Lyons fans show their appreciation after the Lions beat Brother Rice on June 2. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Area Sports Roundup | Lyons boys volleyball takes second; D230 United finishes fourth in girls lacrosse
By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
There is no argument which conference is Illinois’ most dominant when it comes to boys volleyball.
The West Suburban Conference took the top three spots in the IHSA state tournament in Hoffman Estates, with Lyons smack dab in the middle with a second-place finish.
Glenbard West won it all with a 25-18, 25-20 victory over the Lions, and Oak Park took third with a 25-27, 25-16, 25-18, win over O’Fallon.
The state finals were played June 3 at Hoffman Estates High School.
Brother Rice made it to the state quarterfinals, but dropped a 25-17, 25-23 decision to Lyons on June 2.
For Lyons (34-7), it was the best finish in program history.
“I’ve said this before, but we always felt that this group was talented,” said senior hitter Sam Levinson. “Every day we kept making history. It’s really special.”
Levinson had nine kills in the title match and Luka Kostic had six. Carson Turner had 15 assists and Tommy Culver added seven.
The Crusaders (32-8) were led by Shauniel Nelson and Nathan Kramer, who each had 10 kills. Luke Dwyer had 26 assists.
Dwyer’s father, Dan, coached his last game with the Crusaders. The retiring Dwyer has been either a head or assistant coach at the school for all 31 years of the program’s existence. He finished with 202 wins, according to the IHSA. He picked up his 200th victory with little fanfare in the sectional semifinals against St. Rita on May 27.
“When we won the 750th match in program history, that was the big one for me,” Dwyer said. “I was a varsity coach for every one of those victories. I may have missed four matches the entire time. I didn’t even realize what my own personal record was.”
Lyons Leo Wiemelt (right) and Brother Rice’s Brendan McCarthy meet in the middle of a state quarterfinal match on June 2. Photo by Jeff Vorva
United takes fourth
The District 230 United girls lacrosse team finished its historic postseason run with a fourth-place finish in the IHSA state tournament, which was held June 2-3 at Hinsdale Central High School.
United comprises students from Sandburg, Stagg and Andrew. This was the program’s first state semifinals appearance.
The mantra for the team was “All Gas No Brakes” this season, but it was tough for the team to catch any breaks in the state tournament, losing 15-4 to Hinsdale Central in the semifinals and 14-4 to Lake Forest in the third-place game.
Keira Doyle-Odenbach had three of United’s four goals in the semifinals while Holly Brouette added one and Maddie Bailey recorded an assist.
In the third-place game, Gina Sulek, Bailey, Doyle-Odenbach and Maya Jaisingh each had goals while Sulek, Brouette and Doyle-Odenbach each had assists.
Doyle-Odenbach, a junior, thinks the experience playing at state was valuable.
“We played gritty, and we hustled,” she said. “We needed to lock it down on defense. We need to learn from our mistakes and let them roll right off our back.”
The team finished 19-2. Doyle-Odenbach led the team with 86 goals, while Bailey led in assists with 28.
The goalies this season were Gabby Virgen and Nora Miner.
District 230 United’s Genna Sulek gets ready for the team’s first faceoff in a state semifinal game on June 2. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Transfer carousel
The boys basketball transfer merry-go-round is spinning again at a fast pace now that summer basketball is here.
The final member of St. Rita’s “fab four” class of 2024 has left, with Morez Johnson announcing he is heading to Thornton.
He joins Josh Pickett (West Aurora), Jaedin Reyna (Bishop Noll in Indiana) and James Brown (Link Academy in Missouri) in leaving the school.
The mastermind in bringing these four together was coach Roshawn Russell, who left the program last month to become an assistant coach at St. Laurence.
Pickett, the first of the four to leave, is reuniting with Russell, as he is leaving West Aurora after two years to head to St. Laurence.
