Gidcumb earns a 'Rudy Award' at Olivet Nazarene

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One might say Caitlin Gidcumb earned a “Rudy Award” for her freshmen season of college softball competition at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais.

The Tigers (40-19) were Chicagoland College Athletic Conference Champs and runner-up in the National Christian College Athletic Association national tournament, and Gidcumb was a big part of it.

The former St. Bede Lady Bruin from Spring Valley batted third in the lineup and ended with a .353 batting average. She led the team in slugging percentage (.565) and RBIs (68). She also had 65 hits, 16 doubles and seven home runs, all second highs on the team.

With those numbers came many postseason accolades. She was voted first-team All-Conference and Freshman of the Year in the CCAC Conference. Perhaps the most intriguing note about that award was she beat out another freshman at St. Xavier University named Rebekah Ruettiger. Her father, Daniel “Rudy” Ruediger’s life was portrayed in the movie Rudy.

Gidcumb was also selected first-team All-Region for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Midwest Region VII which includes the NAIA Division I schools in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. In the other athletic association of which ONU belongs, the smaller 121 team NCCAA, she also received All-Region 1st team honors along with 1st Team All-American honors.

Among other memories are having the first two home runs of her college career to be grand slams and hitting a tie-breaking homer in the top of the seventh inning of the conference tournament championship game.

Gidcumb’s sister, Lauren, previously played for Olivet.

Track

University of Illinois senior Jason Bill of Buda will be competing in the 5000 meter run in the 2007 Mideast Regional Championships in Columbia, Mo., this weekend, hosted by the University of Missouri. Bill and 12 Fighting Illini teammates will be looking to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Sacra-mento, Calif. on June 6-9. Bill is seeded 19th.

• Augustana College sophomore Laura Luloff of Princeton placed fifth in the 800 with a time of 2:36.74 in the Augustana Twilight Open on May 18 in the Lady Vikings final regular season meet.

Her Princeton classmate, Alex Hartz, finished third for the Augie men in the long jump at 20-5 in the May 11 Augie Open.

• Two area products helped the North Central College Cardinals capture the CCIW Championship on May 7. Former St. Bede Bruin Andrew Foote was third in the discus and sixth in the discus while Princeton’s Jordan Inskeep ran fourth in the 110 hurdles (15.86).

Golf

Former Hall standout Carrie Riordan of Spring Valley was the top golfer for Eastern Illinois in the April 18 Ohio Valley Conference Championship at Drakes Creek Golf Course in Paducah, Ky. She was fifth overall with a 235. She was second on the team with a 82.3 average for 22 rounds.