Reavis bowlers claimed a regional title on Saturday. Photo by Reavis High School
Area Sports Roundup: Six area girls bowling teams headed to sectionals
By Jeff Vorva
Staff writer
Six area girls bowling teams are headed to sectionals.
Reavis and Stagg won IHSA regional titles last Saturday, and four other teams have advanced to this weekend’s action.
Reavis won its own regional at Palos Lanes in Palos Hills with a 5,378 in six games, well ahead of runner-up Morton (5,014). St. Laurence (4,404) finished fourth and joins Reavis and Morton in the Hinsdale South Sectional at Bowlero Lanes in Woodridge on Feb. 12.
Senior Megan Radtke led Reavis with an 1,180 and that score held up for an individual sectional championship. Senior Isabel Gonzalez had an 1,128. Others contributing were junior Veronica Liszka, junior Valerie Rodriguez and sophomore Juliet Cadena.
Reavis is hoping to return to state for the first time since 2011. The Rams had a second-place finish in the state in 1989 and two third-place finishes (1984 and 1988) under the guidance of coach Don Bylut, who is now a Palos Heights alderman.
Michelle Baeza led Morton with a 1,151 pinfall and Abigail Wintersteen led St. Laurence with a 1,048.
Stagg’s girls bowling team won its first postseason award in program history. Photo by Stagg High School
Stagg won the Brooks Regional at Skyway Bowl in Chicago with a 5,492, while Shepard (5,241) and Richards (4,833) followed in second and third, respectively. All three teams also head to the Hinsdale South Sectional. This is Stagg’s first postseason girls bowling championship.
Stagg sophomore Arianna Araujo was the regional champ with a 1,404. Others helping the team to the title were senior Giana Locascio, sophomore Holly Gubernat, senior Nyjah Branch and junior Hannah Radosevic.
Cameryn Landers led Shepard with 1,200 and Kelli Anderson led Richards with a 1,001.
Sowing the seeds
The girls basketball postseason seeds were released Thursday.
In Class 4A, Marist picked up the second seed at the 16-team Bolingbrook Sectional and the hosts earned the top spot. Sandburg is seeded fifth and Shepard 13th.
Lyons picked up the top seed in its own 17-team sectional while Mother McAuley is fourth, Oak Lawn sixth, Argo eighth, Riverside-Brookfield 12th, Reavis 14th and Curie 15th.
In Class 3A, Nazareth Academy is seeded at the top of the 16-team De La Salle Sectional with St. Laurence seeded third, Kennedy eighth, Goode 10th and Solorio 15th.
At the 16-team Kankakee Sectional, Evergreen Park is seeded seventh and Richards is ninth.
In Class 2A, Chicago Christian is seeded fourth in the 11-team Sub Sectional B of the Timothy Christian Sectional.
Regionals begin Saturday.
Soccer talk
The Chicago Red Stars still do not have a coach. The Chicago House may not field a team.
Offseason news for both professional soccer teams has certainly been interesting, but inconclusive.
The Red Stars have not replaced Rory Dames, who left the team after the NWSL championship game loss in late November. The team is taking its time picking his replacement, according to a news release that stated the search will continue into the 2022 preseason. Rade Tanaskovic will be the acting head coach, and Julianne Sitch and Fabrice Gautrat are serving as assistants.
The Red Stars have a search committee consisting of 11 current and former players, three assistant coaches, a sports psychologist, the club’s chief business officer and members of the club’s ownership.
Despite having no coach, the team is still making moves, including bringing back Yuki Nagasato. She came back in a trade with Racing Louisville for a draft pick and international roster slots.
Nagasato scored two goals in 21 appearances for Louisville last year.
The House, which made its debut in the fall in the National Independent Soccer Association, sent out a message on Twitter saying, “We continue to be in discussions with NISA and are reviewing our options to play soccer this year. Thank you for your patience and support.”
The House finished 7-9-2 in the fall, good for sixth place in the 10-team NISA standings.
The NISA spring schedule is out, and the House is not one of the 10 teams listed in the league, which features AC Syracuse Pulse, ALBION San Diego, Bay Cities FC, Cal United Strikers FC, Chattanooga FC, Flower City Union, Los Angeles Force, Maryland Bobcats, Michigan Stars and Valley United.
