воскресенье, 30 сентября 2012 г.

U.VA. FOOTBALL REPORT.(SPORTS) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

Byline: ED MILLER

Last year's top recruit eligible, will practice with team in spring

Spring football practice just became much more interesting at the University of Virginia.

Ahmad Brooks, the team's top recruit a year ago, has been accepted for admission and will participate in spring drills.

'Ahmad is very excited,' said Robert Prunty, Brooks' coach at Hargrave Military Academy. 'He's ready to get up there with his U.Va. teammates.'

Brooks, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker from Woodbridge, was the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year last season. He signed with Virginia last February but failed to qualify academically. He enrolled at Hargrave, where he raised his standardized test score enough to qualify under NCAA guidelines.

Brooks is expected to play inside linebacker in Virginia's 3-4 scheme.

'He ran a 4.4 the other day at the combine,' Prunty said. 'I think he's a clone of Lavar Arrington.'

Brooks could be joined on the inside by Kai Parham, who has begun practicing recently after missing most of the season with a back injury.

Parham, a freshman from Princess Anne High, was a Parade All-American last season. He redshirted this year and, like Brooks, will have four years of eligibility remaining.

Players get holiday break through this weekend

After practicing five times in four days, Virginia broke for the holidays Tuesday night. The Cavaliers will reconvene Saturday to continue preparations for the Continental Tire Bowl Dec. 28 in Charlotte.

The NCAA allows teams wide latitude in preparing for bowl games. Virginia coach Al Groh said it is 'one of the few times the NCAA allows common sense to rule.'

Some coaches abuse the privilege, using bowl practice as a mini-spring practice. Groh said he heard of one school that is practicing 17 times before its bowl.

Groh said the Cavaliers will practice no more than necessary to get ready for West Virginia.

'We're trying to structure it so we can get prepared for the opponent,' he said.

Two Charlotte natives sidelined for bowl game

In a cruel twist, U.Va.'s two best players from Charlotte - tailback Alvin Pearman and defensive end Chris Canty - won't be available to play.

Pearman suffered a season-ending knee injury against Georgia Tech. Canty is out with an elbow injury. Stan Norfleet, a linebacker who plays strictly on special teams, is the only other Cavalier from Charlotte.

Canty will be replaced by freshman Kwakou Robinson, who has missed the last three games with an illness. Justin Walker also will play defensive end.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Groh said guard Elton Brown should resume practicing when the team arrives in Charlotte on Saturday. Brown has been playing with a stress fracture in his foot.

'By the time we get to Charlotte, this'll give him three weeks to be feeling a little bit better,' Groh said.

Cavs land highly rated offensive lineman

After visiting Virginia four times in the past year, coveted offensive lineman Ian-Yates Cunningham announced Wednesday that he will sign a letter of intent with U.Va.

Cunningham, a 6-6, 300-pound offensive tackle from Plano, Texas, picked the Cavaliers over the other two schools he had visited, Georgia Tech and Nebraska.

Cunningham was born in North Carolina and his grandparents, Rudy and Becky Cunningham, live in his father's hometown of Petersburg. His second cousin is legendary tennis star Arthur Ashe.

Cunningham, rated the No. 6 offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep before the season, said he based his decision on the relationship he had built with the U.Va. coaches and players and on academics. He has a 3.2 grade-point average and 1,000 on the SAT.

- ED MILLER

CAPTION(S):

Photo

суббота, 29 сентября 2012 г.

A quick take on sports of note for Joliet-area fans - The Herald News - Joliet (IL)

Must See High school softballThe weather is supposed to be perfect, making for a heavy schedule on all fronts.

Girls soccer is in the spotlight as Lincoln-Way East visits Lincoln-Way Central in a battle between former teammates -- Lincoln-Way having been a combined program last season.

theshow

Former Joliet Catholic Academy left-hander Chris Michalak is back where he belongs -- in the major leagues.

Michalak, who opened the season at Triple-A Oklahoma despite an outstanding spring, was recalled by Texas and pitched two scoreless innings Tuesday night against Oakland, allowing two hits while striking out one.

He was in line to get the victory until John Rocker came in to pitch the ninth and blew the save opportunity.

The A's wound up winning 5-4 in 11 innings.

illinihoops

The University of Illinois men's basketball recruiting class that includes Lincoln-Way High School senior James Augustine got even stronger Wednesday as the Illini signed Aaron Spears, a 6-9, 240- pound center who averaged 27 points and 15 rebounds for Chicago Dunbar.

He originally committed to Ohio State but reconsidered after visiting the Illinois campus.

Spears joins the 6-10 Augustine and three other signees: Dee Brown, a 6-0 guard from Proviso East; Deron Williams, a 6-3 guard from The Colony, Texas, and 6-8 forward Kyle Wilson of Plano, Texas.

contestcorner

Mary Krause of West Marion St. in Joliet was The Herald News $400 first-place winner in the World's Largest Office Pool on the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

She finished with 1,500 and beat two others on the tiebreaker.

fourscores NHL

Blackhawks xx Detroit xx

Toronto xx N.Y. Rangers xx

Philadelphia xx New Jersey xx

Vancouver xx Colorado xx

ontheair

пятница, 28 сентября 2012 г.

Friday's scores.(Sports) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Friday's scores

Benet 34, Oswego East 0

Bolingbrook 28,

Downers Grove South 21

Conant 27, Lake Park 14

Glenbard East 21, Willowbrook 18

Glenbard North 12, Oak Park 6

Joliet Catholic 21, Montini 7

Leyden 9, Fenton 7

Lockport 42, Downers North 20

Immaculate Conception 28,

Ridgewood 7

Naperville Central 17,

Waubonsie Valley 10

Naperville N. 29, Neuqua Valley 28

Plainfield East 27, Metea Valley 26

Plano 30, Lisle 13

St. Francis 34, Riverside-B. 7

W. Chicago 7, Plainfield N. 6, 2 OT

Wheaton Academy 28,

Westminster Christian (Mo.) 6

Wheaton North 31, Addison Trail 0

WW South 28, Hinsdale Central 7

York 34, Prospect 21

Today's games

Glenbard South at Glenbard West,

1:30 p.m.

Romeoville vs. Hinsdale South at

четверг, 27 сентября 2012 г.

With logjam at QB, Smalls aims to come up big at receiver.(Sports) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

By Doug Doughty

The Roanake Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE

When you've been coaching for more than 40 years, every move has a precedent.

That's how Virginia football coach Al Groh was able to sell redshirt freshman quarterback Riko Smalls on a switch to wide receiver.

'When coach presented me with the idea, he also told me that Marques Hagans was a receiver until Matt Schaub left,' Smalls said. 'After that, Marques Hagans took over the quarterback job.

'If it's better for the team that I play receiver this year, then that's what I'm going to do.'

Smalls could do worse than have a Hagans-like career. After Hagans caught 28 passes as a sophomore in 2003, he moved to quarterback and passed for more than 2,000 yards in each of his final two seasons.

Like Hagans, Smalls (6 feet, 200 pounds) played quarterback almost exclusively before coming to Charlottesville. He was Virginia's No. 3 quarterback for much of the 2008 season, but the Cavaliers held him out of action and preserved his redshirt year.

The return of 2007 starter Jameel Sewell after a year's academic suspension only added to a logjam at quarterback that included Vic Hall and 2008 passing leader Marc Verica.

Sewell and Hall, a former cornerback who started at quarterback in the 2008 finale, are in their final seasons of eligibility. Verica is a fourth-year junior

'We have a lot of depth at quarterback this year and a lot of experience as well,' said Smalls, who passed for 2,985 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2007 as a senior at Plano (Texas) East High School. 'We're not as deep at receiver as we are at quarterback.'

Smalls, lining up in the slot Friday, showed sure hands as Virginia worked on its spread offense against a veteran secondary.

But the Cavaliers' defensive backs had the best of that match-up. Cornerback Chris Cook returned an interception for a touchdown, safety Corey Mosley picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown and safety Brandon Woods returned an interception to the 2-yard line.

On virtually every big play by the defensive backs, new secondary coach Anthony Poindexter gleefully ran after his players. Poindexter, a former All-America safety for the Cavaliers, coached the running backs until assignments were changed following the 2008 season.

Smalls never had played receiver in an organized setting until Groh floated the idea three weeks ago, but Smalls was comfortable with the routes from his spring work at quarterback.

'My dad played receiver when he was in school,' Smalls added. 'I've grown up always catching the ball and throwing the ball.'

Notes U.Va. released a revised 105-player roster that did not include 2009 signee, Cody Wallace, an offensive lineman from Moorestown, N.J. Wallace was enrolled in the first session of summer school but didn't return for the start of preseason workouts for what U.Va. described as 'personal reasons.' ... Another 2009 signee, Parade All-America offensive tackle Morgan Moses,, did not meet NCAA guidelines for initial eligibility and said Thursday he will enroll at either Fork Union Military Academy or Hargrave Military Academy.

CAPTION(S):

courtesy photo

среда, 26 сентября 2012 г.

Hill Country sports news in brief. - Kerrville Daily Times (Kerrville, TX)

Sep. 23--TIVY STILL A FEW SPOTS SHY OF TOP 10: Despite being idle this past week, the Tivy High School football team received a little more love as the Antlers gained a single vote in The Associated Press prep poll released Monday.

But even with four votes, the Antlers remained at No. 17 in Class 4A, a few votes behind District 27 rivals Schertz Clemens (No. 14) and Schertz Steele (No. 11) and trailing No. 1 Lake Travis, still the undisputed top team in 4A with 190 votes including all 19 first place votes.

Leading the way in Class 5A with 189 votes and 18 of the 19 possible first place votes is Euless Trinity, which is followed closely by No. 2 Plano, which earned the only other first-place vote in 5A.

Liberty Hill is leading the Class 3A standings, Cisco is ahead in Class 2A, and Canadian is the top team in Class 1A.

ANTLERS BEAT NEW BRAUNFELS CANYON IN TENNIS: The Tivy High School tennis team beat District 27 opponent New Braunfels Canyon 10-5 on Friday for its first district victory of the season.

Behind more strong performances from the Lady Antlers, who saw singles victories from Kolbie Kiefer (6-0, 6-2), Hayden Henderson (6-2, 6-3), Alex Moos (6-3, 6-4) and Andi Underwood (6-4, 6-3), Tivy improved its record to 6-5 overall and 1-1 in district play.

Kiefer and Henderson (6-2, 6-0) also won their doubles match along with the teams of Underwood and Elizabeth Allen (6-7, 6-2, 10-4) and Clarke Henderson and Moos (6-3, 6-1).

In mixed doubles, Jordan Hamilton and Jack Porter won their match (6-1, 7-6) while the team of Collin Dill and Ian Lemmon (6-2, 6-0) won their doubles match for the boys. Jacob Woods had the Antlers' only singles victory (6-4, 6-4).

LADYHORNS WIN AGAINST SA BROOKS ACADEMY: With a team-high 11 kills from junior Amelia Herring and 17 assists from her twin sister, Amanda, the Harper High School volleyball team rolled to a 25-12, 25-14, 25-12 victory over district opponent San Antonio Brooks Academy on Saturday.

Leading the Ladyhorns (13-11, 3-0) through their District 27-2A competition, Amanda also added seven digs the effort while Autumn Davis had five kills, five digs and went 12-of-12 in service opportunities.

