Reibel reaches Rollins' Hall of Fame

Jonny Reibel, a two time all-state basketball player at Hoffman Estates, has become a hall of famer.

Reibel entered the Rollins College Hall of Fame last Thursday inside the ballroom of the Alfond Inn in a ceremony that kicked off the Rollins Alumni weekend festivities in Winter Park, Fla.

Reibel took over as the Tars point guard from Hall of Famer Eric Faber in 2005 when he made the Sunshine Conference All-Newcomer team before earning second-team honors as a sophomore.

He landed on the first team as a junior and senior season and was the SSC Player of the Year in 2007 along with earning first-team All-South Region and Honorable Mention all-American status.

Putting together one of the most prolific careers in program history, Reibel still ranks in the top-10 in five offensive categories, sitting seventh in points, first in assists, second in steals, eighth in free throws and fifth in made 3-pointers.

Reibel was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, recognizing the nation's top college point guards among all divisions.

The Rollins Hall of Fame, established in 1977, now includes 216 members.

At Hoffman Estates, Reibel was a two-time Daily Herald Cook County all-area co-captain with teammate Bryan Mead.

As a senior, Reibel led the Hawks to the Elite Eight and a 30-3 record. He also played overseas professionally after graduating from Rollins.

Reibel is in his first year as a teacher at Jacobs after playing at the Miami Heat summer camp, Poland's top league, and Germany's Pro A division.

Boxing

Illinois sophomore Ryan Rowden (Fremd) represented the Illini in the 2018 US Intercollegiate Boxing Association quarterfinals hosted on the Champaign campus.

Rowden fought in the 152-pound weight division of the Iron Phi challenge which included schools from around the country including Michigan, Texas A&M, California-Riverside. It was held from March 16 to March 21 when the championship bouts were contested.

Rowden earned a spot on the team earlier this school year. For more than a month, he trained four to five hours a day while maintaining a full academic load as a student in the prestigious College of Business. He is majoring in accounting.

The former Fremd soccer player said he never worked harder on anything.

The results showed in the ring as he won each of his first two bouts by unanimous decision and won the championship by a TKO just moments into the second round.

His initial goal was to raise $1,000 and because of generous donations, he was able to crush that goal and raise more than $2,200 for the cause to help improve the lives of many people suffering from ALS.

Wheeling ADs

With the upcoming retirement of Wheeling boys athletic director Neal Weiner, girls AD Don Rowley has been named to take over the boys position beginning in the 2018-19 school year.

The new girls AD will be math teacher Shelly Wiegel, who girls basketball fans will surely remember. Wiegel guided the Wildcats to their only appearance in the state finals when they took third place in the Class 4A tourney in 2009.

"Shelly brings a wealth of experience to the position," said the school's director of student activities Steve May. "She will be a great asset to our girls athletic coaches and our female athletes."

Softball

Arkansas senior Loren Krzysko (Barrington) belted a grand slam in a 4-0 win over Omaha that gave the Razorbacks a five-game sweep of the Wooo Pig Classic and improved their record 21-5.

Krzysko, whose sister Rachel is a freshman for Purdue, sent a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence in the first inning. It was her fifth homer of the season and the team's third grand slam of the season.

• St. Mary (South Bend) junior outfielder Krystal Harris (St. Viator) went 2-for-4 effort with a RBI and a run as the Belles improved to 13-1 with a 7-3 win over Benedictine. Harris (8-of-19) is hitting .421.

Baseball

Illinois first baseman Bren Spillane (Wheeling) was named Big Ten Player of the Week, giving the Illini three straight winners of the award in March.

Spillane went 8-for-10 with 3 homers, 2 doubles and 6 RBI in a doubleheader at Southern Illinois.

He had 3 homers and 4 hits in the series opener, becoming the 11th player in Division I to hit three in a single game this season. He was then 4-for-4 with 2 doubles in the nightcap.

For the week, Spillane hit .600 (9-for-15) with an OPS of 2.000. He ranks fourth in the nation in slugging percentage (.887), 21st in doubles (9) and 32nd in homers (6) this season.

No. 24 Illinois (11-5) has won three Big Ten Player of the Week honors before the end of March for the first time in program history. The Illini are the fourth team ever to have three different players win Big Ten Player of the Week before the end of March.

Spillane was up for consideration for Collegiate Baseball's National Player of the Week award, but narrowly missed.

Illini coach Dan Hartleb is happy with how Spillane has adjusted to an entirely new position, moving from third to first base in such a short time.

"He's talented enough to be one of the best players in the country," Hartleb said on the school's website. "He's got that natural ability. There's a lot that goes into it: the work ethic, which has always been good, and the mentality and confidence. There are so many factors. He's made great strides in all those areas, so I'm really pleased with where he's at and really proud of what he's done."

Men's volleyball

For the third time this season Augustana freshman libero Matthew Schiferl (Wheeling) has been named defensive player of the week in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League.

Not only was it the third time, but the second consecutive week for him.

Schiferl played in all nine sets over the weekend against North Central, Carthage and Aurora and totaled 35 digs and 4 setting assists. He had 15 digs against North Central, eight against Carthage and 12 in the win over Aurora.

For the season Schiferl has played in 82 sets, second highest on the team, and he leads the Vikings in digs with 251 (3.06 per game) and he has 53 setting assists with one service ace.

Women's golf

Illinois State senior Kiley Walsh (Prospect) fired the low round for the Redbirds (5-over-par 77) on the final day of the William & Mary's Kingsmill Intercollegiate held at the par-72, 6,025-yard Kingsmill Resort River Course.

Walsh's three-round total of 230 (77-76-77) earned her a tie for 10th place. The senior played the par-3s at a tournament low 3-under-par.

Women's tennis

Millikin's Madeline Delano (Buffalo Grove) won at No. 2 doubles 8-5 when the Big Blue defeated Messiah College at the Spring Tennis Fest in Hilton Head, S.C. She also won at No. 6 singles 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.