Harper Noren of the Illinois Lightning Track Club shows her form in the long jump on June 25 at Shepard. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Harper Noren of the Illinois Lightning Track Club shows her form in the long jump on June 25 at Shepard. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Area Sports Roundup: Lightning strikes at Shepard

Spread the love

By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer

There was a lot of rain and a little bit of thunder at the Illinois Lightning Track and Field Club’s open track meet, which was held at Shepard on June 25.

The meet was open to everyone, from children as young as  4 (one 3-year-old also participated) to adults. More than 100 boys, girls, men and women ran, jumped or threw.

“This is an event that we want to bring in people of all ages,” said longtime Shepard girls track coach Scot Rybarczyk, who is also the Lightning’s head coach.

The Lighting is a new club team based in Palos Heights. It was founded by former Astros track athlete Kiki Boyd and features 55 athletes.

100 scaled

Runners get ready to open the 100-meter dash on the sound of the starter’s gun on a rainy morning at the Lightning meet in Palos Heights. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Some of the coaches on the staff boast impressive credentials. They include former Bloom coach Lonelle Poole, retired Thornton and Rich Township coach Jimmy Daniels, sprinting coach Jasmine Daniels, Shepard throwing coach Clint Connelly,  Eisenhower girls coach Tony Sosnowsiki, Bremen coach Bill Griffin, Reavis throwing coach Jeff Kreil, and Shepard graduates Kathy Mydra and Rainah Folk.

Among the Shepard alums who competed included Jamil Mashni, one of just four Astros to medal in the IHSA state meet, taking ninth in the shot put in 2010.  He tried his luck in the shot put and discus.

DISCUS scaled

Jamil Mashni, 30 and a Shepard grad who was all-state in the shot put, competes in the discus on Saturday at the Lightning meet. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Mashni, 30, said he threw over 50 feet in the shot in the rain on June 25, not far off of his 55-2.25 that he heaved as an athlete at SIU-Edwardsville. The mortgage loan originator at Rocket Mortgage was happy to see an event like this take place.

“I came out here and broke 50, man — that’s cool,” he said. “It’s been nine years since I held a shot like that.”

“This was awesome. I wish there were a few more faces of people that I graduated with, but it’s still a great turnout and I’m seeing a lot of familiar faces.”

The meet drew athletes and teams from a variety of places including Rush Athletics of Plainfield, the Chicago Thunder Track Club and the University of Chicago Track Club.

Rybarczyk said there will be another meet at Shepard on July 23, and he is hoping for triple the teams and athletes.

55 scaled

Evergreen Park’s Blake Tully, 3, had to be helped in the 55-meter dash by her mother, Hillary on Saturday. Hillary is an assistant track coach at Shepard. Photo by Jeff Vorva

 

Excitement in Omaha

Former Brother Rice baseball star Kendall Pettis is a member of Oklahoma’s baseball team, which finished second at the NCAA Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

He played in all five World Series games and collected two hits, drove in a run and scored twice.

On the season, the sophomore hit .259, scored 45 runs and drove in 27.

Orland Park native and former Marist standout Jack Brannigan was also in Omaha for three World Series games with Notre Dame and had two hits. For the season, he hit .291 with 12 homers and 46 RBI. He was also 2-2 on the mound, with a 7.36 ERA and a pair of saves.

Another Brother Rice alum who had some baseball excitement in Omaha was Michael Massey, who plays for the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. He cracked a home run June 23 in a 5-3 home victory over Columbus.

Massey, who opened the season on the Kansas City Royals’ Double-A Northwest Arkansas squad, was called up to Triple-A in mid-June.

 

Fun in Springfield

The Chicago Wolves beat Springfield (Mass.) 4-0 in Game 5 on the road at the MassMutual Center to win the Calder Cup championship on June 25. It’s the fifth championship in club history.

Orland Park native David Gust scored one of the goals in the championship game.

In his second season with the Wolves, Gust had 16 goals and 20 assists.

VAULT scaled

Amina Qureshi of Shepard lands during the pole vault event at the Lightning track meet. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Local News

big PoliceLights1

Police Blotter

Spread the love

Spread the loveCHICAGO RIDGE DUI Orlando De La Rosa, 32, of Berwyn, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at 2:29 a.m. March 8 in the 9200 block of South Harlem Avenue. Police said he failed field sobriety tests and refused to submit a breath sample. He was also…

Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer rides in the Fourth of July parade in 2022. (File photo)

Oak Lawn seeks participants for Fourth of July parade

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle It may be spring, but it is not too early to talk about a summer parade. The Oak Lawn Village Board approved a resolution Tuesday morning authorizing the submission of a permit request to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the 2024 Fourth of July Parade. The resolution approves the…

Veronica Shaw

Sandburg welcomes new associate principal of instruction

Spread the love

Spread the loveConsolidated High School District 230 Board of Education is welcoming Dr. Veronica Shaw to Carl Sandburg High School as its new Associate Principal of Instruction. She begins July 1 and replaces Anita Huffman who was recently appointed as District 230’s Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. With ample education leadership experience, Shaw is currently…

