MK_061319

34 | June 13, 2019 | the mokena messenger sports
mokenamessenger.com
Volleyball
Mokena’s Polka shines on court and in classroom
JOE BIELANSKI, EDITORIAL INTERN
People often use the term student
athlete. For many, being
both a student and an athlete
can be a difficult thing to balance.
This is not the case for Mokena
resident Jessica Polka.
She has graduated from Lincoln
Way West and looks to continue
her winning ways this fall.
While at West, Polka played
middle hitter for the Warriors
volleyball team. Throughout
her time at West, Polka did
more than play volleyball. She
worked with Best Buddies and
was also an adaptive PE leader.
She worked with special needs
students and tried to give them
the best high school experience
possible.
Additionally, while looking
to make her community a better
place, she also excelled on
the court, with the Warriors
and with UNO Volleyball Club.
Because of her strong play, she
had the opportunity to compete
at the next level and she has
committed to play volleyball at
Benedictine University.
Polka is grateful for all her
experiences at Lincoln Way
West.
“During my freshman year,
everyone had been saying to get
involved at school,” Polka said.
“So, once I knew that from the
start, I was really excited to try
new things and get involved
with clubs and sports. I did volleyball
there and I also did Best
Buddies senior year. I was also
an adaptive PE leader, it’s a PE
class for special needs students.
“We work with them every
day; those experiences definitely
made my high school experience
exciting every day. I just
loved seeing those kids and the
impact we were able to have.”
She is also grateful for the
lessons that coach Matt Lawrence
was able to pass on while
playing volleyball.
“I think coach Lawrence
taught me that wherever you
are whether that be on a team or
in life, if you keep working towards
what you want, you will
eventually get there,” Polka
said. “I think volleyball in general
has taught me that as well
as coach Lawrence.”
Polka didn’t stop with getting
accepted into Benedictine with
a spot on the volleyball team.
She was also accepted into the
Scholars Program; this is an
elite group of students in which
only fifteen are accepted each
year. The Scholars program
looks to enhance the traditional
Lincoln-Way West’s Jess Polka
(right), of Mokena, signs to
continue her volleyball career
at Benedictine University
while UNO Volleyball director
Terri Baranski looks on. Photo
submitted
college rigor of its students.
Students in the Scholars Program
need to go through an application
process. This consists
of writing two essays and doing
a 30-minute interview with the
director of the Scholars program.
Before the student gets this
opportunity, these are some of
the basic requirements to apply
for the program: a cumulative
high school GPA of 3.75 or
higher on a 4.0 scale, a rank in
the top twenty percent of the applicants’
high school class, and
a minimum composite score of
27 on the ACT or 1,280 on the
SAT.
Polka met all of these requirements
during her time at West.
She explained what sets apart
Benedictine’s Scholar program
from other universities.
“As a freshman, I’ll have
to take additional courses,”
she said. “Then, I’ll have the
scholars’ program. It’s a lot
of additional courses that normal
college classes wouldn’t
be a part of. There are courses
about your career after college,
and additional ethics courses as
well.
“You have to be proficient
in another language. I had to
interview for the program, it
was kind of a scary experience.
I honestly didn’t think I’d get
into the program, the director
told me that she only admits a
small amount of people. When
I found out I had gotten into
it, I was really excited, and it
helped me decide that Benedictine
was the place for me.”
The program focuses on academics,
leadership, and service
in a global context. It looks to
help give students the opportunities
and experiences to make
them an exceptional member of
society moving forward. Polka
is grateful for the opportunity
to be a part of something special.
“Part of the program is doing
community service and faith
studies,” Polka said. “At a lot
of schools, those are things that
you don’t have to worry about.
After Benedictine, since I’ll be
having all of those community
service hours and staying committed
to faith, which is important
to me, I think it will help
me and I’ll be better off in my
career for it.”
While at Benedictine, Jessica
looks to study business management
and continue the endeavor
of being both a student
and an athlete. She’s used to
doing this and doesn’t look to
slow down anytime soon.
“I’ve always been involved
with things,” Polka said.
“When I was little, I did cheer
and dance. Then, I started volleyball
in sixth grade. Since
I’ve always been involved with
something, I’ve adapted to having
to balance responsibilities
within my life. It’s sort of ingrained
in me.”
Conference titles, rivalry wins highlight LW Central success
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
Lincoln-Way Central won 27
SouthWest Suburban conference
championships over the course
of the 2018-2019 school year, a
new school record according to
athletic director Matt Lyke.
“We have great kids,” Lyke
said. “Our student athletes are
extremely proud to wear the red
and black. They do their very
best to represent our school and
community.”
Highlights during the year
included the Knights’ girls golf
team finishing third in Class 2A,
led by runner-up Brianne Bolden
and seventh-place finisher Grace
Curran. Curran’s brother, Sean,
finished second in Class 3A in
boys golf.
The girls water polo team also
reached state and won a sectional
title.
Lincoln-Way co-op’s girls
gymnastics, boys lacrosse and
girls lacrosse teams - featuring
athletes from Central, as well as
LW East and LW West - all won
sectional titles, also.
“The leadership of our senior
class was outstanding,” Lyke
said. “I truly believe that success
will follow in their footsteps.”
The Knights also had tremendous
success against their neighborhood
rivals.
According to Lyke, Central
finished 12-8 against Lincoln-
Way East, 20-8 against Lincoln-
Way West and 6-0 against Providence
in head-to-head, regular
season competition.
Beating rivals always has extra
meaning.
“Any time we can beat another
Lincoln-Way, it’s a lot
of fun,” said senior soccer star
Nicolette Gossage after her
team’s regular-season win over
LW East.
The Knights’ soccer team also
beat East in the playoffs. Both
victories were especially big for
Gossage, who started her career
as a freshman at East before
moving to Central after the closing
of LW North.
“I’ll never talk bad about my
time there, but anytime I play
against them I want to come
out strong,” she said. “It’s always
a big game for all of
us.”