Local Sports News
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…
Pro Soccer Report: Milazzo, Pugh named to NWSL’s Best XI for June; Red Stars win eight straight
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer She’s not just the Chicago area’s secret anymore. The progress of Orland Park native Tatumn Milazzo as a professional soccer player is not catching only Chicago’s attention, but that of the NWSL. The second-year Chicago Red Stars defender opened her career seeing a lot of bench time early in her…
Clean Sheet: Back of the Yards grad Roxy Herrera honored as one of top high school goalies in U.S.
Jeff Vorva Staff writer Roxy Herrera thinks she was 9 or 10 years old when she was the new kid on the Pumas soccer team in Gage Park. Thus, she was immediately used as a goalie for the first time in her life. “They told me the new player plays in goal,” Herrera said. “So,…
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars will miss three big guns during World Cup qualifying
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Having world-class players on your team is a blessing. But during times like these, it can also be a curse. World-class players help NWSL teams win games. They also miss chunks of time during the season because of their commitments to playing in international competitions. For much of July, the…
Stagg grad Laila Barakat leaves her mark on program
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Laila Barakat entered her freshman year of high school basketball with a plan. She left as one of the most accomplished and successful players in Stagg girls basketball history. “Coming in my freshman year, I knew what goals I wanted to achieve,” said Barakat, who was a four-year varsity player for…
Area Sports Roundup: Lightning strikes at Shepard
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…
World Wiffle Ball Championship returning to south suburbs
The 43rd World Wiffle Ball Championship is returning to Memorial Park in south suburban Midlothian on July 16-17. “We’re excited to gear up for this year’s Championship at Memorial Park in Midlothian. We can’t wait to see old and new Wifflers alike this summer come together to beat some plastic,” said Mike Baniak, Commissioner of…
Pro Soccer Report: Kowalksi, Pugh score for Red Stars in draw at KC
Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars suffered a big blow on defense when defender Kayla Sharples was ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Sharples’ replacement in the starting lineup on June 18 was Amanda Kowalski. The Arlington Heights native decided to add some offense to her game,…
Area Sports Roundup: Troy Grevengoed leaving Richards to coach volleyball at Chicago Christian
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer As the girls volleyball coach at Richards, Troy Grevengoed coached against Chicago Christian when two of his daughters played there. He has also watched his daughters from the stands as a fan. Now, he enters a third phase. Grevengoed is the new girls volleyball coach at the Palos Heights private…
Club America, Pumas match at SeatGeek officially sold out
PRIMETIME Sports announced Friday that the Pretemporada MX 2022 Clásico match between Club América and Pumas to be played on Sunday, June 19, at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview is officially sold out and Saturday’s Clásico Tapatío match is working towards a sellout. The two-day event hosts Liga MX’s two biggest derbies at SeatGeek Stadium. The…
Baseball Class 4A State Finals: Brother Rice takes third with romp over McHenry
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Some view state third-place games as a waste of time. It’s usually the game nobody wants to be involved in after having their dreams of winning a state championship crushed by a loss in the semifinals. But the third-place game in the IIHSA Class 4A baseball state tournament produced a…
Area Sports Roundup: Notre Dame’s Dylan Jacobs wins national championship in 10,000 meters
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Add a national championship to Dylan Jacobs’ already impressive list of accomplishments in 2022. The Orland Park resident and Sandburg graduate broke a four-minute mile on Jan. 22 and set an American college indoor record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 13:14.04 seconds on Feb. 12. On June…
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars blank Orland to finish brutal stretch unscathed
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The Chicago Red Stars finished the busiest stretch of their season unbeaten. The five-games-in-16-days logjam ended with a 1-0 victory over Orlando on June 11 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Mallory Pugh drilled her fifth goal of the season in the 10th minute for the Stars (4-1-3), who entered this…
Softball 4A State Championship: Marist falls short in bid for repeat
By Randy Whalen Correspondent If someone would have told Emily Bojan that she would come up in the bottom of the seventh with an opportunity to tie or win the state championship game in her final high school at-bat, she’d love to be in that situation every time. But unfortunately, the Marist senior catcher hit…
Young Roadrunners win first baseball title to cap a huge sports season at Naz
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Nazareth’s athletic class of 2024 could go down as the best in school history. The Roadrunners’ girls volleyball team finished first in the state in the fall. Two sophomores were among the eight players who were on the court during the Class 3A state championship game. The girls basketball team…
