Jessica Wiehrdt
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- Year:
- 1998
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- Hometown:
- Naperville, Illinois
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- High School:
- Naperville Central
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- Team:
- Soccer
Jessica Wiehrdt grew up in Naperville, Illinois, and attended Naperville Central High School. She earned varsity letters in soccer and basketball and was named all-conference in both sports her junior and senior years. The soccer team was the state’s runner-up and Wiehrdt was named to the all-tournament team her senior season. The National Honor Society member was also Naperville Central’s Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.
Wiehrdt entered Lake Forest College in the fall of 1994 and
began one of the most successful soccer careers in team history
that fall. The Foresters made the first of four consecutive Midwest
Conference championship game appearances her freshman year and
completed the first of back-to-back 10-0 seasons in conference play
the following season. She recorded 23 points and was named All-MWC
and Academic All-MWC as a sophomore, a feat she would repeat each
of the next two years. The player her teammates called
“Wierdo” tallied 21 and 43 points, respectively, while
serving as captain during her junior and senior seasons. After
moving from defense to forward as a senior, she matched one school
record with 19 goals on the season and established another with
five scores in one game. Wiehrdt graduated ranked second in team
history with 91 career points and third with 35 goals and 21
assists. Lake Forest posted a 47-21-2 overall record with victories
in 35 of 39 MWC contests during her four seasons. In addition to
her exploits on the soccer field, Wiehrdt helped the Forester
basketball team post a 68-22 record during her four-year career and
averaged 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds during her final two seasons.
Her list of awards in basketball included three Academic All-MWC
accolades as well as all-conference and team MVP honors as a
senior. In addition, she was chosen by the Forester coaches as the
recipient of the prestigious Nicholas J. Wasylik Senior Athletic
Award.
While at Lake Forest Wiehrdt was also a member of Gamma Phi,
awarded membership to Beta Beta Beta Biology Honorary Society, and
selected to the Senior 25 (awarded to the 25 seniors who best
represent Lake Forest College). She majored in biology and
graduated cum laude in 1998.
Wiehrdt earned her doctorate degree from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2002 and has worked for various animal practices in the St. Louis area.