Caitlin Winkelman is unique.

It’s not the hectic schedule or wanting to vacation in Tahiti.

It’s that she has been good in three sports for all four years of high school.

Her excellence at the last sport of the school year helped make the St. Charles North senior the 2008 Republican Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

“Obviously she has natural athleticism but maybe the bigger thing is that she also has a calm, composed attitude on the field,” said North Stars coach Ruth Vostal. “She doesn’t seem thrown by anything.”

Actually, there is one thing.

“It’s pretty shocking it’s all over,” Winkelman said. “It finally hit me, right at the whistle, after our last game (supersectional loss to Waubonsie Valley). It’s a huge change of pace now.”

Change of pace was one of the many things Winkelman was good at. As the center midfielder for the past two years, she was charged with deciding where to funnel the ball to best aid her team’s attack.

She was impressive in being part of that herself, tallying 11 goals and 10 assists despite missing the first five games with a leg injury.

“This year she was not scoring a ton of goals but she also didn’t have to carry the team,” Vostal said. “I think she had one of her best years ever.”

The injury was one of the few hiccups Winkelman had this year. She was a starting libero on the volleyball team that lost to crosstown-rival St. Charles East in the sectional semifinals.

She was also a starting forward on the basketball team that advanced to the supersectionals as well.

Winkelman says playing sports year round has helped her with time management and that will help her at Augustana.

When she starts in the fall, it might seem actually a bit slower paced since she will be focusing solely on soccer and her studies. She’s considering a major in biology with a career in the healthcare field.

“I just would like to have a job where I work with and help people every day,” Winkelman said.

A lot of people helped her as she moved from sport to sport. As the school’s only graduating female athlete to have been in three sports for all four years, Winkelman is disappointed more high schoolers choose not to go her route.

“I’ve always thought variety is the best way to go — kids get burnt out when they specialize in one sport,” Winkelman said. “It got pretty hectic and stressful. But I feel it’s a big accomplishment.”

Vostal feels that Winkelman is destined for more in college. Having played collegiate soccer herself, Vostal knows the difficulties inherent in the move.

“I think she’ll do great, given her athleticism and coming from a program playing at a high level,” Vostal said. “Her biggest adjustment will be the expectations of the new coach and new style of play.

“She was a team captain but not an extremely vocal one — she leads by hard work,” Vostal added. “Some of the younger players see that and see the expectations she puts on herself and want to live up to that example.”

Meet the 2008 all-area girls soccer team:

Ellen Bartindale
St. Charles East
Senior
POSITION Forward
STATS 14 goals, 6 assists
ACHIEVEMENTS A four-year varsity player, Bartindale leaves St. Charles East with 24 career goals and a long list of accomplishments, both on and off the field. An all-area honorable mention pick last year who had played strictly defender and midfielder the previous three years, the senior was moved up to the front line because the Saints struggled to score. A recruited walk-on for Notre Dame, she proceeded to lead the team in scoring and earn all-Upstate Eight Conference, all-sectional and all-state honors while also being named team MVP.

Leah DeMoss
St. Charles North
Sophomore
POSITION Forward
STATS 12 goals, 10 assists
ACHIEVEMENTS An honorable-mention all-area pick in 2007, the aggressive DeMoss took her game up another notch, earning all-Upstate Eight Conference and all-sectional honors and was named to the all-tournament team at the prestigious Pepsi Showdown.
A dangerous 1-on-1 player — even when double-teamed — because of tremendous speed and quickness, she was also adept at creating scoring opportunities for teammates.

Paige Dusek
St. Charles North
Sophomore
POSITION Forward/midfielder
STATS 15 goals, 11 assists
ACHIEVEMENTS The all-Upstate Eight Conference and all-sectional Dusek went from a pass-first mentality (one goal, nine assists as an outside midfielder in 2007) to a quick and dangerous player in the offensive third of the field who led the North Stars in scoring.
The physical sophomore could also be counted upon in big-time situations, scoring the capping goal in the regional final win over Glenbard West and registering either goals or assists in UEC wins over Lake Park, Neuqua Valley and St. Charles East.

