Clarke College finished second in this year’s Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference All-Sports Trophy race. Clarke won conference titles in four sports and finished second in two others. Clarke athletic director Curt Long says they like to have balance throughout the program and the all-sports award shows that balance. The school finished behind Benedictine of Illinois. He says they were out of first place by only two points, he says the first goal is to be competitive in the league, so they’re right on pace.Among the highlights was the Clarke softball team winning the conference crown and advancing to the N-C-A-A regionals for the first time. It was the school’s first NCAA bid. The Crusaders also won conference titles in men’s golf, women’s cross country and women’s tennis.
