By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
Dan Chiarito has been with the Chicago Christian football program since 2009, and in that time has worked under head coaches Joe Hamstra, Eric Washington, Jim Bolhuis, Nick Cook and Tom O’Connor.
Now, he gets to run the show.
Last week, Chiarito was named head coach of the Knights. He succeeds O’Connor, who had a 9-10 record in two seasons.
The new head coach is a school behavior therapist for Esperanza Community Services in Chicago.
Chiarito has been the Knights’ JV coach and varsity assistant coach since 2011. He was a varsity wide receivers/pass game coordinator in 2010 and a sophomore offensive coordinator in 2009.
He is a familiar face around the Palos Heights campus, having served as the head freshmen basketball coach, a sophomore and varsity game-day assistant, and a coach at the Knights Hoops basketball camp.
Jacobs will be watched
Sandburg graduate Dylan Jacobs, a track star at Tennessee, is on the watch list for the Bowerman Award.
The award is the highest individual honor in college track and field and is awarded by the U.S. Track &Field and Cross Country Association.
The former Notre Dame star had a red-hot indoor campaign in his debut season at Tennessee, posting SEC conference records and all-time top five performances in both the indoor 3,000 meter and 5,000 meter. His season-best time of 7:36.89 in the 3K is the No. 2 performance in collegiate history and .47 seconds shy of the NCAA record, while his fastest 5K of 13:11.01 stands as the No. 3 all-time collegiate performance.
He starred at his first SEC Championships, winning the 3K in a meet record time of 7:52.49 and closing out Tennessee’s DMR gold medal performance with a 3:56 split over the 1,600-meter leg. His 12.5 points scored led the Vols to a fifth-place finish at the conference meet and were part of 35 points tallied by the UT men’s distance unit.
Stealing sensations
Saint Xavier senior softball outfielder Nicole Lovato set a program record with five stolen bases in an 8-0 victory over Central Baptist College of Arkansas on March 4.
The Minooka High School graduate also scored four times in the game. In her first 11 games, she is 11-for-11 in swiping bases, second on the team to Lyda Robinson, who stole 12 in 14 games.
Robinson, from Seneca High School, owned the previous record with four stolen bases in a game in 2020.
Dawber loaned again
The Chicago Red stars recalled Chelsie Dawber from her loan to Australia’s Adelaide United FC and loaned her to IFK Norrkoping in Sweden for the remainder of the season.
Dawber played in just four games for the Red Stars in 2022.
Teen Spirit
When the Red Stars host Washington on April 29 at SeatGeek Stadium, they may run into the youngest player in NWSL history. Chloe Ricketts, 15, has inked a three-year deal with the Spirit.