DAYTONA, FLA. – Two John A. Logan College women’s golfers, who qualified for the national tournament in Daytona, Fla., are trying to fight their way upward from the middle of the pack.

Through two rounds of play Tuesday, sophomore Alexis Gatton of Edwardsville had posted a score of 178 (91, 87) or tied for 47th place out of 115 golfers.

Sophomore teammate, Whitney Nugent, of Harrisburg, carded a 181 (91, 90), good for a tie for 55th place.

There remains two rounds of the tournament to play. Both Gatton and Nugent have signed with SIU-Carbondale.

Jennifer (left) and Jessica White, identical twins from Carterville, and Dr. Tim Daugherty, vice president for administration at John A. Logan College, recently attended the 14th Annual Phi Theta Kappa Banquet in Springfield where the twins were honored for being named to the 2011-2012 PTK All-Illinois Community College Academic Team. (Photo provided)

CARTERVILLE – John A. Logan College graduates Jennifer and Jessica White, identical twins from Carterville, were recently honored for being named to the 2011-2012 Phi Theta Kappa All-Illinois Community College Academic Team. They, along with 79 other students, were recognized for their academic excellence and commitment to service at the 14th Annual PTK Banquet held last month at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield. Lt. Governor Sheila Simon delivered the keynote address.

All of the academic team members were acknowledged individually and received a medallion and certificate.

“The banquet was really nice,” Jessica said. “They told us we were the first twins to receive this award. I thought that was pretty neat. I was glad I got to share this experience with my sister. Our parents got to attend the banquet too and that was great. We had a lot of support.”

In addition to the academic team, Jennifer was also selected a 2011-2012 Coca-Cola Silver Scholar. This award, sponsored by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and administered through the PTK Honor Society, carries a $1,250 cash prize. Jennifer was one of only 10 students in Illinois to earn the Coca-Cola Scholar distinction.

“I really didn’t know I had won the Coca-Cola Silver Scholar award until I got to the banquet,” Jennifer said. “It was a wonderful surprise and I am grateful. The money will come in handy.”

While at Logan, Jennifer and Jessica were active in the college’s chapter of PTK and Chi Alpha, a Christian organization. They also worked as peer tutors in the Student Success Center. They excelled academically, both earning near-perfect 3.9 grade-point averages.

Dr. Tim Daugherty, vice president for administration at JALC, also attended the banquet.

“I was honored to accompany Jennifer and Jessica and their parents to Springfield for the banquet,” Daugherty said. “It was obvious how proud they were of their daughters’ accomplishments. They are a loving and supportive family, and it was a really special night. Jennifer and Jessica represented themselves, their family, and the school so well. I was glad to be a part of that.”

The twins graduated from Logan in December 2011. They are now attending Southern Illinois University. Jennifer is studying English education, and Jessica is studying art education. They both plan to teach at the high school level.

Vols’ sophomore pitcher/outfielder extraordinaire Derek Thompson goes airborne to snag this line drive in centerfield in game action Sunday afternoon against Wabash Valley in Region 24 championship play at Kaskaskia College in Centralia. (Photo courtesy Jonathan LeBlond)

CENTRALIA – Sophomore Josh Meade drove in three runs with a single and sacrifice fly Sunday to lead the John A. Logan College baseball team to a come-from-behind 6-5 win over Wabash Valley to claim the Region 24 championship at Kaskaskia College.

It is the second straight regional title for the Volunteers and eighth in school history. Logan improves to 39-20 with the win. The Warriors finish their season at 48-13. Four of those losses came at the hands of the Vols. Logan now advances to the Northern District Tournament Saturday in Chicago for the right to advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series in Grand Junction, Colo. later this month.

“It was another nail-biter today,” Halstead said of Sunday’s win. “I think the schedule we played, particularly early on, prepared us for this day. We have played a bunch of close games, some coming against nationally-ranked teams. Today, our sophomores stepped up like I hoped they would. Luke Shearrow (4-5) got us through five innings with the lead and ended up getting the win.

“David Suarez provided the clutch pitching out of the bullpen that we have become accustomed to seeing from him. He may not have had his best stuff today, but showed why he is ‘Pitcher of the Year’ in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference against a very good-hitting team.”

Vols’ sophomore righthander David Suarez closed the door on Wabash Valley Sunday for his seventh save of the spring. He worked the final four innings, allowing only one run on three hits. (Photo courtesy Jonathan LeBlond)

“I just wanted to throw strikes and pitch to contact,” he said. “I wasn’t as sharp as I can be. Fortunately, I made a couple of good pitches when I had to and we got the win.”

Two other sophomores also stepped up big on the offensive end.

Third baseman Phil Pupillo roped a two-run double down the left field line to tie the game at 2-2 in the third inning. First baseman Josh Meade singled in two more to give the Vols the lead at 4-2.

After the Warriors tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the fifth, Meade untied the game in the bottom of the frame with a sacrifice fly for a 5-4 lead. A second run scored on the play as an errant throw by the rightfielder, Jeff Jackson, got past the second baseman, A.J. Dokey, who was in cut-off position.

“Phil’s knock got us back in the game and Josh put us ahead twice,” Halstead said.

There were also some huge contributions from freshmen.

Derek Thompson, fresh off pitching a five-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts against Lake Land Friday, delivered the goods offensively and defensively from his centerfield position.

On Saturday, he collected three hits in an 8-3 win over Lincoln Trail and made a diving catch. On Sunday, he added a double, single and two walks, made another diving catch and threw a runner out at third base. If there had been an All-Tournament Team chosen, he easily would have been in the running for “Most Valuable Player.”

JALC players proudly hoist the Region 24 trophy aloft after capturing the title game, 6-5, against Wabash Valley College Sunday. (Photo courtesy Jonathan LeBlond)

“That was a big-time throw right there at a key point in the game,” Halstead said. “And it wasn’t even close at second.”

In the top of the ninth inning, Dokey singled with one out, but Suarez got Cole Gleason, the leading RBI man in the nation, to hit into a game-ending double play to the second baseman, Zach Mishler, who flipped to shortstop Matt Bowles for the force at second. Bowles’ return throw was a bit off the mark, but was speared by the fully stretched Meade at first.

“Everybody was jacked up for this ballgame,” Meade said. “This is something we’ve worked hard for all year and is the next step in our journey to make it to the World Series. Wabash is a great team, but as it turns out, so are we. It felt good to beat them today and move on to the next round.”

Halstead said winning this particular Region 24 title holds great significance to him because the Vols found a way to persevere despite a depleted roster.

“Without question,” he said. “As a coach, you try to stay optimistic, but when you have that many guys out of the lineup with injuries (third baseman Keelin Rasch, centerfielder Dontrell Rush, outfielder Tyler Mikrut and infielder Adam Kunkel) and still find a way to beat a quality team like Wabash four out of five times…I just couldn’t be prouder of these kids.

“That’s back-to-back regional titles for the sophomores, plus a conference championship. And let me tell you, it’s not that easy to do – not in this league. There is a load of talent in our conference. That’s why winning this much is remarkable.”