Glen Ellyn Spring Sports Honor Roll is in

Just as schools are releasing their spring semester academic honor rolls, Patch has released its spring sports honor roll for Glen Ellyn high schools ( and ).

The recently concluded 2011 spring sports season was one that turned out to be chock-full of top-notch performances.

Here is the honor roll, in alphabetical order, along with five honorable mentions:

Joe Boesso, Glenbard South boys track—Boesso, a senior, knocked on the door of the Class 2A state high jump title in 2010 with a fifth-place finish. This year, Boesso leaped 6 feet, 7 inches to capture the state crown and helped the Raiders nab as a team.

Danielle Chitkowski, Glenbard South softball—The senior did a little bit of everything for the 2011 Raiders, who placed third at the Class 3A state tournament. Named the Metro Suburban Conference most valuable player, Chitkowski hit over .500 and went 7-2 on the mound with an ERA under 2.00.

Glenbard West’s girls relay teams—The Hilltoppers qualified all for the Class 3A state meet, and all four earned all-state honors. Juniors Katie Born and Maddie Nagle teamed up with sophomore Emma Reifel and freshman Madeline Perez for sixth in the 4x800 relay. The 4x200 team, consisting of Reifel, juniors Kinn Badger and Caroline Maloney, and senior Bridget Flanagan, won seventh place. Maloney, Badger, Flanagan and Kathryn Pickett (see entry below) finished eighth in the 4x100 relay. Meanwhile, Badger, Flanagan, Maloney and Reifel grabbed all-state in the 4x400 relay with their ninth-place finish.

Ben Krusen, Glenbard West baseball—Krusen went 8-1 on the mound for the sectional finalist Hilltopppers with an ERA under 2.00. When he wasn’t pitching, he put on the catcher’s gear and gave opposing pitchers fits at the plate. The senior slugged five homers and knocked in 30 runs. 

Ian Lawson, Glenbard West boys volleyball—Lawson, a junior, teamed with Adam Lepold (see entry below) to give the Hilltoppers—Illinois’ team in 2011—one of the most dominant pair of hitters in the state. The 6-7 outside hitter led Glenbard West with over 370 kills.

Mike Lederhouse, Glenbard West boys track—Look for Lederhouse, a junior, to be in the mix for a Class 3A state title in the 1,600 next season. Lederhouse grabbed sixth place in this spring’s race—one that featured a state champion and runnerup who’ll be competing for NCAA Division I schools in 2011-12.

Adam Lepold, Glenbard West boys volleyball—The 6-4 Lepold collected a team-high 13 kills in state tournament’s third-place game. The Hilltoppers’ senior middle-hitter finished with nearly 300 kills this past season.

Garret Payne, Glenbard South boys track—Arguably the most prolific performer in the history of boys track at Glenbard South (and the school has produced some standouts over the years), Payne defended his 2010 state title in the 400 and broke his own Class 2A state record in that event twice over the weekend. Payne, a senior, also finished sixth in the 100, and took part in two Glenbard South all-state relay teams: the 4x100 and 4x200.

Kathryn Pickett, Glenbard West girls track—See the first part of Garret Payne’s entry, and the same can be said of Pickett in regard to Glenbard West’s girls track. You’ve already read about Pickett being part of the Hilltoppers’ all-state 4x100 relay team. Well, this senior leaped to a second-place finish in the long jump, raced to third in the 300 low hurdles and captured fourth in the 100 high hurdles. Pickett’s distance in the long jump and time in the 300 lows were both school records.

Jane Trzaska, Glenbard South softball—One can only imagine what Trzaska will accomplish by the time she concludes her career at Glenbard South. During her sophomore year this past season, Trzaska led the Raiders with a .542 average and had almost 30 RBIs. She also blasted four home runs—including a three-run shot that lifted the Raiders to victory in the state game.

Honorable mention

Zach Bava, Glenbard South baseball—The junior all-Metro Suburban Conference pick saw action at shortstop and catcher, and hit nearly .400 with 38 RBIs.

Samantha Howard, Glenbard South girls track—Howard, a sophomore, became the first Raider since Kim Simpson won the state shot put title in 1987 to earn an all-state medal in throws with her fourth-place finish in the discus this spring.

Taylor Steinhilber, Glenbard West softball—The Hilltoppers’ ace pitcher, an all-WSS pick, won 11 games, had an ERA of 1.58 and hit .386.

Jess Wilkes, Glenbard South softball—The Raiders’ standout pitcher closed out her career with a two-year record of 43-7.

Bri Wyatt, Glenbard West softball—Wyatt, a senior, led off for the Hilltoppers since her sophomore year and finished 2011 with three homers, 32 runs scored and 15 stolen bases.