KERRVILLE RACER WINS MODIFIED RACE: After competing in the IMCA Super Nationals in Iowa, Kerrville's own Greg Dinsmore added to his season win total by taking the main modified race at the I-37 Raceway on Friday in Pleasanton.

Moe VanKirk, also from Kerrville, took first place in the Super Stock feature race.

To see more of the Kerrville Daily Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, visit http://www.dailytimes.com/.

Copyright (c) 2008, Kerrville Daily Times, Texas

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

вторник, 25 сентября 2012 г.

Indians end suspense in 4A.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Byline: Tracy Renck, Special To The Rocky

PUEBLO -- Watching Kent Denver and Mullen bask in state glory recently didn't sit well with the storied Cheyenne Mountain girls tennis program.

The past five seasons, Kent Denver won state four times and Mullen once, while Cheyenne Mountain finished an agonizing second each time.

'We weren't going to finish second again, there was no way we were going to let that happen,' said Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain's No. 3 singles player.

The Indians made sure of that by taking care of business Friday in the semifinals.

The Indians, who were competing in each of the seven brackets, advanced players from six of those matches into the finals, which begin at 9 a.m. today. Cheyenne Mountain's No. 4 doubles team will be playing for third place.

Because of that impressive performance, the Indians clinched the state title with 66 points. Greeley West was second through Friday, with 46 points, but even if the Spartans won all their matches today, they could total only 59 points.

'People will look and see what we did (Friday) and they will think that we dominated, but that wasn't the case,' Cheyenne Mountain coach Dave Adams said. 'We had a ton of close matches and we just snuck them out. It feels great to win state, and I am especially happy for the seven seniors on the team.'

Cheyenne Mountain has won 13 girls state championships and it has placed no worse than third since 1984. Overall, it is the 26th state tennis championship for Cheyenne Mountain. The boys program also has won 13 state crowns, including the past two.

Adams is in his first season coaching the girls, but he has led the boys program since 1987.

'We worked hard in practice since the start of the season and the girls responded to the expectations we placed on them,' Adams said.

Mary Russell, the Indians' No. 2 singles player, is trying to repeat as a state champion. Russell, a junior, won a year ago at No. 3 singles.

Cheyenne Mountain's No. 3 doubles senior tandem of Alison Seiler and Kristen Boe also is aiming for consecutive championships. Seiler and Boe won state at No. 2 doubles last season.

'I just want to stay focused and be consistent (today) and stay in my zone,' said Russell, whose family is moving to Plano, Texas, after the school year.

Greeley West could have made matters interesting today since it had five brackets - No. 1 singles, No. 3 singles and No. 2 through No. 4 doubles - alive in the semifinals, but only Mattison Sperry (No. 1 singles), Jennah Kitchell (No. 3 singles) and Lexi Graham and Christine Kato (No. 2 doubles) made it through to the finals.

'We definitely wanted to win the team championship, but that didn't happen,' said Sperry, a 5-foot freshman. 'I just want to play well (today) and mix up my shots.'

Sperry will clash with Casey Wetzig, a senior from Cheyenne Mountain.

'I just need to play every point and stay focused,' said Wetzig, who won state at No. 3 singles as a freshman and sophomore. 'I know I will be a lot more relaxed since we have wrapped up the team title.'

CLASS 4A STATE TENNIS

at the City Park Complex in Pueblo

Team scores: 1. Cheyenne Mountain 66. 2. Greeley West 46. 3. Steamboat Springs 33. 4. Niwot 31. 5. Ralston Valley 16. 6. Mullen 12. 7. Pueblo South 10. 8, tie, Broomfield, Fountain Valley 9. 10. Regis 8.

11. Kent Denver 6. 12, tie, Colorado Academy, Fossil Ridge, Pueblo West 3. 15, tie, Montrose, Aspen, Pueblo Centennial 2. 18, tie, Pueblo County, Rock Canyon 1.

SEMIFINALS

No. 1 singles: Casey Wetzig, Cheyenne Mountain def. Clarke Tatje, Fountain Valley, 6-0, 6-1; Mattison Sperry, Greeley West def. Lisa Floyd, Steamboat Springs, 6-4, 6-0.

No. 2 singles: Mary Russell, Cheyenne Mountain def. Claire Runge, Niwot, 6-1, 6-0; Breanne Murray, Steamboat Springs def. Cari Hudson, Mullen, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2.

No. 3 singles: Jennah Kitchell, Greeley West def. Kristin Erickson, Broomfield, 6-0, 6-2; Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain def. Kelly Sweeney, Mullen, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

No. 1 doubles: Meha Semwal/Kristina Barber, Cheyenne Mountain def. Molly Weiss/Kristin Toy, Steamboat Springs, 6-4, 7-5; Katie Anselmo/Molly Doyle, Ralston Valley def. Kara Combs/Brooke Simecka, Fossil Ridge, 6-0, 6-3.

No. 2 doubles: Lexi Graham/Christine Kato, Greeley West def. Maggie Pinnick/Taylor Oliver, Niwot, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5; Kelli Sylvester/Jen Marquit, Cheyenne Mountain def. Kelly Nightengale/Kimber Robbins, Mullen, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

No. 3 doubles: Alison Seiler/Kristen Boe, Cheyenne Mountain def. Candice Krammer/Alexandra Lehnert, Greeley West, 6-1, 6-1; Alex Forke/Whitney Fredericks, Niwot def. Kira Eck/Shelby Shriver, Ralston Valley, 6-1, 6-4.

No. 4 doubles: Erin McNary/Jenna Cavalli, Broomfield def. Megan Esser/Colleen Fisher, Colorado Academy, 6-2, 6-4; Nicole Ferguson/Baylee Thenell, Regis def. Mary Mekeal/Alyson Wolach, Greeley West, 6-3, 6-4.

INFOBOX

Class 4A championship pairings * No. 1 singles: Casey Wetzig, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr. (18-2) vs. Mattison Sperry, Greeley West, Fr. (18-2). * No. 2 singles: Mary Russell, Cheyenne Mountain, Jr. (18-3) vs. Breanne Murray, Steamboat Springs, Sr. (15-1). * No. 3 singles: Jennah Kitchell, Greeley West, Sr. (20-0) vs. Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr. (18-4). * No. 1 doubles: Meha Semwal/Kristina Barber, Cheyenne Mountain (17-4) vs. Katie Anselmo/Molly Doyle, Ralston Valley (18-4). * No. 2 doubles: Kelli Sylvester/Jennifer Marquit, Cheyenne Mountain (20-2) vs. Lexi Graham/Christine Kato, Greeley West (20-2). * No. 3 doubles: Alison Seiler/Kristen Boe, Cheyenne Mountain (18-2) vs. Alex Forke/Whitney Fredericks, Niwot (18-2). * No. 4 doubles: Erin McNary/Jenna Cavalli, Broomfield (19-0) vs. Nicole Ferguson/Baylee Thenell, Regis (15-1).

CAPTION(S):

Photo

понедельник, 24 сентября 2012 г.

REGIONAL SCENE.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Drossin secures fourth title

Thinking about her cancer-stricken mother for the entire course, Deena Drossin of Alamosa pulled away from the field to easily win her fourth consecutive U.S. cross country title Saturday in Vancouver, Wash., then broke down in tears after the finish line.

``This is the first race that she's missed in many years, so I was running with her spirit out there today,'' Drossin said. ``Even though she wasn't there screaming at the top of her lungs, I could hear her out there anyway.''

Drossin, who competed in Sydney as the top-ranked American woman in the 10,000 meters, also was recovering from an Achilles' tendon injury that forced her to take two months off after the Olympics. She didn't start training full-time until last month.

Her mother, Heleana, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and underwent two operations around Thanksgiving. She had her last chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday and is doing ``wonderfully,'' Drossin said.

Drossin's winning time was 26 minutes, 14 seconds. Jen Rhines of Adidas was second in 26:43.8, followed by Kristin Chisum of Reebok in 26:58.4.

Elsewhere in track and field:

* Wyoming's Quincy Howe solidified his status as one of the nation's top collegiate triple jumpers by automatically qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a jump of 53 feet, 5 3/4 inches at the Robert Shine Invitational in Laramie.

Tigers tumble in Minnesota

Troy Riddle scored two goals and Grant Potulny scored his 14th power-play goal - tops in the nation - as Minnesota beat Colorado College 4-1 to complete a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association sweep in Minneapolis.

The Gophers (23-7-2, 17-5-2 WCHA) won 6-1 on Friday when they chased CC goalie Colin Zulianello, the league leader in goals-against average and saves percentage with three goals in the first 6:08.

Minnesota beat Colorado College (20-9-1, 15-9-0) 6-1 on Friday night.

* Alabama-Huntsville completed a College Hockey America sweep of the Air Force Academy 4-2 Saturday night at the Cadet Ice Arena. Huntsville won the opener 5-4 in overtime on Friday night.

DU wades into third place

The University of Denver women's swimming and diving team finished third in the Sun Belt Conference championships in Little Rock, Ark.

On the final day, juniors Sarah Corcoran and Erin McConaughy finished 1-2 in the 100-yard freestyle, junior Erin Moir was third in 200 breaststroke, and junior Erin Lundy was third in the 200 backstroke.

Elsewhere in swimming:

* Wyoming sophomore Damian Storz won the men's 400 individual medley at the Mountain West Conference championships in Oklahoma City for the second consecutive year. Storz won in 3:55.78.

Et cetera

воскресенье, 23 сентября 2012 г.

CAVALIERS' CLASS RATED AS ONE OF NATION'S BEST FOR 2ND YEAR IN A ROW.(SPORTS) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

Byline: ED MILLER THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- A year ago on national signing day, Virginia football coach Al Groh introduced a recruiting class rated by many analysts as one of the top 10 in the nation.

'I said at the time that if we got one more like it, we'd be really good,' Groh said. 'If we got two more like it, we'd be as good as anybody.'

By Groh's reckoning, Virginia is right on track. Wednesday, the coach unveiled another strong class of recruits, one that several analysts agree is among the nation's 25 best.

'That's two in a row,' Groh said. 'Now we're already thinking towards No. 3.'

The 21-member class is heavy on offensive linemen, receivers and linebackers - areas of particular need for Virginia, Groh said. It features 10 players from Virginia, including two from South Hampton Roads, and 11 from out of state.

'Even though there's a lot of talent out there generally, we try to target the needs of the team,' Groh said. 'We try to recruit to build the team, not for ego's sake.'

Consequently, Virginia didn't sign a tailback since it has several good ones returning. They signed just one quarterback, because they have three returning.

Rivals.com ranked Virginia's class 19th, while the insider.com had it 22nd. Two others had the Cavs No. 24 and 25.

Rivals was the only Web site to include linebacker Ahmad Brooks in the class. Brooks, a high school All-American in 2001, signed with U.Va. last year but failed to qualify academically. He spent this past season at Hargrave Military Academy then enrolled at Virginia last month. Brooks is expected to participate in spring practice.

Highlighting the class are several players rated among the top 100 in the nation. Tight end Jonathan Stupar of State College, Pa., was rated the nation's No. 33 player overall by SuperPrep. Linebacker Jermaine Dias of Hackensack, N.J., was No. 74. Center Jordy Lipsey of Longwood, Fla., was regarded as the top center in the nation by several recruiting services. Ian Yates-Cunningham, a lineman from Plano, Texas, was SuperPrep's sixth-rated offensive lineman.

Locally, the Cavaliers signed Phoebus defensive back Philip Brown, considered by some to be the state's top player, and two from Virginia Beach: safety Robbie Catterton of Kellam and receiver Shannon Lane of Salem.

