Two elite softball players in Sunflower League have unique motivational bond

Olathe Northwest High School catcher Reagan Hathaway doesn’t have to look far to generate a little competitive drive.

She doesn’t even have to look outside the Sunflower League.

Hathaway has found it in former teammate and fellow National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Maddie McCracken of Olathe North. The two softball playes are members of the first- and second-team, respectively.

Hathaway said that McCracken was the catcher on her first competitive team and that she has used the years since to model her game after McCracken.

“I feel like it’s kind of a silent competition between us when we’re playing,” Hathaway said. “I’ve always tried to keep up with her and be as good as she is, so it has worked in both of our favors because we have played to the best of our abilities when we compete.”

Hathaway was selected the Sunflower League player of the year and set a Kansas state record with 18 home runs during the season just completed. A University of Texas signee, Hathaway batted .640 with 61 RBIs and earned The Star’s All-Metro Kansas softball player of the year title for the second straight season.

McCracken, meanwhile, batted .578 with 34 RBIs for the Eagles. McCracken has signed to play collegiately at Notre Dame and also was tabbed as a second-team MaxPreps All-American.

Olathe East graduate leads Augustana to NCAA tournament

Although she was just a freshman, Olathe East High School graduate Mollie Magee helped Augustana College earn its first NCAA tournament team berth in program history during the spring.

She avenged a three-set loss from September to defeat Wheaton’s Lauren Schlabach at No. 3 singles for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin’s Automatic Qualifier.

Augustana, located in Rock Island, Ill., finished the season with a record-high 24 victories and nine losses. The former season victory mark was 20 and was set during the 2010-11 season. Magee set a school record for victories with a season record of 30-12.

St. Thomas Aquinas golfer wins elite award at Seton Hall

St. Thomas Aquinas graduate Ali Kruse received Seton Hall’s Most Valuable Pirate award earlier this spring for her accomplishments with the women’s golf team and her achievements in the classroom and community.

On the golf course, Kruse led the Pirates to back-to-back conference championships. She is the program’s career leader with 17 top-10 finishes and nine top-five finishes. She also has the lowest scoring average at 77.34. She had a 76.16 average during 11 tournaments as a senior.

In the classroom, Kruse posted a 3.95 grade-point average in Seton Hall’s School of Business and was an inaugural member of the Women’s Leadership Program.

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Two elite softball players in Sunflower League have unique motivational bond."