College Notebook | Grace Hynes helps Maroons end NYU’s unbeaten run
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Mother McAuley alum Grace Hynes was the University Athletic Association’s Athlete of the Week in women’s college basketball for the timeframe ending January 17. Hynes, a senior at the University of Chicago, had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Maroons’ handed top-ranked New York University its first loss of the…
Boys Basketball | TF North ends Oak Lawn’s win streak at seven
By Steve Millar Correspondent Oak Lawn had a seven-game winning streak snapped last week in Calumet City, but Spartans coach Jason Rhodes knows it’s still been a heck of a January for a team thriving despite the loss of its leading scorer. Junior guard Corey Lee scored 14 points and senior guard Ayham Salah finished…
Girls Basketball | Trunk a treasure late as Sandburg tops Lockport
By Randy Whalen Correspondent On Senior Night at Sandburg, it was a freshman who saved the Eagles. Zoe Trunk stole the ball and hit a layup with 10 seconds to play, completing Sandburg’s rally from a 12-point third-quarter deficit in a 37-34 victory over Lockport on Jan. 26 in Orland Park. The Eagles (15-12, 3-3)…
Girls Wrestling | Sandburg’s Sophia Figueroa eyes state tourney bid
By Steve Millar Correspondent Sophia Figueroa is fired up for the girls wrestling postseason. The Sandburg sophomore competes for the Andrew co-op girls team, which also includes wrestlers from Stagg. As a freshman last season, Figueroa fell one win short of qualifying for the inaugural IHSA girls wrestling state finals. She was pinned by Lincoln-Way…
Boys Basketball | Evergreen Park breaks out, but can’t overcome Hillcrest
By Steve Millar Correspondent Evergreen Park coach Jim Sexton knows he has a team capable of putting up big offensive numbers behind a bevy of strong shooters. That just has not happened consistently this season for the Mustangs, who have struggled to score more often than not. The offense, however, had a breakout performance last…
Boys Basketball | Adam Stuursma scores 30, helps rally Chicago Christian to win over Shepard
By Steve Millar Correspondent Chicago Christian went into last week’s game against crosstown rival Shepard having lost eight games in a row. It didn’t seem likely the Knights were going to end that streak when they went to halftime down by 16 points. Knights coach Kevin Pittman implored his team to focus on slowly chipping…
Boys Bowling | Stagg charges to first state finals appearance
By Randy Whalen Correspondent For Stagg, it’s a first. For Sandburg, it’s a return trip. Both teams survived the Plainfield North Sectional at Town & Country Lanes in Joliet to advance to the state tournament. The finals will be Friday, Jan. 27, and Saturday, Jan. 28, at St. Claire Bowl in Fairview Heights. The Chargers,…
Boys Bowling | Reavis rolls to sectional title, sixth straight trip to state
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor A strong all-around team effort and a runner-up performance by Ethan Deluna powered Reavis to the championship of the IC Catholic Sectional and a trip to the state tournament. The Rams totaled 6338 to top second-place Glenbrook North by 100 pins on Jan. 21 at Bowlero in Glendale Heights. Lyons…
College Notebook: Ex-Spartan Sprycha balling with Bearcats
By Mike Walsh Correspondent The fall of 2022 was successful both in the classroom and on the football field for Jordan Sprycha. In the classroom, the Oak Lawn graduate was one of eight McKendree University chosen to the 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. CSC Academic All-District Award nominees must be a starter or…
Hoops Wrap: Ahmad Henderson’s late-game heroics lift Rice over Marist
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer There is no rule that says Ahmad Henderson needs to sink a game-winning basket at least once a season. If there was such a rule, the Brother Rice senior would follow it to perfection. Henderson worked his closing-seconds magic in one of the area’s hottest rivalries in a 49-48 victory…
Area Sports Roundup: Evergreen Park dancers make history with first sectional crown
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Evergreen Park was the only team from the area to place in the state’s top 12 in competitive dancing last season. The Mustangs, who finished a program-best sixth in the state in Class 1A in 2021, are seeking an even better showing this year. Evergreen Park made history by winning…
Boys Basketball: Improving Sandburg still seeking first conference win
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Sandburg coach John Daniels doesn’t have to give to his team what he refers to as the “let’s play hard” speech. The Eagles play hard. But as Daniels acknowledged after a 53-43 loss at Lockport on Jan. 17, they “have to play better.” David Vargas led Sandburg (9-14, 0-3 entering this…
Major League Rugby coming to SeatGeek Stadium
