Area Sports Roundup: Sandburg golfer Jillian Cosler opens high school sports season with a bang
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The 2022-23 high school sports season opened with a bang. Practices were allowed to begin on Aug. 8 and the IHSA unleashed boys and girls golfers on Aug. 11; and there was some excitement the next day. Sandburg’s girls golf team participated in the Prep Tour Showcase at Hickory Point…
Pro Soccer Report: Chicago Fire to play four matches at SeatGeek
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Before soccer fans could blink their eyes, SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview has been tabbed to host four Chicago Fire games. SeatGeek was the MLS club’s home from 2006 until 2019, when it moved to Soldier Field. Conflicts with Soldier Field’s prized tenants, the Chicago Bears, and damage to the playing…
‘Coach Q’ era begins at Brother Rice
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer You might say the man they call “Coach Q” was as cool as a Q-cumber on the first day of high school football practice for the 2022 season. As an assistant coach, Casey Quedenfeld helped Episcopal High School in Texas win a private school state championship in 2019. He also…
Area Sports Roundup: Saint Xavier football tabbed 11th in preseason rankings
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Saint Xavier’s football team has something to feel lucky about. The Cougars are ranked No. 11 in the preseason NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ Poll. That’s a number to which people around the school have taken a liking. “Hopefully 11 is our lucky number and maybe it’s…
Pro Soccer Report: Milazzo’s first goal at SeatGeek helps Red Stars snap skid
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer At one time in early July, the Chicago Red Stars were tied with San Diego for the most points in the NWSL. For most of the month they hung around second place, but after ending July with a two-game losing streak, they entered Sunday’s home game against Gotham FC in…
46th Junior PGA Championships begin Tuesday at Cog Hill
Two of golf’s major junior championships return this week when the 46th Junior PGA Championships tee off Tuesday at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Palos Park. The championships run until Friday. This is the first time both the boys and girls championships are at the same venue since 2017. Sandburg’s Jillian Cosler, of…
Spartans hoop to keep the good times rolling
By Randy Whalen Correspondent The recent string of success for the Oak Lawn boys basketball team is something that hasn’t been seen at the school in 50 years. Now, with the edition of Xavier Sulaiman, who scored 38 points in an 86-85 travel team loss in mid-July, the Spartans have the potential to be even better. “Xavier…
Area Sports Roundup: Costa and Busker named top athletes at Trinity; St. Rita’s Talty to kick for Tide
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Former Richards volleyball standout Alex Costa led the NAIA with 508 kills and 613.5 points last season. Not a bad season for the Trinity Christian College sophomore. It gets even better. Last week, Costa was named TCC’s Male Athlete of the Year. The Oak Lawn native also had top numbers…
Pro Soccer Report: San Diego rookie Shaw, 17, scores lone goal in 1-0 win over Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The pregame attention went to 32-year-old Alyssa Mautz. The postgame attention – and surely a lot more attention to come – went to 17-year-old Jaedyn Shaw. Mautz announced that last Saturday’s game against the San Diego Wave would be her final last for the Chicago Red Stars. She has accepted…
Bobby Frasor steps down as coach at Brother Rice
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The wins. The mosh pits. The jokes. These are just a few of the things that will be missed by Bobby Frasor, who stepped down last week as the basketball coach at Brother Rice and is leaving the world of hoops. Frasor was a star player for the Crusaders who…
Lyons grad Izzy Lee headed to Illini
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Izzy Lee grew into her role as a two-sport standout at Lyons. Now she’s taking that growth to college at Illinois, where she will play goalie for the women’s soccer team. A couple years ago, Lee experienced a growth spurt. Being taller and stronger predictably supplemented her soccer and hoops skills.…
Michael Schofield signs with hometown Chicago Bears
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Last September, Michael Schofield was looking for work after being cut during training camp by the Baltimore Ravens. His people contacted the Chicago Bears. It sounded like a pretty good idea for both parties. He had experience — and a Super Bowl ring — as an NFL offensive linemen and…
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars’ Pugh, Waves’ Morgan headline battle at Soldier Field
