You’ve got to hand it to Hersey Hall of Famer Huber
When Bob Huber begins his 19th season this spring, he will no longer just be known as the Hersey varsity baseball coach.
He will be recognized as the Hersey Hall of Famer.
Huber, who has 396 wins, is one of six coaches selected for the Illinois Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame class of 2013.
He has directed the Huskies to three regional titles and one Mid-Suburban League crown while winning six divisional titles.
Since becoming head coach in 1995, Huber has watched 59 of his Huskies go on to play in college and two more committed for next season. He has coached four players who made it to the professional ranks.
“Bob is extremely passionate about baseball but his first concern is always for the players,” said his longtime assistant Kevin Kelley. “He prepares his players to be healthy and their well-being is foremost. He has never used a pitcher on consecutive days to win a ballgame, or played someone who was hurt.”
Kelley has been a volunteer coach at Hersey since 2002.
“The reason I have been there so long is because of Bob,” Kelley said. “He is a class individual and treats everyone with the same respect he expects. As a matter of fact, it is common practice for former players to come back and help with the program. Bob instills a love of the game that carries well after leaving Hersey,”
Palatine coach Paul Belo also praised the manner in which Huber has run the program.
“Wins is only one piece of the criteria for the Hall,” Belo said. “Bob’s teams play the game the right way. Bob is a class act and his players model that.”
Kelley has been a high school coach for more than 30 seasons.
“I know most of the coaches in the Hall, and Bob works as hard or harder,” Kelley said. “He has the moral character to make its members proud, and has the recorded success that fits with the qualifications deserving of a membership.
“Bob’s moral standards and values are high, and he communicates this to the players. His practices are extremely well-organized and productive. Every player is working all the time.”
Now Huber has worked his way into the Hall of Fame. The dinner will be Saturday, Jan. 26.
Coach of the year
Retired Schaumburg baseball coach Paul Groot was named one of four Class 4A area Coaches of the Year for 2012.
In his 28th and final season, Groot guided the Saxons to the supersectional of the Class 4A tourney last May. He retired with a record of 611-303 in a career that included a state title in 1997, a runner-up finish in 1989 and another Elite Eight trip in 2005.
Women’s basketball
DePaul sophomore guard Megan Rogowski (Hersey) scored 13 points to lead the Blue Demons in a 55-46 loss to South Carolina, 55-46 in the championship game of the Paradise Jam Reef Division at the University of Virgin Islands Fitness Center.
Rogowski was in the starting lineup for the third time this season. She also led the Blue Demons (5-2) with 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
Ÿ Millikin freshman Alyssa Saklak (Schaumburg) scored 8 points in a 63-42 loss to No. 3 St. Thomas in the Big Blue’s own Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament that featured three teams ranked in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25.
Helping hand
Former Wheeling girls basketball standouts and sisters Stephanie and Kellie Kuzmanic were recently back in town.
They spent Thanksgiving morning helping to feed the elderly and disabled of Des Plaines at their father’s restaurant, “T-Bobs,’ in that town.
Stephanie, a junior for Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., scored a career and game-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting, along with 2-of-2 free throws, 5 rebounds and a career-high 7 assists and 3 steals in an 85-55 win at Beloit.
Carthage (3-1), ranked 23rd in the Nov. 20 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll, topped No. 27 University of Chicago 68-46 on Sunday in Kenosha as Stephanie chipped in 6 points.
Freshmen Kellie Kuzmanic and Maggie Hogen (Hersey) are playing significant minutes for Cornell College (3-0) in Iowa. Kellie had a career-high 8 points against Eau Claire while Hogen netted a season-best 10 points against Bethany Lutheran.
Women’s soccer
Freshman Mary Pettit (Hoffman Estates), senior Val Lelle (Wheeling), freshman Samantha Frank (Barrington) and freshman Anna Burnidge (Barrington) are members of the Wheaton College team (21-3-2) which has advanced to the NCAA Division III national semifinals on Friday in San Antonio, Texas. Wheaton will play Emory (14-1-7) in the first semifinal.
