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…
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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,…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Some of the top football players in the area made their college decisions official on Dec. 21, with one of the literally largest signings coming at Brother Rice. Defensive lineman Trey Pierce, all 6-foot-3, 290 pounds of him, signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Michigan. Pierce has…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Most of the holiday basketball tournaments have not even started, but the IHSA has already released its 2023 postseason assignments. For some area schools, the placements into some sectionals are not exactly gifts from Santa. Area teams Reavis, Brother Rice, Hubbard, Marist, St. Rita, Oak Lawn, Sandburg, Shepard and Stagg…
Read More By Mike Walsh Correspondent Chicago Christian is looking for a new football head coach. The Knights’ next coach will succeed Tom O’Connor, who in two seasons in Palos Heights compiled an overall regular-season record of 9-9. This season, Chicago Christian won its last four regular-season games, including a 19-0 decision over Ridgewood in Week 9,…
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HIGH SCHOOLS BROTHER RICE The Crusaders finished 24-7 last season and fell 60-49 to Bloom in a Class 4A regional championship game. While almost every key player — aside from forward Jayden Watson, who transferred to Bloom — will be back from last year’s team, there will be a new coach leading the way. Conte Stamas,…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Riverside-Brookfield’s boys cross country team brought home a state championship, the first championship — according to IHSA records — is the the school’s first state title an any sport. And four of the five runners who scored for the Bulldogs are underclassmen and could be back next season to defend…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer An army of area cross country teams and runners will compete at the state finals on Saturday. The leading boys team invading Detweiler Park in Peoria is Riverside-Brookfield, which won the Kaneland Class 2A Sectional Oct. 29 with 97 points. Junior Cooper Marrs led the way for the Bulldogs with…
Read More By Tim Cronin Correspondent WILMINGTON – Extravagant as the pregame ceremony introducing the Wilmington Wildcats to their loyal fans is — complete with fireworks, a motorcycle escort, running through the grove of trees beyond the south end zone and thence to a fan corridor on the Becker Field grass — it has nothing on the…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Marist didn’t have too much time to savor its’ come-from-behind rivalry 34-16 win over Brother Rice. Twenty-fours hours later, the IHSA announced its playoff pairings, with the RedHawks (6-3) drawing the eighth seed and on the road at 15th seeded Naperville North (7-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in the Class…
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Prep News
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,…
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…
Viking girls are golden
The St. Laurence High School cheerleaders (aka the Golden Girls) won first place in their division at the Spartan Showdown at Marian Catholic High School late last month. Clearing and Garfield Ridge girls played a key role in the team’s success. Those girls (and their grade schools) are: Lauren Weyer (St. Jane de Chantal), Asia…
She kept her promise
. . By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] . Never underestimate a woman’s love for her man. Gary and Kimberly Hughes met in 1996. They fell in love and were wed in 1998. They bought a home near 61st and Natchez and were on their way to raising…
Warn of burglars in Garfield Ridge
From staff reports A cluster of residential burglaries in Garfield Ridge has prompted police to issue a warning to the community. Crime scenes include: 5200 block of South Normandy on Jan. 1. 5600 block of South Mobile on Jan. 7. 5300 block of South Mason on Jan. 10. 6000 block of West 60th Street on Jan.…
Casten scolds sheriff on new gun control law
Says he can’t pick which laws to enforce By Tim Hadac U.S. Rep. Sean Casten (D-6th) and several other Democratic members of the state’s Congressional delegation recently sent a letter to DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, expressing concern over his Jan. 13 statement that he will not enforce the Protect Illinois Communities Act (H.B. 5471).…
Bust accused shooter in Clearing
By Tim Hadac Chicago Police and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force visited Clearing late last month to apprehend a man wanted in connection with a West Side shooting. Shaheer Muhammad, 24 of the 3800 block of West Grenshaw, was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at a home in the 6000 block of South…
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…
