From staff reports The Shepard High School community gathered on Friday, August 18, to celebrate the start of a new football season with the customary Orange and Brown Game. Beautiful weather, performances by the varsity dance team, and free sno-cones for everyone helped make the evening at Shepard stadium a wonderful occasion. Booster Club also…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Jillian Cosler made a two-day trip to her grandfather’s hometown. And, like her grandpa, she came out a winner. Cosler, an Orland Park resident who graduated from Sandburg in May, won a one-hole playoff to claim the 44th Illinois State Junior Girls Golf Championship, held Aug 1-2 at the Aldeen…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The high school baseball and softball seasons closed up shop earlier in the month, but there are a few leftovers that have jumped out. Brother Rice senior pitcher Cole Van Assen was named to the Collegiate Baseball/Diamond Sports High School All-American team. Van Assen was 10-4 with a 1.79 ERA…
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By Mike Walsh Correspondent It had been a while since a Morton College baseball players claimed the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference MVP Award. It had been even longer since a Panther earned All-American status. The efforts of freshman first baseman Miguel Cantu this season ended both droughts. Cantu parlayed an impressive season into a league…
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By Mike Walsh Correspondent Louisville catcher Jack Payton has been named a finalist for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. Payton, an Orland Park resident who prepped at Brother Rice, is one of three finalists along with Kyle Teel of Virginia and Ryan Snell of Lamar.…
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By Mike Walsh Correspondent It’s not that Charlie Szykowny didn’t enjoy his time playing baseball at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After all, he was a First-Team All-American in 2022, as chosen by D3Baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings. Szykowny, a Palos Heights resident and Shepard graduate, set a program season record that year with 18 home runs and…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Mother McAuley water polo team won a squeaker and a blowout at the IHSA state tournament before falling in the championship game. It was McAuley’s (21-6-1) highest finish at state since a second-place showing in 2008. The Mighty Macs nipped Naperville North, 7-6, on May 18 in the quarterfinals…
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By Mike Walsh Correspondent Ryan Doubek of Benedictine University has been named the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference’s Baseball Position Player of the Week for the week ending April 30. Doubek, a senior infielder, hit .522 (12-of-23) while batting leadoff as Benedictine went 4-1 during the timeframe. The Marist graduate scored six runs, doubled twice, stole…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Hannah Kilbane helped the Saint Xavier women’s golf team qualify for the NAIA nationals for just the second time in program history. Kilbane, a junior, needed a playoff hole to be crowned the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference champion, and her red-hot shooting on the second day of the conference tournament…
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By Mike Walsh Correspondent As senior seasons go, it’s tough to top the one authored by North Central College wrestler Robert Precin. Precin, an Orland Park resident, won his second consecutive national championship at 133 pounds at the NCAA Division III tournament held on March 10-11 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia. He finished…
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Softball | Jocelyn Hovanec scores two runs, Ks 12 in Chicago Christian win
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Chicago Christian is working to find its footing in the inaugural season of the Chicagoland Christian Conference. The Knights entered this week 6-8 overall and 4-6 in the CCC, putting them in fifth place with just two conference games to play among their final seven regular-season contests. The Knights have had…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over a seven-day…
Boys Volleyball | Marist hands Glenbard West first loss of season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Marist was scary good in the first set. The RedHawks won it 25-12. Even by Marist standards, that’s pretty impressive. Complete dominance. What’s even more stunning is that it came against the second-ranked team in the nation. The RedHawks, who came into the match ranked sixth in the country in the…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th minutes, then…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a…
Pickleball courts coming to Palos Park
By Jeff Vorva There will finally be outdoor pickleball in Palos Park. In a process that went longer than anticipated, the Palos Park Village Council was able give the green light to get a pickleball project started on the Village Green. The council voted April 8 to award the contract to U.S. Tennis Court Construction…
Dread over car drifters on streets
. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by a brief…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer feedback where…
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic, officials said.…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to appear legitimate.…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over a seven-day…
Boys Volleyball | Marist hands Glenbard West first loss of season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Marist was scary good in the first set. The RedHawks won it 25-12. Even by Marist standards, that’s pretty impressive. Complete dominance. What’s even more stunning is that it came against the second-ranked team in the nation. The RedHawks, who came into the match ranked sixth in the country in the…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th minutes, then…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a…