By THE HERALD-WHIG STAFF
Fans of the John Wood Community College women's basketball team will need to brace themselves for an up-tempo pace next season.
The Lady Blazers' recruiting class doesn't have a lot of size. They'll make up for that with plenty of speed and quickness.
"This is a fast, quick group," said JWCC coach Norm Rodriguez of his 11 recruits. "There's a lot of interchangeable parts in this group and they have a good understanding of the game. For the most part, they all come from pretty good basketball programs."
There's also an area flavor to the class and five of them will be playing in next month's McDonald's/Herald-Whig Classic -- Alyssa Duffy of Unity, Megan Sorrill of Liberty, Randi Gronewold of Illini West, Devin Wombles of Pleasant Hill and Sam O'Brien of Palmyra.
Rounding out the class are Kirsten Johnston of Scotland County, Emily Lay of Canton, Alexis Eyler of Havana, Sam Yates and Tricia Haake of Clopton and Taryn Dustman of Tri-County High School in Jamesport, Mo.
They'll join four returners who helped lead last year's team to a 17-13 record.
"We're still not going to be a very big team and we may not be able to score a lot in the post," Rodriguez said. "But we will have good enough shooters that we should be able to make up for that."
Scott helps WIU to NCAAs: Hannibal's Brian Scott, a sophomore at Western Illinois University, has helped the school's men's golf team reach the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.
Scott had the third-most rounds played this season for the Leathernecks. He played in six tournaments this spring for WIU and averaged 76.2 strokes per round.
He finished two shots away from earning All-Summit League honors by carding a 54-hole total of 222 to help the Leathernecks win the title and an automatic berth in the NCAAs.
The Leathernecks were seeded 26th in the East Regional and will play at Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn., on May 15-17.
Weidman, Saunders win top QU awards: Softball player Mary Wiedman and football player Jeremy Saunders were named the winners of the Mart Heinen Award, which is given to the top senior athletes at Quincy University.
Wiedman hit .299 with three home runs and 17 RBI this spring for the softball team. Wiedman also won the St. Clare Award, which is presented to the female athlete who best exemplifies the Franciscan values of QU.
Saunders was a four-year starter on the Hawks' offensive line. He was a four-time all-conference honoree and a first-team All-American as a senior.
Men's soccer keeper Mike Colombo won the St. Francis Award, which is presented to the male athlete who best exemplifies the Franciscan values of QU.
Football player Edward Harriel and softball pitcher Torie Bunzell were honored with the Chuck Brady Award, given to the most outstanding male and female newcomers of the year.
Baseball player Joe Palumbo and women's volleyball player Brittney Paul were named the winners of the Brother Clete Van Ackeren Award, which is given to the male and female athletes who best combine academic achievement and athletic success.
The teams with the top grade-point averages were also honored. The men's soccer team retained its title with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.04, while the softball team took the women's honor with a 3.38 GPA.
Palumbo, Hauber earn GLVC honors: Quincy University right fielder Joe Palumbo earned All-Great Lakes Valley Conference second-team honors for the second time, while utility man Scott Hauber also was a repeat selection, earning third-team honors after being tagged as a first-team pick last season.
Palumbo, a senior, led QU with a .337 average, six home runs, 15 doubles and 41 RBI despite playing most of the season with a shoulder injury and a pulled hamstring.
Hauber, a senior, hit .287 with six home runs and 23 RBI while moving around defensively, playing third base, first base and the outfield.
Rinaudo tops C-SC list: Junior second baseman Chris Rinaudo was a first-team All-Heart of America Athletic Conference pick as seven Culver-Stockton College baseball players were named to the all-league team.
Pitcher Brandon Daudt, outfielder Lucas Cramsey and catcher Kevin Steinhardt were second-team picks, while third baseman Jamie Munoz and pitchers Geoff Davidson and Austin Bishop were honorable mention selections.
Rinaudo, a transfer from America River College, had team-highs in hitting (.376), runs (42), doubles (11) and home runs (six).
Daudt, a senior from San Dimas, Calif., went 6-2 with a 1.49 earned-run average during the regular season.
Cramsey, a junior from Quincy Notre Dame, led the team in hits (50), runs batted in (31) and triples (four) while hitting .373.
Steinhardt, a senior from Northridge, Calif., hit .311 with five doubles, one homer and 30 RBI.
Thurston completes hat trick: For the third straight year, Culver-Stockton College first baseman Carley Thurston has earned first-team All-HAAC honors.
The junior from Godfrey hit a team-best .369 with 32 RBI. She had eight doubles, a triple and two home runs.
She was joined on the All-HAAC team by second baseman Jackie Clark, pitcher Sara Eggleston, shortstop Katelin Goddard and designated player Danielle Kaltmayer, who all earned second-team status.
Four earn AMC honors: Four members of the Hannibal-LaGrange baseball team have earned honorable mention All-American Midwest Conference honors.
Junior outfielder/pitcher Thomas Vesely, senior first baseman Tyson Mulvaney, junior shortstop/pitcher Jim Niemczyk and senior shortstop Tyler Martin were honored after helping the Trojans set a school record with a 24-22 campaign.
Vesely was 3-2 with a save and a team-best 3.59 ERA. Mulvaney led the team in hitting at .361 and with 36 RBI. Martin hit .336, while Niemczyk hit .333 with nine doubles and 25 RBI and was 3-3 with a 5.87 ERA.
-- sports@whig.com/221-3365