'Robbie just shows up where the ball is,' Groh said. 'And he's got a good toughness about him.'

Groh praised Lane's big-play ability.

As for Brown, Groh called him a 'shut-down corner,' adding, 'Those are hard to find.'

Fourteen members of last year's class played in 2002, a high number in major college football.

Groh said he doesn't expect as many true freshmen to play this fall.

'But I think there will be a good amount of these players who will be involved and will contribute,' he said.

With recruiting wrapped up, Groh said he'll turn his attention to hiring an offensive coordinator. Bill Musgrave resigned last month to become offensive coordinator for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

Reach Ed Miller at 446-2372 or at emiller pilotonline.com

CAPTION(S):

Fact box

TOP SIGNEES

Highlighting the class are several players in the top 100 in the nation:

* Jonathan Stupar, a tight end from State College, Pa.

* Jermaine Dias, a line-backer from Hackensack, N.J.

* Jordy Lipsey, a center from Longwood, Fla.

* Ian Yates-Cunningham, a lineman from Plano, Texas Color photo

The Virginian-Pilot file photos

U.Va. signed two players from South Hampton Roads: safety Robbie Catterton of Kellam, left, and receiver Shannon Lane of Salem.

Photo

The Virginian-Pilot file photo

'We try to recruit to build the team, not for ego's sake.'

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS FROM SUN-TIMES MEDIA

FOOTBALL

TUESDAY'S RESULT

NONCONFERENCE

Rock Island 38, Tilden 6

THURSDAY'S GAMES

NONCONFERENCE

Ag. Science vs. Marine at Rockne, 3:30

Corliss vs. Vocational at Gately, 3:30

Gage Park vs. Taft at Lane, 7

Juarez vs. Hirsch at Eckersall, 3:30

Kennedy vs. Lake View at Lane, 3:30

Robeson vs. Harlan at Gately, 7

Sullivan vs. Rowe-Clark at Hanson, 7

FRIDAY'S GAMES

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLIC

Joliet Catholic at Notre Dame, 7:30

Marian Catholic vs. Benet at Benedictine, 7:30

Nazareth at Carmel, 7:30

St. Patrick vs. St. Viator at Forest View, 7:30

NORTHEASTERN ATHLETIC

Alden-Hebron at North Shore, 4:30

Hope Academy at Hiawatha, 7

Longwood at Rockford Christian, 7

Luther North at Mooseheart, 7

NONCONFERENCE

Addison Trail at Proviso West, 7

Amundsen at Maine East, 7:30

Andrew at Eisenhower, 7

Batavia at Plainfield East, 7

Bolingbrook at Belleville East, 7

Brother Rice at Marist, 7:30

Byron vs. Wheaton Acad. at Elmhurst Coll., 7

Carver vs. Bronzeville at Gately, 3:30

Cary-Grove at Lake Zurich, 7:30

Chicago Academy at Aurora Christian, 7

Chicago Christian at Momence, 7

Conant at Wheeling, 7:30

Crane vs. Senn at Winnemac, 3:30

Crete-Monee at Lincoln-Way West, 7:30

Crystal Lake S. at Crystal Lake Cent., 7:15

Deerfield at Homewood-Flossmoor, 7:30

DeKalb at Hampshire, 5

Downers South at Lyons, 7:30

Dunbar at Lincoln-Way East, 7

Dwight at Sandwich, 7:30

Elgin vs. Bartlett at Streamwood, 7:30

Elk Grove at Barrington, 7:30

Evanston at Zion-Benton, 7:30

Fenwick at Marmion, 7:30

Genoa-Kingston vs. Peoria Manual at Peoria Stadium, 7

Glenbard East at Lake Park, 7:30

Glenbrook North at Lane, 7:15

Glenbrook South at Stevenson, 7:30

Gordon Tech at De La Salle, 7:30

Grant at Grayslake Central, 7:15

Guerin at Elmwood Park, 7

Harper vs. Hyde Park at Eckersall, 3:30

Hersey at Hoffman Estates, 7:30

Highland Park at Lake Forest, 7:30

Hillcrest at Lincoln-Way North, 7

Hinsdale South at York, 7:30

Hubbard at Shepard, 7

Huntley at Kaneland, 7:30

Jacobs at Johnsburg, 7:15

Julian vs. Hope at Stagg, 3:30

Kankakee at Bradley-Bourbonnais, 7:30

King at North Chicago, 7

Lakes at Woodstock North, 7:15

Larkin at West Chicago, 7:30

Lemont at Riverside-Brookfield, 7

Leyden at Hinsdale Central, 7:30

Lindblom at St. Laurence, 7

Lisle at Coal City, 7:30

Little Village vs. Young at Rockne, 3:30

Maine West at Fenton, 7

Manley at Geneseo, 7:30

McHenry at Marian Central, 7

Morgan Park vs. Mount Carmel at Gately, 7

Morris at Richards, 7

Morton at Downers North, 7:30

Mundelein at Prairie Ridge, 7:15

Neuqua Valley at Naperville Central, 7:30

New Trier at Warren, 7:30

Oak Forest at Rich Central, 7

Oswego at Waubonsie Valley, 7:30

Oswego East at Oak Lawn, 7

Palatine at Rolling Meadows, 7:30

Payton at Evergreen Park, 7

Perspectives-Calumet at Bremen, 7

Plainfield Central at St. Charles North, 7:30

Plainfield North at Lockport, 7

Prospect at Fremd, 7:30

Prosser vs. Marshall at Hanson, 3:30

Providence at Minooka, 7

Proviso East at Oak Park-River Forest, 7:30

Quincy at Metea Valley, 7:30

Raby at Reavis, 7

Reed-Custer at Herscher, 7:15

Rich East at Tinley Park, 7

Ridgewood at Argo, 7

Roosevelt vs. Comer at Univ. of Chicago, 7

Round Lake at Grayslake North, 7:15

St. Charles East at West Aurora, 7:30

St. Edward at Iroquois West, 7

St. Francis at Vernon Hills, 7:30

St. Ignatius at Bishop McNamara, 7:30

Sandburg at Stagg, 7

Schaumburg at Buffalo Grove, 7:30

Seneca at Plano, 7:30

Steinmetz at Ottawa, 7:30

Stillman Valley at Wauconda, 7:30

Streamwood at Dundee-Crown, 7:15

Sycamore at Burlington Central, 7

Thornridge at Lincoln-Way Central, 7:30

Thornton at Naperville North, 7:30

T.F. South vs. Collins at Hanson, 7

Thornwood at Rich South, 6

Urban Prep-Englewood at Libertyville, 7:30

Washington at Winnebago, 7

Westmont at Manteno, 7:30

Wheaton North at Geneva,7:30

WW South at Maine South, 7:30

Wilmington at Peotone, 7:15

Woodstock at Harvard, 7

Yorkville at East Aurora, 7:30

BOYS SOCCER

TUESDAY'S RESULTS

Argo 2, St. Joseph 0

Batavia 6, St. Charles East 1

Bolingbook 3, U-High 1

Cary-Grove 5, Grayslake North 0

Crete-Monee 7, Oak Forest 0

Deerfield 4, Loyola 0

Elgin 3, St. Charles North 0

Fenton 5, Willowbrook 0

Geneva 1, Oswego 0

Glenbrook North 2, Rolling Meadows 0 Lake Park 1, Glenbard East 0

Lemont 3, Lincoln-Way West 0

Marian Central 2, Andrew 1

Mount Carmel 5, Lincoln Park 0

Naperville Central 3, Fremd 0

Niles West 2, Downers North 0

Plainfield North 4, Lockport 4

Timothy Christian 3, Montini 2

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Barrington d. Buffalo Grove 25-14, 25-16

Benet d. Fenwick 25-16, 25-7

Bowen d. Julian 25-8, 25-7

Clemente d. Farragut 25-15, 26-24

Chicago Academy d. Mather 25-4, 25-13

Conant d. Elk Grove 25-21, 25-22

Downers North d. Naperville Central 20-25, 25-21, 28-26

Downers South d. WW South 25-6, 25-13

Fenton d. Proviso West 25-10, 19-25, 25-22

Glenbard South d. Montini 26-24, 25-18

Glenbard W. d. Glenbard East 25-12, 25-14

Harper d. Fenger 18-25, 25-19, 25-15

Hersey d. Fremd 25-16, 25-21

Hinsdale C. d. Waubonsie Val. 25-22, 25-18

Joliet Catholic d. Hinsdale S. 21-25, 25-23, 26-24

Lemont d. Eisenhower 25-10, 25-20

Lincoln Park d. Schurz 26-24, 25-23

Lincoln-Way North d. Bloom 25-12, 25-20

Loyola d. Trinity 20-25, 25-22, 26-24

Maine South d. Maine East 25-18, 25-10

Mother McAuley d. Lockport 25-18, 25-23

Mundelein d. Glenbrook N. 27-25, 25-20

Nazareth d. Riv.-Brookfield 25-15, 25-15

Neuqua Valley d. Bolingbrook 25-21, 25-20

Niles West d. Lane 25-18, 22-25, 25-16

Oak Forest d. Evergreen Park 25-15, 25-20

Oak Lawn d. Hillcrest 25-13, 25-14

Oak Park-River Forest d. Resurrection 25-18, 25-13

Ogden d. Austin 25-16, 7-25, 25-16

Orr d. Phoenix 25-18, 25-18

Parker d. Perspectives-Calumet 25-12, 25-22

Prosser d. Lake View 25-17, 25-22

Richards d. Tinley Park 21-25, 25-23, 25-22

Roosevelt d. North Lawndale 25-13, 25-18

St. Charles East d. Wheaton N. 25-13, 25-6

St. Francis de Sales d. Holy Trinity 18-25, 25-8, 25-20

Schaumburg d. Wheeling 25-10, 21-25, 25-15

Stagg d. Queen of Peace 27-25, 21-25, 31-29

T.F. South d. Argo 25-11, 25-15

Washington 8, Hancock 1

суббота, 22 сентября 2012 г.

Top 10 local sports stories of 2010 - The Beacon News - Aurora (IL)

1. Marmion Academy football team's playoff run

The Cadets became just the second high school team from Aurora to reach the IHSA finals in football, advancing to the Class 6A title game against Rockford Boylan Catholic after a 8-1 regular season. While the Cadets lost 48-19 in the title game, the 2010 campaign will go down as one of the best in city history.

2. East-West boys basketball game at NIU

The 213th meeting between the crosstown rivals featured a new twist. It was the first regular-season meeting between the two played on a neutral court, the 10,000-seat NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb. West moved its home game, allowing 4,272 to attend. The Blackhawks (127-86 in the series) prevailed 72-66 to win the Tom-a-Hawk Trophy, given for the first time. D.J. Vaughn had 18 points, Juwan Starks 17 and unsung Brandon Hayes 12 for the winners.

3. West Aurora's Gordie Kerkman joins 700 club

Juwan Starks led the way with 20 points as the Blackhawks knocked off Naperville North 46-41 on Dec. 10 to give the veteran coach his 700th career win at the school in this, his 35th season. Kerkman became just the 14th coach in Illinois high school history to reach that landmark.

4. Ryan Boatright breaks East High scoring record

The 5-foot-10 senior point guard erupted for 63 points on Dec. 11 to power the Tomcats to a 113-104 win over Proviso West. It eclipsed the school's 40-year-old single-game scoring mark that had been held by Tom Kivisto since he scored 56 points in a game against Rock Island on Feb. 14, 1970. Boatright came within a point of Kivisto's mark, scoring 55 Nov. 26 against St. Charles North at the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament.

