Keith Thomas is a glass-half-full-kind of guy. He’s the kind of person who always looks at the positives, even when you have to dig really deep.
Playing at Anderson University, a D-III program riding a 16-game losing streak, Thomas likes to focus on the good rather than the bad.
“I can’t say it hasn’t been rough, especially when I come from a program like Merrillville where we won a lot,” said Thomas, a junior wide receiver. “It’s been a good time and great experience, though. I have no regrets. I’ve met a lot of friends – guys who will be in my wedding one day. I’ve learned winning is not everything.”
Thomas, a 2009 Merrillville grad, is Anderson University’s leading receiver.
Anderson lost 21-19 to Earlham on Nov. 3 – helping Earlham snap a 26-game losing streak. Ironically, Anderson’s last victory was a 48-14 win over Earlham on Sept. 24, 2011.
Anderson University has only four seniors on the roster – including fullback Adam Mandeville, a Kankakee Valley grad.
The team finished its season Saturday – a 38-0 loss to Manchester -- to end the year at 0-10. Lowell grad Kurt Monix had a game-high five catches for 101 yards in the contest for Manchester.
Cougars are hungry: Concordia University (Chicago) is ranked No. 2 in the NAIA poll and is unbeaten at 10-0. Senior Daniel DeBonnett (DeLaSalle) has 50 tackles, including five for loss and four sacks. Antoine Ward, a freshman backup quarterback from Homewood-Flossmoor, has completed 8-of-12 passes for 68 yards.
Marcus Strong (TF South) and Ricardo Hurley (DeLaSalle) have both seen action in five games.
Men’s swimming
Kyle Whitaker (Chesterton), a junior at the University of Michigan, on Thursday was named as an addition to the U.S. roster for the 2013 World University Games, to be held July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia.
Swimmers were selected based on their performance at the 2012 U.S. Open Championships. At that event, Whitaker finished fourth in the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley, and took fifth in the 400-meter IM.
Whitaker currently has the nation’s fastest time in the 400 IM (3:50.92) for the top-ranked Wolverines.
Volleyball
Sophomore Anna Dorn (Munster) was named to the Capital One Academic All-District V First Team, the organization announced, becoming the fourth Academic All-District selection in the last four years for the University of Illinois. In order to be considered for Academic All-District honors, a student-athlete must be in at least his or her second year at an institution, have a grade-point average of 3.3 or better, and be a starter or significant contributor to the team.
As a first-team selection, Dorn will advance to Academic All-America voting, which concludes on Nov. 20, with the announcement of the Academic All-America teams coming on Thursday, Dec. 13.
Dorn currently ranks second on the Illini squad with 101 total blocks, 1.00 per set, and third with 166 kills, 1.64 per set. She also has a stellar 3.95 grade-point average, best on the team, as a kinesiology major.
Women’s soccer
Sophomore defender Courtney Schmidt (Lowell) was named to the 2012 All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) first team as a defender. She helped lead Hope College to a 14-6-2 record.
* St. Mary’s College sophomore Chanler Rosenbaum (Hobart) was named to the All-MIAA second team as the goalkeeper. St. Mary’s finished 13-5-2 this season.
The Times welcomes information about local athletes for inclusion in Region Collegians. E-mail Brian Waddle at bjwaddle@comcast.net.
Please Wait…