HIGH 5 OF THE WEEK: Heron filling up stat sheet for Tigers

The sophomore and former Sacred Heart superstar has led the Tigers in scoring in the past two games. Heron went for 22 points and three steals in an 89-78 win over Hofstra on Nov. 19. On Nov. 24, he tallied 31 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in a 119-85 victory over Winthrop. 

“I think tonight started with me rebounding the ball hard and crashing the boards,” Heron said in the postgame interview. “I have to keep that up.”

Heron led the team in assists with five in a season-opening 102-74 win over Norfolk State on Nov. 10.

Auburn is 4-1 heading into a non-conference game at Dayton tonight.

DeFillippi (Mount Ida athletics)

Joey DeFillippi, Mount Ida College basketball

The senior and former Bristol Central standout is the leading scorer for the Mustangs through the first four games of the season.

DeFillippi is averaging 16.5 points per game, and he was nearly perfect in an 81-71 win at Lesley on Monday. He scored 16 points and shot 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point land. DeFillippi was also 3-of-4 at the foul line.
Before that, DeFillippi scored a season-high 21 points in a 64-54 loss at Salve Regina on Nov. 21. He had a season-high five 3-pointers and finished with a total of eight field goals. DeFillippi was named to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for his effort in that game.
DeFillippi scored 17 points in the season opener against Sage, then scored 13 points against Wheaton (Mass.). DeFillippi has hit 14 3-pointers in the first four games. Mount Ida hosts Wheelock on Thursday.

Maddie Sturm, Rochester Polytechnic Institute cross country

Sturm (RPI athletics)

The junior and former multi-sport St. Paul athlete earned an all-league honor with the Engineers.
Sturm ran her way to All-Liberty League Second Team accolades with a time of 23:43.4 in the championship race. She ran to a 14th place finish as RPI took third place as a team. Sturm earned All-Region honors by finishing in the Top 6 when the Engineers were also third as a team in the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Championships meet.
Sturm and RPI earned a trip to the 2017 NCAA Championship Meet, held in Elsah, Ill. The Engineers took 10th as a team, and Sturm scored points for her team by running a 22:31.50. It was the third NCAA appearance for RPI in the past three seasons.

Sturm now heads over to the indoor track and field season.

Lemek (USJ athletics)

Hannah Lemek, University of Saint Joseph volleyball
The senior from Bristol Central had a solid effort in a 3-0 Senior Night win against Pine Manor on Oct. 26. 
Lemek tallied a team-high nine kills, two digs, one block and one ace. Her one block was a big one, as it set up set point in the second set. University of Saint Joseph won the set 25-16 to take a 2-0 lead. 
In the third set, Lemek helped the Blue Jays build a 22-12 lead with her ninth and final kill of the match. USJ went on to win the set 25-12 and the match 3-0.
Lemek played in all 25 matches in her senior season and missed just three sets out of 88. She finished first in blocks with 27 and second in kills with 143.

Elizabeth Sears, University of Saint Joseph swimming and diving

Sears (USJ athletics)

Sears, who competed for Bristol Central, has gone off the diving board for the first time in her Blue Jay career.
The USJ junior made her collegiate diving debut on Oct. 21 in a home meet against Rhode Island College. Sears made six dives, and she also competed in two swimming events. She finished second in both of the swimming events she took part in.
Sears took to the board for the second time in her collegiate career during the Louise Goodrum Invitational on Nov. 4 at UMass-Dartmouth. She finished in the Top 5 on both the one and three-meter diving boards.
Sears tallied a career-high 115.50 points to finish fourth in one-meter diving. She competed in three-meter diving for the first time this season and placed third in three-meter diving with a total of 107.09 points.

Statistics and information compiled from the team website of each athlete.