CL South happy with Nike tourney
It isn't every tournament when a team can hold its head up after finishing in 12th place.
But the Nike Challenge isn't every girls volleyball tournament.
Featuring some of the best teams not only in Illinois but in the nation in its 24-team field hosted by Mother McAuley in Chicago, the Nike Challenge can be seem more like a survival test than a competition.
That's why Crystal Lake South's 12th-place showing was respectable, especially considering the Gators were seeded in the last eight teams.
Crystal Lake South (11-6) went 2-3 in the tourney.
The Gators started Saturday by beating Stagg 14-25, 25-11, 25-15 and then lost to Lone Peak from Highland, Utah, 25-21, 25-18.
They finished with a 19-25, 25-17, 25-19 loss to Downers Grove North (17-7) despite receiving 7 kills apiece from Katie Trayser and Caitlin Schumacher and 22 assists from Jordan Guida.
"That last match was a little disappointing for us," Gators coach Laura Jensen said. "They're a good team, but we simply didn't play very well. We came out and executed in the first game and then I don't know what happened."
The loss caused the Gators to settle for 12th place.
"But when you look at the teams that are here, that's not a bad thing," Jensen said.
Top-seeded Assumption of Louisville, Ky., rolled past McAuley 25-11, 25-15 in the title match, while Louisville's Sacred Heart outlasted Joliet Catholic 16-25, 25-19, 25-17 for third place.
Meanwhile, Downers Grove South (19-5) looked liked a rising stock.
The Mustangs continued their steady climb in the Nike Challenge, outpacing their No. 8 seed with a fifth-place finish -- their second-best showing in the prestigious event.
The Mustangs started Saturday by suffering their only setback -- a 25-15, 25-13 quarterfinal loss to Assumption.
They rebounded by defeating Marist 25-12, 18-25, 25-16 behind 7 kills from Christine Bowe and 6 apiece from Mo Ostermeyer and Kelsey Safranek. Then they swept Rockton Hononegah 25-22, 25-14 powered by Bowe's 9 kills and 3 aces.
St. Francis (23-2) also went 4-1, but a 19-25, 25-20, 25-23 pool loss to Marist on Friday sent the fourth-seeded Spartans to the silver bracket, which they wound up winning.
After beating Sandburg 15-25, 25-17, 25-13 and Downers North 25-19, 25-19, they turned back Lone Peak of Highland, Utah, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17 in the ninth-place match led by Kelsey Robinson's 12 kills, Megan Barnicle's 10 kills and Michelle Kocher's 37 assists.
Girls volleyball
Hampshire wins IMSA tourney: Hampshire (22-1) took home the IMSA tournament title for the third year in a row beating Freeport 25-13, 25-15, Antioch JV 25-16, 25-9, Westmont 25-14, 25-12, Glenbard South 25-16, 25-9, and Batavia in the championship game 25-20, 25-18.
"It was a great tournament for the girls, they came ready to play" said Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse.
For the tournament Kara Wehrs had 99 assists, Jen Kondrat had 65 digs, and Amy Wehrs and Jena Karkos had 40 kills each for the Whip-Purs.
Boys golf
At CL South:: Sometimes, it's good to take a breather.
Saturday's boys golf tournament at Red Tail Golf Course, hosted by Crystal Lake South, provided just that for 7 teams before the added stress of the postseason begins.
The tournament is played in scramble format. Each team has two golfers per group and the best ball hit each time is played. The format also means that all 6 players' scores count towards the total.
Rolling Meadows (197) took top honors in the 7-team field, followed by Marian Central (204), Crystal Lake South (209), Jacobs (210), Dundee-Crown (211), Huntley (221), Streamwood (230).
The uniqueness of the tournament, which falls right before Tuesday's regionals, does not allow for much strategic planning. This is one of the few scrambles teams have played in the past few seasons.
