Looking back at 2010 in the Tri-Cities
With this being my final column of the year (I can hear the derisive cheers from some of you), it's time to take a look back at some of the high school athletic happenings from 2010:
State champions
While there weren't any team winners from the Tri-Cities area this year, there were several individual state champions.
In February, Marmion freshman Ben Whitford captured the 119-pound title at the Class 2A state wrestling tournament in Champaign, while senior teammate Nico Jimenez followed by winning the 171-pound weight class.
For the first time since Chris Potter claimed back-to-back 171-pound state titles for St. Charles East in 2003-04, the Saints' Brandon Rubino knocked off West Aurora's Nicholas Drendel 5-1 in the 112-pound championship bout.
This past May, Kaneland senior Nick Sinon cleared 6-9 to take high jump honors at the Class 2A state boys track and field meet in Charleston, while the Knights' quartet of Tommy Whittaker, Derek Bus, Edgar Valle and Logan Markuson set a new state record (3:20.29) in the 4x4 relay.
Last month, Rosary junior Molly Coonce earned the state title in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.72) at the girls state swimming meet, while the Beads' all-underclass foursome of Rachel Burke, Amber Calderone, Katherine Hare and Sarah Sykstus placed first in the 200 free relay (1:36.10).
Seconds are served
In addition to West Aurora's Drendel, the list of local second-place state finishers included Kaneland's boys track team (2A); the Knights' Valle in the 800; St. Charles East junior swimmer Emma Smith in the 200 IM; and senior RB-LB T.J. Lally led Marmion's football team to its first trip to the Class 6A state championship game before dropping a 48-19 decision to Rockford Boylan in November.
Third best
Last June, coach Ruth Vostal's St. Charles North girls soccer team placed third in the Class 3A state tournament. Rebounding from a 4-2 semifinal loss to Sandburg, the North Stars outlasted Glenbrook South 1-0 (PKs) in the third-place contest.
A month ago, seniors Ben Kanute and Bennett Marsh helped lead Marmion's boys cross country team to a third-place tie with Normal U-High in the Class 2A state meet at Peoria's Detweiller Park.
Meanwhile, Geneva senior Kelly Whitley capped a superb four-year prep career with a third-place individual finish in the Class 3A girls state cross country meet.
Special mention
A special shout-out goes out to coach Bob Thomson's Geneva girls cross country team, which placed fourth at the state meet. Whitley and classmates Tess Ehrhardt, Liza Tauscher, Rachel Hammond and Megan Brady were part of a group that lifted the Vikings to back-to-back state titles in 2007 and 2008.
Other memorable moments
In no particular order:
Ÿ Led by senior forward Lauren Wicinski and junior guard Kat Yelle, Geneva's girls basketball team won its first 31 games, including the second of back-to-back sectional titles, before losing a 60-54 supersectional decision to Hersey on March 1.
Ÿ A week and a half before the supersectional, Wicinski's putback with 3.8 seconds left lifted Geneva to a hard-fought, 47-45 regional title win over host St. Charles North.
Ÿ Last weekend, Yelle reached a milestone by scoring the 1,000th point of her four-year varsity career in a victory over Elgin.
Ÿ For the first time in recent memory, no area boys basketball teams advanced past the regional tournament something I hope doesn't happen again for a long time.
Ÿ It was a battle of big men in March as Kaneland 6-9 center Dave Dudzinski and 6-11 DeKalb pivotman Jordan Threloff squared off with the Barbs squeaking out a 50-47 win in the 3A regional finals.
Ÿ In late-January, I saw St. Charles East's girls hold an 8-7 halftime lead over St. Charles North in a game eventually won by the North Stars. Nearly 10 months later, I watched Batavia's boys grab a 30-15 halftime lead over Crystal Lake South before being held scoreless in the fourth quarter on the way to a 48-38 loss.
Ÿ Led by junior southpaw Wes Benjamin, St. Charles East's baseball team knocked off Geneva 5-2 in the 4A regional finals before upsetting St. Charles North 12-3 in the sectional semifinals.
Ÿ Trailing first-place Geneva by 5 games with 7 remaining, Batavia's baseball team didn't lose another Western Sun Conference game over the final 2½ weeks to clinch a share of the conference title alongside Kaneland and DeKalb.
Ÿ For the first time since the St. Charles school split 10 years ago, there wasn't a St. Charles team (East or North) represented in the football playoffs after the Saints' 16-14 Week 9 win over then 4-4 St. Charles North.
Ÿ Who will forget football quarterfinal Saturday in mid-November when Marmion capped a perfect 2-year homefield winning streak with its 31-20 upset of top-seeded Lemont in 6A, while visiting Kaneland QB Joe Camiliere engineered a 14-play, 80-yard drive in the final 2 minutes to edge Vernon Hills 27-21 in 5A.
Ÿ After struggling to an opening-round 82, St. Charles East senior Jordan Wetsch saved the best for his last high school round by firing a 3-under-par 69 en route to a sixth-place showing at the 3A boys state golf tournament in October.
Ÿ Led by senior Caitlin Piechota, Batavia's girls volleyball team enjoyed its best season ever this fall, winning 32 games as well as the inaugural Upstate Eight Conference River Division title.
Best performance by a non-area player
It happened against an area team, as East Aurora guard Ryan Boatright poured in 55 points to nearly single-handedly lead the Tomcats to a 75-66 victory over St. Charles North at last month's St. Charles East/Ron Johnson Thanksgiving Tournament.
Best play by an area athlete
With the game on the line last June, Marmion center fielder Mark Peters made a spectacular leap-over-the-fence catch to rob Burlington Central of a game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the Cadets' 7-6 Class 3A sectional semifinal victory.
Passing of the torch
Last month, Batavia football Mike Gaspari announced his retirement after guiding the Bulldogs to a 139-118 record and 14 playoff appearances over his 26-year career. A few days later, longtime assistant coach Dennis Piron, a 1983 Batavia graduate, was named as the Bulldogs' new head coach.
Thanks for reading. I'll be back in January.