Moraine Valley Sports
Area Sports Report: Nazareth finishes run to Class 5A state title game
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Nazareth has played in five state championship football games. But the Roadrunners never took a road this bumpy to get there. After opening the season 1-3 and at one point being 2-4, they had to run the table just to make it to the playoffs. Mission accomplished. They beat Leo,…
Read MoreMoraine Valley home to Southland Saints of rekindled American Basketball Association
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Moraine Valley Community College is the home of the American Basketball Association’s Southland Saints. The Saints, playing in the rekindled ABA — the modern-day incarnation of the professional league that produce several future NBA stars including Julius Erving and Rick Barry — opened the season Nov. 6 and have more…
Read MoreArea Sports Roundup: Moraine Valley women’s tennis punches ticket to nationals
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Moraine Valley’s women’s tennis team has some time to prepare for the NJCAA Division I national tournament. They have about a half of a year to get ready for it. The Cyclones qualified for the national tournament for the first time in seven years by winning the Region IV championship,…
Read MoreArea Sports Roundup: Put it on the board — Reavis honors former coaches Wierzal and Prato
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer This year is the 40th anniversary of the Reavis football team’s Class 6A championship, and the Rams’ administration celebrated big-time. The Rams finished runner-up in 1980 and 1981, and those two along with the 1982 state champs were honored with shirts and rings before its Sept. 24 game against Evergreen…
Read MoreArea 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…
Read MoreCollege Report: Moraine Valley celebrates 45 years of athletics in Finn fashion
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Moraine Valley Community College celebrated its 45th year of offering athletics on April 30. Bill Finn has seen nearly all of them. Finn, the Cyclones’ athletic director, has spent 41 years at the college as a coach and administrator. The school opened up the Health, Fitness and Recreation Center for…
Read MoreCollege report: Former Riverside-Brookfield star homers in four consecutive at-bats
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Former Riverside-Brookfield baseball standout Ryan Cermak is a leadoff hitter who is belting the ball like a cleanup hitter. The Illinois State University centerfielder hit three straight homers — including grand slams in consecutive at-bats— and broke a school record with 10 RBIs in a 15-7 victory over Western Illinois…
Read MoreArea Sports Roundup: South Suburban College wins national title
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Now for some March Madness that was not as heavily publicized over the weekend … Area athletes participated in three national championship basketball games on Saturday, and a couple of them can lay claim to being national champs. St. Rita grad Cameron Bartmann and Catalyst Maria alum Jonathan Brundidge play…
Read MoreCollege Report: Former Stagg standout Kazanecki gives hoops one more year
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The idea was for Tom Kazanecki to finish his basketball career at St. Ambrose in 2021. The former Stagg hoops standout was even toying with the idea of starting a military career, even though he had an extra year of athletics eligibility remaining, thanks to seasons getting snipped because of…
Read MoreMoraine Valley’s Tom Diaz earns All-Conference honors
By Carol McGowan Tom Diaz is a freshman at Moraine Valley Community College, and is making big strides with their cross country team. Diaz is also a 2021 graduate of Argo Community High School, and is the first Argonaut to earn All Region honors while pursuing his cross country career. MVCC’s Men’s an& Women’s Cross…
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