Chicago Hounds expansion team to play games at Bridgeview facility By Bob Bong A new professional sports team will be playing its matches at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview next month. The Chicago Hounds, an expansion team for Major League Rugby, will be calling Bridgeview home when they begin their inaugural season in February. “We’re honored…
Hoops Wrap: Morton women go wild from long-range in win over McHenry
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer That Morton College’s women’s basketball team drilled 22 3-pointers in a 111-44 victory over McHenry County might seem amazing. What is more amazing is that it was the second time this season the Panthers had that many treys in game. After the win over McHenry in the Skyway Conference battle…
Area Sports Roundup: Freshman Noah Jones rolls 300, leads Stagg to first boys regional title
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Stagg boys bowling team had never won a postseason tournament. That changed Jan. 14, thanks in part to a sensational postseason debut by Noah Jones. In the second game of the Oak Lawn Regional at Palos Lanes, Jones rolled a 300. He wasn’t perfect the rest of the way,…
College Notebook | Sandburg grad Oblena has big season for Illinois-Chicago volleyball
By Mike Walsh Correspondent Illinois-Chicago women’s volleyball player Jaclyn Oblena was one of two Flames named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team. Oblena, a Sandburg graduate, was named to the First Team. Oblena, a junior libero, appeared in all but one set this season for the Flames, leading the team with 394 digs (3.46…
Boys Basketball | Depth the difference for Marist in win over Marian Catholic
By Steve Millar Correspondent Keshaun Vaval got off to a slow start, scoring just two points over the first three quarters in Marist’s game last week against Marian Catholic. To add to his underwhelming performance, the sophomore guard committed a potentially costly turnover in the fourth quarter. He knew at that point he had to…
Red Stars hire new GM, draft four players amid flurry of moves
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer For the past couple of months, the Chicago Red Stars watched player after player leave without replenishing the roster, which was down to 17 players. That changed last week, with the team drafting four players (who must still be signed) and adding two waiver-wire pickups. The Stars last week also…
Paving a path to the pros?
Sandburg grad Chris Toth optimistic about following his father’s footsteps to the NFL By Mike Walsh Correspondent When your father is able to list blocking for Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino on his resume, chances are pretty good that football is a strong component of your family’s lineage. Such is the case for Aurora…
Local Hoops Wrap: Scuffling St. Rita eyes big March
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer They have never had a nickname, such as the Fab Four. But that title could have applied. The foursome of James Brown, Morez Johnson, Josh Pickett and Jaedin Reyna came to St. Rita High with high expectations, with all four receiving scholarship offers from Northern Illinois before playing a single…
Area Sports Roundup: Mother McAuley has another national POY; Red Stars’ scorer has new last name
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer How many national players of the year can one team have? If you are the Mother McAuley volleyball team, you can have more than one. The Class 4A state champions are cornering the market in that regard. Less than a month after senior Gigi Navarrete won a national player of…
College Notebook | Stagg alum on fire in pool for Illinois-Chicago
By Mike Walsh Correspondent One of the top performers at the recent three-day House of Champions Invitational held at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis natatorium was UIC women’s swimmer Taira Juronis. Juronis, a Stagg graduate, won the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:16.49, nearly two seconds faster than the second-place swimmer. Juronis also bested her…
Boys Basketball | St. Laurence looks to keep good times rolling in 2023
By Steve Millar Correspondent A young St. Laurence team is hitting its stride and starting to believe. The Vikings took momentum into the New Year by winning four straight games at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic to capture the tournament’s consolation championship. “It was a pretty big boost getting those four wins,” sophomore guard Zerrick…
Boys Basketball | Stagg looking for a spark as conference play begins
By Randy Whalen Correspondent The return of Connor Williams and a fast start provided Stagg hope for its first back-to-back wins in nearly a month. A stifling Lockport defense and a slow finish thwarted that possibility. The Chargers scored only 13 points over the final 23:44 of the game and fell to the Porters, 43-31,…
Local Hoops Wrap | Four area teams win holiday titles; Shepard coach Chiucciarello notches 300th victory
