Harper hangs tough on mats
Harper College's wrestling success has included a tradition of taking on the big boys early in order to get better results late in the season.
And the Hawks are holding their own in tournaments primarily with four-year schools despite losing two sophomores to season-ending injuries.
Harper, which finished second in the nation in Division III last year, took seventh the last two weekends in the Al Hanke Invitational and the University of Northern Iowa National Duals.
At Northern Iowa, Dan Miller (Hoffman Estates) had an impressive 3-0 effort with 2 pins at 184 pounds. Miller is one of only two sophomores in the lineup because of injuries to All-American 165-pounder Mike Dace (Grant) and Steve Siokos.
Winning twice at Northern Iowa were P.J. Starnes (Schaumburg, 157), Jordan Bakely (Huntley, 165), Mike Lukowski (Dundee-Crown, 197) and D.J. Rackley (125).
Rackley took fifth with a pair of pins last weekend in the Hanke Invitational at Elmhurst College.
Harper also had three wrestlers participate in the prestigious 46th annual Midlands Tournament at Northwestern in late December. Nate Stadeker (149) went 2-2 and just missed the medal round, Starnes won a match and Bakeley went 0-2.
Harper is off this weekend and hosts its duals Jan. 31 with Lincoln, Triton and Muskegon (Mich.).
Women's hoops rolling: The start of the new year has been good to Harper women's basketball and first-year coach Mark Smith.
The Lady Hawks (6-11, 2-0) pulled off a 64-61 upset of Joliet, ranked 10th in the NJCAA Division III poll, on Tuesday for their third win in four games. They made 11 3-pointers for their best N4C start since 2003.
Peggy Parhas (Lake Zurich) scored 20 points and hit five 3s before leaving in the second half with back trouble. Emily Vierneisel (Jacobs) had 16 points and four 3s, and Katy Spencer (Palatine) added 11 points.
Vierneisel (14 points) and Spencer (11 points) led the offense, and Kim Deuter (Palatine) and Noreen Davis (Conant) had solid all-around games in a 49-40 win over Olive-Harvey.
Vierneisel (20 points), Parhas (19 points) and Spencer (15 points) led the way offensively, and Karina Montero (Schaumburg) played a big role defensively in a 58-53 win over Triton.
Next up for Harper are N4C road tests at 5 p.m. Saturday against College of DuPage and 5 p.m. Tuesday at Rock Valley.
Men facing top competition: A five-game losing streak by the Harper (6-12, 0-2) men's basketball team included three games with nationally-ranked teams.
The latest was Tuesday when Harper couldn't get two 3s in the final 14 seconds to drop in a 70-67 N4C loss to Joliet (15-3), ranked fifth in Division III. Josh Toon (Elk Grove) had 18 points, and Nick Beaumont (Hersey), Maxwell Jackson and Tracy Winston scored 10 points apiece.
Harper was within 6 points with six minutes left when Triton, ranked seventh in Division II, finished a 91-73 win on an 18-3 tear. Brandon Bolger (Schaumburg) led the way with 21 points, Jackson had 15 and Kevin Steele (Fremd) added 12.
The Hawks also lost to South Suburban, ranked seventh in Division II, 73-52 as Jackson scored 18 points and Adis Kadiric (Maine West) added 10.
Harper has 7 p.m. road games with COD on Saturday and Rock Valley on Tuesday.
Elite addition: Harper volleyball coach Bob Vilsoet received a nice addition from downstate in setter Libby Bedwell from Gibson City. Bedwell, also a top-level club player, is expected to replace N4C MVP and NJCAA All-American Nikki Maize.