5. H-BR girls basketball team defends state title

The Royals became the first Beacon-News area team to win back-to-back state championships in basketball after capturing the 1A crown for the second straight season with a 38-32 win over Jacksonville Routt. The Royals also accomplished the feat with just eight players on their roster. It was the culmination of a four-year run behind seniors Jenna Thorp, Maxzine Rossler, Jes Meyer and Jessica Leifheit.

6. Oswego bowler Adam Johnson sets IHSA record

The Oswego senior rolled four perfect 300 games in three weeks time, starting on Nov. 23 in a match against Minooka at Parkside Lanes. Johnson's remarkable hot streak peaked on Dec. 14, when he rolled his fourth 300 game of the season and set a new IHSA state record with a 857 series (300-279-278) against Plainfield East at Parkside Lanes.

7. State champions

The Beacon-News coverage area had athletes win 14 individual and two relay (1 swimming, 1 track) titles in the 2010 calendar year:

BOYS GOLF

Thomas O'Bryan, Waubonsie Valley, Class 3A

WRESTLING

J.J. Cannon, Plano, Class 1A, 160 pounds

Alphonse Vruno, Sandwich, Class 2A, 112 pounds

Ben Whitford, Marmion Academy, Class 2A, 119 pounds

Nico Jimenez, Marmion Academy, Class 2A, 171 pounds

BOYS TRACK

Nick Sinon, Kaneland, Class 2A high jump

Kaneland, 1600-meter relay — Tommy Whittaker, Derek Bus, Edgar Valley, Logan Markuson

James Davenport, Waubonsie Valley, Class 3A high jump

GIRLS TRACK

Amber Farrell, IMSA, Class 2A 100 hurdles

Amber Farrell, IMSA, Class 2A 300 hurdles

Allie Pace, Geneva, Class 3A pole vault

Shanice Andrews, West Aurora, Class 3A 100 hurdles

Kathryn Warner, Batavia, Class 3A 300 hurdles

GIRLS SWIMMING

Molly Coonce, Rosary, 100-yard breaststroke

Rosary, 200-yard relay — Rachel Burke, Amber Calderone, Katherine Hare, Sarah Sykstus

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Ariel Michalak, Oswego East, Class 3A

8. Oswego girls basketball reaches state

While the Panthers did not fare well downstate in losses to Hillcrest and Springfield, they did capture the first state trophy in school history with a remarkable season. Oswego entered the finals with an impressive 29-2 record led by Beacon-News Player of the Year Samiya Wright and fellow seniors Brittany Collier and Colleen Purcell and key junior starters Paige Harmon and Alexis McClain.

9. Ryan Boatright recruitment

The story that went national when Boatright made a verbal commitment to the University of Southern California and former Bulls coach Tim Floyd as an eighth-grader, finally wrapped up with Boatright signing in November with the University of Connecticut. It wasn't without some twists and turns. Only a matter of days earlier, Boatright committed to UConn's Big East rival West Virginia, only to decommit two days later after another point guard committed to coach Bob Huggins' Mountaineers. Jim Calhoun was the ultimate beneficiary.

10. East's Ryan Boatright goes international

The Tomcat sensation flew to Germany on spring break and played for the United States 18-under team — selected by USA Basketball — in the Albert Schweitzer International Youth Tournament against national teams from around the globe. The Americans, facing some teams that have played together for years, advanced to the bronze medal game but dropped a 79-68 decision to the German 17-under team. Boatright impressed many observers at the tourney by averaging a United States team-high 19.6 points-per-game in the event.

пятница, 21 сентября 2012 г.

Youth Sports - The Beacon News - Aurora (IL)

Hockey The Cyclones Pee Wee Gold A won the Great Lakes Tournament in Holland, Mich. with a 4-0 record. The team is 22-11-5 overall.Teddy Dushkin pitched a shutout in a 5-0 victory over the Muskegon Chiefs in the opener. Jimmy Albrecht had a three goal hat trick with Mike Boyle and Mike Sinn adding the other goals. Assists were carded by Sinn, Matt Sprengel (4), Brooks Young, Sprengel and Jon Craig. The Cyclones defense, led by Brooks Young, Brett Blondin and Matt Galardini, held the Chiefs to eight shots.

Goals by Craig, Sinn, Blondin and Michael O'Connell carried the Cyclones to a 4-2 win over the Rockford (Mich.) Rams. O'Connell and Albrecht added assists.

The Cylones rallied from a 2-0 deficit to edge the Ice Cats from Novi (Mich.), 3-2. Matt Sprengel scored the game-winner with an empty net goal after the Ice Cats pulled their goalie. O'Connell scored the other two goals with assists from Tyler Kling, Craig and Albrecht.

In the championship game, goals by Boyle, Blondin, Sinn led the team to a 4-3 victory over the Rams. Assists were added by Craig, John McSpadden, tournament MVP O'Connell, Sprengel, Will Sterne and Blondin. The defense of Trent James and Galardini helped goalie Brendon Mayes keep the Rams from the tying goal over the final nine minutes.

Basketball St. Joseph's 8th grade boys defeated Holy Angels Green, 34-10. Frankie Avalos started the Hillmen's scoring and contributed four points. Javi Salinas, Emilio Alvarez and Danny Bieritz each had six points. Kevin Mathew and Shaun Collins contributed three points while Andrew Blatner and Tony Karafiat each had two points.

St. Joseph's 7th grade White team was defeated by OLGC, 53-15, in the 7th grade tournament. Mark Werrline scored seven points, Bobby Grissom had six and Kevin Myles had two points. In the first round of consolation play, St. Joe's White fell 35-19 to St. Rita. Werrline had seven points. Kevin Knisley and Grissom each had four points. Kevin Myles had three points and Craig Reinert added one point. In the last game of consolation play St. Joseph's White defeated Annunciation White, 20-18. Grissom and Knisley were high scorers with six each. Werrline had five points and Reinert had three points. St. Joe's defeated Holy Angels, 36-27, to reach the double elimination tournament. Werrline lead the way with 20 points. Reinert and Mike Garza each had six points. Grissom and Myles each had two points.

St. Joseph's Blue lost to Annunciation Blue, 39-26, in the second tournament game. Mark Adams had eight points, Jeremiah Lipford added seven, Armando Hermosillo six had 6, Danny White and Carlos Ramirez each had two and Adam Blatner contributed one point. The Blue team finished 4th in the league after falling to Holy Angels. Adams had 15 points, Hermosillo and Lipford each scored nine and Carlos Ramirez added four.

Lipford scored a season-high 24 points in a 51-31 victory over St. Mary's of Plano. Adams had nine points, Hermosillo six, Blatner four, Ryan Lutz three, and Daniel Cardona and Ramirez two each. White also added a free throw.

Michael Brown scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds, Manny Juarez added seven points and five rebounds, Robert Rodriguez hit for six points and Lee Hinterlong added four points as Annunciation Blue defeated St. Joe's A, 39-26, in the 7th grade tournament.

OLGC won the championship with a 39-33 victory over Annunciation. Brown had 15 points and 23 rebounds, Juarez added 12 points and seven rebounds and both Rodriguez and Hinterlong contributed four points and three rebounds.

In eight grade play, St. Joseph's defeated St. Peter's, 57-23. Collins had 19 points (including 3 3-point shots), Danny Bieritz had eight points, Andrew Blatner and Doug Banks each had six, Kevin Mathew, Frankie Avalos, Emilio Alvarez, and Javi Salinas all added four points, Tony Karafiat had three and Jim Gaddis two.

Collins tossed in 23 points as St. Joe's defeated St. Mary's of Plano, 48-34. Bieritz (9), Salinas (7), Blatner (5), Doug Banks (2) and Alvarez (2) also contributed.

After losing to St. Peter's of Geneva, 51-37, St. Joseph rebounded to win the Consolation Championship in the Elgin St. Joe's Tournament. Collins (16 points)a and Bieritz (13) led the way against Geneva. The Hillmen then defeated Elgin St. Laurence, 51-34, with Collins getting 22 points, Bieritz and Alvarez 12 each, Mathew and Banks four each and Karafiat, Gaddis, Blatner and Avalos two points each.

Alex McGrath scored 23 points, Peter Ahrens added 14, Josh Boyd eight, Colin Lohenry five, Keegan Lohenry four, Thomas Ritchie two and Joel Carlson one as the Crossroads Crusaders freshmen stopped Maranatha, 57-45. The Crusaders also defeated Somonauk, 33-26. Ahrens had 14 points and five rebounds while Erik Akre (2 points), Joel Carlson (3 points), Keegan Lohenry (2 points, 4 rebounds), Alex McGrath (9 points, 7 rebounds, 9 blocked shots), Boyd (3 points, 5 assists) and Colin Lohenry (5 rebounds) also played well.

Crossroads defeated Elgin Academy, 49-12 as Ahrens had 10 points to go with five rebounds. McGrath scored 17 points, Carlson added nine, Colin Lohenry four, Boyd four, John Martin two and Chris Leach three. Keegan Lohenry pulled down three rebounds.

In the Aurora Catholic League 5th grade tournament, Holy Angels defeated St. Riata, 38-10, to win the championship Chistopher Hickson scored 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for Holy Angels while Sam Duffield added 10 points and Alex Schaefer six.

Holy Angels advanced to the title game with a 25-14 win over Annunciation White with Hickson scoring 13 points and hauling in 12 rebounds, Schaefer adding six points and Jack Rickert four.

Schaefer scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 27-14 semifinal win over St. Mary's of Plano. Thomas Myers added six points, Chris Soris and Hickson three each.

Holy Angels finished 8-1 for the season and tied Holy Angels Gold for the league championship. The team was coached by Gary Soris and Brian Schaefer. Also playing on the team were Tim Riebock, Casey White and Kevin Filip. Wrestling The Oswego Wrestling Club competed in the Blackhawk Wrestling Club Classic with Max Larsen, Colin Griffin and Luke Gruszka all taking first places in 8-under. Austin Sheldon finished fourth in the junior division , Brandon Griffin finished first in the novice division with Travis Hoffman second and John Dibuono third and Devin Larsen finished first in the senior division.

четверг, 20 сентября 2012 г.

Barda just warming up; Wheaton N. opens some eyes.(Sports) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Byline: Dave Miller

Can I have a drum roll please?

The Illinois High School Association released regional and sectional assignments this week.

In Class AA:

West Aurora regional - Batavia, East Aurora, Illinois Math & Science, Oswego, Rosary, Waubonsie Valley, West Aurora and West Chicago.

Hinsdale South regional - Benet, Downers Grove North, Downers Grove South, Glenbard East, Glenbard South, Glenbard West, Hinsdale South, Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South.

Lockport regional - Bolingbrook, Lemont, Lockport, Mt. Assisi, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Plainfield and Romeoville.

Providence regional - Crete-Monee, Joliet, Joliet Catholic, Lincoln-Way, Providence, Rich East and Rich South.

(The above regionals feed into the East Aurora sectional.)

Fenton regional - Addison Trail, Elk Grove, Fenton, Leyden, Maine East, Maine West, Maine South and Willowbrook.

Lyons Township regional - Hinsdale Central, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Lyons Township, Nazareth, Proviso East, Proviso West, Riverside-Brookfield andYork.

