Brother Rice tops Marist for first Pulaski Post
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Classes and athletics competitions across Illinois were called off due to bone-chilling temperatures early this week. That did not stop two of the area’s hottest teams from duking it out in the Battle of Pulaski. Brother Rice senior forward Zavier Fitch scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Brother…
Swanson signs record deal to remain with Red Stars
From Staff Reports Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson has re-signed with the franchise in what is reportedly the richest deal in NWSL history. Swanson, who was a free agent for the first time in her career this offseason, agreed to stay in Chicago on a deal worth a reported $2 million, including a fifth-year…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Oak Lawn beats Richards in crosstown tilt; Br. Rice, Mt. Carmel and Curie keep winning
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Oak Lawn junior guard Dante Montgomery scored a game-high 19 points and the Spartans defeated Richards, 49-43, in what will be the only regular-season matchup this season between the crosstown rivals. The South Suburban Red teams battled for most of the game, but Oak Lawn (11-5, 4-0) walked away with their…
Evergreen Park tops Bremen in game called after fight between players
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent On the eve of the area’s first winter storm of 2024 rolling in and eventually bringing with it sub-zero temperatures, Evergreen Park was heating up their gym with one of their most sizzling performances of the season. Unfortunately, things got a little too heated. With Evergreen Park dominating Bremen in a…
Area Sports Roundup | Marist tabs Mike Fitzgerald to lead football program
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent There is a change at the top. Mike Fitzgerald, who over the past six seasons helped build York into a Class 8A power, has been named Marist’s new football coach. Fitzgerald replaces Ron Dawczak, who resigned. Marist announced the hire on Jan. 8. Fitzgerald is a former RedHawks assistant. He led…
Red Stars get NWSL Defender of Year finalist Staab for draft pick
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Red Stars may not have a general manager, but whomever is pulling the strings and making the big decisions had a few busy days last week. After adding Masaki Hemmi to the mix as an assistant coach, the Stars wheeled and dealed and set up a revolving door during…
Girls Hoops Wrap | Mother McAuley’s Morgan Feil hits milestone; Macs assistant honored by Maroons
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Mother McAuley’s Morgan Feil hit the 1,000-point milestone on Jan. 11 against DePaul Prep. Three days later, one of her coaches was honored for passing that mark last season. For Feil, hitting that milestone was a big deal, but she added to that big night by getting the game-winning basket in…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Mount Carmel makes statement with beating of Benet
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent In. a highly anticipated matchup, Mount Carmel used a second-half surge to top Benet, 50-36, at the 5th annual Steve Pappas Shootout hosted by DePaul Prep. The Caravan (17-2, 2-0 Chicago Catholic Blue) held a three-point lead at halftime, but outscored the Redwings 29-18 over the final two quarters. Benet’s 36…
Boys Basketball | Marist routs Carmel and St. Rita
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent After closing out 2023 with a loss and runner-up finish at the 80th Annual Centralia Holiday Tournament, Marist got back to its winning ways with routs of Carmel and St. Rita. The RedHawks topped the East Suburban Catholic rival Corsairs, 73-42, on Jan. 5 and best the Mustangs of the Chicago…
Area College Report | SXU, Trinity men’s volleyball getting ready to roll
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent While basketball has dominated the area college scene this winter, men’s volleyball is just around the corner. Practice is in full swing and matches start later this month. Saint Xavier wants to keep its best stretch of winning in program history going. Excluding the shortened 2020 pandemic season, the Cougars have…
Girls Hoops Wrap | Young and older have fun in Oak Lawn
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent It was a little of the old and new mixing together at Oak Lawn. The current Spartans beat Crete-Monee, 54-42, in a nonconference game on Jan. 7. In the crowd were players from the 2013-14 Oak Lawn squad that finished 28-2. After the game, alumni players engaged in a game of…
Area Sports Report | Kendall Coyne Schofield part of history as PWHL game sets attendance record
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Add a new chapter to the Kendall Coyne Schofield story. The Palos Heights native and Sandburg graduate, who has won gold and silver Olympic medals in women’s hockey, helped launch the new Professional Women’s Hockey League and is a team captain for the Minnesota franchise. Minnesota and the league’s five other…
