State honors sports officials; Houston joins special club
High school sports officials, who feel the highest accolade is silence, receive some well-deserved applause today.
The Illinois High School Association and member schools throughout the state are observing the 29th annual edition of the National High School Activities Week, and Tuesday is devoted to honoring the men and women who serve as sports officials.
The National Federation of State High School Associations began Activities Week in 1980 to increase the public's awareness of the values and needs of interscholastic activity programs.
Each day this week has a theme.
Sunday was National Be A Sport Day, and Monday was National Fine Arts Activities Day.
The rest of the week's schedule is set this way:
Wednesday: Youth Health Awareness Day.
Thursday: Coaches/Sponsors/Advisors Day
Friday: Fan Appreciation Day.
Saturday: Community Service/Participation Day.
Illinois ranked fifth in the nation in total athletic participants (333,646) in 2007-08, trailing only Texas, California, New York and Ohio.
Volleyball
• Carthage College's Katie Lundgren (Stevenson) averaged 4.4 digs per game during the Lady Reds' 4-0 weekend at the Augustana Tournament. She had 15 against Coe, 13 against Simpson, 13 against Wisconsin-Platteville and 25 against Wartburg. In a 3-1 win over Augustana, she had 29 assists.
Monique Houston (Wheeling) of Western Illinois University entered the 1,000-kill club with a career total of 1,014 after playing South Dakota State. The senior recorded 15 kills in the match and became the eighth player in WIU history to surpass 1,000.
• Jenny Peterson (Hersey) of Taylor University (Upland, Ind.) was named Mid-Central College Conference Player of the Week. She had a season-high 17 kills for a .378 hitting percentage against Bethel College.
• Ali Janezic (Barrington) of the University of Illinois at Springfield collected 24 digs to increase her career-leading total to 1,785. while also becoming the school's all-time leader in games played as UIS beat McKendree 3-2.
Also for Illinois Springfield, Sarah Cooper (Rolling Meadows), who was named to Lindenwood University's all-tournament team, produced 13 kills and 1 solo block.
• Middle hitter Sarah Sulentic (Conant), a sophomore at St. Norbert College, is ranked the No. 1 blocker in the Midwest Conference. She also ranks in the top 10 for hitting percentage.
Football
Chris Kydyba (Elk Grove) passed for 302 yards and 4 touchdowns as Elmhurst College overcame a 19-point deficit to beat Carthage 29-26.
Soccer
Benedictine University's Brett Olson (Rolling Meadows) scored a goal and had 2 assists against Robert Morris College-Springfield and an unassisted goal in a tie with Milwaukee School of Engineering. He is the team's leading goal scorer.
• Jenna Samp (Palatine) was named Wisconsin-Whitewater's defensive player of the week.
• Millikin senior Kelly Mitchell (Barrington) netted the game-winner in overtime against Rose-Hulman and also scored a goal against Monmouth, bringing her total to 8 for the season.
• Dan Lewis (Buffalo Grove) scored his first collegiate goal for Western Michigan University against Canisius of Buffalo, N.Y.
• Goalkeeper Jon Szafranski (Barrington) of Saint Mary's University (Winona, Minn.) is now the school's all-time career saves leader.
• Jackie Peterson (Schaumburg) scored 2 goals in a Carthage victory over Finlandia University (Hancock, Mich.) and has 11 for the season.
Alex McKenzie (Antioch) of Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Mich.) scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Hope College (Holland, Mich.).
Brother Brett McKenzie (Antioch) also had a game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory by Central College (Pella, Iowa) over Puget Sound University (Tacoma, Wash.).
Tennis
Beth Kaufman (Barrington) of Carthage College finished second at No. 1 singles in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Tricia Sapio (Barrington) of Augustana was third at No. 4 singles, and Carthage's Jennifer Immen (Buffalo Grove) took second at No. 6.