Schaumburg regional - Conant, Elgin, Glenbard North, Hoffman Estates, Lake Park, Larkin, Schaumburg, St. Charles and Streamwood.

Niles West regional - Evanston, Glenbrook South, Good Counsel, Loyola, Niles North, Niles West, Regina Dominican and Resurrection.

(The Fenton, Lyons Township, Schaumburg and Niles West regionals feed into the St. Charles sectional.)

In Class A:

Aurora Central regional - Aurora Central, Aurora Christian, Coal City, Gardner-South Wilmington, Lisle, Newark, Plano, Reed Custer, St. Francis, Wheaton Academy, Wilmington and Yorkville.

Illiana Christian regional - Chicago Christian, Evergreen Park, F.W. Parker, Holy Trinity, Illiana Christian, Josephinum, Latin School, Luther East, Luther South, Seton Academy and St. Frances de Sales.

Marengo regional - Burlington Central, Elgin Academy, Hampshire, Harvard, Huntley, Kaneland, Marengo, Marian, Richmond-Burton, St. Edward and Woodlands Academy.

Westmont regional - Driscoll, Immaculate Conception, Luther North, Madonna, Montini, Ridgewood, St. Benedict, St. Gregory, St. Scholastica, Timothy Christian, Walther Lutheran and Westmont.

(The above Class A regionals feed into the Reed Custer sectional.)

* * *

There is no slowing down Hinsdale South's Maria Barda.

After breaking the state record for career strikeouts Saturday, the Michigan-bound flame-thrower fired a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts in a 6-0 triumph at Hinsdale Central Wednesday.

'She was throwing hard today,' Hinsdale South coach Brenda Whitesell said. 'I wouldn't want to catch her. She's pretty amazing.'

Barda's up-to-date career totals:

No-hitters - 15

Shutouts - 35

Wins - 62

Strikeouts - 1,084

* * *

Wheaton North turned some heads when it won its first game in four tries by upsetting Glenbard North 6-2 on Monday.

Somebody even called our office Tuesday wondering if the score was right.

'I'm so glad it happened early in the season because I think that's exactly what the kids needed,' Wheaton North first-year coach Sharon Kennedy said. 'They've been working really hard and now it supplies the little bit of confidence that we needed to push us over the edge.

'Glenbard North is a good team with a lot of varsity experience and I think we surprised them. I think they expected to see the old Wheaton North, so it was a fun game.'

Winning pitcher Carrie Sikorski scattered 3 hits and recorded 10 strikeouts against the Panthers, which finished third in Class AA last year.

Jenny Hyneman, Jen Uhen and Jodie Baker delivered RBI singles during a 4-run fourth inning that broke a scoreless tie and sent the Falcons flying to victory.

'(Tuesday's) practice was a little bit different,' Kennedy said. 'Practices were going well before but now it's now like we're practicing with a purpose. Now we know we can compete with anybody.'

The Falcons made it two straight with a 3-2 victory against Glenbard East Wednesday.

* * *

The schedule for the Larkin Slugfest '97 tournament to be held Saturday at the Elgin Sports Complex:

At 10 a.m. (in bracket order) - Fenwick vs. Herscher, Glenbard South vs. Larkin, Lake Park vs. Maria, Harlem vs. Schaumburg, and Glenbard North vs. Hoffman Estates.

Opening night delight Unbeatens Wheaton North, West Aurora highlight DVC's first games.(Sports Extra) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Byline: David Oberhelman and Kevin Schmit Daily Herald Sports Writers

Wheaton North opens up conference play at home tonight with two- time DuPage Valley champion West Aurora in a battle of unbeatens.

The Falcons beat West Aurora (3-0) twice last year to account for the Blackhawks' only DVC losses.

'I'm sure they remember it,' said Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos, whose team was the champion of the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament.

The Falcons (3-0) are slowly working in five members of their state semifinal football team, including junior Nate Hardwick who had games of 14 and 11 points.

Dan Walser was named MVP at St. Charles East. Derek Meister averaged 13 points per game.

It'll be a tough matchup against West Aurora sophomore guard Jay Thomas, junior forward Dameon Mason and senior Kris Jenkins.

Difference makers: Glenbard North won the District 87 tournament by going 3-0, while Naperville North posted a 2-2 record at the tough Neuqua Valley tournament.

It's a far cry from last year's 0-13 combined start that resulted from both school's football playoff run.

'I thought we had a real good tournament,' said Naperville North coach Mark Lindo.

Huskies senior Mike Benning averaged 17 points per game. In their two wins, four different players reached double-digit scoring.

Glenbard North beat its district rivals behind the trio of Greg Klos, Steve Fifarek and Joel Pelland.

Naperville Central struggled through a shorthanded effort at Fenton due to the football team's appearance in the 8A title game.

The Redhawks went 2-2, powered by a strong performance by senior Ted Van Dorn, who scored 74 points in four games.

'It's going to take a long time for the football players to work back in,' said Redhawks coach Bob Sterr. 'They're pretty banged up.'

Surprise, surprise: Fenton and Lake Park struggled through six- and five-win seasons, respectively, last season. Both teams quickly set out to redeem themselves.

Fenton, getting 25 and 24 points from guard Giacomo Losacco in consecutive games, went 3-1 at its own Chuck Mitchell Tournament, good for third place.

Lake Park coach Dan Batka wasted no time infusing his lineup with young talent. Junior forward Matt Petralia and sophomore guard Ryan Cibulka averaged double figures, helping the Lancers go 2-2 at Fenton.

Net effects: Both Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley, the finalists at Neuqua's Wildcat Classic, can take things from the results.

'Hopefully we can use it for a springboard for the next set of games,' Waubonsie Valley coach Dave Saurbaugh said in the wake of the Warriors' 50-44 victory over Neuqua Valley in the title game.

Waubonsie Valley, which will be tested tonight in its Upstate Eight Conference opener at DeKalb (3-1), got all-tourney performances from point guard Derrick Clanton and center Marc Daniels, plus good outings by role players Jeff Sassano, Andrew Umbach and Morris Ellis.

'We showed that we can compete against some teams that are supposed to be pretty good basketball teams,' Saurbaugh said.

One of those is Neuqua Valley (3-1), whose coach, Todd Sutton, saw mixed results.

'We started out like gangbusters and kind of hit the slides,' he said. 'I think we got a lot of contributions on the first night and not a lot of contributions (on subsequent dates).

That showed against Waubonsie Valley when all-tourney players Keelan Amelianovich and Josh Wesley were limited to 12 points apiece, down from prior efforts.

Waubonsie Valley's defense held the Wildcats to 44 points, 12 fewer than their prior low and 48 less than in their opening-night win over Hinsdale South.

Neuqua Valley enters UEC play tonight at Elgin (1-3) then plays host to Bolingbrook on Saturday.

300 and counting: With Lisle's 74-57 victory over Driscoll at the Lisle Thanksgiving Tournament, coach Mark D'Amico won the 300th game of his career.

That's nice, but he probably would have preferred to see win No. 301. Instead, Timothy Christian beat Lisle (2-1) 45-40 for the title.

Led by Kevin VanderWal's rebounding and point guard Jeremiah Banks' clutch free throws and defense on Lisle's Terence Parker, Timothy (2-1) held Lisle to 25 percent shooting.

The Trojans aim to keep rolling tonight at Wheaton Academy (1- 2), while Lisle looks to regroup at Plano (3-1).

'I didn't think we took control of the game,' D'Amico said of the Timothy game. 'Last year I thought we controlled almost all the games we played, even the ones we lost.'

Road to East Peoria looks smooth to Panthers.(Sports Extra) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Byline: Dave Miller Daily Herald Sports Writer

The Daily Herald's top two softball teams, No. 1 Lake Park and No. 2 Glenbard North, could meet in the Class AA semifinals June 10 at EastSide Centre in East Peoria.

First things first, according to Glenbard North coach Jim McKinney.

'The main thing is getting downstate, which has been our goal since the last time we were down there (in 2001),' McKinney said.

Lake Park advanced to state the past two years and looks to be challenged in its bid to make it three straight. In assignments released by the Illinois High School Association, the Lancers head the field in a loaded Downers Grove South supersectional, which also includes the host Mustangs, Benet, Glenbard West, Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South.

The Downers South supersectional winner will face the winner of the Bremen supersectional, which contains highly regarded Lincoln- Way East, Lincoln-Way Central, Lockport and Marian Catholic, in the state quarterfinals.

McKinney likes Glenbard North's road to state.

'I think the gods are shining on us, to be truthful,' he said.

Glenbard North looks to be heavily favored to come out of the Rosary sectional. The Panthers then would meet the Harlem sectional champion in the Northern Illinois University supersectional and then possibly Oak Park in the state quarterfinals.

A good host: For all its good teams of the past, the last time Downers South reached the Elite Eight was in 1993 when it won the Class AA title. The Mustangs have often been sent south come regional-sectional time to do battle with the many great softball programs of the south suburbs.

This year Downers South will stay at home to host a regional, sectional and supersectional. Was it an attempt by the Mustangs to avoid being sent south?

Hardly.

According to Downers South coach Ron Havelka, the IHSA called athletic director Todd Cassens to see if the Mustangs would be willing to host a stage of the tournament.

'Todd put in (a request to host) and the IHSA said, 'How would you like all three of 'em?' ' Havelka said.

The Mustangs have hosted only one regional in Havelka's previous 12 years. Two years ago they were in the same regional as Lockport. This year they wouldn't run into the defending state champion until state.

Class A assignments: All of DuPage County's small schools have been assigned to the Plano sectional. Driscoll, Immaculate Conception, Lisle, Montini, St. Francis, Timothy Christian, Westmont and Wheaton Academy will join top-seeded St. Edward there.

The Plano sectional winner will meet the St. Francis de Sales sectional champion in the University of Illinois-Chicago supersectional.

The Class A finals are set for June 3-4 in East Peoria.

Hitting in a pinch: The University of Illinois softball program recorded its 200th win last week with a 5-2 comeback victory over visiting Bradley with a little help from a former area ace.

Naperville North graduate Jackelyn Diekemper played a key role in the milestone win, but not how you might guess. Known more for her pitching than hitting in high school, Diekemper pinch hit and delivered a two-out, 2-run single up the middle in the sixth inning that held up as the game-winning hit.

'Jackelyn really swung the bat well in practice yesterday,' Illinois coach Terri Sullivan said after the game. 'When we told her she was going to hit, she had a look of confidence.'

Paying the price for success: Wheaton Warrenville South sophomore softball reserve Alli Hlavach wasn't looking forward to her English class Tuesday after making an outstanding play at second base in the Tigers' 7-0 victory over Naperville Central on Monday afternoon.

Seems Redhawks assistant coach Joe Gerace has temporarily come out of retirement to return to the halls of Wheaton Warrenville South for this semester as ... you guessed it ... an English (as well as speech and drama) teacher.

'The second baseman just lost 10 points in English,' Gerace said after Hlavach made the fifth-inning play on Katie Bradley's groundball.

Perhaps with Gerace's mock threat on her mind, Hlavach booted Erika Klotz's seventh inning ground ball but quickly recovered in time to throw her out at first base anyway.

Gerace, a Wheaton resident who taught for 35 years at what used to be Wheaton Central as well as at Wheaton Warrenville South, lovingly admits he was a moving target at school all day Monday because he was wearing his red Naperville Central shirt.

But the Tigers got the last laugh on the field.

среда, 19 сентября 2012 г.