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer With the odds of 8-to-1, 16-to-1 or even 32-to-1 of winning a holiday basketball tournament, championships are not easy to come by. But the area produced four champions — two boys teams and two girls teams — at the end of December as Mount Carmel won the 16-team Pekin Tournament,…
No more soggy freezing nights for Lyons’ Richard Vabro
By Steve Metsch It turns out Lyons Village Manager Tom Sheahan was spot on when he said there were many times village employee Richard Vabro found himself in less-than-ideal situations. “He was always bright and cheery even when he was in mud up to his waist trying to patch a pipe,” Sheahan said. When asked,…
Palos Heights Television Channel 4
On Comcast cable station Channel 4, January 12, 2022 through January 18, 2023 All shows can also be seen by going to Youtube.com/PHTV4 Spotlight: Chicago Christian H. S. Cheerleading Spotlight: Chicago Christian Boys Basketball Spotlight: Stagg H. S. Wrestling Spotlight: Stagg H. S. Boys Bowling Medical Update: Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute Advanced Outpatient Clinic…
Metra to add SouthWest Service Line trains on Jan. 16
Metra will upgrade the SouthWest Service Line schedule on Jan. 16, increasing the number of weekday trains on the line to 30 from the current 12 as part of a major service redesign pilot. “As we have done on other lines, we are adjusting the schedule on the SouthWest Service to meet increasing demand and…
First installment of property taxes due date pushed back to April 3
Cook County property owners will have an extra month to pay their First Installment property taxes this year, and their bills are already available online. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB 5189 into law last month making Monday, April 3, 2023, the new due date. Property taxes are mailed twice a year. First Installment bills are…
Orland man sentenced to 2 years for killing pregnant mom, 3 kids
From staff reports Sean Woulfe, who pleaded guilty rather than face a second trial for reckless homicide in the deaths of a pregnant woman and her three young sons in 2017, was sentenced last week to two years in prison for each count. Woulfe will only have to serve two years as the five sentences…
Fundraiser to help buy service dog for Worth veteran
By Joe Boyle Worth officials are asking the community to help provide assistance for a local veteran to assist her in purchasing a service dog. Shireen O’Brien, a Worth resident who served as a Marine, has been dealing with a series of threatening illnesses since she concluded her service. O’Brien is a longtime member of…
Palos Park cadet program labelled ‘monumentally successful’
By Jeff Vorva Who knew in 1999 that a group of kids comprising a new police program in Palos Park would be this successful? The Palos Park Police Department’s cadet program is entering its 24th year and at Monday night’s village council meeting, Mayor John Mahoney and Police Commissioner Dan Polk looked back and praised…
Heroes still work there
By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] Three years ago, as the pandemic dawned, much was made of the importance of essential workers—perhaps especially those in health care. “Heroes Work Here” banners sprang up outside places like hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. Some of those health care workers paid…
Palos Park doctor pens bioterror novel
By Kyle Garmes Dr. Jenna Podjasek is an allergist/immunologist who trained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and now works in Oak Forest, but the Palos Park resident also has a passion for writing. Now, she has combined those two interests to publish her first novel. “Particles in the Air,” a bioterrorism-themed book that…
Man charged in Palos Heights forgery from October
From staff reports A Homewood man has been charged with a forgery case that dates back to October. Palos Heights police arrested Marcus Wade on January 4 and he was charged with a felony count of forgery stemming from an incident that happened October 21. Police took a report from resident that he had mailed…
Bridgeview police close off 95th Street near Tri-State because of oil spill and accident
From staff reports Bridgeview Police have closed down the eastbound lanes of 95th Street between 76th Avenue and Harlem Avenue adjacent to the Tri-State Tollway off ramp as a result of an oil spill that police believe may have been caused by an earlier accident and that may have caused one other accident. Westbound lanes…
44 inducted into National Honor Society at Evergreen Park Community High School
Evergreen Park Community High School inducted 44 new members into its National Honor Society in a ceremony held at the school on November 30. The school also honored the accomplishments of the 44 graduating senior members of NHS. The new members, mostly juniors, were inducted by EPCHS Principal Bill Sanderson and NHS Faculty Sponsor Ben…