Area Sports Roundup | Messi and Miami to visit Fire in August
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Let the guessing games begin. The Chicago Fire released its MLS schedule for 2024, and there is a chance the team will have to move some of its games from Soldier Field to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The Fire called SeatGeek its home stadium from 2006 to 2019. From August through…
Girls Hoops Wrap | Stagg stuns Bloom to take Hillcrest Holiday Classic
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Stagg’s girls basketball team heads into the 2024 portion of the season with a good-but-not-great 10-7 record. But the way the Chargers closed out the 2023 portion of the campaign was spectacular. The Chargers won the 16-team Hillcrest Holiday Classic, held Dec. 27-29 in Country Club Hills. They earned a 45-44…
College Sports Reports | Hoops programs seek net gains in 2024
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A good chunk of the college basketball season has been completed. What have we learned about the men and women’s programs at Saint Xavier University, Trinity Christian College, Moraine Valley Community College and Morton College? Plenty. But there is more to be learned in the next few months. A look at…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Mt. Carmel wins Pekin Holiday Tourney; Brother Rice’s 15-game win streak ends at Hinsdale
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Mount Carmel extended its win streak to five games after defeating Normal West, East St. Louis and Lake Park at the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament. The Caravan’s 60-41 win over Lake Park earned them their third straight Pekin title. In the title game, Angelo Ciaravino finished with nine points, eight rebounds,…
Tosh Classic maintains spot among top holiday hoops tourneys in Illinois
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The 49th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic took place at York High School from December 26-30. The holiday season mainstay that would have been in its 50th year, but for the Covid-abridged 2020-2021 season, consisted of 32-teams, including some that are highly rated or expected to be contenders for deep postseason…
College Sports Report | Scorers light it up for SXU, Trinity, Morton
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Boom, boom, boom. Three area men’s college basketball players’ offensive games exploded on Dec. 16. At Saint Xavier, Cedric Johnson had 27 points as the Cougars topped Indiana University Northwest, 77-68, in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. Johnson shot 11-of-14 from the floor and scored the game’s first two…
Area Sports Report | Evergreen Park Wiffle Ball players aid Toys for Tots
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Toys for Tots was the big winner, but the players also had some fun. The Mustang Baseball Academy (MBA) joined the Evergreen Park High School baseball team for the third annual Wiffle Ball Tournament, held Dec. 13 at high school’s sports complex. Each player who participated got a spot in the…
Girls Hoops Wrap | Mother McAuley Class 4A Sectional will have local flavor
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The IHSA has announced its postseason assignments for girls basketball, and Mother McAuley will be the place to be in Class 4A. The 18-team McAuley Sectional features the hosts and Class 3A defending state champion Nazareth along with fellow area programs Morton, Reavis, Curie, Kelly, Lyons, Oak Lawn, Richards, Riverside-Brookfield…
Boys Hoops Wrap | Brother Rice, Sandburg win at Shootout
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Sandburg hosted 11 other schools in their inaugural Shot Clock Charity Shootout. Twelve teams participated in the event, which Sandburg coach John Daniels dedicated to his friend and former Stagg assistant coach Ray Milnes, who died in 2019. Milnes, an Orland Park native, was a volunteer varsity basketball coach for the…
Boys Hoops | Chicago Christian gives Bulls the horns
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Chicago Christian has three seniors on its roster this season and, among them, only one starter. This has opened the door for the Knights’ younger players to fill holes and step up. Junior guard Malachi Kreider did that by scoring a season-high 21 points to carry the Knights to a 58-34…
Boys Hoops | Chargers hand Spartans first loss
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Through six years as head coach at Stagg, Marty Strus and the Chargers had never beaten Oak Lawn. That changed in lucky year number seven, as the Chargers topped the Spartans, 49-42, on Dec. 14 in Palos Hills. The victory knocked Oak Lawn from the ranks of the unbeaten, after the…
Boys Net Roundup | Oak Lawn, Brother Rice among Illinois unbeatens
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A wrap of area boys basketball teams from games played between December 4 and 10. Argo (1-7, 0-3 South Suburban Red) The Argonauts are 1-7, with their only win coming against U-High in the John McBride Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. They dropped South Suburban Conference crossovers to T. F. South…
