Baseball Program up to $1,547 for Movember

Head coach Cliff Brown and former Harper baseball player Bill Smith are still sporting their moustaches.

PALATINE, Ill. – With just under a week remaining in the month of November, the Harper College baseball team has raised $1,547 for "Movember".

The mission of Movember, according to their website, is for men to grow moustaches for the month of November to raise funds and awareness to combat prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health challenges in men.

The baseball program has 27 members in its group, with Grant Meranus leading the charge at over $800 raised for the cause. The team's mission states that, "We strive to be not only great students and athletes but great people. We feel it is important to be involved in the community and promote mens health. All the while having fun doing it."

There are still six days remaining in the challenge. To view their team page and/or donate to the cause, click here.

Barajas Models Consistency for Hawks

PALATINE, Ill. – On the nation's top NJCAA Div. III men's cross country team in 2013, competition among teammates was at an all-time high on a team loaded with talent. With the incredible depth the Hawks possessed, any of the top eight runners could place as the No. 1 runner in the meets.

However, freshman Juan Barajas (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Schaumburg) stood out among the group. Barajas was a model of consistency for the Hawks in 2013, placing as the team's top runner in six of seven meets. The Region IV Runner of the Year and All-American can now call himself the 10^th Harper College Athlete of the Week for the 2013-14 school year.

Head coach Jim Macnider knew of Barajas's ability back in 2009 and 2010 when he coached Barajas as a freshman and sophomore at Schaumburg High School. Barajas made an immediate impact for Harper in his first collegiate meet, placing 29^th in a time of 26:45 in his first career 8K race.

"He does what you tell him to, and it paid off," Macnider said. "He ran quite a bit over the summer, and that's obvious by how he started off the season."

He continued to be the Hawks' top guy throughout the season, finishing as Harper's top runner in the Illinois Intercollegiate, College of DuPage Invite, Benedictine Invite, Bradley Classic and Region IV Championship (PR time of 26:25). Many of these meets featured four-year universities.

At the national meet, Barajas got a side stitch with about two kilometers to go but still managed to take eighth place and earn All-American honors.

"I'm not sure if it was the hilliness or the travel. He still hung in there and probably would have been in the top five if that didn't happen," Macnider said. "He had a great season. He was our most consistent and reliable guy."

Barajas enjoyed the trip to nationals, where he and his teammates visited The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as well as four different states.

"We accomplished what we said we wanted to do in the beginning of the season, to become three-time national champions," he said.

Barajas is looking forward to the spring 2014 track and field season, when he will run the 5k and 10k races.

Becker Signs with Lewis University

Harper baseball player Kurt Becker recently signed with Div. II Lewis University. (Jim Cummins)

PALATINE, Ill. – While sophomore baseball player Kurt Becker (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) still has one more year of baseball ahead of him at Harper College, he now has a home beyond the 2014 Hawks season. Becker recently signed an NCAA National Letter of Intent to continue his baseball career at Div. II Lewis University in Romeoville.

Becker, a Palatine High school grad, earned Second Team All-Region honors as a freshman in the spring of 2013, hitting .377 with two homers, 28 RBIs, and 14 doubles.

Lewis pitching coach Scott Sobkowiak first talked to the standout third baseman at the Oakton sophomore showcase over the summer. Sobkowiak liked Becker's swing and what he brought to the table in the field.

After back-and-forth conversation throughout the fall, Becker made a trip to Lewis' campus a few weeks ago and liked what he saw.

"He (Sobkowiak) just handed me off to the players to get a tour around campus. It was pretty cool because that means they really trust the players," Becker said. "They seemed like they were having a lot of fun there."

Becker then met head coach Tim McDonough on campus, who is in his seventh season in charge of the Flyers program. Last year under McDonough, the Flyers were 33-18 overall and set a program record with 23 conference wins. In 2012, the Flyers earned their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1996, where they finished fifth.

"When I talked to him, his baseball philosophy seemed consistent with coach (Paul) Belo (Palatine coach) and Coach (Cliff) Brown of Harper," Becker said.

Becker, who plans on getting his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Mathematics Education Degree at Lewis, feels that with the pressure to find a four-year school to play at gone, he can really focus in on the upcoming spring season for the Hawks.

"I can focus on working towards our team goal to get to Tyler, Texas, and I think I could try to help other guys find a place to play at in the future because we have a lot of talented players."

