Harper wrestlers earn top national ranking
There's been an upbeat mood recently in the Sports and Wellness wrestling room at Harper College.
On Jan. 20, the Harper wrestling team was voted the No. 1 team in the country in the NJCAA's non-schlarship division, an honor that coach Dan Loprieno would rather not have the pressure of living up to.
The Hawks have five individuals who are ranked in the top 12 in their weight class, including John Grubisch (285).
"Heavyweight is traditionally one of the toughest weights," said Loprieno.
Grubisch is coming off of a herniated disc in his back.
Here's a look at some of Harper's other key competitors:
• Mike Lukowski (197, Dundee-Crown): "(Lukowski) is a kid who I am looking to for some leadership," said Loprieno "He needs to turn it up in the next three weeks. Anything less than (placing at nationals), he will be disapointed."
Lukowski pinned his way through the Elmhurst tournament last weekend. Like Grubisch, Lukowski is coming back from injury as well. He missed two weeks with a strained knee.
• Shea Geradot (184) is also ranked in this week's individual rankings.
• All-American Mike Dace (165, Grant): "He (Dace) is the most technical kid we have right now," Loprieno said. "He is a leader on the mat. (If) he gets on top of you, somebody is going to be in trouble."
• Nate Stedaker (149): "Nate has come a long way," Loprieno said. "He is not making as many mistakes."
Loprieno will have a new face in the lineup this weekend, Josh Kratovil (141). "That is going to be huge," Loprieno said. "He is a legitimate national champion contender."
Loprieno also likes the way Arbor Bebo (184) and Luke Roth (157) are wrestling.
The Hawks were coming off a disappointing Midlands meet at Northwestern University on Jan. 16. The Hawks had a much better showing after that, at the Al Hanke Invite.
"We had a rough first half with injuries," said Loprieno.
The venue for this weekend's meet between Lincoln, Triton and Muskegon (Mich.) has been changed. The Hawks were orginally scheduled to host the meet, but it will instead take place at Triton College.
Tough breaks: It has been a bumpy ride of late for the Harper women's basketball team, whose record stands at 13-8 overall and 4-3 in North Central Community College Conference play. Though the team beat Triton 62-43 on Tuesday as Peggie Parhas scored 23 points, forward Betsy Bailey (Palatine) left the game with a knee injury.
The Hawks were able to earn a split against the two schools from Wisconsin last week. First the Hawks defeated Milwaukee Area Technical College 50-45, and on Saturday NJCAA Division III top-ranked Madison Area Technical College paid a visit to the Sports and Wellness Center. After starting the game on a 10-0 run in the first 4:10 of the game, the Hawks suffered 59-53 loss to the Wolfpack. Parhas spent most of the game in foul trouble and did not score her first points of the second half until the final: 30 of the contest.
300 and counting: Following a three-game road trip, during which coach Tony Amarino gained his 300th career win at Rock Valley, the Harper men's basketball team (8-14, 1-6) returned to its home court. But the two newest members of the N4C were not kind to the Hawks as Harper dropped games to Madison Area Technical College (82-77) and Milwaukee Area Technical College (66-56).
The Hawks played host to former Skyway Conference member and current N4C leader Triton College (14-7, 6-0) on Tuesday and fell 82-73 as Adis Kadiric led the Hawks in scoring.
Harper travels to College Of DuPage (13-9, 4-3) on Saturday in the final regular-season matchup between the N4C rivals.
Futures in football: Good things keep happening for former Harper football players.
On Tuesday, two former Hawks enrolled at four-year schools where they will play football next season.
Cornerback Darriell Owens enrolled at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. Millikin is a member of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and finished last season 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the CCIW.
"Darriell did an unbelievable job for us this fall. He isn't the biggest guy on the field, but he plays with the biggest heart," coach Eric Waldstein said via e-mail of his former player. "I believe Darriell will do a great job at Millikin and could be an all-CCIW player there."
Quarterback Pat Czerwiec will be attending Concordia University (Wis.). Czerwiec has a 3.58 cumulative GPA and will have a chance to compete for the team's starting quarterback position in spring practice. The Falcons were 5-5 overall and 5-2 in the Northern Athletic Conference last season.
"I am very excited for Pat. I think this is a tremendous opportunity and I know he will be very successful at CU," Waldstein said.