Harper battles against tough competition

A pair of losses in one day could be viewed as a bad sign for Harper College's powerhouse wrestling program.

But the Hawks weren't matched up against any patsies at last weekend's National Wrestling Coaches Association Cliff Keen National Duals at the University of Northern Iowa.

Harper maintained its No. 1 standing among NJCAA non-scholarship wrestling programs after going 1-2 against NJCAA scholarship schools.

Harper was seeded fifth of eight junior college teams in the field. In their first match, the Hawks cruised to a 36-8 win over Northwest College (Wyo.), before losing 30-15 to No. 1 St. Louis Meramec.

Harper finished fourth with a 24-13 loss to Labette CC (Kan.). Andy St. Germain (125 pounds), Mike Dace (165), Darius Williams (174) and Shea Gardot (184) won matches in the final dual.

Harper competes in the Al Hanke Invitational at Elmhurst College on Saturday.

Time to regroup: Harper men's basketball coach Tony Amarino couldn't figure out why there was a lack of energy in Tuesday's 74-65 home loss to Triton to open N4C play.

Now the Hawks (14-5) look to break a three-game losing streak when the Robert Morris JV visits at 7 p.m. today.

"Now it's gut-check time," said Amarino, whose team is at Joliet at 7 p.m. Tuesday. "We've still got a nice season going and we can make ourselves forget about this by playing solid basketball from here on out."

Numbers game: There haven't been many available options lately for women's basketball coach Rusty Becker.

Harper has dressed only six players the last two games. Becker hopes that number starts increasing soon, with Katy Spencer returning from a broken finger and Emily Vierneisel also injured.

"When we get some kids back it will be nice," Becker said. "Emily opens up the outside and hopefully she'll be back in two weeks."

Harper is at Joliet at 5 p.m. Tuesday and hosts the Robert Morris JV at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Mitz moves on: Harper sophomore wide receiver Brian Mitz, who was a first-team all-Region IV pick, has accepted a scholarship to Division II Northern Michigan University.

Mitz, a Cary-Grove product, was one of the Hawks' top receivers this fall.

Softball tryouts: Coach Kristin Zbikowski will hold tryouts for this spring's team in the Harper gym from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.