Daily Herald prep newsletter
The Herald Cup is back.
Created by our sports department, and still in its infancy, it debuted last school year as a way to honor athletic excellence among the 80-plus high schools in the Daily Herald coverage area.
As we noted the first year, the Herald Cup is reminiscent of the Paddock Cup, the brainchild of our legendary former sports editor, Bob Frisk, to recognize the top overall sports programs in the Mid-Suburban League.
The Herald Cup takes the tribute a step beyond, and not just by expanding to include our entire coverage area. Instead of looking at conference finishes, the Herald Cup analyzes state tournament performances for all our schools.
Starting at No. 5 is Geneva.
If the sport featured green grass and was measured in yards, then Geneva dominated.
The Vikings finished as a state runner-up in football and placed in sixth in the boys golf tournament. That helped them earn 38 points — calculated by weighing team finishes throughout the fall, winter and spring — and grab the fifth-place spot in the 2024-25 Herald Cup standings for small schools.
Coming in at No. 4 is IC Catholic Prep.
IC Catholic Prep made a home for itself on the mat and diamond, earning a state championship in boys wrestling and a sectional title in softball.
The hardware helped the Knights secure fourth place in the 2024-25 Herald Cup small school standings with 50 points that were calculated by weighing team finishes throughout the fall, winter, and spring.
Edgy Tim on recruiting
Downers Grove North rising senior Aiden Solecki (6-foot-4, 250 pounds), a three-star ranked defensive end by Rivals.com, gave Purdue his verbal commitment Sunday on the way back home from his official visit to the school.
“Everything was great at Purdue and I'm just really excited about my decision and so is my family,” he said.
Solecki, who narrowed his list of top schools to Purdue, Michigan State, Washington State and San Diego State, discussed what stood out to him about the Purdue Boilermakers.
Softball
Barrington’s Mimi Cline, Stevenson’s Aubrey Jepson, Glenbard North’s Tru Medina and St. Charles North’s Paige Murray headline the Daily Herald’s all-area softball teams.