assert their overall fitness and scored 7 unanswered tries for the rest of the match.

Sophomore forward Joe Fasolo (Hersey) started the scoring by finishing a multiple player handling sequence with a diving try at the corner flag.

The remainder of the tries were scored by Prospect High School seniors Zack Kaminski, Aiden Williams, Dave Woloch and Christos Analitis with 3 apiece.

• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.