Sending off the school year in style

Fist bumps all around, you made it through another academic year. We salute that with our Sidelines summer send-off spectacular!

Lap it up

Some top prep runners get a final spring go-round. The U.S. Army Midwest Distance Classic starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at Benedictine University in Lisle.

As of Monday meet director Skip Stolley had commitments by male and female athletes from 13 states. DuPage County talent starts with 800-meter state champions Ty Moss of Neuqua Valley (the school's male athlete of the year) and Michaela Hackbarth of Downers Grove South. Primo talents also include Downers Grove North multiple all-stater Ryan Clevenger and Emma Makowski from Montini's Class 2A 3,200-meter relay winner.

Moss' winning time in the boys 3A 800 at Charleston - 1 minute, 51.80 seconds - is second in the field to Shane Streich's 1:51.04. We're partial to Moss.

There is a $5 fee though children 10 and under are admitted free. Check out midwestdistanceclassic.com for more.

All-stars cometh

Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-Star games also will be held Saturday, at Pontiac High School. They'll run every two hours starting with girls Class 1A-2A at 1 p.m. and capping with boys Class 3A-4A at 7 p.m.

IC Catholic's Erin Maloney is the sole DuPage County star in either of the small-school games, representing the North. Larger classes are chock-full.

Girls 3A-4A includes Naperville North's Kayla Sharples, Benet's "Em & Em Twins" Emily Eshoo and Emily Schramek, Glenbard South's Sydney Bauman, Naperville Central's Emily Kraft and Hinsdale Central's Gabrielle Rush - all on the North team. Neuqua Valley's Bryce Menendez tries to even it up for the South squad.

Neuqua's Connor Raridon is deemed a Northerner for the 3A-4A boys. He'll be joined by Wheaton Warrenville South's Josh Ruggles and Benet's Colin Bonnett, plus familiar names Nate Navigato of Geneva and Roland Griffin of West Aurora. Prediction: North 158, South 156.

High school achievers

Thanks to a very generous editor the past two DuPage County Sidelines consisted of 100 total column inches of "college achievers." Now in local news...

Benet junior outside hitter Tiffany Clark earned notice among Prep Volleyball.com's "defensive dandies." Specifically, the Michigan recruit drew the title, "Dandy Lion" - projected as a "back row animal at the next level."

Benet senior Natalie Canulli merited mention among the nation's top full-time defensive players - a "Gym Dandy" - along with sophomores Nora Meehan of Neuqua Valley and Kendall Tucker of Downers Grove North.

A pair of now-graduated Montini football players, safety Michael Hollingshed and linebacker Terrell Johnson, a Northern Michigan recruit, are slated to play in the 41st annual Illinois High School Football Shrine Game. It's June 20 at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington.

David Dalmaso of Wheaton Warrenville South and Benet's Charlie Sandor each were named Academic All-Americans by United States Lacrosse. York's Don Canfield was named U.S. Lacrosse Illinois coach of the year. The Illinois High School Lacrosse Association A-Class All-Stars included Naperville Central senior attack Liam Coakley coached by his father, Jim, in his final game as a prep coach after founding the Redhawks boys program in 2001.

Several of our girls soccer stars merited all-state honors by the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association. In alphabetical order: Jessica Bianchi (York), Abbie Boswell (Naperville North), Paige Filipek (Waubonsie Valley), Alexis Jakuszewski (WW South), Alyssa Kovatchis (York), Ellie Metros (Downers Grove North), Lexi Pelafas (Wheaton North), Avaliese Porlier (Downers South), Emma Rigby (Waubonsie) and Dannah Williams (Neuqua Valley). Filipek, a forward, has another year left.

The Illinois High School Volleyball Coaches Association All-Star Game was held June 8. The roster included Andrew Salmon (Waubonsie Valley), Ben Symonds (Glenbard East), Phil Olszewski (Naperville North), Kian Peterson (Hinsdale Central), Jack Burton (Naperville Central), Will Tischler (Downers Grove South) and Kolbie Knorr, Jerry Loar, John Hildebrand and Ben Carpio all of Wheaton Warrenville South.

Dig this

On May 23 WW South senior Heidi Nassos placed fourth in Class 3A pole vault at the girls state track finals. A few days earlier, on May 18, she was recognized in Wheaton City Council by the city Community Relations Commission as a "Good Citizen," student division. Over six years of lemonade stands and bake sales Nassos donated $17,434 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Wow.

It takes a village

Better-late-than-never: Addison Trail welcomed Greg Karp to its Wall of Fame. Now living in Minnesota, he still holds the boys basketball team's record for assists in a season with 159, set as a senior during the 1974-75 season.

The focus of Wheaton Warrenville South's first Tiger Football Alumni golf outing and dinner, June 30 at Arrowhead, is threefold - reunite old friends; raise money for the family of football alum Brian Schnurstein, who passed away May 19 after a five-year bout with ALS; and raise funds for a new scoreboard to replace the existing board dating to the Gerald Ford Administration (or was it Richard Nixon's?) in 1974. The cost of a new scoreboard alone, the principals say, is $90,000. Sponsorship opportunities, contests, a silent auction and camaraderie are part of the package. A good jumping-off point for information is wwsouthfootball.com.

Thanks to the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association, the wonderful Henry Wind, who coached Benet Academy boys and girls soccer for more than 20 years with boys titles in 2000 and 2001, will be inducted into the IHSSCA Hall of Fame Thursday in Elmhurst. Only 50 people have been inducted since the first wave in 1988.

Full-time grandfather

It felt incomplete when Skip Begley resigned as Hinsdale Central's girls soccer coach after the 2012 season. The man had more to give. Neuqua Valley proved so, quickly scooping Begley up to coach the boys that fall.

When on May 23 the 63-year-old announced his retirement, to be succeeded by Arnoldo Gonzalez, it didn't feel sad. Begley will finally get the chance to be a full-time grandfather.

He and his wife, Jan, have a daughter in Chicago, Tori, and another in downstate Washington, Heather. Combined, Skip and Jan have five grandchildren from 9 to 16 years old.

"There wasn't one key factor, but family was the biggest thing," Begley said.

During the course of 23 straight years coaching at Moline, Hinsdale Central and Neuqua Valley - and surviving a 2000 heart attack - Begley missed out on his daughters' activities and didn't want to bypass more of his grandchildren's as well.

He's not totally shutting it down. He serves as a mentor to Chicago Public School physical education teachers. One of them, a third his age, said high school students are so much different from when she went to school. Begley disagreed.

"If you're fair with them and reasonable and rational and give them a little respect, kids will go a long way for you," he said.

He's able, now, to go a long way for his own - reconnecting, as he said, "from the other side of the field."

Should your paths cross you'll be rewarded by a firm handshake, a wry smile, a chuckle and a genuine heart. Have a great summer.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

Follow Dave on Twitter @doberhelman1