Local News
Masks for the moment
Spread the loveSchools still requiring face coverings By Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois and Tim Hadac With all the machinations in Springfield over mask mandates for schools, parents in the city this week wondered if and when their children may remove their masks at school. “This is crazy,” said Brighton Park resident Ana Sanchez-Nowak. “Kids…
‘Will be great for everyone’
Spread the lovePete’s coming to 87/Kedzie, Curtis says By Tim Hadac Pete’s Fresh Market, which had been planned for the vacant Luther South High School site at the northeast corner of 87th and Kedzie, will instead move into the vacant Ultra Foods site on the northwest corner of the intersection. “This will be great for…
Tigers on Archer Avenue
Spread the love State Rep. Theresa Mah (center) shares a joyful moment with Governor JB Pritzker at last week’s new year’s parade near Archer Avenue. This month begins the Chinese lunar new year, the Year of the Tiger, which will last into early January 2023. Mah’s district includes McKinley Park, which has a large and…
His heart ‘rested in thee’
Spread the loveFather Thomas Mescall served as St. Adrian pastor From staff reports The Rev. Thomas J. Mescall, retired archdiocesan priest and former pastor of St. Adrian Parish, died Feb. 1. He was 74 years old. He served the Archdiocese of Chicago as associate pastor of St. Terrence Parish in Alsip and St. Denis Parish in the…
Apply for violence prevention funds, Preckwinkle says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Community organizations engaged in violence prevention are invited to attend a series of virtual information sessions for the upcoming Gun Violence Prevention & Reduction Grant opportunity. The information sessions will help local organizations understand the application process for nearly $50 million in funding that will be awarded in the city and suburban…
Kaegi hosts webinars on affordable housing
Spread the loveFrom staff reports The Cook County Assessor’s Office has announced dates for its upcoming informational webinars about a new affordable housing property tax incentive. Created by state statute, the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program provides property tax relief to incentivize the creation, rehabilitation and maintenance of affordable housing units in Cook County. While…
County offers help with water bills for people in poverty
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A new program to assist low-income residents with water utility bills has been announced by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County. Funded with dollars provided by the American Rescue Plan Act, the Low-income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) provides financial…
Indoor golf is a new Palos Heights Haven
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Providing an alternative to outdoor golf, especially during these frigid months, is the Haven Indoor Golf situated right in the heart of the Palos Heights community. The Haven Indoor Golf, 12317 S. Harlem Ave., combines the industry’s leading golf simulator technology in a climate controlled, fun and welcoming environment to create a year-round home for golf in Chicago’s southwest suburbs.…
Mother McAuley gives new life to prom, graduation dresses
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Finding the perfect prom dress can be costly and stressful. The task was made a little easier for students this year thanks to the Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School Mother’s Club’s Graduation and Prom Dress Resale. The event took place February 18-19 at the high school located at 3737…
Brazilian woman from Indian Head Park charged in Capitol invasion
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong A woman from Indian Head Park was charged last week in the January 6, 2021, invasion of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Leticia Vilhena Ferreira, 32, told FBI investigators last April that she was a Brazilian citizen in this country on a work visa and, despite not voting for…
Neighbors
Pritzker signs bill creating new Department of Early Childhood
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday creating a new cabinet-level state agency dedicated to early childhood education and development. The new Department of Early Childhood, which will become operational in July 2026, will take over programs currently housed across three state agencies, including funding for preschool…
Speaker Welch rebuffs lawsuit from would-be staff union as ‘forum shopping’
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch is urging a Cook County judge to dismiss a lawsuit members of his staff filed against him last month seeking to force recognition of their union. In a new filing Monday, attorneys for Welch argued the Illinois Legislative Staff Association has no…
Advocates say SCOTUS ruling paves way for law ensuring abusers have guns confiscated
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com After the U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld a federal law that bars those under domestic violence-related restraining orders from owning guns, victim advocates say Illinois lawmakers should pass a measure to ensure firearms are actually confiscated in those situations. The legislation has been stalled for more than…
Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Jimmy Soto spent more than 42 years wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. In 2020, he was moved to the “F-House” at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, a condemned unit, not because he was being punished, but because it was where the facility was housing individuals…
Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor. Proft, a one-time gubernatorial candidate himself, is behind an…
State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death. But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than…
Just weeks before Republican National Convention, Illinois GOP chair announces resignation
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Halfway through the 2024 election cycle and just a few weeks away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy on Wednesday announced his resignation as head of the state Republican Party. Tracy, who’d held the job since February 2021, explained his resignation in…
As Illinois session ends, lawmakers’ attempt to reinstate wetland protections fails
by JENNIFER BAMBERG Investigate Midwest jennifer.bamberg@investigatemidwest.org In 2006, 19-year-old Jessica Whinston inherited 20 acres of land that her grandparents once farmed in Quincy, Illinois. The land had sat dormant since the 1980s and was overgrown, but Whinston and her husband Bradley worked to turn it into a productive farm. The couple were eventually able to…
Elections board dismisses illegal campaign coordination complaint, declines to clarify law
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – State elections officials on Tuesday indicated they were unlikely to step in to clarify what constitutes illegal campaign coordination after voting to dismiss a complaint alleging such coordination in the 2022 campaign for governor. At their monthly meeting in Chicago, Illinois State Board of Elections members…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…