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Two of the three best goal-scorers in the NWSL were teammates for most of July as members of the United States Women’s National Team. Now they are back in the league after leading their country to a Summer Olympics bid, and will face each other right off the bat in…
Area Sports Roundup: Marist and R-B alums caught up in the draft
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Marist and Riverside-Brookfield baseball fans were likely beaming with pride during this year’s Major League Baseball draft, which concluded July 19. Both schools had a pair of ex-players drafted. A look at who went where for the RedHawks and Bulldogs: — R-B’s Owen Murphy, who wrapped up his senior season…
Nazareth grad Katie Hurta excited to start collegiate volleyball career at Penn State
By Randy Whalen Correspondent There are numerous facets of the game that Katie Hurta excelled in as a volleyball player. Now, she has taken those talents to at Penn State, where her collegiate athletics career will begin in roughly one month. Hurta, of Palos Hills, helped Nazareth win the IHSA Class 3A girls volleyball state…
Gaelic Park to host Continental Youth Championships
The Chicago Gaelic Athletic Association will host the 2022 Continental Youth Championships at Gaelic Park this July 28-31. The CYC is an annual tournament that rotates cities and features hundreds of Gaelic football, hurling, and camogie games. Over 1,500 youth players representing 22 clubs from all over the United States as well as Canada will…
Shepard grad Bartczak put it all together in senior season
By Steve Millar Correspondent Tyler Bartczak had success on the mound throughout his four varsity seasons at Shepard. But he had not produced offensively as much as he had hoped. Until his senior season. “It was super important to me to hit well this year,” Bartczak said. “You always want to be the best that…
Pro Soccer Report: Houston’s hat trick too much for Red Stars; Bezerra hat trick not enough for Fire II
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Bad things came in threes for the Chicago Red Stars. Houston’s Ebony Salmon scored three goals against the Red Stars’ defense and Chicago lost by three, 4-1, in an NWSL match July 16 at PNC Stadium. It snapped the Red Stars nine-game unbeaten streak. The loss dropped the Red Stars…
IHSA releases 2022 football schedule
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It’s that time of year. The IHSA has released the 2022 football schedule. So, from now until Aug. 26, one can go on the IHSA website, look at the schedules and see all of the blanks where the results and scores will be. It’s a clean sheet for all, and…
Late Evergreen Park teacher, coach preached character, family
By Joe Boyle Words of praise have never been scarce from the Evergreen Park community for John Elias “Coach” George. Relatives, friends, colleagues and former students were in attendance during a memorial service for George, a longtime teacher and coach at Evergreen Park Community High School. George died June 3, 2020, but a public memorial…
Angelo Luna put in the work and broke the St. Laurence record for RBIs in a season
By Steve Millar Correspondent Angelo Luna produced one of the greatest offensive seasons in St. Laurence history last season. Luna, an outfielder and an Illinois-Springfield recruit, broke the Vikings single-season RBI record with 56. He also finished with the second-best single-season totals in program history for hits (55), runs (50) and doubles (17). “Now that…
Marist soccer standout Gina Czochara fulfills goal of breaking program’s single-season goals record
By Steve Millar Correspondent Gina Czochara had no doubt what she wanted. After watching teammate CeCe Light break Marist’s school record for goals in a season with 27 in 2021, she was inspired. When the RedHawks coaching staff asked players to write down a goal of theirs on a sticky note before the 2022 season,…
Area Sports Roundup: Miami Heat’s Max Strus returns to roots as host of youth basketball camp
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer When Max Strus was in second grade, he walked through the doors of Stagg High School to attend a youth basketball camp. He did that year after year and summer after summer. On Monday, he walked through those same doors and headed to a basketball camp. This one was different.…
Pro Soccer Report: Stoppage time goals one minute apart give Red Stars improbable draw
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars have reached the halfway point of their 22-game NWSL schedule and find themselves in second place, one point behind front-running San Diego. They had a chance to climb into first place, but their chances slipped away with wild 2-2 draw to last-place North Carolina on July…
Area Sports Roundup: Orland Park’s Krysta Stanko wins Liberty Run
