Mixed reaction greets St. Viator's drop from Class 4A to 3A
St. Viator's athletic program is in for some significant changes when the 2009-10 school year begins.
Enrollment figures released by the IHSA will see the Lions drop in four-class sports from 4A to the largest school in 3A with Marmion at 1,719 students each. Viator's actual enrollment of 1,042 students is adjusted with a 1.65 multiplier for non-boundaried schools.
"A lot of people over at school are excited and think it's going to be a good thing for us," said Viator boys basketball coach Joe Majkowski. "I know there are some real good, quality teams in the area in 3A depending on where they send us.
"Maybe it will give us an opportunity to move a little farther in the tournament."
Viator baseball coach Mike Manno said he and his players had mixed emotions about the change.
"Part of you is excited but part of you understands there are still plenty of good baseball teams out there," Manno said. "I've gotten mixed feelings from the kids.
"Half of them said, 'Coach, this stinks because we want to play the best,' and half said, 'We'll still play teams that are really good.'"
Prairie Ridge, which won the 2008 4A baseball title, also dropped to 3A. Manno said Viator will always be one of the schools on the cusp of changing classes each year because of enrollment.
Majkowski, who called himself a traditionalist and said he wasn't in favor of expansion from two classes, said part of him would miss the chance to face the bigger schools in the postseason.
"I always feel like we field a competitive team against that level of competition," Majkowski said. "We play a number of 4A schools on our schedule and always hold our own.
"It will be interesting to see how this works out for us this one year."
Viator would also be in 3A in girls basketball, softball and girls volleyball. It will also drop to Class 2A in three-class sports such as boys golf, where it won the last two 3A titles, boys and girls soccer, track and field and cross country and wrestling.
Viator will remain in Class AA in two-class sports such as girls golf.
March Madness stays in Peoria: The IHSA officially announced at a Wednesday news conference that the boys state basketball tournaments will be played in Peoria through 2015.
The extension is the first time the IHSA has not used a formal bidding process for a state finals event. The current five-year contract with Peoria is set to expire after the 2010 tournaments.
"This was an easy decision, and that's because of the way Peoria has embraced this tournament," IHSA executive director Marty Hickman told the Peoria Journal Star.
Hickman said the thought of splitting sites between the small and large schools has never been a serious consideration. Peoria has hosted the boys state basketball tournaments since 1996 after it was held for 76 years in Champaign, which was expected to bid on both tournaments.
Big honor for Borenstein: Former Buffalo Grove baseball star Zach Borenstein had little trouble making the jump to Division I competition at Eastern Illinois.
Borenstein, a two-time Daily Herald All-Area pick, was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine.
Borenstein hit .394 and led the Ohio Valley Conference in on-base percentage at .506. Four of his 5 homers were hit in OVC play and he had 28 RBI, 29 walks and only 20 strikeouts as the Panthers finished 36-14.
"Even though he was an infielder in high school, we had to find a place for him in the lineup," EIU coach Jim Schmitz said in a release of starting Borenstein in right field. "When Brent Nommensen (Cary-Grove graduate and Tampa Bay Rays signee) went down with the hand injury, we put Zach in the leadoff spot and he did a great job.
"We look forward to watching him progress the next few years."
Viken keeps soaring: Rolling Meadows' Mick Viken followed up his Class 3A state pole vault title by winning the championship Saturday at the prestigious 50th annual Golden West Invitational in Folsom, Calif.
Viken won the Golden West title by clearing 16 feet, 13/4 inches in swirling winds. Viken will compete in the Junior Nationals in Oregon on June 25-28 and hopes to qualify for the Pan American Games on July 31-Aug. 2.
Meadows' Amanda Whowell also competed at Golden West and finished eighth in the full mile run at 5:06.36.
Stensvaag honored: Wisconsin-Whitewater tennis player Ingid Stensvaag, a junior from Prospect, was named an ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America third-team academic All-American.
Stensvaag made the College Division team for NCAA Division II and III and NAIA schools. She was 23-9 at No. 2 singles and 22-4 at No. 2 doubles as Wisconsin-Whitewater won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and made the Division III national tourney.
Mengarelli to Millikin: Hersey graduation Kyle Mengarelli has decided to play basketball and compete in track and field and study education at Millikin University.
Mengarelli was Hersey's Male Athlete of the Year and was the captain of the basketball team and the MVP of the track team.