Local News
A ‘winner all his life’
Spread the loveJohn Travis, star athlete, coach and teacher By Tim Hadac John W. Travis was a man who helped guide the lives of thousands of high school boys and girls across the Southwest Side. A physical education teacher at Kelly College Prep for more than 30 years, Mr. Travis died Jan. 24 at age…
Think before you answer a Facebook quiz, BBB says
Spread the loveBy Better Business Bureau staff Social media is used as a fun distraction for some people, and taking a Facebook quiz may seem like a harmless way to pass the time. But are you giving away more information than you think? How the scam works A fun quiz pops up on your Facebook…
Thank you, Karen Sala
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac GSWNH Columnist At-Large As we all know, longtime Gage Park correspondent Karen Sala has decided to conclude her time with this column. Like every Greater Southwest News-Herald correspondent, Karen made the neighborhoods she served a better place. Thank you, Karen! That said, the search now begins for a new Gage…
Crime prevention starts with each of us
Spread the loveBy Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 Hi neighbors! Before I say another thing, I want to wish my fellow columnist Karen Sala well. As you know, she wrote her final column last week. I love Karen’s style of writing. It’s conversational and natural. I always felt like she…
Plenty to celebrate in February
Spread the loveBy Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394 “February is the month when days start to get long and gloomy nights to shrink.” –Anonymous. Thank goodness there are only 28 days this year. We are getting closer to March. But it’s silly to…
Obituaries Feb. 3, 2022
Spread the loveRONALD ADINT Ronald Adint, age 78, passed away December 17, 2021. Beloved husband of Cynthia, (nee Zalba) Adint; loving Father of Devin (Cynthia) Adint; dear grandfather of Rayna Adint, Nolan R. Adint, Micah D. Adint, and Kendra N. Adint; dearest brother of Nadia Adint, the late Victor Adint, and the late Leonard Adint.…
Worth’s Crossing Bar and Grill closed permanently after double homicide
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong The Crossing Bar and Grill in Worth, where two men were shot and killed the night of January 10, is permanently closed. The bar had been closed since the shootings. At a village board meeting after the shootings, a resident brought up her concerns about alleged disturbances that have taken…
Storm scrambles waste pickup in Palos Park
Spread the loveOn Wednesday afternoon, the Village of Palos Park was informed by Republic Services that waste pickup is cancelled in the village, and all other communities they serve, for Thursday, February 3, due to the continued closure of landfill sites from the hazardous winter conditions. Thursday waste service customers will need to hold their…
Archer Avenue may go green
Spread the loveSt. Patrick’s Day parade planned By Tim Hadac Organizers of Garfield Ridge’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade are hoping the Lightfoot Administration will give a green thumbs-up to the small but festive celebration of all things Irish. For each of the last two years, City Hall withdrew its support and denied permits based…
No injuries in basement fire in Orland Park apartment
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A basement fire damaged a four-unit apartment building early Sunday morning in Orland Park. The fire was extinguished quickly and damage was kept to a small area of the basement, although smoke filled the building. Officials of the Orland Fire Protection District said there were no injuries and the cause…
Neighbors
After 9 months, state data begins to detail new pretrial detention system
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Nine months after cash bail ended in Illinois, the state is taking its first steps in publishing the data that crafters of the bail reform law saw as essential to judging its effectiveness. The data shows that judges in the 75 counties served by the Illinois Supreme Court’s…
ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS: Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com With fiscal year 2025 slated to begin Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers” this week, Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal…
Pritzker calls SCOTUS emergency abortion ruling ‘small respite’ as state protections await his signature
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Abortion remains legal as an emergency medical procedure in Idaho, for now, after a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court ruling, while a bill that would cement those protections in Illinois law awaits Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The 6-3 decision saw the three liberal justices concur with the order. Three…
‘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…
SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan, allies
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law prosecutors have relied on in their cases against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his allies convicted of bribing him. A jury last spring found those allies – former lobbyists and…
Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing. The package also expands tax…
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…
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…
Another Choate Mental Health Center employee indicted for abuse of resident
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Another caregiver at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna is facing charges for abusing a patient. A grand jury indicted Joseph A. Clark, 24, of Grand Chain, on a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of battery. Clark pinned a Choate resident to…
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…
