Prorok diving into prominence
While attending Hersey, Katelyn Prorok was one of the top divers in the Mid-Suburban League and the IHSA.
Now in her final collegiate year, she continues to make headlines - in the NCAA.
The Illinois State senior has been named the Missouri Valley Conference diver of the week after an outstanding performance in a dual meet against Northern Iowa.
Prorok accomplished season-best scores while also achieving first places on both the one- and three-meter boards over the weekend against UNI.
Finishing with a score of 261.98 on the one-meter nearly qualified Prorok for the NCAA Zone C regional diving meet. The qualifying score is 265.00.
Prorok added more support to the Redbirds' victory with a three-meter score of 258.00.
Diving coach Phil Hoffman feels this is a good first step into Prorok's final season at Illinois State.
"This is a great honor for Katelyn to receive after only competing twice so far this season," Hoffmann said. "She competed against some talented conference divers this weekend, which makes receiving this award even more impressive."
Prorok was awarded MVC diver of the week honors five times during the 2008-09 season and is the first student-athlete from Illinois State to win the MVC swimmer or diver of the week award this season.
Football
With a weekend win over Lakeland College, the Concordia University football team of River Forest has assured itself of at least a .500 season for the first time since 1992.
This year's contest did not go down to the final 20 seconds as did last year's game, but the Cougars made up a greater deficit. They blanked the Muskies 20-0 in the second half to prevail by a 41-32 score in Sheboygan, Wis.
The turning point came on Lakeland's opening drive of the second half. The Muskies drove to a first-and-goal opportunity at the 9. But two plays later, the Cougars forced a fumble. Matt Boswell (Maine West) recovered and Concordia turned the momentum around completely by marching 93 yards for a touchdown.
A pass completion of 10 yards to Mike Egebrecht (Buffalo Grove) and a 35-yard TD reception by Egebrecht highlighted the drive.
• The North Central College football team faced its greatest test Saturday at CCIW rival Carthage College - and came out on top, besting the Redmen 63-48.
Sophomore Peter Bulandr (Stevenson) recovered a fumble to end Carthage's first scoring drive of the second half. He also had 3 tackles, bringing his season total to nine.
Women's cross country
The Concordia cross country team ran its final meet before the conference championships Oct. 31, competing in the Brooks Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. All of Concordia's women set personal bests in the event, and senior Rachel Riske (Hersey) posted a school record with her time of 24:04.5. Riske's time, a fraction shy of 56 seconds better than her previous best, beat the record of 24:16 held by current assistant coach Jayme (Hardy) Wier.
Lindsay Halawith (West Leyden) came in at 28:34.04, and Amy Grieashamer (East Leyden) followed at 29:00.49. Grieashamer showed the biggest improvement in her time, bettering her previous mark by 90 seconds.
Men's cross country
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its seventh installment of the Coaches Top 35 Poll - and North Central College retained its top ranking for the seventh straight week.
The Cardinals sit atop the rankings after garnering 280 points, as the top four schools remained unchanged from the previous week.
In its last outing, undefeated North Central easily captured the team title, racking up just 22 points to outdistance runner-up UW-Stevens Point by a 75-point margin at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational.
Junior Michael Spain (Schaumburg) led the Cardinals' contingent, finishing runner-up after covering the 8,000 meter course in 24:25. For his efforts, the junior was named the CCIW runner of the week.
• Concordia freshman Phil Allman (Schaumburg) returned to the men's lineup and ran a 26:40.41 in the 8K Brooks Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Allman improved on his previous best effort by 18 seconds.
Derek Kieninger (Hoffman Estates) was next for the Cougars with a 27:56.20.
Basketball
The Hersey Jr. Huskies Girls' feeder tryouts will be held at Hersey High School in the Fieldhouse.
Sixth graders will be 2-4:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 and 8. Seventh graders will be 3:30-5:30 p.m. Nov. 1 and 8
Eighth graders will be from 4:30-6:30 p.m. only on Nov. 1.
Girls are asked to try attending both. If you can only make one, attend Nov. 1.
Please arrive 15 minutes before to register.
You need to bring your own basketball. Players (with their parents) who make the team will meet after tryouts and fees will be collected. Any questions should be e-mailed to robert.pihl@214.org.
• Tryouts for the Hersey Boys feeder program will be held at Hersey on Dec. 6 and 12 in the Fieldhouse.
Dec. 6 will be for sixth graders from 12:15 p.m.-2:15 p.m. Seventh graders will be from 2-4 p.m. Eighth graders will be from 4-5:45 p.m.
On Saturday, Dec. 12, all levels will participate from 3:15-5:15 p.m. There will be a meeting immediately following tryouts for players and parents who make the team.
Please try to make both sessions. Park in the rear of the school and enter the door nearest the tennis courts.
For questions, contact Tom Garms at 847-253-9758 or tgarms22@hotmail.com.
• The St. Viator Junior Lions boys feeder tryouts will be Sunday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov 21.
On Nov 8, eighth graders will be from 4-5:30 p.m., seventh graders from 5-6:30 p.m. and sixth graders from 6-7:30 p.m.
On Nov. 21, eighth graders will be from noon-1:30 p.m., seventh graders from 1-2:30 p.m. and sixth graders from 2-3:30 p.m.
Tryouts will be held at Saint Viator High School in the Boler Multipurpose Athletic Center located adjacent to the South parking lot.
Boys are encouraged to participate in both days of tryouts, but it is mandatory to attend at least one session. All boys who may attend Saint Viator High School are eligible to try out. All players making the Junior Lions team will play in every regular-season game they are scheduled to attend.
Practices begin in December and games begin in January. The season runs until late March, just prior to spring break. For questions, contact Director of the Feeder Program Joe Rooney at 630.202.0302 or literal121@juno.com.
Men's soccer
North Central's Mike McEvoy (Buffalo Grove) was named a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men's soccer player of the week. McEvoy, a sophomore goalkeeper, recorded 6 saves and played all 90 minutes in a 2-0 victory over Lake Forest on October 13.
Softball
Buffalo Grove High School has two softball coaching positions open this spring, freshman and varsity assistant. If interested please contact Mark Schaetzlein, assistant principal for student activities at mark.schaetzlei@d214.org or girls athletic director Marianne O'Shea at marianne.oshea@d214.org.
LaCrosse
James Silveira (Palatine), an all-area football player for Palatine last fall, will be playing this spring for the Yale University lacrosse team.
His grandfather, Norbert Wojdyla, was a standout pitcher for Crane Tech High School in the Chicago Public League and resides in Palatine.
Both grandfather and grandson celebrate their birthdays on April 1. On this past one, they turned 81 and 18 years old, respectively.
jleusch@dailyherald.com