As with most powerful athletic programs, winning state is on the Manteno girls volleyball team’s wish list.
“Obviously, I think everybody in our situation has the same goal to win a state championship,” senior Maddie Gesky said. “But at the end of the day I think out biggest goal is to take it one game at a time and make it as far as we can.”
While the one-game-at-a-time attitude sounds like a cliché, it’s reality in the Panther circles. They are taking nothing for granted after they were nearly knocked off at the Class 2A Southland Regional final before rallying past Wilmington 19-25, 27-25, 25-15 on Oct. 29.
The Panthers (34-1) were down 20-16 in the second game and were five points from a stellar season being over.
“It was crazy because we knew going into the game that it was going to be tough, for sure,” Gesky said. “It was the fourth time we played Wilmington.
“They were ahead late in the second set but we were able to trust each other and we shook off the nerves after the second set.”
Gesky, an Olivet Nazarene recruit, led the Panthers with 11 kills. She considered graduating in December to start college in January. But she said her plans changed and she will be playing basketball, a sport in which she is the school’s career scoring and rebounding leader.
Makenna Laskowski had 10 kills and six aces for the Panthers and setter Danika Fletcher had 19 assists.
The Panthers were scheduled to face Acero-Soto on Nov. 3 at the Chicago Christian Sectional.
In Class 1A, Grant Park had an easier time as it beat Morgan Park Academy 25-10, 25-11 at the Illinois Lutheran Regional and the community celebrated by giving the Dragons a parade.
The Dragons (26-8, 19-match winning streak) were scheduled to face MCC Academy (15-4) at the Aurora Christian Sectional on Nov. 3.
Running to state
Klarke Goranson’s second-place sectional finish helped Manteno’s girls cross country team qualify for the Class 1A state meet.
The junior ran a time of 17:49.18 on Oct. 31 at the Bishop McNamara Sectional at Kankakee Community College. McNamara freshman star Haven Barwagen won the meet with a 17:32.22.
The Panthers finished fourth with 146 points as sophomore DeLanie Monroe (19th, 19:44.31), junior Lyla Nevel (36th, 20:30.75), senior Olivia Zwirkoski (42nd, 20:39.46) and freshman Kylie Stanley (67th, 22:41.67) joined Goranson in scoring for the Panthers.
Peotone freshman Emma Pena (seventh, 18:23.98) and Beecher sophomore Rachel lmig (18th, 19:43.40) also qualified for state.
In Class 2A, Crete-Monee’s Evelyn Stolzenbach took 27th at the Metamora Sectional with a 19:12.4 over 2.94 miles to qualify for state.
The state meets take place on Nov. 7 at Detweiller Park in Peoria.