TITLE: SPORTS BRIEFS - The Beacon News - Aurora (IL)

Jim Ruddy cards ace at Orchard ValleyAuroran Jim Ruddy Jr. sank a hole-in-one on Orchard Valley's par-3, 143-yard sixth hole on May 1. Ruddy used a 9-iron.

His ace was witnessed by his wife, Liz Ruddy, and by Lynn Robinson.

Seppelfrick, Peterson all-PSL

Aurora Central Catholic placed seniors Jon Seppelfrick and Tim Peterson on the all-Private School League baseball team.

The Chargers finished sixth in the league with a 7-9 record.

Nazareth Academy, which won the PSL title at 15-1, had four players on the first team.

Rosary to hold basketball camp

Rosary High School will conduct a girls basketball camp July 7-11 for athletes entering grades 4 through 9. The camp will run from 8 to 10 a.m. for grades four and five, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for grades six and seven and 1:30 to 4 p.m. for grades eight and nine.

Cost is $40 (grades four and five) and $45 (grades six through nine) before June 30 and an additional $5 after June 30. Call Rosary at 896-0831.

Batavia's Busch to Wheaton College

Jamie Busch, a starting defensive end for Batavia High School's football team last fall, has given a verbal commitment to attend Wheaton College and play for the Crusaders.

Busch, an all-Suburban Prairie Conference first team and Beacon News honorable mention all-area selection, was second in tackles for the Bulldogs with 81.

IEC names softball all-conference

Brenda Morris of Plano was named to the all-Interstate Eight Conference softball first team as a designated hitter.

Selected to second team were junior pitcher Beth Boss of Sandwich, senior catcher Abby Nesson of Plano and senior third baseman Jordana Evans of Plano.

Geneva's Grummer picks Waubonsee

Geneva High School golfer Mike Grummer has signed an NJCAA Division II letter of intent to play golf while attending Waubonsee Community College in the fall.

Grummer won the Suburban Prairie Conference championship and was named MVP.

Waubonsee names MPVs

Sophomore outfielder Jen Rankin of Plano was named the Most Valuable Player on the Waubonsee Community College softball team.

Waubonsee also named sophomore forward Heidi Caho of Oswego as Most Valuable women's basketball player.

Tomse letters at Eastern Illinois

Aurora Central Catholic graduate Mark Tomse was awarded a varsity baseball letter at Eastern Illinois University.

Tomse, a sophomore outfielder, finished the year with a .301 batting average with 53 hits in 176 at bats. He scored 39 runs, drove in 20 runs and had 12 doubles and a pair of homers.

Tomse was also 1-0 with a 2.45 earned run average in 11 innings as a pitcher.

He played in 51 games, starting 49. EIU finished the year with a 25-28 record.

Rigaud earns all-America citations

Washington (St. Louis) University sophomore Claudine Rigaud, a graduate of Rosary High School, earned a pair of All-America citations at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships May 24 at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

Rigaud placed sixth in the 100 meters in 12.25 seconds and seventh in the 200 meters in 25.10 seconds.

Local Sports - The Beacon News - Aurora (IL)

local schedule

Today's Events, Jan. 14 Boys wrestling - Mooseheart at Seneca, 4:30; Girls bowling - Oswego East at Fenton, 5; Boys basketball - Montini at Aurora Central, 7; Batavia at DeKalb, 7; Girls basketball - West Aurora at Wheaton Warrenville South, 7:30; DeKalb at Batavia, 7; Girls gymnastics - Oswego at Geneva, 6; Men's basketball - Aurora at Dominican, 7. girls bowling Sycamore 3,424, Kaneland 2,729 Sycamore - Cassie Wilson 167-135-149-451; Emily Curran 187-182-128-397; Kathleen Moravcik 117-166-132-415; Jessica Stebbins 155-138-153-446; Holly Thomas 162-193-146-501; Danielle Rose 120-150-149-419. boys wrestling Marmion Academy 65, Oswego East 5 103 - Sam Kellett (M) p. Ruben Reyes, 1:10; 112 - Ryan Riggs (M) md. Cody Peyton, 13-3; 119 - Angelo Silvestro (M) d. Dan Aguado, 7-6; 125 - Eddie Breen (M) p. Colin Griffin, 5:04; 130 - Jose Oliva (O) p. Jackson Weiler, 1:44; 135 - Joe Gregorio (M) p. Derek Edwards, 4:41; 140 - Pat Greco (M) p. Anthony Johnson, 2:30; 145 - Tim Benoit (M) p. Eric Brown, 4:38; 152 - Andy Konovodoff (M) p. John Garza, :45; 160 - David Niels (M) p. Cody Keoprasa, 1:43; 171 - Nico Jimenez (M) by forfeit; 189 - Andy Hernandez (M) p. Chris Fagan, 10-3; 215 - Conor English (M) md. Matt Hildner, 11-1; 275 - Alex Saulsberry (M) d. Brandon Rivera, 6-1 (OT). girls basketball Morris (33) Steffes 4 0-4 8, Dunbar 1 0-0 2, Stevens 4 0-0 8, Miller 3 0-0 6, L. Claire 1 0-0 2, R. Claire 3 1-2 7. Totals 16 1-6 33. Oswego (46) Sartain 1 0-0 3, Collier 4 3-3 12, Ziemnik 2 2-2 4, Wright 5 6-6 17, Purcell 4 0-1 8, Harmon 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 11-12 46. Morris

Baton Rouge still home for Patterson.(The Dallas Morning News) - Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

Byline: Cathy Harasta

BATON ROUGE, La. _ A few blocks from the McDonald's, a quaint brick building sits beside an old oak veiled in gauzy Spanish moss. The tree, with its spellbinding grace, gives a fairytale feel to this mid-scale commercial neighborhood.

No conspicuous thread connects the Golden Arches and the brick facility, home of Elite Gymnastics (motto: Your child is ALWAYS Number 1).

But the same Olympic gymnast featured on burger bags is pictured on framed magazine covers inside the cozy gym.

Carly Rae Patterson was here.

Patterson, 16, an Allen, Texas, resident, will lead the favored U.S. women in the team final at the Athens Olympics Tuesday.

North Texas proudly claims Patterson, a world champion with the chance to become one of the Games' biggest stars. But as a native of Baton Rouge, Patterson had a life before her Texas years. Among her nurturing influences was her first gym, where the whimsical flourished and jumping for joy was its own reward.

Her career began in 1994 at Elite Gymnastics, owned by Johnny Moyal, the son of a ballerina who survived the Holocaust. Moyal, a three-time Olympian for Israel and an All-American at Louisiana State University, instantly recognized that Patterson was not your average tumbler.

'What made her unique was that Carly lived in her own `Carly World,'.' Moyal said. 'It was a world that shielded her. She didn't need somebody to kick her butt.

'I told her she would make the Olympics.'

Patterson made friends and practiced her flips at Elite before she began to accrue her string of nicknames _ 'Snarly,' because it rhymed with Carly; the 'Cajun Sensation,' because of her roots; and 'Harley Davidson,' owing to her powerful athletic execution.

In her hometown, she enjoyed cafe au lait as a frequent treat. She and her cousins romped at her grandparents' riverside home, where alligators would drift by now and then. And each time she entered the gym, the towering oak enthralled her.

'Baton Rouge is home,' she said. 'I had a lot of fun growing up there.'

Patterson never took herself too seriously, said those who knew her before her family left the Louisiana capital for Texas in 1999.

She trained for more than five years at Elite before she landed at Plano's World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in 2000.

At Elite, Patterson learned the fundamentals in an environment that encouraged her to dream big. She polished her technique and added skills at WOGA, going on to win a world team gold medal and losing the world all-around championship by a margin of just .188 points last year.

As a toddler, Patterson, now a 95-pound 5-footer, demonstrated an uncommon affinity for grabbing onto bars, leaping and flipping.

Her mother, Natalie, often took Patterson to a shady park next to Jefferson Terrace Elementary School. Patterson had become proficient at swinging on the bars of her backyard swing set and needed more challenging playground equipment.

'Carly was very muscular from the time she was 2 years old,' Natalie said. 'She got up on water skis on her first try.'

Though Natalie had spent five years as a gymnast, she said she didn't consider putting her daughter in the sport. Then Patterson's cousin, Farin Fabre, held her 8th birthday party at Elite. Moyal was in the gym training his athletes when he noticed one of the little party guests.

As Patterson, then 6, jumped into a pit of yellow foam cubes, Moyal decided to ask her parents for permission to evaluate her skills.

'She had a great physical look for gymnastics,' said Moyal, who still has charts that gives the dates of Patterson's first time to perform each skill. 'It was the way she was hanging on the bar.'

On her first day in training, the other gymnasts marveled at Patterson's physique and fortitude.

'We just looked at her stomach muscles and said, `Wow!'.' said Jodi Nohra, now 17 and no longer a competitive gymnast. 'She had no fear whatsoever.'

Patterson's former training partner, Amanda Comeaux, 17, said she and Patterson spent time together outside the gym.

'We both always wanted to be orthodontists,' Comeaux said. 'We'd have sleepovers and stay up late with our little stuffed animals, pretending they were our dental clients.

'We did some crazy stuff.'

In Elite Gymnastics' black-and-white tiled lobby, Patterson's picture hangs beside a printed reproduction of a speech by Vince Lombardi. The tiny frog stickers that Patterson pasted on her locker still are intact. They'll stay there, as enchanting as the oak tree in the yard, which Moyal said is 400 years old and a symbol of power and endurance.

'They made it fun for you there,' Patterson said. 'Johnny was like a frog freak. We'd give him frogs for presents. We did a lot of playing.'

Moyal, 47, worked with Patterson until 1999, when her father, Ricky made an auto industry career move to Houston. Patterson trained briefly at Brown's Gymnastics until the next year, when Ricky's work brought him to North Texas. Patterson started training at WOGA, where the atmosphere is more austere and Dalmatians do not frolic among the gymnasts.

'Carly and Johnny had a unique connection,' said Ricky Patterson, who moved back to his hometown of Denham Springs, a suburb of Baton Rouge, when he and Natalie divorced two years ago. 'Johnny had a great atmosphere in the gym. It seemed Carly knew her path. We never had to push her one day. It was natural. It was desire.'

Natalie _ one of John and Bettye Mitchell's five children _ consulted her daughter's first-grade teacher, Sandra Applewhite, about taking Patterson out of traditional school. Applewhite, whose son, Major, played quarterback for the University of Texas, said she understood Natalie's desire to try home-schooling for her daughter, giving her the chance to spend more time training for her sport.

'Children at different ages get a dream,' said Applewhite, who now lives in Colleyville, Texas, and teaches in Southlake. 'Major got his dream in the eighth grade. When Carly was in the first grade, she had her mind made up. She was not the type of child who needed a lot of peer stimulation. Carly and her parents saw her dream and reached out for it.'

Natalie, a nurse, and her three sisters are in Athens to cheer for Patterson. Farin Fabre's freshman fall at LSU kept her from making the trip to see her cousin compete at the Games. But Farin reminded her mom and aunts that it was her childhood birthday party that launched Patterson's career.

'When she competes, we're usually quiet or nervous,' Farin said. 'But we do yell at the TV set.'

Indeed, the family gets animated, affectionate banter flying when everyone gets together. Leslie Yander, Patterson's aunt, said Carly didn't get her gymnastic ability from Aunt Leslie.

'I was never able to do a cartwheel,' she said with a laugh.

