Fremd celebrates 50 years of hoops achievement
Fremd is just a few wins away from securing its 15th appearance in the 39-year history of the Mid-Suburban League girls basketball championship game.
Suffice it to say, the Vikings have been one of the area’s premier programs since the early 1970s.
This Friday night, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Fremd High School, the girls basketball program will celebrate its long-running success by inviting alumni and former Hall of Fame coach Carol Plodzien.
The Vikings are the only program in the MSL which has had just two head coaches in charge — Plodzien (34 years) and Dave Yates, who took over in the 2007-08 season.
Plodzien, who won 558 games in 34 seasons along with 16 regionals and five sectionals, is retired from Fremd’s faculty and now coaching the St. Viator sophomore girls team.
She had the most dominant team in the MSL, winning 12 league crowns (six undefeated conference seasons).
Her 1977 team finished third in the inaugural IHSA girls basketball tournament held at Illinois State.
From 1972 to 1977, the Vikings won 50 consecutive games, which stands as an MSL record.
Yates guided the Vikes to the MSL West crown in 2010 and then won the league title last year. Last season, he steered them to their first regional title since 2003.
Anyone who played in the Fremd program is welcome to attend Friday. All-state players, Daily Herald all-area honorary captains and all-conference players will be recognized before the 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
“I’m looking forward to seeing some of the past players who helped make this program as successful as it has been,” said senior Jessi Wiedemann, one of the Vikings top scorers this season who will play for Valparaiso next season. “It will be fun having them at the game.”
There will be a reception at 6:30 p.m. in the dance room across from the gymnasium.
TriathlonIllinois freshman Kendall Cox (Palatine) qualified to compete in the 2012 Collegiate National Triathlon Championship.
Cox qualified as an individual based on points accumulated in races during the 2011 season, and will race at the Olympic distance (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run). His team will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to race in the championship on April 21.
Men#146;s basketball
Lewis senior guard Chris McClellan (Wheeling) scored 10 of his 19 points in overtime, including the game-tying 3-pointer in the first extra session, to lift the host Flyers to an 89-85 double overtime victory over Illinois-Springfield.
McClellan tied a team-season high with 6 assists. He had no turnovers and 5 rebounds.
He also collected a game-high 18 points, including three 3-pointers, in a 76-59 Great Lakes Valley Conference win over visiting Wisconsin-Parkside.
Ÿ Washington University sophomore Alan Aboona (St Viator) scored a career-high 16 points with 5 assists and he hit 6-of-6 from the foul line in an 80-54 win over Brandeis in St. Louis.
Spring basketball
The spring season for TEAMMSL is March 1 to May 17 at Harper College for grades sixth through ninth (boys only) and at Saint Nectarios Church in Palatine for boys and girls grades third through five. Spots are limited. Go to www.teammsl.com for registration. Contact coaches Matt May (mmay@teammsl.com) or Dave Brault (dbrault@teammsl.com) via email with any questions.
TEAMMSL is an off-season developmental basketball program for anyone feeding into any of the 12 Mid-Suburban League schools and St. Viator.
The goal is to improve fundamentals and athleticism and to help students make the cut for their junior high and high school teams. All coaches are current and former MSL coaches and players.
Women#146;s soccer
Eclipse Select Soccer Club U-17 forward and South Barrington native Michelle Mottonen will play for Texas Christian.
#147;Obviously it takes a weight off my shoulders to commit early, and I#146;m excited that I will be able to play at TCU,#148; said Mottonen, a junior at Fremd. #147;I#146;ve been looking at them for a while.#148;
Mottonen said TCU showed significant interest throughout the recruiting process.
#147;I#146;m the first kid in my family to play a sport in college, so I was open to colleges that reached out to me and were persistent in contacting me,#148; Mottonen said. #147;TCU sent me letters in the mail every week and stayed in constant contact, and they were very genuine in the way they recruited me. They made me feel special about it.#148;
TCU will be in a new conference starting next year, moving from the Mountain West to the Big 12.
#147;It#146;s encouraging moving to a new conference #8212; I will be playing more of my current (Eclipse Select) teammates in that conference,#148; Mottonen said. #147;It#146;s a really good opportunity for the school to get more exposure and move up the rankings.#148;
Mottonen has been with Eclipse Select for two years now and currently plays for the U-17 Elite Clubs National League Team.
#147;Eclipse really improved my mentality of the game,#148; Mottonen said. #147;From the get-go you know this is a driven club. All the teams encourage each other and give you the motivation and drive to win.#148;
Men#146;s track
DePaul#146;s Matt Babicz (Prospect) was second in the shot put (55 feet, 4 inches) at Notre Dame#146;s Blue and Gold Invitational and third (57-4) in Wisconsin#146;s Badger Track Classic. He also took third in the discus (162-1). Babicz won three state medals in high school track while at Prospect.
Ÿ John Wood (Fremd) won the pole vault competition, clearing a career best 17 feet, frac34; inches, and helped North Central win the Private College Invitational in Kenosha, Wis. At the same meet, Dionte Hackler (Schaumburg) won the 400-meter dash in 50.76.
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