Our professional staff of journalists reports on collegiate athletes. Why? Because as long as your favorite collegiate athletes are out strutting ther stuff, we believe you should know about it. Often, while these athletes are out pursuing athletic and academic excellence, their local newspapers may not have the resources to document those achievements.That doesn't stop us. We go the extra mile to contact the universities, coaches and athletes to bring you their stories. If you are interested in having your local college athletes appear on our website, please contact us via e-mail.

Marion County College Report

Salem Grad Oulrey Pops for a College Career High

Most freshmen have to wait before they have a break-out type game. Salem grad Amanda Oulrey, a Kaskaskia College freshman, had to wait less than 15 games for her personal break-out.

Oulrey, a 5-foot-6 guard, scored 25 points as KC thumped Olney Central 98-76. Oulrey hit over 50 percent fromboth the field and beyond the arc, as she drained 9-of-13 from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point range.

"We were very determined to win that night, no matter what it took," Oulrey said. "I had the hot hand and my teammates just fed me the ball. I would like to improve on consistency and would like to improve on my defense. I am the type of player that once I get on, I am on."

It was Oulrey's first game with more than 20 points at the collegiate level, though she was not the only area player to reach double figures in the contest. Centralia grad and fellow Kaskaskia freshman Courtney Herron scored 14 points, hitting 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe Herron also had seven rebounds and two assists.

Salem grad Caroline Smith, also a KC freshman, had two points and two assists against OCC to help Kaskaskia improve to 6-10.

"Amanda made some great decisions with the ball," KC coach Leslie Olajimbiti said. "She is a smart, unselfish player. If she is not hitting that night, she has no problem passing the ball. As a coach, I would love to see her get stronger during the next year. ...

Salem grad Ellen Young was named the Southern Indiana Female Athlete of the Month for December. After her first two games in January, she may be trying to earn the first such award for 2010 as well. USI dumped University of Illinois-Springfield (77-58) and Saint Joseph's College (84-67) in the first two games of the new year.

Young poured in 18 points in the triumph over SJC, hitting 7-of-13 field goals and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. Young also had eight rebounds, two assists and two steals over her 27 minutes. Against Illinois-Springfield, Young finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals. USI has now won 12 consecutive games, improving to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. ...

DePauw University's Kristin Barrow, a Centralia grad, had two points in her two minutes of play as DePauw blasted Oglethorpe University 84-51. DePauw is 11-3 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. ...

St. Louis College of Pharmacy was doubled up by Florissant Valley Community College 80-40. Former Salem player Courtney Wiedemer, a St. Louis College of Pharmacy freshman, had two points and three rebounds in the loss as her team fell to 2-12 on the season. …

Men's Basketball

Lincoln Land Community College's Carlton Westbrook and Devin Wells, both Centralia grads, were on fire against Spoon River College. Unfortunately, it did not lead to a victory for LLCC.

In the 63-61 loss, Wells had 21 points and six rebounds, hitting 7-of-14 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws. Westbrook scored 20 points, hitting 7-of-17 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws. He also had three rebounds and three steals.

Westbrook has been in double figures in each of his past two games, scoring 20 against Elgin Community College. Westbrook also had four steals in the 65-56 loss to ECC. Wells finished with eight points, six rebounds and two assists. LLCC is 5-11. ...

Former Centralia player Matt Shaw scored 18 points as his professional team, Illiabum Club, defeated Academica 74-62. Shaw, who drained 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, also had eight rebounds and three assists. He was also in double figures during a 72-70 loss to Casino Figueira Ginasio, hitting 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. The former Orphans star completed the double-double with 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Illiabum Clube is 2-5. ...

McKendree University won its first American Midwest Conference contest, beating William Woods University 89-61. Centralia resident Andy Wolff, a Metro-East Lutheran grad, had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists in the contest. Wolff hit 5-of-11 field goals and 3-of-6 free throws. In McKendree's 72-70 triumph over Ohio Dominican University, Wolff finished with five points, two rebounds and two assists. McKendree is 12-5 overall and 1-0 in the AMC. They are ranked 14th in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics poll. ...

Lindenwood University won the Tabor College Classic, beating Tabor (68-43) and Sterling College (75-61). Former Centralia High player Joey Parker, a Lindenwood senior, had 12 points by nailing 4-of-9 field goals and 3-of-6 free throws against Tabor. Parker, who also had five rebounds and two assists, had one trey. Parker finished with nine points, a team-leading seven assists and five rebounds against Sterling. Lindenwood is 10-3. ...

John Fischer, a Salem graduate and Greenville College senior, helped the Panthers defeat Dominican University (100-88) and Principia College (103-74). Fischer tallied nine points, two rebounds and two assists in the win over Dominican. He had two points and three rebounds in the Principia contest. Greenville is 4-7 overall and 1-2 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. ...

Swimming

Illinois State University opened the new year by touring in Florida, competing in the Florida International Invitational. Irvington resident Lindsay Dinkelman, an Illinois State senior, was a member of the 400-yard medley relay. The Redbirds took fourth with a 4:07.24. Most events were not listed with individual names in the meet report. Illinois State finished second with 113 points. Eastern Michigan University finished first with 128 points. ...