"The last couple of years, the kids decide who they play with," Dundee-Crown coach Bob Sweeney said. "You need to be confident with your partner. The kids find someone who blends in really well with their game."
Jacobs' No. 1 duo of Scott Cahill and Josh Kopka also enjoyed the team approach to Saturday's match.
"It's fun when you hit a bad shot," Kopka said. "If you have a bad shot, it's nice to know someone has your back."
Cahill and Kopka finished with a 70, tied with Crystal Lake South's No. 1 group of Anthony Raucci and Nick Reuter, the Gators' No. 2 group of Nick Remley and Justin Thrailkill and Dundee-Crown's Jordan Nelson and Matt Thomas. Red Tail, normally a par 72 course, was reduced to a par 70 since rain damage reduced the par-5 second hole to a par 3. Rolling Meadows' No. 1 group of Joe Ingolia and Chris Olson tied with their No. 3 group of Don Alslp and Kevin Markowski with a tournament-best 65. Marian Central's twosome of Dominick Piraino and Brian Larsen led all 3 Hurricane teams in finishing with a 2-under 68.
Jacobs' No. 3 team of Andrew Meier and Jake Voitsek finished with a 68.
Cahill and Kopka birdied the first hole and could not find a collective rhythm for the rest of the day.
"We couldn't make our putts," Cahill said. "Coming into this we wanted to shoot a 62."
Putting was the lone area where Ingolia and Olson struggled on Saturday. But, Saturday's focus wasn't on sinking putts alone.
"It's a fun atmosphere," Olson said.
Added Ingolia: "It's easy to laugh it off when you have someone else with you. When you hit a bad shot, you don't have to worry about it. You have someone else to back you up."
Having two groups shoot par was not what the Gators were hoping for when they set their pre-tournament goals, although the third team of Jordan Kelley and Billy Dotson finished with a 69.
"I think they're pretty disappointed," Crystal Lake South coach Curt Wadlington said. "We had all kind of said 68 would be pretty competitive. It has to be a little disappointing."
Boys soccer
Huntley 9, Belvidere 2: The Red Raiders (9-7) came out strong as they defeated Belvidere in nonconference action. Niko Carbonara led Huntley scoring 5 of the 9 Red Raiderrs' goals. Adrian Alejos also scored 3 goals and had 3 assists and Brandon Villareal had an assist. Jonathan Jagdharry contributed with a goal assisted by Carbonara for the Red Raiders. Kevin Montelongo started in goal for the Red Raiders collecting 8 saves while Jagdharry finished in the net tallying 4 saves.
Streamwood 2, Leyden 0: In a nonconference matchup Streamwood (8-10-1) defeated Leyden 2-0. The Sabres were led by Brian Masana, who scored a goal unassisted. Matt Rasinski managed to score the only other goal for the Sabres on an assist from Brain Masana. Alex Perez was in goal collecting 5 saves.
Bartlett 2, Waubonsie Valley 0: For an Upstate Eight Conference victory the Hawks (8-7-1) defeated Waubonsie Valley. Bartlett was led by Greg Wernes, who scored on an assist from Joe McClough. Doug DiGiovanni also scored the final goal to keep the Hawks in the lead. Vince DiNuzzo was in goal for Bartlett collecting 7 saves.
At Jacobs Invite: Larin (11-4-3) beat Hampshire Friday night 3-0. David Rodriguez scored twice, and was assisted by Raul Sandoval and Steven Drew. Nesto Almbriza scored the final Royal goal also assisted by Sandoval. Raziel Somarriba was in the net and collected 2 saves. On Saturday, the Royals were defeated by Geneva 2-1. Carson McFadden scored the only goal for the Royals and was assisted by Rodriguez. Somarriba was in the goal once more and collected 7 saves.
Hampshire (10-6-2) lost twice Saturday, falling to Dundee-Crown 4-1 and Geneva 2-0. Jose Lopez scored the Whip-Purs' only goal of the day. Cameron Rath had a combined 23 saves in goal in the two games.