Also in the CCIW meet, Kristen Piotrowski (Fremd) of Illinois Wesleyan was fourth at No. 3 singles, and North Central's Christine Heyd (Conant) won the consolation final at No. 5.
In doubles, Kaufman was on the runner-up doubles team at No. 2, Immen was runner-up at No. 3, Heyd was third at No. 2.
Basketball
The Hoffman Estates High School Feeder basketball tryouts for fifth- to eight-grade boys will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 5, and Friday, Nov. 7, at Eisenhower Jr. High School, 800 W. Hassell Road, Hoffman Estates.
Only those boys who will attend Hoffman Estates High School may try out.
Fifth-sixth grade: 6:15-7:30 p.m., both days.
Seventh grade: 7:30-8:45 p.m., both days.
Eighth grade: 8:45-10 p.m., both days.
Practice is normally held once a week. Cost of $325 includes uniform and approximately 30 games between January and mid-March.
For more information, contact Bill Reibel at (224) 629-2365 or reibel22@gmail.com or Tony Reibel, Sr. at (847) 524-7464. The Lake County Sports Academy will hold the second session of basketball tryouts on Sunday, Oct. 19. at the College of Lake Country.The AAU/Traveling Basketball team tryouts are for boys and girls in the fifth- through eight-grade levels.Teams will play at least 25 games in tournament competition, with qualifying teams also playing in regional and national events. All practices will be held at the College of Lake County.Tim Bowen, former Grayslake Central head coach and now assistant at Waukegan, has joined with the College of Lake County basketball staff to offer this basketball program. Oct. 19 tryout times:Fifth-grade boys, girls: 1-2 p.m.Sixth-grade boys, girls: 2:30-3:30 p.m.Seventh-grade boys, girls: 4-5 p.m.Eighth-grade boys, girls: 5:30-6:30 p.m.RSVP to (312) 409-7000, or e-mail to lakecountysportsacademy@comcast.net.For more information, call (312) 409-7000, (708) 288-0062, or (847) 740-6383.RugbyThe Arlington Stallions Rugby Club, an organization for middle school and high school boys, will hold an informational meeting at the AthletiCO (88 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights) on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m.The group was formerly known as the Hersey Huskies Rugby Club, and 14 former players are playing competitive rugby beyond high school.Prospective players and their parents are invited to meet the coaching staff, athletic trainer, former and current players and parents.In 2008, the club, which holds a competitive spring season, had over 55 members from grades six-12 from eight different area high schools and seven middle schools.The club is a member of the USA Rugby and Illinois Youth Rugby Association.For more information, contact Paul Bergman at (847) 590-8536 or go to ArlingtonStallionsRugby.com.SoftballThe 2009 Shark Pitcher/Catcher Open House Exposure Camp has been set for Sunday, Jan. 4 at the Lockport Township High School Field House, 1333 E. 7th Street, Lockport.Check-in time will be no later than 10 a.m. with the exposure portion running from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.The early announcement is necessary because no more than 54 pitchers and 54 catchers will be registered.The camp is open to high school freshmen through juniors (2010, 2011, 2012) with a minimum 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale. The camp will include high school pitchers and catchers, and college coaches will be invited. The coaches will receive a roster that includes academic and personal data on each player. Players will be radar-timed at the site.The catchers' overhand throwing speed and glove speed on throws to second base will be recorded as well as the pitchers' underhand throwing speeds.The cost is $150 per player. For information on registration, go to www.SharkSoftball.net. LacrosseMary Handrahan (Lake Zurich), a freshman playing attack for Trine University (Angola, Ind.), had 3 goals and 5 assists for four games in the Fall Classic Tournament in Springfield, Ohio. She had 2 goals plus the game-winner against Ohio Wesleyan University. Trine is in its second season of lacrosse.Cross CountryFreshman Rachael Dean (Lakes) of Judson University was named National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association Runner of the Week for the second time. She was medalist at the Indiana Wesleyan Invitational.Notebook items should be sent to prepsports@dailyherald.com. Please, no phone calls.