Libertyville's Siegel picks up national coaching acclaim
For the first time since 2000, the Libertyville girls bowling team qualified for the state tournament last season.
Wildcats coach Lindsey Siegel has been recognized for that accomplishment.
She has been named the National Federation High School Girls Bowling Coach of the Year for Illinois' 2013-2014 season.
Siegel, a 1997 graduate of Libertyville, has been in charge of the Wildcats' girls bowling program for the past five years.
The Wildcats advanced to the state crown last year with a six-game total of 5,568, good for the fourth and final qualifying spot in the sectional.
The Wildcats had a slow start to the season but came around in January and won a conference championship. Their strong bowling continued into the postseason.
"We got better at making our spares and we started communicating more," Siegel said during the 2014 postseason run.
The NFHS annually honors a Coach of the Year in the top 10 boys sports and top 10 girls sports (based on NFHS participation numbers), as well as one "other" category that contains nominees from all other sports (of member states).
The NFHS then honors a National Coach of the Year in the 21 categories, with each of the state honorees being eligible for the distinguished national honor.
Wrestling
For the second time this season, Purdue University junior Danny Sabatello (Stevenson) was named the Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week. He was honored after posting wins over a pair of nationally ranked conference opponents at 133 pounds. Sabatello is ranked No. 14 in the country in his weight class.
Men's track
Lewis junior Isaac Jean-Paul (Warren) was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference's men's field athlete of the week.
It is the second time this season that Jean-Paul has been awarded this honor; he earned GLVC field athlete of the week in mid-December.
Jean-Paul's award marks the second consecutive week, and the sixth time overall, that a Flyer has been named the GLVC Athlete of the Week this season.
He secured the high jump title at the Illiana Invitational with an NCAA provisional leap of 2.14m (7 feet, ¼ inch).
"Isaac is having a dream season," Lewis men's track and field coach Dana Schwarting said. "He is hitting his goals each meet, and his ultimate goal is to win the national title. Isaac is on the right path."
Women's track and field
Lewis junior Amber Cook (Warren) was named the GLVC women's field athlete of the week, as she captured a victory as well as an NCAA Provisional mark in the triple jump with a leap of 11.59m (38 feet, ¼ inch) at the Illiana Invitational.
"Amber has been working on a lot of technical problems in all of her jumps," Lewis women's track and field coach Dana Schwarting said. "Things are starting to click and I expect big marks (from her) in the next couple of weeks."
Men's basketball
Augustana juniors Griffin Pils (Libertyville) and Brandon Motzel (Carmel) each had 10 points in a 71-68 victory over Millikin that gave Vikings coach Grey Giovanine his 300th career victory.
Giovanine, who took over as the head coach prior to the 1999-00 season, now has a record of 300-116 during his Augustana career and he is 380-203 overall as a collegiate head coach.
Women's basketball
Augustana senior guard Valerie VanRoeyen (Libertyville) is averaging 10.7 points and she is team leader in 3-point (.377) and free throw (.816) percentages. Teammate Olivia Mayer (Libertyville), a sophomore point guard, has a team-high 78 assists.
Men's track
Augustana freshman Kevin Barbian (Libertyville) finished second in the shot put (45-3¾) at the Midwest Invitational.
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