Burlington Central 4, Hinckley Big Rock 3: After falling behind Hinckley Big Rock 3-0 at the end of the first half the Rockets (10-4-2) scored 4 goals in the second to come out on top. Scott Knewitz, who was assisted by Ryan Wagner and Nate Parks, started and ended the scoring for Burlington Central having the first and then the final goal. Charlie Schmidlin and Danny Conran also scored a goal apiece assisted by Enrique Alvarado and Jordan Werrbach. Kyle DeRaedt had 7 saves for the Rockets.
St. Edward 5, Elgin Academy 2: Jim Cholewa scored 2 goals as St. Edward (3-13) won this nionconference matchup. Miguel Martinez had a goal and an assist for the Green Wave, as did Clayton Pfeiffer. Lucas Belcher added an assist and David Bailey a goal. Will Lytle had 5 saves in goal for the win.
Alex Osinga and Logan Hollensteiner had Elgin Academy's goals and Brandon Cork made 19 saves in the net for the Hilltoppers (1-10-1).
Boys cross country
At St. Charles North: St. Charles North boys cross country coach Steve Imig has never considered himself a focus-on-times type of coach.
At the North Stars' invite Saturday at Leroy Oakes in St. Charles, Imig, however, was happy with both the times and overall place his team finished.
The North Stars placed all 7 runners in the top 18 with no one clocking in any later than 16:09, which led them to a first-place finish with a score of 30.
"Maybe I'm not your typical coach, I really don't look a lot at times," Imig said. "I think the times are certainly a good indicator, but I'm more pleased with our group dynamics (which) were good, we are continuing to narrow down our spreads…that's more of what I look for."
Hersey sophomore Kevin Havel won the meet with a time of 14:49, as the next runner, St. Charles North's Scott Speare, came in 18 seconds later.
Havel's place led Hersey to a second-place finish, followed by Batavia (68), Belvidere North (91) and Streamwood (170) rounding out the top 5. Elk Grove placed sixth (178) in front of Elgin (180), Rockford Auburn (232), Addison Trail (260) and South Elgin (271).
Neal Klein captured fourth place with a time of 15:18 for Streamwood, which also got contributions from Roger Klein (34th) and Neil Shah (37th).
Eric Deneui was Elgin's leader in 14th place, followed by Ricardo Mancha. Joe Chung (39th) paced South Elgin.
Girls cross country
At St. Charles North: The St. Charles North girls cross country did something impressive Saturday -- they placed all 7 runners in the top 11 under 19:42.
That helped the North Stars win their own invite at Leroy Oakes Forest Preserve in St. Charles.
Sophomore standout Stephanie Strasser won the meet with a time of 17:59. The next runner, Addison Trail's Mayra Sanchez, clocked in 18 seconds later.
St. Charles North won the meet with a score of 26, followed by Prospect (74), Elk Grove (84), Cary-Grove (144), Rockford Auburn (151), Belvidere North (156), South Elgin (168), Streamwood (196) and Addison Trail (218).
Megan Liebforth's 22nd-place finish guided Cary-Grove, along with the pack of Andie Ozarowski, Jenna Miner, Kelly Koch and Anni Garcia, who captured the 29th through 32nd spots.
South Elgin's top runner was Danielle Davilla (25th, 20:55) and Streamwood was paced by Mercedes Mancha (eighth, 19:36).
Women's tennis
ECC 2nd at ISCC: The Elgin Community College women's tennis team took second place Saturday at the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference tournament at Waubonsee.
The Spartans scored 15 points. Moraine Valley won the title with 18 points and Waubonsee was third with 13.
Vickie Nee (No. 4) and Seng Chanthabandith (No. 5) won singles titles for ECC while Luiza Aleksiejczyk was second at No. 1 singles.
The ECC No. 2 doubles team of Nee and Danielle Sum also finished second.