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Out-of-state runners have been doing well recently in the men’s division of the Orland Park Veterans Liberty Run. In 2021, Minnesota Resident Owen Ford was a close second in the running of that race. This year, another out-of-state athlete did one better. Brett Hulliberger, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, won the 2-mile…
More Orland cops honored while Capone’s appeals suspension
By Jeff Vorva If it seems like every couple of months, the Village of Orland Park is honoring its cops, well, that’s because it is. Mayor Keith Pekau phased out the once-a-year presentation in favor of honoring the police quarterly. His reasoning is that an annual presentation could be lengthy for family members and children…
Lions looking to start SW Side club
Set meeting at Archer Heights Library By Tim Hadac Eye screenings for children ages 6 months to 6 years will be offered at no charge by Lions International, from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20 at the Archer Heights Branch Library, 5055 S. Archer. Each child must be accompanied by a parent or other…
Worth questions but provides funding for park district
By Joe Boyle The request by the Worth Park District for financial assistance was granted by village officials but not without some specific concerns being addressed first. Trustee Brad Urban believed that the initial request for $30,000 through intergovernmental sharing of American Rescue Plan Act funds to make up for deficits caused by COVID-19 was a…
Shepard High School welcomes new faculty
Principal Dr. Jennifer Pollack and Shepard High School welcomed two new faculty members for the 2022-2023 school year. The new staff members include Family and Consumer Science teacher Jorie Martinez, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the Eastern Illinois University and special education teacher Justin Perkins, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of…
Richards High School welcomes new faculty
Principal Dr. Mike Jacobson and Richards High School welcomed several new faculty members for the 2022-2023 school year. The new staff members include foreign language teacher Blanca Alcantar, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Aaron Griffin, Dean of Students, who earned a bachelor’s degree from North Park University and…
SD218 Class of 2026 gets off to a fast, relaxed start
Designed to calm their nerves and introduce them to all that high school will offer, Freshman Day in District 218 greets new students with a warm embrace. For a long time, researchers have known that ninth grade operates as a gateway: Students who succeed tend to excel in later years, while those who struggle tend…
Ridgeland School District 122 unveils Fine Arts Center
By Kelly White Highlighting its love of the arts is Ridgeland School District 122. The district proudly showcased its new Fine Arts Center during ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 11, at 6500 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn. “The layout of the Fine Arts Center has an aesthetic that promotes teamwork and invites students to…
Palos Heights delays vote on ordinance that has advisory board upset
By Jeff Vorva The Palos Heights City Council delayed a vote Tuesday night to draft an ordinance that has the Recreation Advisory Board up in arms. Among the sticking points of this ordinance is reducing the advisory board meetings from once a month to three times a year. After reading a long list of accomplishments…
Mother McAuley welcomes new principal as school starts
By Kelly White Dr. Kathryn Baal, an accomplished transformational educational leader who is known for influencing others and inspiring action to make change happen within schools, has taken on a new role on Chicago’s South Side. She just recently stepped into the role of principal at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, 3737 W. 99th…
‘Mario’s Pad’ stays, for now
Neighbors vow vigilance over short-term rental By Tim Hadac The short-term rental of the single-family home at 5304 S. New England (listed as “Mario’s Pad” on airbnb.com) will continue for the weeks and months ahead, despite the objections of some of its neighbors. The property’s owner, 30-year-old David Anthony Williams, accepted an invitation last week…
Some saying ‘Nope to dope’
Concern over dispensary in Scottsdale By Tim Hadac Owners of a cannabis dispensary want to set up shop in the Scottsdale Shopping Center—a move some in the community are questioning and others are opposing. “There’s a lot of concern out there,” said Scottsdale Neighborhood Watch President Jason Huff. “First, there’s concern about whether a dispensary…
Dart warns of Kia, Hyundai thefts
Suggests steps to protect vehicle owners From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart is warning the public about what he is calling a dramatic rise in thefts of certain models of Kia and Hyundai vehicles. He is urging owners to take additional precautions to reduce the risk of theft. In the past few…
