Coaches' Hall of Fame sends greetings to Kardasz, Carle

Dedication has its rewards.

Two coaching giants received a high school's highest sports honor last weekend.

Maine West said a big thank you to Phil Kardasz and John Carle and then added their names to the Coaches Hall of Fame.

Kardasz was a valuable member of the football staff for over four decades from 1965 to 1994, joining the program under the legendary Ken Olson.

A powerful presence on the sidelines, he helped the Warriors earn conference titles in 1966 and 1979 and was inducted into the Illinois Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004.

Kardasz also was a fixture on the freshman baseball diamond and never missed a game for 28 seasons, winning nine conference titles.

Carle, a Maine West graduate in 1965, served the school for 33 years as swimming coach, 22 as head man of both the boys and girls and 11 as assistant for the two programs.

Carle was inducted into the John Newman Illinois Swimming Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2005 he was named National Federation Swimming Coach of the Year.

Baseball

Maine East's back-to-back state baseball champions (1958-59) will hold a reunion Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Park Ridge Country Club. Cocktails will be served at 6 p.m. with the dinner at 7:10 p.m. and short program at 8:30 p.m.

Coach Al Carstens and almost all the players will return to reminisce about the two seasons that resulted in state title wins over Niles West in 1958 (3-2) and Chicago Harrison in 1959 (8-1). No other school has repeated as a state champion in baseball.

Carstens then directed Maine West to the 1963 state title with a 3-1 win over Granite City.

Football

Quarterback Sam Donatucci (Buffalo Grove), redshirt freshman at Quincy University, was named Mid-States Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He completed 27-of-44 passes for 375 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 27-25 victory over Walsh University of North Canton, Ohio. It was Quincy's first win in history over Walsh.

Older brother Anthony Donatucci (Buffalo Grove), team captain and fifth-year senior, had 7 tackles and a sack and crucial fourth-down stop that secured the victory.

• Carthage College quarterback Evan Jones (Grayslake Central) passed for 373 more yards (1,125 in three games), but the Red Men lost to Division 1-AA Campbell University 36-27. Jeff Koeneman (Fremd) caught 7 passes for 127 yards, and middle linebacker Nate Hughes (Antioch) had a game-high 12 tackles, including 2 tackles-for-loss and a sack.

• Augustana College quarterback Ken Podulka (Elk Grove) completed 22-of-31 passes for 202 yards, but the Vikings lost to Wisconsin-Platteville 13-9. Cornerback Eric Jensen (Hersey) had an interception for Platteville.

Cross country

Freshman Billy Wisser (Hersey) was the leader for Augustana College with an 8th-place finish in the Brissman/Lundeen Invitational in Rock Island. He ran 25:46.4 over the 8,000-meter layout.

Soccer

Freshman Tom Slusher (Prospect) scored in the late stages of the second half to give Beloit College a 2-1 Midwest Conference win over Ripon College.

• Freshman Tim King (Conant) of No. 24 Northern Illinois University is starting as center defensive back, and he scored his first goal in his third college game.

• Keum Sung Kim (Hersey) of Loyola University Chicago scored the game-winning goal with 43 seconds remaining in a 1-0 victory over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and leads the Ramblers in assists, points and shots.

• Brian Bernal (Barrington) of Calumet College of St. Joseph's (Whiting, Ind.) scored the first goal in a 3-1 win over Ashford University. He also had assists on the two other goals.

• High school boys tryouts have been scheduled for the Arlington Aces Soccer Program. The Arlington Park District is offering an academy program that includes a full-time trainer/coach from Elite Soccer.

Tryouts for Boys U15/U16 will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. and U17/U18 from 7:45-9:15 p.m. on Oct. 17 and Oct. 19 at Melas Park, Central and Busse roads, Mount Prospect.

For questions, go to the program's Web site at www.ahpd.org/soccer.

Golf

Meredith Robinson (Barrington) of Illinois College posted a 36-hole total of 162 (80-82) in the Illinois Wesleyan University Fall Gofl Classic.

Volleyball

Sarah Sulentic (Conant) is the starting middle on the St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wis.) team that won its first 14 matches and three tournaments. She had team-highs 10 kills and 16 blocks against North Park and 9 kills and 8 blocks against Martin Luther.

• Sophomore outside hitter Kyrsten Becker (Rolling Meadows) of the University of St. Francis (Joliet) was named to the all-tournament team at the University of St. Francis (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Best of the Best Challenge. Against No. 9 Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.), she had 21 digs, 18 serve receives and a career-high 20 kills.

• Libero Amy Reynolds (Schaumburg) of McHenry County College was named to the all-tournament team in the Kankakee Community College Volleyball Invitational.

Cheerleading

Twins Amanda and Christina Schweinebraten (Conant) of Illinois State University's coed cheerleading red squad participated in the home opener at Hancock Stadium.

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