Kessel to be honored by Mundelein on Friday
Former Mundelein basketball standout Kyle Kessel will be back at his high school on Friday night.
Kessel will have his Mundelein High School jersey number (14) retired at half time of the Feb. 4 game against Stevenson. As a senior, Kessel led the Mustangs to a 28-2 record, averaging 25.3 points, and was the all-time leading scorer in Lake County history and second in the state for all-time assists.
Women’s swimming
Freshman Melanie Rowland (Vernon Hills) of the Towson University women’s swimming team took first place in her first individual event dual meet.
Rowland won the 200-yard freestyle by completing the event in 1:55.79 as Towson won its fifth straight meet, a 160-102 nonconference victory over Johns Hopkins at the Blue Jays’ Newton White Athletic Center.
Towson is in the final stretches of its season and currently has a 12-1 dual meet record.
It is shooting for a fourth straight Colonial Athletic Association title at the conference championship meet on Feb. 24-26 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
Last season, Towson finished tied for 25th in the nation (NCAA D-I), which is a big accomplishment for a mid-major D-I school in the sport of swimming. The team is looking to improve on that finish at this year’s NCAA championships in mid March in Austin, Texas.
Women’s track and field
At Wartburg College’s Lutheran Triangular, Augustana finished second behind host Wartburg (276) with 200 points.
The Vikings’ distance medley team which included
Kelsey Moon (Mundelein) finished second, too, with a time of 13:56.88.
Katherine Rowland (Libertyville) tied for third in the long jump (14-1).
Cheerleading
The Libertyville Varsity Cheerleaders took first place at sectionals.
The team will now move on to compete in the State Championship at Illinois State University.
The members of the Varsity Cheerleading squad are: Ally Adams, Jessic Beresford, Carly Bradley, Craig Breckenridge, Kelsee Brzezinski, Chelsea Cole, Mimi Conley, Sydney Hahn, Janessa Hedlund, Megan Hiscox, Weston Lewis, Julia Marks, Taylor Matheson, Beck Mueller, Brynn Rapp, Bailey Ryan, Paige Schlesinger, Frankie Skurski, Kelly Sloan, Molly Sweeney, Anna Travis, Taylor VanWagner, Miles Webb and Molly Yrigoyen.
Kessel Heat
The spring AAU tryouts begin Sunday, Feb. 20 and 27 at the Libertyville Sports Complex and Wednesday, March 2, and Friday, March 4 at the Barrington Fieldhouse. See www.kesselstraining.com for exact times.
Presidents Day Camp
The Kessel Heat will hold a Presidents Day camp at the Libertyville Sports Complex on Monday, Feb. 21 from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
Cost is $20 and there will be games, drills and contests.
50th IHSBCA clinic
The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association will conduct the state baseball coach’s clinic Feb. 4 and 5 in Glen Ellyn at the “The Main Arena” of the College of DuPage (425 Fawell Boulevard).
The clinic will provide a wide variety of team and individual skills and practical-based material from the top collegiate and professional baseball coaches in the country.
Featured speakers will be Steve Sax, USOC and Maryland coach Bernie Walters, Iowa coach Jack Dahm, coaching legend Gordie Gillespie and Nick Mingione of Mississippi State.
To view the complete line up of 18 speakers and clinic agenda or to pre register; log on to the website at illinoishighschoolbaseball.org or simply walk up to register on the day of the clinic.
To pre register; go to MEMBERSHIP link on Illinoishighschoolbaseball.org and print it, and send the page with payment to Dave Kalal at York High School. His contact information is at the bottom of that page.