Jim Ramazinski is the new Evergreen Park football coach. Photo courtesy of Evergreen Park Community High School.
Area Sports Roundup | EP football gets new coach; Morton women head back to nationals
By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
For the second time in two weeks, an area high school football team is getting a new head coach.
Evergreen Park announced Jim Ramazinski has been named to the position. He will replace Jerry Verde.
Ramazinski comes to the Mustangs with a wealth of coaching and teaching experience. He is a special education teacher at Andrew and served as the defensive coordinator for the Thunderbolts’ the past four seasons. Prior to that, he was a varsity assistant and special teams coach at Andrew and before that the head freshman coach and a varsity assistant at Crete-Monee.
He also started the District 230 co-op boys lacrosse program and in 2020 was named the IHSA Coach of the Year for lacrosse.
Ramazinski will teach special education in addition to serving as football coach.
“I’m happy to serve the students and community of Evergreen Park as football coach and teacher,” Ramazinski said in a news release. “Our football program is going to stress the three pillars of ‘pride, service and community.’ I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday nights this fall.”
Ramazinski grew up in Chicago and graduated from Brother Rice.
Verde coached the Mustangs for seven seasons from 2016-2022. He led the team to an 8-3 overall record and second round IHSA Class 4A playoff appearance in his final season last fall.
Two weeks ago, Chicago Christian announced Dan Chiarito would take over the Knights program.
Morton heading to nationals
Morton College, which finished second in the nation in National Junior College Athletic Association Division II last season and is ranked No. 1 this year, returned to the national tournament with a 96-68 victory over Rock Valley on Saturday, March 11 in the Midwest B Regional IV finals in Rockford.
The Panthers (31-0) were led by Mia Simpson’s career-high 34 points. They head to the national tournament, which is March 21-25, in Port Huron, Michigan.
The tournament and seedings were scheduled to be announced Tuesday, March 14.
Rock Valley only played five players as seven were suspended for leaving the bench during a scuffle in the semifinals.
Rivals are national v-ball powers
The boys volleyball season starts on Monday, March 20 and area teams are already picking up some national attention.
There are six teams from Illinois in the first USA Today Sports/American Volleyball Coaches’ Association Super 25, and two are neighborhood rivals.
Marist is ranked fourth in the nation while Brother Rice is 23rd. The two are scheduled for a May 15 showdown at Rice.
Other teams from Illinois in the top 25 are Barrington (third), Glenbard West (sixth), Lincoln-Way East (18th) and Hinsdale Central (19th).
Marist is scheduled to visit Barrington April 5 and Glenbard West on May 11.
The opening week will also see Marist hosting another powerhouse tournament March 24-25 that includes Lincoln-Way East, Lockport and local teams Mt. Carmel, Richards, Shepard, Stagg and St. Rita.
Kil-ing it
Saint Xavier junior Hannah Kilbane, a Sandburg grad, finished in first place for her third career individual title, finishing with a three-day score of 235 for the women’s golf team at the Saddlebrook Spring Kickoff hosted by Walsh University (Ohio) at the Saddlebrook Golf Course in Wesley Chapel, Fla., which wrapped up March 11.
Kilbane (79, 74, 82) sank a birdie on the 18th hole to win by one stroke over runner-up Sydney Hugo from Walsh and her second score of 74 was tied for her second lowest career score for any round.
Cougars men fall in nationals
Despite owning a five-point lead at halftime, SXU, seeded 16th in the the first round of the NAIA National Tournament, dropped a 75-65 decision to top-seeded William Penn on March 7 in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Jack Halverson and Cedric Johnson each had 17 points for the Cougars, who finished their season 24-8.
Local News
Tabares backs West Lawn Branch Library
Spread the love Twenty-third Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares (left) recently toured the renovated West Lawn Branch Library, 4020 W. 63rd St.,, with new branch manager Mina Duarte. Details about the renovation’s may be found in the West Lawn column in the January 28 Greater Southwest News-Herald. –Supplied photo
Chuy backs Starbucks unionization
Spread the love U.S. Rep Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th), white mask, recently stood with those who support unionization of Starbucks workers, outside a shop in the city. Workers are attempting to organize under the banner of Chicago and Midwest Joint Board, Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. –Supplied photo
‘Grizzled’ sophomores help Naz beat Marist
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Nazareth’s “grizzled veterans” have won 19 of their first 20 games. The Roadrunners’ were victorious in a big East Suburban Catholic Conference showdown with Marist, with two sophomores doing most of the damage in a 53-42 win in LaGrange Park on Jan. 19. Nazareth improved to 19-1, 4-0.…
Postseason Sports Report: Area stars ready for state bowling and dancing
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The first two IHSA state tournaments for winter sports will take place this weekend, and an army of area athletes will be competing in both. The boys bowling and competitive dance championships will be held Friday and Saturday, with the bowlers heading to St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon…
Strus tops former coach in Stagg’s win over Sandburg
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Marty Strus has nothing but good things to say about his former high school coach, John Daniels. “He’s meant a ton to me,” Strus said of the coach he faced off against last week when his Stagg Chargers took on Sandburg. “He meant a lot to me as…
Palos Area Chamber dedicated to promoting area
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Dedicated to helping local area businesses strive is the Palos Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber was formed in 1949 when a small group of merchants joined together for the purpose of advancing economic, industrial, professional, cultural, and civic welfare of the Palos Heights area. For 68 years, the Palos…
We need real solutions to crime
Spread the loveBy Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 Crime and safety concerns are the number one topic of all the calls and texts I receive. It seems that many politicians offer no solutions except the usual lists of ways to keep safe. I think everyone knows about locking…
Icy spill yielded plenty of good will
Spread the loveBy Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394 Here is a giant shout out to our first responders in the community. On Jan. 9, when a sheet of ice descended on Chicago, I was walking the dog. Walking around Peck School was great.…
It’s a busy January in Gage Park
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Neighborhood correspondent at large Greetings, Gage Parkers! I’m pleased to be filling in this week for Karen Sala. It’s fun for me to report on Gage Park, the neighborhood where I lived for the first 26 years of my life. There’s always something happening in this big, exciting part of…
Neighbors
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…
Lawmakers pass on oversight vote for Pritzker’s prison closure, rebuild plan
By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For the last two decades, each time a governor has moved to close a large state-run facility like a prison or mental health center, a legislative oversight panel has voted on the plan. That changed on Friday – at least for now –…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…