The Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) list of the Dick Durrant Academic Athlete of the Year award winners for 2023-2024 included two Waubonsee Community College student-athletes. Chiefs' soccer player Danny Avila and baseball player Allen Mateo were among the winners of this prestigious award this year. The award is given annually to the male and female student-athletes in the ISCC who attain the highest grade-point-average (GPA) after completing four semesters of college work. In addition, Avila and Mateo, along with women's soccer and basketball player Ashleigh Wackerlin, were all recognized by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) as Academic All-Americans.
A Business major, Avila excelled both in the classroom and on the field for the Chiefs' soccer team. The Oswego High School product earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point-average with over 48 credit hours of college-level courses. Subsequently, Avila was named NJCAA First Team All-Academic. On the soccer pitch Avila led the Chiefs in goals and points on the way to being chosen the ISCC Men's Soccer Player of the Year, All-Region 4 Second Team, the Division II Player of the Week for the third week of September, and Waubonsee's Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year.
Mateo, a sophomore from South Cobb High School in Austell, Georgia was a member of Waubonsee's baseball team. A right-handed pitcher and infielder, he also compiled a perfect 4.0 grade-point-average for the year and was named NJCAA First Team All-Academic. Mateo is a Sports Management major and will be continuing his academic and playing career at Concordia University – Chicago in the near west suburb of River Forest.
A Hinckley-Big Rock High School graduate, Wackerlin compiled a 3.84 grade-point-average to earn NJCAA Second Team All-Academic honors, while also playing two sports. She received All-ISCC First Team recognition on the soccer pitch, booking 10 goals and five assists on the season. A 5'11" center, she averaged 9.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the basketball court. Wackerlin was Waubonsee's female nominee for the Dick Durrant Award, and was the Chiefs' Vermillion and Gold Award winner for the 2023-2024 school year. Wackerlin is heading to Tiffin (OH) University to continue her collegiate career playing soccer for the Dragons.
The tandem of Avila and Mateo brings the Chiefs' total to 36 student-athletes who have earned this honor since the inception of the award in 1979. The award is named after Mr. Dick Durrant, who was an outstanding teacher, coach and athletic director at Elgin Community College from 1961 through 1985. Durrant championed the philosophy of academic as well as athletic excellence while at Elgin. Coach Durrant was known for his concern for students, his sense of fair play and his attitude of education before athletics.
