Lyons swimmers figure to have three high placing relay teams in the state meet, which starts Friday in Westmont. Photo courtesy of Lyons Township High School
Area Sports Roundup: Lyons and Sandburg lead contingent of area swimmers headed to state
By Jeff Vorva
Staff writer
Lyons, which won state titles in boys swimming in 2016 and 2017 and took second in 2018, is bringing a huge contingent of athletes to the IHSA state meet this weekend.
Lyons is sending three relay teams and individual qualifiers in four events to the event, which will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25 and 26, at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.
Will the Lions bring home a trophy this year? That’s yet to be determined, but they are in position to score some points, especially in the relays.
Lyons finished second in its own sectional on Saturday, racking up 277 points. Hinsdale Central took first with 304.
Three relay teams won sectional titles for the Lions.
The 200-yard medley relay team of Quinn Collins, Aidan Foley, Colin Bade and Jack Wanless won in 1:31.78, the best sectional time in the state. The 200 free relay team of AJ Vitek, Collins, Graeme Gantt and Wanless won in 1:25.14, which is the third-best sectional time. The 400 free relay team of Collins, Vitek, Gantt and Wanless won in 3:07.63, which is also the third-best sectional time.
Bade won the 100 backstroke in 51.08 with Collins right behind him at 51.10.
Other Lyons swimmers heading to state are Alec Peras and Matt Adler in diving, Wanless in the 100 free and Foley in the 100 breast.
Riverside-Brookfield diver Harrison Nolan was a sectional champ with a 604.95, the second-best sectional score in the state. Teammate Nate Kissel was an at-large diver for state. Drew Rosa is heading to state in the 200 IM.
Reavis’s Joey Countryman won the 200 free in 1:41.81 and the 100 free in 46.03, the latter which was third-best in the state. The Rams 200 free relay team of Daniel Dziwisz, Mauricio Gonzalez, Kamil Bierant and Countryman also qualified for state.
Oak Lawn divers Jeremy Graville and Cohen Laylo qualified as individuals, as did Nazareth’s Cooper Kosanovich.
Eagles Advance
Sandburg won its own sectional title with 284 points. Stagg finished third.
The Eagles’ 200 free relay team of Filip Swiecicki, Kacper Laskowski, Aidan Reyes and Alex Borchardt won the sectional title with a 1:32.85 and the 400 free relay team of Borchardt, Andrew Simonek, Laskowski and David Kwiatkowski won with a 3:18.00.
Simonek won the 500 in 5:00.42 and Kwiatkowski won the 100 back in 54.49.
Stagg’s Alex Smolecki won the 200 IM with a 2:01.11. He also qualified in the 200 breast and teammate Ronald Latwis is an at-large qualifier in diving.
Marist’s Brae Sanchez won the 100 breast event with a 56.42, the second-beat sectional time in the state.
Girls Basketball
McAuley beat Simeon, 70-46, to win its own Class 4A regional. Bella Finnegan had 30 points and Morgan Feil scored 13. The Mighty Macs are scheduled to play Lyons in the Lyons Regional.
Second-seeded Marist won its own Class 4A regional with a 66-52 victory over Stagg and is scheduled to face third-seeded Homewood-Flossmoor in the sectional semifinal at Bolingbrook on Tuesday. Elise Ward had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Mary Clare Brusek had 18 points and Emily Bojan hauled down 23 rebounds.
In Class 3A, state power Nazareth crushed Kennedy 65-15 in the Goode Academy Regional and was scheduled to face Payton Tuesday in the De La Salle Sectional.
Corcoran vaults at state
Sandburg junior Elysa Corcoran, who is a part of the Andrew co-op team, finished 29th in the state gymnastics meet at Palatine. She finished with a 9.0500.
Did you know?
Over a nine-game stretch, Oak Lawn girls basketball player Katelyn Dillon averaged 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals a game to help the Spartans win back-to-back South Suburban Conference Red titles.