'Yeah, well, Carly does enough cartwheels for all of us,' said Patterson's aunt Lauren Fabre.

Patterson could become the biggest name in her sport since Mary Lou Retton, who 20 years ago became the first U.S. gymnast to win the prized Olympic all-around title. But unlike the Soviet-boycotted Los Angeles Games, at which Retton starred, the Athens Olympics are not missing any nations.

'I just hope Carly can achieve her dream,' said Patterson's grandmother, Bettye Mitchell. 'She's accomplished so much.'

It has kept John Mitchell busy. Mitchell, a retired machine-shop owner, handcrafts trophy cases for his granddaughter. At the rate Patterson fills them, her grandfather spends plenty of time in his home workshop beside the Amite River.

'I remember when Carly would walk across the top of picnic tables,' John Mitchell said, his eyes bright with the recollection. 'There's a lot of discipline in sports, which is good. But there are so very few gold medals out there.'

___

Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

_____

PHOTOS (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): Carly

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

A CHAMPION'S PERSPECTIVE; OCC TENNIS COACH TELLS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A NATIONAL CHAMP.(Sports)(Interview) - The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)

Byline: Lindsay Kramer Staff writer

Onondaga Community College tennis coach John LaRose recently walked across campus and wondered why he saw a student apparently mumbling into the thin air.

Turns out, the student was using a hands-free cell phone device. LaRose, 66, doesn't have a cell phone, so he wasn't too familiar with that.

Last year, a student pointed to a foreign object on LaRose's desk and asked what it was. It was an electric typewriter. On occasion, LaRose prefers to use it instead of his computer.

'I try to listen a lot more today. I'm not afraid to ask,' LaRose said of working with a younger generation. 'They'll talk about something. I say, 'I don't understand that.''

LaRose may have a bit of a vintage feel for some things, but the man clearly still has the trendy touch when it comes to tennis.

Last month, LaRose coached the OCC men's team to the NJCAA Division III national championship in Plano, Texas. It was the first such title for LaRose, who started the women's program at the school 21 years ago and the men's team 18 years ago.

LaRose, who has taken the OCC men to 13 national tournaments, and the rest of his team will be honored at a ceremony at the school today. Wednesday, he volleyed back-and-forth a few thoughts about the team's accomplishment:

Q: Will you wear your championship ring or keep it stored away?

A: The kids and the coaches will be getting a national ring. Wow. It will probably be like getting married, when you slip that ring on.

It takes about six weeks to make them and ship them. I'm not a jewelry person. I wear two rings now. I'll be glad to take off the one ring I wear now for cosmetic reasons and put on a national championship ring.

Q: How do you build a championship tennis team underneath the cloudy, wet spring skies of Central New York?

A: We do get some good players, but (also) some players that are OK. We've taken some lower-level players and gotten them to be All-Americans. I think we've established enough of a program so that kids look at OCC now. The secret? It's just hard work and dedication.

It's hard a lot of times, particularly this year. We had a lot of cold weather, a lot of wet weather. They are just used to it. So many of the kids are from this area, they know the weather is not good.

Q: Will winning a championship expand your recruiting base a lot beyond Central New York?

A: One of the coaches who won a couple of years ago was down in Texas. He said to me that winning a national championship is going (to make it) easier to recruit. You'll find eventually that kids are going to want to come here.

I'm not going to wait for that to happen. I'm still going to actively recruit. I have a couple of kids coming in from the Rochester area. I'm working now with a Russian agency to see if we can get some Russian students. We can give them a good program, so that's pretty good right now.

Q:Are today's athletes a lot different than the ones from two decades ago?

A: Oh yeah. The sense of dedication, the work ethic is there. But unless you are really into the sport, it's harder to motivate them. There was a lot of self-motivation years ago. You have to provide more ways of motivating kids now.

But if they are true tennis players, they are going to rise to the occasion.

Q:How do you relate to today's players?

A: I think they respect me as an older person, a coach, and a mentor. They know I am here to help them. I do more than talk about tennis. Their personal problems, they open up to me, which I like. They'll come in and sit and talk, and ask questions.

I've grown, because I've worked with them. That's what's kept my mind younger. I'd be really lost if I wasn't teaching or coaching.

Q:Have you gotten a cell phone yet?

A: No cell phone. But I think it's coming. I'm almost bending to pressure. I have to call one of our guys and say, 'OK, for tomorrow's match we are going to wear our green shirts.' They all laugh and kid me about it.

Lindsay Kramer can be reached at 470-2151 or lkramer@syracuse.com.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Submitted by Charles Wainwright

YOUTH SPORTS: SPARTANS' RETURN A FAMILY AFFAIR - Sun Publications (IL)

A family-type effort from a group of residents has helped resuscitate the Romeoville Spartans Youth Football and Cheerleading program.'I thought it was high time to get another program out there,' said club secretary Aimee Walsh, who started the push to revive the organization more than 20 months ago.

With another registration and information session scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Romeoville High School, almost 250 children already have preregistered to play football or cheer for the program.

'People are real happy to see the program back,' Spartans vice president Phil Ramos said.

When the Spartans disbanded in 1989. Romeoville was a town of about 15,000 people.

Explosive growth -- the community's population has nearly doubled in the '90s -- was a factor Walsh said fueled her desire to reinstate a program she used to cheer for as a youth.

In the summer of 1998, Walsh kicked off her effort by distributing photocopied announcements at various youth events.

In August of that year, an all-volunteer board of directors was created and started meeting twice a week at the Romeoville Recreation Center.

A month later, the first public meeting was held, drawing an overwhelming response.

'When all these people showed up for the meeting originally, I was totally floored,' Walsh said.

'I don't think anybody could get me to shut up because I was so excited.

My husband Jim and I got in the car, and we said, `It's going.' I don't think he's seen me so excited about anything except for our wedding.'

That rush of enthusiasm hit its zenith in Minooka on Feb. 4, when the River Valley Football Conference tabbed Romeoville, Coal City and Manteno as new entries.

Romeoville will play in the Northern Division along Plainfield, Lemont, Minooka, Plano, Bourbonnais, Joliet and Sandwich.

'When the conference called us to tell us that we would be admitted, it was 10:30 at night, it was like we won the whole tournament,' Spartans public relations director Suzette Hopkins said.

The Spartans will feature at least four teams in four weight divisions: superlights, lightweights, middleweights and heavyweights.

The league is open to children ages 6 to 14 weighing up to 178 pounds.

Cheerleading is offered to children ages 6 to 14 as of Sept. 1.

The program's first football practice is scheduled for July 19, with the opening game scheduled for Aug. 9. Romeoville will play four home games and four away games in an attempt to qualify for the league playoffs.

The season will end on the final weekend of October with a game between the Southern and Northern Division champs.

Walsh said Romeoville High School will allow the youth football program to hold its homecoming games in September at the varsity's field.

The facility may also be the site for all home games.

MORE HELP NEEDED In the meantime, the organization is concentrating its efforts on recruiting volunteers and raising funds.

The board is hoping to attract at least five coaches per team.

Coaching clinics will help volunteers learn more about the game.

Romeoville High School varsity coach Jim Boudouris has agreed to help, and the group is trying to secure help from the football staffs at Plainfield, Bolingbrook and Joliet Catholic Academy.

'We'll take whatever those coaches have to offer because these kids are going to end up in their programs,' Ramos said.

Walsh said that all of the board members have experience in working with children on a one-on-one basis, aside from being a parent.

Several have experience coaching high school and youth sports, including football.

As for fund raising, the board is asking the community for help.

'Just to get people dressed and standing on the field is about $30,000,' Ramos said.

'We have to somehow generate that much money.

The registration fee that the players pay helps offset this, but remember we also have to pay for things like insurance, postage and mailings.'

The board is looking for sponsors to help cover those expenses.

Some area businesses and individuals, including Mayor Fred Dewald, have stepped up with support.

'They've dug deep in their pockets to give us what they can, which is very well appreciated,' Hopkins said.

'But we definitely need to express our needs to other business.

We cannot stress enough that the community has to be involved in this.'

Businesses who sign up as major sponsors might be able to get the company logo on players' helmets.

'We'll put stickers all over the players like they do in auto racing,' assistant athletic director Jim Walsh joked.

SCHOOL COMES FIRST As a program, the Spartans philosophical beliefs and points of emphasis are on academics, building confidence, unselfishness, dealing with adversity, respect, safety, sportsmanship, contact within the boundaries of sportsmanship, class, technique, humility and family.

'We are not only stressing athletics, we are stressing school and grades,' field manager George Schmidt said.

'If a kid's grades aren't up, they aren't going to be playing as much as they should be or at all.

We've talked to parents, and they've agreed with us that school should come first over sports.'

As for the board members, the late nights and heavy workload involved in bringing the league back has taken its toll.

Each, though, said the extra effort has been worth it.

'I have four children at home and they all probably don't remember what I look like, but they are all loving it as well because they're involved in it just as much as I am,' Aimee Walsh said.

'It just takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get something like this off the ground,' she added.

'We might have some eyeball scratching on this board, but we're a family.

Junior varsity gymnasts fly high Saints win several big meets; Bulldogs' future promising.(SportsXtra) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Byline: Jeff Clarkson Daily Herald Correspondent

The 1998-99 season was outstanding for the St. Charles junior varsity gymnastics team.

The Saints won all their duals, the Upstate Eight Conference meet and the New Trier, Conant freshman and York junior varsity invitationals.

The Saints completed their high score of the season (124.9) in the JV conference meet.

'The level of talent and hard work were reasons for our success,' said Saints coach Jim Guest. 'The kids were willing, and they worked extremely hard. Many of them hadn't done gymnastics before this year.'

Some of the girls came from clubs, most from the St. Charles club but at least one from the Geneva Jumpers. One hadn't done gymnastics since she was 10 years old.

The JV team consisted mainly of freshmen and a few seniors.

The Saints individually had a field day at the conference meet.

Sophomore Kate Wymore led the Saints at the conference meet. She won the all-around with 31.7 (7.925 average), capturing the uneven parallel bars (8.1). She finished third on floor (7.8) and fifth on beam.

Teammate Danielle Pavela won beam (8.3), finished fifth on floor (7.7) and third in all-around (31.0). Jessica Girdwain finished third on beam (8.0), Diane Mika finished second (7.8) and Carly Jugenitz. fourth on bars, and Mika finished fourth by just a tenth behind Pavela. Kristen Derrico led the Saints on vault (8.2)

Lisa Mercier turned in a solid effort for the Saints at the Conant invitational in the all-around. Christine Eppes competed well on floor and bars, and Summer Collins competed well on floor exercise and vaulting.

'Lisa, Danielle and Jessica had an outstanding first year,' Guest said. 'The girls kept improving.'

Batavia

The process of developing a gymnastics team over the past eight years has been a successful one at Batavia. The program hit a new height this season.

'We have tremendous depth,' said Bulldogs coach Steve Conlon. 'In the past, we have had 12, 14 or 16 girls come out, but this year 29 girls came out. The interest in the sport is booming.

'We had a strong, competitive junior varsity team this year. We were pleased with the turnout.'

Many of the girls come from one of three clubs, Excel Gym in Aurora, Plano YMCA and the Midwest Gymnastics Academy. The team is young without any seniors.

The Bulldogs finished 5-3 on the junior varsity level. They placed third in the Suburban Prairie Conference behind traditional powers Oswego and Glenbard South with one of their highest team scores of the season (112.5).