Softball: Marist returns to state to defend 2021 title
By Randy Whalen Correspondent The night before their biggest game of the season, Marist’s players absorbed some superpowers. From their bats. “We slept with our bats [the night before],” said junior left fielder Isabel Cunnea. “It was uncomfortable but it got us ready.” The RedHawks scored all their runs via the longball — five home…
Baseball: Nazareth tops St. Ignatius, punches ticket to state
By Steve Millar Correspondent Some observers may had thought Nazareth was a year or two away from being a state tournament-caliber team. After all, the Roadrunners started four sophomores and a freshman with a trip to state on the line June 6. Sophomore outfielder/pitcher Nick Drtina, though, knew all along what his team was capable…
Postseason Softball: St. Ignatius one-ups St. Laurence in supersectional heartbreaker
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer It took a near perfect game — and a close play at the plate — to eliminate St. Laurence from its historic season. St. Laurence pitcher Sarah Klonowski and St. Ignatius hurler Ellie Giles were throwing zeroes through five innings in the Class 3A Rosemont Supersectional at the Parkway Bank…
Postseason Roundup: Lincoln-Way East tops Marist in battle of volleyball powers
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer For the first time since 2014, no area boys volleyball advanced to the Elite Eight. In the past seven postseasons, either Marist, Sandburg, Brother Rice or St. Rita made it to the quarterfinals. This year, Marist was the last team standing, but dropped a wild 23-25, 25-22, 25-21 decision to…
Pro Soccer Report: Pugh continues hot run, helps Red Stars top OL Reign
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Despite missing the first two games of the season, Chicago Red Stars standout Mallory Pugh entered this week’s action in a three-way tie for second in goals scored in the NWSL. Pugh scored her fourth goal of the season to help the Red Stars (3-1-2) beat OL Reign, 1-0, in…
Local News
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…
Squatters may have started fire in Worth building
By Bob Bong A fire that heavily damaged a former plumbing supply company on 111th Street in Worth early Sunday morning may have been caused by homeless people living in the abandoned structure. “The fire started on the second floor, which used to be a beautiful and spacious apartment,” Worth Mayor Mary Werner said Monday.…
3 juveniles arrested for setting off fireworks inside Chicago Ridge Mall
From staff reports Initial reports of gunshots inside Chicago Ridge Mall on Wednesday afternoon turned out to be fireworks set off by three juveniles who were later apprehended. Chicago Ridge police said they responded to reports at 3:50 p.m. of gunshots inside the shopping mall at 95th Street and Ridgeland Avenue. Several 911 callers stated…
Oak Lawn approves license plate readers at village entrances
Business license fees on hold for one year By Joe Boyle A series of cameras will be set up in Oak Lawn to monitor vehicles entering and exiting the village that may be involved in acts of crime. A resolution waiving the competitive bidding requirements awarding a services agreement with the Flock Camera Safety network…
Oak Lawn salon owner vows to rebuild after car totals business
By Dermot Connolly The Scissor Hands hair salon, a longstanding business in Oak Lawn, sustained heavy damage Saturday night when a car careened out of control through the storefront at 10822 S. Cicero Ave., destroying the interior of the salon. Jayne Molony, the owner, said the salon had closed at 4 p.m., about three hours…
New Palos Heights fire chief passionate about firefighting, new community
By Isabella Schreck Even after more than 30 years in fire protection, Michael Daly said he was still excited to come to work. “I’m very lucky to have a career that I enjoy,” said Daly, who became fire chief for the Palos Heights Fire Protection District in March. “I still like to work. I enjoy…
From ‘disgraceful’ to hopeful
Crews get busy at Archer Park By Tim Hadac A situation that looked sour is starting to look sweet, thanks to a quick response by new leadership at the Chicago Park District. Two weeks ago, no fewer than 17 complaints about conditions at Archer Park, 4901 S. Kilbourn, were made by the Archer Heights Civic…
Car crashes into Oak Lawn hair salon
A burning car crashed into an Oak Lawn hair salon Saturday night and caused extensive damage to the business and the building. No injuries were reported. Firefighters received a call about 6:45 p.m. that a Nissan Altima with an engine on fire had crashed into Scissor Hands, 10822 S. Cicero Ave. The car reportedly was…
Woman, child injured on Friendship Fest ride
A 40-year-old woman and a 6-year-old child suffered minor injuries Saturday night when a ride malfunctioned at Palos Hills Friendship Fest and they fell out of the ride onto the ground. Police said they were notified of the accident at about 8:30 p.m. The ride was not identified. Police said the victims were…
Palos Hills celebrates Friendship Fest 2022
By Kelly White The city of Palos Hills is bringing the community together this weekend with its annual Friendship Festival. “We always look forward to this great family weekend event,” Jerry Bennett, Palos Hills Mayor, said. “It’s one of the last free festivals around and it has been a tradition for the last 41 years…