Elise Farrelly
Geneva
Senior
POSITION Defender
STATS 5 goals, 3 assists
ACHIEVEMENTS This year, Geneva was a team that prided itself on airtight, physical defense. And perhaps no Viking better exemplified that key to success than Farrelly, who earned all-Western Sun Conference and all-sectional honors for her consistent play amidst daily punishment.
The four-year starter’s ability to add weight to her team’s attack, as well as thwarting that of the opponent’s, helped earn Farrelly a full-ride scholarship to Eastern Illinois University.

Emily Hinchman
Geneva
Junior
POSITION Midfielder
STATS 4 goals, 3 assists
ACHIEVEMENTS The athletic and multi-talented Hinchman was not necessarily the biggest player on the field. Yet the slender 5-foot-7 Viking, who played at outside defender last year, showed the grit to battle through a broken nose (suffered late in the basketball season) and leg injury and be one of the area’s most dynamic midfielders.
Strong in the attacking third, Hinchman had one of the goals in Geneva’s 3-1 regional semifinal win over Oswego East and had the assist on the game-winning goal in a 2-1 early season win over St. Charles East.

Ashley Miller
St. Charles East
Senior
POSITION Defender
STATS 9 shutouts
ACHIEVEMENTS Miller’s contributions may not shine on the casual fan’s stat sheet. But the four-year starter was the lynchpin of a Saints’ defense that did not allow more than two goals in a game all season.
Heading to Miami (Ohio) in the fall, Miller leaves St. Charles East as team MVP (voted on by teammates) and was recognized by area coaches as both an all-Upstate Eight Conference and all-sectional selection.

Brianna Santacaterina
Geneva
Senior
POSITION Midfielder/defender
STATS 4 goals, 5 assists
ACHIEVEMENTS Head coach Ryan Estabrook was happy to see the DePaul-bound Santacaterina return to the Vikings’ lineup.
After playing club soccer the previous two springs, Santacaterina proved herself steady at center midfielder and was always ready to score. She scored the only goal in Geneva’s 1-0 win over Benet in the regional finals.
A member of a very talented family (older sister, Jackie, plays soccer at Illinois), Santacaterina was also a big reason why Geneva earned a share of the Western Sun Conference title.

Vicki Traven
St. Charles North
Senior
POSITION Goalkeeper
STATS 15 shutouts, seven goals allowed
ACHIEVEMENTS Listed at 5-foot-7, the University of Toledo-bound Traven played like she was 7-5 in the supersectional against Waubonsie Valley, collecting 15 saves — most of which were of the ‘are-you-kidding-me?’ variety.
An all-Upstate Eight Conference pick and two-time all-sectional honorable mention selection, Traven was equally adept at making both the routine and spectacular saves. An extremely competitive player and leader, she was also a member of the seven-time state-champion Chicago Magic.

Mary Wandolowski
Batavia
Senior
POSITION Forward
STATS 6 goals
ACHIEVEMENTS An offensive machine her freshman year with 21 goals, she missed her sophomore season with an ACL tear, then came back last year to put up 13 goals and 12 assists.
Though offensive output dipped this season, the two-time all-sectional pick earned the notice of area coaches. Also a three-time all-conference selection, she was the unanimous choice for Western Sun Conference Player of the Year. She also earned Division I interest and will take her game to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Caitlin Winkelman
St. Charles North
Senior
POSITION Center midfielder
STATS 11 goals, 10 assists
ACHIEVEMENTS This year’s Republican Player of the Year, Winkelman missed her team’s first five games with a quad injury yet finished with another season double-double and ends her career with 47 goals and 20 assists. The list of accolades includes two-time all-Upstate Eight Conference pick, team captain, and all-sectional and all-state honorable mention recognition. She was the school’s only four-year, three-sport female athlete this year and will play soccer at Augustana.

HONORABLE MENTION
BATAVIA Haleigh Erwin, Kailey Gear
GENEVA Alex Waldie
ST. CHARLES EAST Liz Drennan, Maggie Hoscheit, Jaime Rust, Zoie Samaan
ST. CHARLES NORTH Annette Gwozdz, Lauren Ostarello