Hawks Nab First Win of Season

Payne scored a career-high 27 points to lift the Hawks to victory. (Jim Cummins)

Box Score

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. – Rachel Payne (Wheeling, Ill./Schaumburg Christian Academy) scored a career-high 27 points to propel the Harper College women's basketball team to a 65-43 victory over McHenry County College on Thursday night. The win gave head coach Jenny Turpel her first career college coaching victory.

The Hawks (1-6) jumped out to a 35-16 halftime lead. Payne continued pouring it on in the second half and finished 10-of-18 from the floor while grabbing eight rebounds. Her previous career high was 23 points, on two separate occasions last season against Triton (Jan. 26) and Wright (Feb. 9).

Kelli Berglund (/Wheeling) scored 12 points and Monica Hinderer (Arlington Heights, Ill./The Willows Academy)chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds in the win.

The Hawks have the weekend off before hosting Elgin Community College on Tuesday at 5 PM. Elgin topped Harper 59-49 in the Hawks' season opener on Nov. 5.

Basketball Games Tonight to be Web-Streamed Live

The Harper women's and men's basketball games will be web-streamed live tonight. (Jim Cummins)

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. – The Harper College women's and men's basketball games scheduled for tonight at McHenry County College will be web-streamed live. The live stream can be found at mchenry.edu/athletics.

The women's game will tip at 5:15 PM while the men will follow at 7:15 PM.

Game Preview: Harper vs. Morton

Head coach Tony Amarino and his team head to Morton tonight for a 7 PM game. (Jim Cummins)

CICERO, Ill. – The Harper College men's basketball team, coming off an 88-80 win over Moraine Valley last Thursday, will look to get their second win of the season tonight as they travel to Morton College for a 7 PM game.

Harper (1-3) had five players score in double-figures in the win over Moraine Valley while Morton (4-1) is coming off a 72-62 win over DuPage on Saturday.

Last Meeting

The Panthers topped the Hawks 84-63 on Nov. 20, 2012.

Amarino Back at Morton

Harper head coach Tony Amarino returns back to his old stomping grounds for this matchup. Amarino spent 15 years as the head coach at Morton, compiling a 263-226 record.

Key Players

Bradley Reibel (/Prospect) (13.5 PPG) and Kevin Sexton (/Prospect) (11.8 PPG, 5.8 APG) lead the Hawks in scoring through four games.

Kevin Walsh (/St. Viator) (10.0 PPG) is the team third-leading scorer and has scored 30 points in the team's last two games. Forward Michael Rose (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) is leading the team in rebounding at 6.0 RPG while Luke Potnick (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) (8.2 PPG) has provided a scoring boost off the bench for the Hawks.

The Panthers will lean heavily on freshman Nicholas Dixon (19.5 PPG) for scoring. Sophomore guards Kylan Anderson (14.0 PPG) and Jimmy Stamas (11.5 PPG) are also key pieces offensively for Morton.

Seven Hawks Net Postseason Honors

Kruczek, Cosentino, and Zelek all earned First Team All-Conference and All-Region Honors. (Jim Cummins)

PALATINE, Ill. – At last night's Harper College Fall Sports Banquet, seven Harper women's soccer players were recognized with postseason awards. Coach Dwayne Cruz's squad went 5-4 in 2013 and finished as the Region IV runner-up to DuPage.

Nicolette Kruczek (Wonder Lake, Ill./Woodstock North) was a First Team All-Conference and All-Region selection for the Hawks as well as Team MVP. Kruczek scored nine goals in just seven games, including a three-goal effort in the season opener against Milwaukee on Sept. 11. The forward also spent some time in goal when Cruz needed her.

Jessica Cosentino (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) and Jillian Zelek (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) also earned First Team All-Conference and All-Region honors. Cosentino scored three goals and had four assists on the year while Zelek tallied two goals and two assists in four games before a season-ending injury.

Stephanie Hurwitz (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Fremd), Sancha Ogden (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates), Lacey Richards (Hobart, Ind./Merrillville) and Vanessa Salazar (/Proviso West) all earned Second Team All-Conference and All-Region honors. Hurwitz scored eight goals in nine games, including an incredible five-goal performance in the Region IV Semifinals against Triton on Oct. 15. Ogden was the backbone of the Harper defense while Richards helped guide the offense as a midfielder. Salazar netted two goals and had an assist in nine games.

"This was a really good group to be around," Cruz said at the banquet. "We had to battle through a lot of injuries, but the girls fought hard no matter how many we had out there. This was a great group of freshman, and I'm looking forward to having them back next year."

Hurwitz, Richards, Ogden, and Salazar were all Second Team All-Conference and All-Region. (Jim Cummins)