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Iowa gets the call from Benet's Doyle

The last test on Kathleen Doyle's final day as a Benet student-athlete on Wednesday was anatomy. Appropriately, only the night before Doyle's gut instinct guided the final decision as to her college basketball destination.

Point guard on Benet's repeat Class 4A champion girls basketball team and two-time Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area captain, Doyle had previously committed to Nebraska. After the April 5 resignation of Cornhuskers coach Connie Yori following a university investigation into alleged player mistreatment, Doyle requested a release to talk with other coaches.

Last week, Doyle said, she informed Nebraska she wouldn't attend there and was released from her National Letter of Intent. Doyle had renewed conversations with some of the nearly 30 schools who also had extended offers, including Indiana, DePaul, Vanderbilt, Marquette, Wake Forest, Kentucky ... and Iowa.

Tuesday night Doyle called and gave her verbal commitment to Iowa coach Lisa Bluder.

"I just kind of had a gut feeling that it was the best place for me," said Doyle, the youngest of six siblings to graduate from Benet. "Having such a short amount of time to decide, I was kind of going with a gut feeling and what coaches I felt most comfortable with. I felt it was the best fit for me and went with it and really am excited about it."

Doyle said Iowa has "the whole package": Big Ten academics, a coach who knows how to win, "and they're very passionate about what they do."

"I am very happy for Kathleen," said Benet coach Joe Kilbride. "She handled the recruiting process with integrity and maturity, like everything else she does. I know she is very excited about the opportunity at Iowa, and I look forward to following her in what I am sure will be a very successful career in the Big Ten."

Doyle will leave for Iowa City to join other Hawkeyes freshmen players the first full week of June. She said Bluder has been willing to let freshmen attain playing time.

"You just have to earn it," said Doyle, a 17-point scorer possessing intangibles to get that done.

"Honestly, I just care about winning," she said about her game. "I do everything I can for my team and that's all that really matters."

More hoops

Montini sophomore basketball player Lindsay Jarosinski is heading to Colorado this weekend to play in the 17 and under USA Basketball trials. It's the second consecutive year the 6-foot-5 post player has been invited.

Cream of the crop

Maybe not all have seen: Neuqua Valley football player Isaiah Robertson is one of 400 national nominees for the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He's one of seven incoming seniors nominated from Illinois; 90 to 100 players will ultimately be selected in a process that resumes in September.

Ranked by Rivals.com in February as the nation's 25th-best receiver from the Class of 2017, 169th overall, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Robertson recently committed to Notre Dame.

Last fall he caught 50 passes for 803 yards, 9 touchdowns, and totaled 521 return yards. At safety he was just as impressive with 81 tackles, 4 interceptions and a 94-yard return for a touchdown.

Community Calendar

Well-timed with lacrosse gaining Illinois High School Association sanctioning for a state series in the spring of 2018, New Wave Lacrosse is bringing in the brain trust of Marquette's Big East-winning men's team for a camp June 8-10 at Commissioner's Park in Naperville.

Open to players from all schools, clubs and programs and split into youth and high school groups, the camp will offer position-specific training, individual instruction, scrimmages and more. (But not lunch - bring your own!) It's all staffed by Marquette head coach Joe Amplo - also a USA Men's Team assistant - Golden Eagles assistant Steve Brundage and Marquette players. For details and registration visit the New Wave Lacrosse website.

Rob Pomazak is entering his fourth season as football coach at St. Charles North, but he's been involved in DuPage activities as well; Joe Kish's annual dodgeball fundraiser at Franklin Middle School in Wheaton comes immediately to mind.

Pomazak hopes to draw young football players northwest this summer for a coed flag football league at St. Charles North. For children from first- through eighth-grades, the Under Armour "Under the Lights" league pairs players in first and second grades, third and fourth and so on, with 6-on-6 games except for the latter-two grades which will be 7 on 7. The planned nine players per team maximizes playing time.

The league runs from June 5-July 24 and offers six games - all on Sundays at St. Charles North - with practices before the games. Reach Pomazak for details at rpomazak@gmail.com; register at uaflag.com.

A couple years ago, Marmion's Jimmy Morton was on national television in the finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt competition at Augusta, a day before The Masters. This summer offers nine qualifiers in Illinois for golfers ages 7-15. The nearest is at Cog Hill in Lemont on June 15; or at Cantigny in Wheaton on June 25, with registration ending five days beforehand in each case. Start that process at drivechipandputt.com.

June 11 offers two track-related adventures. One is in Dubuque, Iowa, the 18th annual Senior Spotlight Track and Field Meet featuring some of the top senior athletes from Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. More a fun meet for state bragging rights and a parent-child excursion than a spectator event, athletes can get more info and register at the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association website, itccca.com.

The U.S. Army Distance Classic on June 11 is right here at Benedictine University in Lisle. Meet director Skip Stolley noted that in 2015 athletes from 12 states combined for 47 lifetime bests in events from 800 to 3,200 meters. Last year's boys 800 included current Nebraska freshman Ty Moss, whose third-place time of 1 minute, 51.25 seconds was faster than the 1:51.80 he ran to win the Class 3A title as a Neuqua Valley senior. Those interested can check out midwestdistanceclassic.com.

Finally, the Morton Arboretum in Lisle is hosting a cancer survivor's day program, "Celebrate Life," from 1:30-4:30 p.m., June 5. There will be a picnic lunch, entertainment for all ages and other activities. The reason this is included here is one of the event's speakers is Naperville resident Kevin Griffin.

Marmion's lacrosse coach, Griffin has been undergoing treatment for colon cancer since he was diagnosed in 2010. His wife, Kim, has written a book, "Love You to the Woods and Back," sparked by posts on CaringBridge.com. Through it all, Griffin spearheads an annual food drive that's part of a big lacrosse tournament and somehow maintains his smile and humor, evident next Saturday at the Arboretum.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

Follow Dave on Twitter @doberhelman1

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