Senior shootout draws top talent for debut at CLC
Rosters have been announced for the first Lake County Senior Shootout, a high school all-star basketball game that has been rescheduled for Friday, April 9.
The game will consist of the top high school senior boys and girls in Lake County and will take place on the campus of the College of Lake County in Grayslake.
"It's an event that was deserved and needed for the players in Lake County as well as the community," said assistant coordinator Fred Fleming. "Other areas have a similar game, so why can't we have our own?"
The event will involve the American Heart Association as well as the local cease-fire programs.
For the boys game, the East team includes Mundelein's Ben Brust; Lake Forest's Mitch Hopfinger and Josh Bruns; Stevenson's Jeff Levitt and Nate Johnson; Waukegan's Mike Springs, Jereme Richmond and Quan Conner; North Chicago's Mike Simpson and Demetrius Starks; Lakes' John Androus; and Highland Park's Marin Kukoc.
The West team features Warren's Marquise Thomas, Craig Burton and Shahron Thomas; Grayslake Central's Cameron Nelson, Andrew Sipes and Josh Rappaport; Deerfield's Duje Dukan, Ryan Davis and Oren Schwartz; Zion-Benton's Lenzelle Smith and Cordarius Craigen; and Grayslake North's Matt Pucher.
In the girls contest, the East team includes Antioch's Allie Anttila and Lauren Grant; Grayslake North's Lauren Erickson; Mundelein's Brooke Evans; Vernon Hills' Alana Coy; Barrington's Emily Harris; Lake Forest Academy's Lauren Kramer; Wauconda's Kate Martino; Grant's Heather Chapman; and North Chicago's Nigeria Patrick.
The West team will feature Lake Zurich's Audrey Bauer and Gabby Chapa; Waukegan's Amy and Sarah Angelos; Libertyville's Katelynn Jennings; Lake Forest's Claire DiMario; Lakes' Asja Triplett; Carmel's Kristine Ruhl; Stevenson's Kelsey Simon; and Highland Park's Nichole Monhait.
The event will raise awareness regarding the disease known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the No. 1 cause of death to young athletes.
The girls game will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by the boys contest at approximately 8 p.m.
Men's track and fieldUniversity of Notre Dame senior Jack Howard (Libertyville) won the 800-meter men's title at the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Armory in NYC with a time of 1:51:24. Howard also placed seventh in the 500-meter competition. Notre Dame won the men's team title for the fourth time in eight seasons.Basketball campKessel's Heat Basketball Training and Shooting Instruction camp is being held at the Libertyville Sports Complex. Sessions also take place at the Lake Barrington Field House,The camps, which include boys and girls from fourth grade to high school, are directed by 2005 Ilinois Coaches Hall of Fame member Dennis Kessel and his son, Kyle (Mundelein), a 2008 Illinois Players Hall of Fame member.For more information, see www.kesselstraining.com.Men's track and fieldThe University of Chicago finished second at the 2010 University Athletic Association Championship at Brandeis University.Chicago senior Bill Cheng (Wauconda) won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.47 seconds, a NCAA Division III provisional-qualifying performance. Women's basketballIllinois Wesleyan earned its third straight trip to the NCAA Division III tournament with an 82-72 victory over Elmhurst in the championship game of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament last Saturday.Ranked third nationally, the Titans improved to 26-1."It's awesome," said IWU junior Nikki Preston (Wheeling). "Before the game we talked about our junior class and how we haven't lost a conference championship. We wanted to keep that going today."Two 3-pointers by Preston helped the Titans take their first lead at 27-24 over the Blue Jays (18-9). "The second half they made a little run and we said 'We're not going to lose this,' " Preston said. "Our effort just makes it so hard to lose."bull; Emory senior Whitney Martin (Barrington) was recognized for her outstanding 2009-10 season, earning All-University Athletic Association basketball honors. The 6-foot Martin started all 25 games this year and was the program's lone representative on the all-league squad, capturing a second-team berth.Martin topped the team and ranked eighth in the conference in scoring with a 11.8 points-per-game average. Career-wise, Martin played in 96 games, 56 as a starter, and finished 17th on the school's all-time scoring list with 646 points. Men's basketballLewis University sophomore guard Chris McClellan (Wheeling) has been named to the All-Great Lakes Valley Conference third team.McClellan leads the Flyers with 14.1 points-per-game and is shooting a team-best 45.2 percent (61-for-135) from three-point range.The Buffalo Grove native is currently the best free throw shooter in Lewis history, knocking down 89.4 percent (110-for-123) of his charity shots. bull; Please e-mail items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.