General 11/21/2023 6:00:00 PM John Majerus

2023 Fall Season Recap

Palatine, IL: With the fall season ending, it's time to highlight the phenomenal season the Hawks had in 2023. Four out of five teams were able to make it to the NJCAA National Championships. The cross country teams both won national championships, the men's soccer team finished 8th in the nation, the women's volleyball team finished 9th, and the women's soccer team finished as the Region IV runner-up.

XC NJCAA National Championship Team 2023

The cross country teams traveled to Huntsville, Alabama, to compete at the NJCAA DIII National Championship that was held at John Hunt Park. The DI and DII meets were held at the same location on the same day. The men were able to capture their first title since 2018 when they won eight straight in a row. The team had four All-Americans and placed five runners in the top 20. Albert Szewczyk finished the season ranked 7th on the Men's Cross Country 8k top times list. The women defended their national title from 2022 with two All-Americans and Lilly Alberts won the individual title, the second time a Harper woman has. They now have five titles with their 2016-2018 titles. Alberts also set the Women's Cross Country 5k and 6k school records, set the Heartland Invite course record, and the NJCAA DIII National Championship 5k record.

Men's Soccer NJCAA National Championship 2023

The men's soccer team traveled to Gastonia, North Carolina. They unfortunately were matched up with juggernaut and five time consecutive champion Dallas College - Richland. Richland went on to win its sixth national championship in a row. In the seventh place game, Harper lost in PKs to Camden County. The team won the NJCAA DIII Men's Soccer Championship Tournament Sportsmanship award as well. This was Coach Vlad Gacanovic's first season as the head coach.

Volleyball NJCAA National Championship 2023

The volleyball team traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Hawks were seeded eighth, and faced Delta College in the first round, who was seeded ninth and finished #3 in the final NJCAA rankings. After losing a close match to them, the Hawks won three matches in a row vs #16 Dutchess, #5 Fulton-Montgomery, and #7 Caldwell Tech to finish ninth overall. Taylor Knuth broke the Harper Hawks season kills record – 723 Kills (broke Alex Mason's 2009 record). She also led the NJCAA DIII National Championship tournament in kills. Eden Suh broke the Harper Hawks season assists record – 1590 Assists (broke Coach Emily Huprich's record set in 2017). Region IV and Great lakes District Coach of the Year Coach Bob Vilsoet was also inducted into the NJCAA DIII Hall of Fame.

The women's soccer season ended a little earlier than the rest of the Hawks. They finished the season 3-5-2 and lost in the NJCAA DIII Region IV Championship to Joliet.

The five teams earned plenty of individual hardware. Between both the men and the women, the Hawks had 17 NJCAA DIII Region IV All-Region athletes, 4 NJCAA DIII Region IV Athletes of the Year, and 11 NJCAA DIII All-Americans. A complete list of the awards earned are below.

Harper Women's Awards
NJCAA Offensive Player of the Week
Taylor Knuth - Middle Hitter - Volleyball

NJCAA DIII Runner Player of the Week
Lilly Alberts - Cross Country - 2x

AVCA/Gamechanger Two-Year Player of the Week
Taylor Knuth - Middle Hitter - Volleyball

USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week
Lilly Alberts - Cross Country - 4x

NJCAA DIII Region IV All-Region
Lilly Alberts - Cross Country - Regional Champion
Ava Belluomini - Outside Hitter - Volleyball
Kaili Decker - Cross Country
Meghan Ewanio - Goalkeeper - Soccer
Norah Hagler - Forward - Soccer
Taylor Knuth - Middle Hitter - Volleyball
Arisbel Magdaleno - Defender - Soccer
Samantha Sander - Midfielder - Soccer
Alexandra Saucedo - Midfielder - Soccer
Eden Suh - Setter - Volleyball
Claudia Wojciechowski - Cross Country

NJCAA DIII Region IV Player of the Year
Lilly Alberts - Cross Country
Taylor Knuth - Middle Hitter - Volleyball

NJCAA DIII Region IV All-Region Tournament Team
Taylor Knuth - Middle Hitter - Volleyball
Abby Major - Defensive Specialist - Volleyball
Eden Suh - Setter - Volleyball

USTFCCCA Central Region Athlete of the Year
Lilly Alberts - Cross Country

NJCAA DIII National All-National Tournament team
Taylor Knuth - Middle Hitter - Volleyball

NJCAA DIII All-American
Lilly Alberts - Cross Country - National Champion
Kaili Decker - Cross Country
Meghan Ewanio - Goalkeeper - Soccer *nominee
Norah Hagler - Forward - Soccer *nominee
Taylor Knuth - Middle Hitter - Volleyball *nominee
Eden Suh - Setter - Volleyball *nominee

USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year
Lilly Alberts - Cross Country

NJCAA DIII Region IV Coach of the Year
Bob Vilsoet - Volleyball
Jim Macnider - Cross Country

NJCAA DIII Midwest District Coach of the Year
Bob Vilsoet - Volleyball

USTFCCCA Central Region Coach of the Year
Jim Macnider - Cross Country

USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year
Jim Macnider - Cross Country

Team MVP
Lilly Alberts - Cross Country
Taylor Knuth - Middle Hitter - Volleyball
Samantha Sander - Midfielder - Soccer

Harper Men's Awards
NJCAA DIII Runner Player of the Week
Albert Szewczyk - Cross Country
Konrad Jakubowski - Cross Country

USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week
Albert Szewczyk - Cross Country

NJCAA DIII Region IV All-Region
Marcos Jaimes - Cross Country
Arian Dizdarevic - Forward - Soccer
Francisco Hernandez - Midfielder - Soccer
Ramon Orozco - Goalkeeper - Soccer
Ricardo Orozco - Defender - Soccer
Owen Whelan - Cross Country

NJCAA DIII Region IV Tournament MVP
Ramon Orozco - Goalkeeper - Soccer

NJCAA DIII National All-Tournament Team
Ramon Orozco - Goalkeeper - Soccer

NJCAA DIII All-American
Jose Morales - Cross Country
Marcos Jaimes - Cross Country
Albert Szewczyk - Cross Country
Owen Whelan - Cross Country

NJCAA DIII Region IV Coach of the Year
Vlad Gacanovic - Soccer
Jim Macnider - Cross Country

NJCAA DIII Midwest District Coach of the Year
Vlad Gacanovic - Soccer

USTFCCCA Central Region Coach of the Year
Jim Macnider - Cross Country

USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year
Jim Macnider - Cross Country

Team MVP
Jose Morales - Cross Country
Ramon Orozco - Goalkeeper - Soccer

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