Local News
Richards’ Principal walks 24 hours for a cause
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Most people spend New Year’s Day relaxing. Richards High School Principal Dr. Mike Jacobson spent it on the treadmill. For the second year in a row, Jacobson inspired generous donations of more than $20,000 on New Year’s Day by walking 24 hours on a treadmill without stopping. All of the money raised goes directly…
Victress Women’s Wellness Center sets goals for 2022
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Empowering women in the new year is Victress, a wellness center for women, in Palos Heights. The center opened in October at 7120 W. 127th St. and welcomed in the new year with a goal-setting seminar open to women in the local community called, Achieve 2022: This year set goals,…
Broadcast news — Palos Heights’ Channel 4 has big 2021
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The first Palos Heights city council meeting of 2022 featured a few minutes of bragging about Channel 4’s success in 2021. The local cable channel had a record-breaking year and Alderman Jerry McGovern was more than happy to run down the happy totals at Tuesday’s board meeting at City Hall.…
Obituaries for Jan. 20, 2022
Spread the loveTHERESA M. BALDWIN Theresa M. Baldwin (nee Boxlietner), age 76, passed away December 12, 2021. Beloved wife of Richard Baldwin; loving mother of Michael Kresch, Kenneth Kresch, Crystal Nelson and Denise Baldwin; dear grandmother of Samantha Peters, Dennis Nelson, Devorie Nelson, Korin Leeth, Kayla Nelson, Kaylee Nelson, Travis Spagnola, Kyle Kresch, Sydney Kresch,…
Experienced bakers buy The Great American Bagel in Palos Heights
Spread the loveNew owners nearly double the menu for breakfast, lunch By Cosmo Hadac When The Great American Bagel’s shop in Palos Heights changed hands late last year, the new owners who walked in the door weren’t exactly new. Manny Rios Sr. and his wife, Silvia, have nearly 50 years of combined experience in…
New owner will keep Palmer Place name and burgers Copy
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Palmer Place Restaurant and Biergarten, a mainstay in downtown La Grange for nearly 40 years, will soon have new owners. But not much else will change. The name on 56 S. La Grange Road will still read Palmer Place. The employees now there will still have their jobs. And the…
Palos Park could be making its decision on gaming on Monday
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Will Palos Park make its decision on bringing in gaming machines to the village on Monday? The world will have to wait until Monday to find out. The village council will meet for the first time in 2022 on Monday after its Jan. 10 meeting was cancelled because of a…
Pekau takes Rubin and Foxx to task over mandate punishments
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Orland Park has Cook’s County’s attention. The village’s decision to vote against enforcing Cook County COVID-19 mandates at a special meeting Dec. 28 has been a hot topic. The village’s position is that businesses need not require proof of vaccination for patrons to enter. Some businesses are taking the board…
‘These bruises won’t heal’
Spread the loveCPS kids back in school, but bitterness remains By Tim Hadac Teachers who walked off the job in the new year returned last week after the Chicago Teachers Union rank and file voted to accept Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s offer of increased safety measures at schools. But it was a divided vote, with just…
Neighbors
House GOP advances 2 human trafficking victim protection bills as others remain in limbo
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com After Illinois received another failing grade from a national advocacy group, state House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at further protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking. Shared Hope International, an advocacy organization that works to prevent sex trafficking, said in its 2023 Illinois report card that…
Hundreds of bills pass, including changes to state’s biometric data privacy law
By HANNAH MEISEL COLE LONGCOR & ALEX ABEDDUTO Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Lawmakers passed more than 200 bills this week ahead of their scheduled May 24 adjournment. Many of the measures will soon head to Gov. JB Pritzker, including a bill that changes how damages accrue under Illinois’ first-in-the-nation biometric data privacy law.…
Pritzker pledges to expand access to mental health care in Illinois
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In the middle of Mental Health Awareness Month, Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton hosted a panel in Springfield this week at which he pledged to expand the state’s behavioral health services. With several dozen services providers from around the state in attendance, Pritzker…
With 1 week left in session, Pritzker admin says all revenue options remain on the table
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com While the governor’s office instructed its agency directors to prepare for $800 million in potential budget cuts last week, all facets of his plan to raise $1.1 billion in revenue to avoid those cuts remain under consideration. Read more: ANALYSIS: ‘Significant enough’ opposition to Pritzker’s revenue plan leads to…
Illinois launches summer food assistance program
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The state is launching a new program to provide food assistance during the summer for families with children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. Gov. JB Pritzker joined other state officials and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday to announce that Illinois will…
Lawmakers consider tax break for news publishers, state-sponsored journalism scholarships
By ALEX ABBEDUTO & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A new measure being debated in the Illinois General Assembly would create a tax credit for certain news publishers based on the number of reporters they employ. The proposal from Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, is part of a package of policies that he…
House gives OK to new state agency focused on early childhood programs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House gave final passage Thursday to a bill establishing a new cabinet-level state agency whose mission will be to provide a kind of one-stop shop for services focusing on early childhood development and education. By the time it’s fully operational in 2026, the new…
As vacated Centralia funeral home prepares for new tenant, owner makes a startling find
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com In the basement of a Centralia funeral home in a dark hallway off the embalming room, tucked inside a nook behind two steel plates and a door, a visitor found three disembodied, neatly wrapped human legs, two of them marked with names and dated to the 1960s. The…
Illinois Supreme Court considers expectation of privacy in hospitals
By DILPREET RAJU & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – While Cortez Turner was in a hospital room being treated for a gunshot wound to his leg in 2016, police took his clothes. Now, the Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether that action violated Turner’s expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment. The…
Capitol Briefs: House OKs program for student teacher stipends – but not the funding for it
By PETER HANCOCK & ANDREW CAMPBELL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House approved a bill Tuesday to allow student teachers to receive stipends while earning their education degree, even though the money needed to fund those stipends is unlikely to be included in next year’s budget. House Bill 4652, by Rep. Barbara…