Six Harper football players honored
Six Harper College sophomores earned honorable-mention recognition in the Midwest Football Conference.
They include offensive lineman Chris Sparrow; defensive back Eric Palmore-Lett; linebacker Dave Hettiger; defensive lineman/tight end Devin Henderson (Glenbrook South); Ben Harris (Elgin); and running back Rod Alton.
Hettiger signed a letter of intent with the University of Nebraska-Ohmaha.
Harper coach Eric Waldstein expects the other players to also continue their collegiate football careers.
“They are all good kids, they played hard,” said Waldstein, who added, “They deserved more.”
Women’s basketball
Harper assistant Marlene Sarley stepped in Sunday for coach Mark Smith, who was on a prearranged visit to see his daughter Kelsey play at Michigan State University when the Hawks played a makeup game at home against Wright.
“It was a good opportunity for me to see what I can do with the team,” said Sarley, who coached the Hawks to a 57-40 win. “Maybe I could fill a (coaching) spot if need be.”
Sarley played high school basketball at Buffalo Grove and was a member of the 2000 Bison team that won the Class AA state title.
Larissa Aguero (Wheeling) is back in action for the Hawks.
“We want to get Larissa into the swing of things,” Smith said. “I like our depth, it’s going to help us in the long run.”
Adding Aguero to a roster that includes sophmores Sara Kellermeyer (Schaumburg) and Betsy Bailey (Palatine) and the Hawks appear to have the necessary depth in the post to make a deep playoff run.
“We are trying to get as high of a seed as possible,” Smith said.
The seeds for the NJCAA Divsion III Region IV tournament will be announced Feb. 20.
“We have tough games (next week) against Madison, Triton and Rock Valley,” Smith said.
On Saturday the Hawks travel to Madison Area Technical College for Pack the Gym Night.
“They (Madison) will be ready to play,” said Smith, whose Hawks beat the Wolfpack 72-39. “It’s tough to win on the road.”
On Monday, the Hawks return home to host Rock Valley College (19-6), the second-ranked team in the latest NJCAA Divsion III poll. The Hawks host Triton College on Tuesday.
Men’s basketball
The Hawks are on a three-game winning streak, prevailing by an average of 30 points in that stretch.
“They are real focused on defense,” said Hawks coach Tony Amarino. “They’re just playing with a lot of confidence.”
The Hawks travel to Madison Area Technical College on Saturday for Pack the Place night, the first of three games in four days.
“It’s going to be a good college atmosphere,” Amarino said.
To add more intrigue, the teams are tied for second in the regional standings.
“They’re a solid team,” Amarino said.
The Hawks made a change midway through the season, inserting Elk Grove graduate Brian Battaglia into the starting lineup and having Hoffman Estates alum Kemill Long come in off the bench.
“Brian has been one of our best players (in conference play),” Amarino said. “He’s our smartest guy defensively. Kemill has fallen into a nice role.”