Funeral2

Obituaries March 28, 2024

Spread the love

Spread the loveHONORATA BIS Honorata Bis (nee Donicz), age 71, passed away peacefully with loving family by her side February 27. Beloved wife of Adam Bis; loving mother of Konrad Bis and Monika (Mariusz) Sarna; dear grandmother of Michael, Matthew, Amelia and Szymon; dearest daughter of the late Irena (nee Szaniawska) and the late Jan…

Sheri Cannataro, of Cannataro Farms, demonstrates the gear she wears to extract honey from a bee hive for visitors who stopped by to see her products at the Hills Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Residents warm up to Hills Chamber Business Expo

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Spring has arrived but winter continues to leave its calling card. However, that did not prevent the Hills Chamber of Commerce from holding its 10th annual Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. While the temperatures were frigid and windy outside, the spirit inside…

Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters speaks about zoning codes at the March 25 council meeting. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Palos Park to tweak outdated village zoning codes

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The village of Palos Park has no grand plan to change the village landscape. But officials want to modernize some of its zoning codes. “The village has not comprehensively updated its development regulations since 1960,” Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters said at the March 25 village council meeting. “Due to this, there…

Ridgeland sd122 logo

SD122 psychologist resigns over Islamophobic posts

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working…

CRR_NH

Clear-Ridge Reporter and NewsHound March 27, 2024

Spread the love

Spread the love

Mary Stanek

Will the month of March leave like a lion?

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place •  (773) 517-7796 . The days are getting longer and slightly warmer. But my prediction of a few weeks ago–March is certainly not leaving like a lamb–may prove to be correct. A sure sign of spring in…

Peggy Zabicki

Robin sighting a sign of new beginnings

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I saw a robin the other day. This was the first sighting of the season for me. I remember my mom saying that the first robin of spring is a promise of new beginnings. May it be so. Is…

Neighbors

Appeals court skeptical of Mike Bost’s case to stop ballot counts after Election Day

Appeals court skeptical of Mike Bost’s case to stop ballot counts after Election Day

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A panel of federal appellate judges on Thursday seemed skeptical of legal arguments made on behalf of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, who claims Illinois’ law allowing counting of mail-in ballots for two weeks after an election is in violation of federal law. Bost’s late 2022…

DCFS hires on-the-spot at hiring events

DCFS hires on-the-spot at hiring events

By BETH HUNDSDORFER  Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Cyrenthia Threat spent Wednesday morning at a hiring event in Fairview Heights waiting for word on whether she was hired by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.  Threat wants to move to Illinois from Georgia where she works as a social worker. She has 20 years…

Capitol Briefs: Advocates push for guaranteed income, child care assistance

Capitol Briefs: Advocates push for guaranteed income, child care assistance

By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear the case of actor Jussie Smollett, who was convicted for staging a hate crime against him in 2019 in a case that drew criticism for Cook County’s top prosecutor. Smollett made what turned out to be…

Illinois teacher shortage persists, survey finds

Illinois teacher shortage persists, survey finds

By PETER HANCOCK  Capitol News Illinois  phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com  SPRINGFIELD – Illinois continues to suffer from a shortage of teachers and other education professionals, although recent efforts by the state to ease the strain have made an impact.  That’s according to the latest annual survey of school officials from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools,…

Bills in state Senate would further regulate battery storage and disposal

Bills in state Senate would further regulate battery storage and disposal

COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD — Two bills that would regulate battery disposal and storage are awaiting action from the full Illinois Senate after unanimous committee approval.   Senate Bill 3481, sponsored by Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, would require facilities that store electric vehicle batteries to register with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency…

Prisoner Review Board chair, member resign in wake of boy’s fatal stabbing by released inmate

Prisoner Review Board chair, member resign in wake of boy’s fatal stabbing by released inmate

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The longtime chair and a relatively new member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board have resigned, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office announced Monday. The governor’s office announced the pair’s resignations within hours of each other nearly two weeks after Crosetti Brand was released from Stateville Correctional Center. Brand is…

Highest-ranking woman in state police history reflects on experience as force looks to diversify

Highest-ranking woman in state police history reflects on experience as force looks to diversify

By ALEX ABBEDUTO   Capitol News Illinois  abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com  The night before Rebecca Hooks started at the Illinois State Police Academy in 2002, she spoke on the phone with her father and her brother – both of whom worked in law enforcement.  Her father encouraged her, telling her she was strong and could get through the…

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

 By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

 By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

After being rebuffed by regulators, utilities file slimmed-down spending plans

 By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO — State regulators are once again considering massive electric utility spending plans that would affect the state’s climate goals – and 5.4 million electric customers’ monthly bills – after rejecting previous versions late last year. The Illinois Commerce Commission forced the state’s two major electric utilities, Commonwealth…