Area Sports Report | Stagg flag football coach invited to Super Bowl
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Saja Alnajjar said she became a football fan growing up, and one of the first games she watched was Super Bowl XLI between the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts in February 2007. Little did she know then that she would someday be a football coach. And little did she know…
Lions Club District 1A Helen Keller race draws big field
By Kelly White The damp weather from overnight rain did not deter more than 100 people on Sunday morning from getting some exercise. The 14th annual District 1A Helen Keller 5k Fun Run/Walk proudly took place along at Harold L. Richard’s High School, 10601 Central Ave., Oak Lawn. “This is a really great event,” Oak…
EPCHS students collect shoes for Christmas Without Cancer Sneaker Drive
From staff reports Students in Evergreen Park Community High School’s junior physical education leadership class teamed up with the non-profit organization Christmas Without Cancer to help local families battling the devastation of cancer. The class – taught by EPCHS physical education teacher Ree McDonald – helped gather donations for Christmas Without Cancer’s second annual Sneaker…
Swallow Cliff Chapter, NSDAR, honors JROTC cadets
From staff reports Swallow Cliff Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, participated in recent JROTC awards ceremonies held at Shepard High School in Palos Heights and Richards High School in Oak Lawn. The DAR JROTC award, consisting of a medal and certificate, was presented to Navy Cadet Emily Schrode at Richards High School…
Man charged with child abduction in Stickney Township
From staff reports A Chicago man was charged last week with child abduction and luring of a minor after Cook County Sheriff’s Police detectives found he attempted to lure a minor into his vehicle, said Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart. According to police, about 4:43 p.m. on Monday, April 22, officers responded to an…
Worth Library celebrates 60th anniversary
By Kelly White The Worth Public Library has been around for decades. Resting in the heart of the village at 6917 W. 111th St., the library held an event focusing on its rich background story on April 23 with a historical photo exhibit. “It’s amazing because this library is still so important to the community,”…
Rose Zubik, Woman’s Club veteran, installed as 3rd District president
Rose Zubik, of Palos Heights, the new president of the 3rd District General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Illinois, lights a candle during the installation ceremony held April 27 at Fox’s Restaurant in Orland Park. Heather Linehan, the outgoing president, is beside her.By Dermot Connolly A longtime member of the Palos Heights Woman’s Club is now president…
Shots fired in Chicago Ridge Commons parking lot
From staff reports Shots were fired Wednesday night in the parking lot at Chicago Ridge Commons mall. Police said they received reports of the shooting about 9:45 p.m. No injuries were reported. Multiple witnesses told police four men were walking through the parking lot from the XSport Fitness area. They approached two vehicles and separated…
Hair salon with a ‘flair’ marks first year in Chicago Ridge
By Joe Boyle Melissa Kowalski wanted to do something meaningful to mark the first-year anniversary of her Flair With Hair Salon in Chicago Ridge. “We did not have a grand opening last year so I wanted to do something really special,” Kowalski said. “We wanted to say thank you to our clients.” Kowalski, a resident…
Palos East fifth-grader wins Scholastic Storyworks writing contest
Gabriel Chowaniec, a fifth-grader at Palos East Elementary School, has been named a winner of the Scholastic Storyworks Magazine writing contest. Gabriel, who is a student in Cathy Casey’s fifth-grade classroom, was named one of only five winners nationally for the December 2023/January 2024 competition. Garbriel’s submission for the nonfiction story “The Shattered Land,” “showed a strong understanding of the text along with the ability to author a well-organized and engaging response,…
Shepard celebrates Autism Week
By Kelly White World Autism Acceptance Week is organized by the National Autistic Society in the first week of April and aims to raise awareness about the challenges autistic people face across all areas of society. Not missing out the opportunity to celebrate all-inclusion was Shepard High School, 13049 S. Ridgeland Ave., Palos Heights. “We…
Billions of cicadas get ready to raise a racket
By Kelly White If you haven’t heard the buzz yet, you will soon. With 2024 marking a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, billions of the red-eyed buggers will soon be making an appearance. Periodical cicada broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time. Although exact…
‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’
. Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca . By Tim Hadac People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. Officer Huesca was “a man…