They had a team-high 114.8 in their first meet of the season. They did well even though they had four freshmen and four sophomores on the varsity team.

The freshmen on the team finished third of 12 teams at the Oswego invitational.

The competition to make the team is so strong, some of the Bulldogs are specializing in an event or more.

At the conference meet, sophomore Sarah Hussman finished fourth in vault, junior Melissa Paukstis took second on floor and freshman Lisa Allen was fifth in the all-around. Oswego and Glenbard South dominated the other places.

Freshmen Megan Grant and Sarah Arlis and sophomores Mary Cooper and Stephanie Holmes made good progress through the season.

'Stephanie Holmes is one of the most improved girls over the last two years and a leader of the JV team,' Conlon said.

Youth Sports Briefs - The Beacon News - Aurora (IL)

Hot Shots camp slated Hot Shots basketball skills camp will hold two sessions in June at Granger Middle School, 1305 Long Grove Drive, Aurora.Two sessions will be held, June 4 to 7 and June 11 to 14.

Second- through fourth-graders meet from 8 to 10 a.m., fifth- and sixth-graders from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and seventh- and eighth- graders from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Grade levels are based on the grade each student will enter in the fall.

The camp teaches ball handling, proper shooting techniques, footwork, offensive and defensive concepts and more.

Rob Woolwine will lead the camp.

The cost is $60 for one session or $110 for both if the child registers before May 25. After that date, the cost rises to $65 for one session or $120 for both.

Call (630) 551-4749 or e-mail HotShotsmd@aol.com.

Marmion to teach football skills Marmion Academy will hold a football skills camp for fourth- through eighth-grade boys July 23 to 26 at the school on Butterfield Road, 1/2 mile west of Kirk/Farnsworth Road, Aurora.

Sixth- through eighth-graders meet from 8:30 a.m. to noon, fourth- and fifth-graders from 2 to 4 p.m. Marmion head football coach Paul Murphy teaches fundamental skills for sportsmanship, leadership and citizenship.

Participants should bring football shoes, gym shoes, towels and swimsuits.

The pool will be open for swimming for half of an hour after each camp ends.

Participants must register in advance.

The fee is $75 for the older kids' camp, $50 for the younger children.

Discounts are available if more than one family member signs up for the camp.

Call (630) 897-6936 or e-mail pmurphy@marmion.pvt.k12.il.us.

Rookie Sport Camp planned The Fox Valley Family YMCA offers the following programs.

Call (630) 552-4100 or visit 3875 Eldamain Road, off Route 34 between Yorkville and Plano.

* Rookie Sport Camp -- This camp is designed as an introduction for the athlete ages 4 to 6. A new sport or activity will be introduced each day including basketball, soccer, football, T-ball and floor hockey. The camp is set for 9 to 9:45 a.m. June 18 to 22.

U.S. gymnasts on top of the world.(The Dallas Morning News) - Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

Byline: Cathy Harasta

ANAHEIM, Calif. _ They, well, beamed in jubilation.

U.S. coaches and officials had plenty to celebrate when the World Gymnastics Championships' 100th-anniversary edition ended at the Arrowhead Pond on Sunday.

It's not that Team USA skipped across the surface of the Pond without a hitch, but more that the program redeemed itself after neither the men nor the women won a medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

A record five gold medals and historic firsts for the men and women positioned the United States just where it wanted to be with less than a year until the 2004 Athens Olympics.

'The message is clear,' said Evgeny Marchenko, the U.S. women's team's assistant coach and a Plano gym owner. 'We proved we are the best country in the world right now. And we will keep working to prove it next year.'

Next year is the one the 'now' generation of gymnasts has eyed for many years. The 2004 Athens Olympics, on Aug. 13-29, offer the sport an even bigger showcase opportunity than the world championships.

'This has been awesome, just awesome,' said Steve Penny, the senior vice president of marketing for USA Gymnastics. 'We took the pressure off.'

Well, maybe not all of it. A team entering the Olympic countdown as a gold or silver medal favorite for the Games has to watch its back.

'We are going to keep a positive attitude for the next Olympic Games,' said Octavian Belu, coach of the Romanian women's team, which finished second to the U.S. squad. 'We will see all the girls competing in Athens, and can expect a very different outcome.'

Ah, bulletin board material for Team USA almost a year early!

Texas gymnastics took a huge stride in Anaheim, where Allen's Carly Patterson 15, and Dallas' Hollie Vise, 15, won four medals between them in their first season of senior-level competition.

Take it from another North Texan in attendance _ Kim Zmeskal-Burdette, the Coppell gym owner who won the 1991 world all-around title:

'This could not have been better,' she said. 'We almost had another all-around champion. This is Carly's first year. She'll be there.'

Patterson finished second to Russia's Svetlana Khorkina, perhaps a sentimental favorite because this was her farewell world championships, in the all-around event. U.S. women's team coordinator Martha Karolyi said the judges overscored Khorkina's final event.

No matter, Patterson graciously accepted the silver medal. She didn't say, 'Wait `til next year!' But, well, just wait `til next year.

The U.S. women won their first world team title, snapping Romania's string of five consecutive world championships. The American squad finished fourth at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, not having had enough time to get results from the fledgling training approach that has come to be called the 'Karolyi Plan.'

After the disappointment in Sydney, USA Gymnastics officials in 1999 launched routine training camps at the ranch owned by former Olympic coach Bela Karolyi and his wife, Martha. In naming Martha Karolyi the U.S. women's team coordinator, USA Gymnastics officials sent the message that somebody was in charge.

The semi-centralized preparations included autonomy to a degree for the elite gymnasts' personal coaches. But they had to answer the bell when the U.S. camps requested the gymnasts' presence at the ranch in New Waverly, Texas, near Huntsville.

The training camps, held every month or so, stressed conditioning and measured each athlete's progress. The idea was that they might be able to run, but they couldn't hide.

Martha Karolyi denied accusations that the team over-trained. Illness and injuries sidelined three of the six-member U.S. women's squad in the days leading to the world championships.

Marchenko, the co-owner of Plano's World Olympic Gymnastics Academy and the personal coach of Vise and Patterson, probably will handle the spotlight well. In his early days in North Texas 10 years ago, he delivered pizzas to save money to launch a gymnastics academy.

'I knew that was just temporary,' he said. 'I was living my dream. It just hadn't started yet.'

It should come true in Athens, the way things are developing.

___

Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

Plan for new arena: Lure pro teams ; West Carrollton studying prospect of building sports complex off I- 75. - Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH)

WEST CARROLLTON -- The $52 million events center in Allen, Texas,sounds a lot like what West Carrollton city officials envision asthe anchor for the proposed Miami Bend entertainment district nearInterstate 75, south of Dayton.

Opened in 2009 with a concert by country star Reba McIntire, theAllen Event Center near U.S. 75 north of Dallas is home to minor-league hockey and football teams and surrounded by stores,restaurants and hotels.

Now West Carrollton hopes to lure minor-league hockey, soccer andfootball teams, potentially joining communities from GwinnettCounty, north of Atlanta, to Lincoln, Neb., as minor-league sportsmeccas.

'Happens all the time,' said David Broughton, research directorfor Sports Business Journal, in an email.

'Varying degrees of success.'

City's plan

West Carrollton will be working with Kent Oelkers, a consultantinvolved in developing the Allen Event Center, to decide whether topursue the development of an events center west of the city's new I-75 interchange.

While pointing to the Allen center, as well as facilities inDodge City, Kan., and Independence, Mo., as successes, Oelkerscautioned against too much early optimism.

'It's not a good fit for all communities,' he said. 'In the pastwe've walked from projects.'

West Carrollton Mayor Jeff Sanner said city officials wereexcited by the prospect of Dayton Gems hockey, Dayton Silverbacksindoor football and Dayton Dutch Lions soccer being played at anevents center in their city.

'They're all people that could use a facility like this,' Sannersaid. 'Whether it's a key aspect is yet to be determined.'

The sports teams, in combination with concerts and other events,could help make West Carrollton a 'destination location,' accordingto local officials.

Early next year, Oelkers will complete the first phase of amultipart study designed to measure, among other things, whetherthere is sufficient demand for an events center, where it should belocated and how it would be financed.

'It's going to have to be a public-private partnership,' Sannersaid.

The Texas example

The Allen Americans won a Central Hockey League conferencechampionship and a trip to the finals in 2010. In March, the centerbecomes home to the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference men's andwomen's basketball tournaments. Concerts and rodeos fill other dateson the center's calendar.

Still, there have been problems. The city and GlobalEntertainment, the consultants group that built and was managing thecenter, split in a dispute. Litigation continues, while the city hastaken over the center's management.

'Overall the city council's goal was to make Allen a regionaltourist destination,' said assistant city manager Wes Pierson. 'It'sdone a lot to put Allen on the map.'

Rather than financed directly by Allen, about $40 million in debton the center is being paid off by the MGHerring Group, the Dallas-based developer of the retail around the arena, through sales andticket taxes, Pierson said.

'We're not scrambling to make debt payments,' he said.

Much like development at the Austin Boulevard I-75 interchange,south of West Carrollton, the Allen center and commercialdevelopments around it were financed through different economicdevelopment funding sources.

Since the Allen center opened, plans for a major mall anotherexit north on U.S. 75 were abandoned.

'In Allen, the arena was the tie-breaker,' said RobertWinningham, former director of an economic development corporationset up to help finance the project. 'The hockey team came with thearena.'

Development plans north in McKinney also stalled, while stores ata mall south in Plano, moved to the arena district.

'That's competition,' said Winningham, now running for Congressin southern Indiana. 'Communities are always going to compete withone another.'

What was the difference in Allen?

'It takes a city council to be progressively minded. You've gotto kind of think outside the box,' Winning-ham said.

Will teams move?

The Dutch Lions, which already plans to move its games and youthacademy to West Carrollton, was ready to play an indoor seasonthere.

'Not only to keep our professional players with us year-round,but also to give our fans more games to watch,' Mike Moss-el, teamowner and president, said in an email. 'A new indoor location inWest Carrollton would be ideal since we want to make West Carrolltonour home, not only for our youth academy but in future years alsofor our pro teams.'

The Dayton Gems continue to invest in their current home, HaraArena. Still the team would be interested in moving to WestCarrollton, provided enough fans came to the games, team PresidentJoe Greene said.

Attendance this season has been below preseason goals.

'We continue to improve,' Greene said. 'Early in the season issometimes tough.'

Officials with the Day-ton Silverbacks football team expresseddoubts about the West Carrollton plan.

'We did the suburban thing. We were in Troy (in Miami County) forthree years,' general manager Mike Lause said. 'If I've got to paymore, I've got to get a piece of the concessions.'

Lause also questioned West Carrollton's choice of consultants.

In September, Lause said he brought Tom Che-ma, head of GatewayDevelopment, to Dayton to discuss building facilities similar tothose Che-ma developed in Cleveland and Toledo.

Lause predicted also the owners of Hara Arena, where theSilverbacks and Gems now play, would invest more in their 50-year-old facility if West Carrollton's plan came to fruition.

'I'm definitely not going to shoot it down,' Lause said. 'I'vegot to see what is going to make economic sense for my club.'

Hara officials suggested West Carrollton's plan would fail,similar to those to build an arena in Dayton and off the AustinBoulevard interchange.

'A new facility isn't always the answer,' Hara marketing directorKaren Wampler said.

Even the West Carrollton mayor acknowledged the project'suncertain future.

'It's very early on,' Sanner said. 'We have to look ateverything.'