Men’s basketball
Junior guard Alan Aboona scored a career-high 16 points to help lead No. 21-ranked Washington University in St. Louis to a season-opening 69-51 victory over Trinity University (Texas) on the first day of the University Athletic Association/Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Challenge at the University of Chicago.
Aboona had the hot hand early in the second half as he scored 5 of the Bears’ first 9 points to help Washington build an 11-point advantage (39-28). With Trinity in a zone, Aboona drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to force a timeout by Trinity.
Cross country
Brooke Wolfe (Prospect) was the first finisher for Illinois in the Mid East Cross Country Championships. She placed fifth in 18:20 and was followed by Palatine’s Tess Wasowicz in 18:52. Lauren Poplawski (Prospect) was the fourth Illinois finisher in 19:02 followed by Hanna Winter (St. Viator) in 19:18.
Illinois was also represented by Meg Tulley (Warren) in 19:57 and Kelly Breen (Fremd) in 20:28.
In the boys’ race, Quentin Shaffer (Prospect) was third in 15:38. Ryan Burgoon (Barrington) came home in 16:09. St. Viator coach Jim Milner, a Palatine High grad, was one of the coaches for Team Illinois.
This year’s Team Illinois was one of the strongest in the 26-year history of the meet. It marked only the second time in the past 12 years in which Illinois placed second or higher as a combined team.
The girls’ team took third behind Indiana and Ohio. The boys’ team tied with Michigan with 42 points, but lost the tiebreaker, placing them second.
Team Illinois has not placed as high as second as a combined team since 2005.
Marathon
Oakton Community College sophomore Haider Sheikh (Maine West) competed at the NJCAA Half Marathon National Championship hosted by South Plains College. Sheikh placed 63rd out of 94 male runners with his time of 1:22.47.
Football
Austin Sobey (Prospect), a senior wide receiver at Lake Forest College, was named first team All-Midwest Conference.
Sobey finished third in Lake Forest history for most receptions and helped lead the team to a conference championship this year.
Women’s volleyball
Northwood University (Midland, Mi.) junior Kristin Perschon (Conant) was named to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference all-tourney team after the Timberwolves won the GLIAC tournament with a 3-1 victory over Grand Valley State. Set scores were 24-26, 25-23, 25-15, 25-22.
Perschon, a resident of Schaumburg, had 8 kills and 8 blocks while hitting .444 (8-0-18) in the match as Northwood improved to 26-6.
The Timberwolves head to Indianapolis for the NCAA Division II regional.
Ÿ Stevenson middle blocker Jenna Radtke of Buffalo Grove has signed her letter of intent with Northern Illinois,
Radtke didn’t start playing volleyball until her sophomore year at Stevenson.
But she quickly adjusted and excelled at the game as a 6-foot-2 middle, earning the team’s Most Valuable honor in her first season.
As a junior, she helped Stevenson to a 31-9 record and regional and sectional championships. She was all-area honorable mention, putting down 129 kills, 119 blocks, 12 aces and hit .294.
In her final season, she led Stevenson to a 34-4 record and regional championship as team captain. Radtke earned all-conference and all-area selections after totaling 192 kills, 146 blocks, 39 aces and hitting .449.
“Jenna is another tremendous athlete who will have a very strong presence at the net with her attacking and blocking,” said NIU’s Ray Gooden, the 2012 Mid-American Coach of the Year. “We hope she continues to keep the strong tradition of middle hitters at NIU.”
“Jenna is one of the best athletes and middle hitters we have had here at Stevenson,” Stevenson coach Tim Crow recently said. “She did not start playing volleyball until sophomore year. She has been a dominant player with both her attacking and blocking this season.”
Rugby
The Arlington Stallions Rugby Club will hold its Sign-up Day for the 2013 Spring 15-a-side and Summer 7-a-side (Olympic style) seasons on Saturday, Dec. 15 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Northwest Community Hospital’s Wellness Center, located at 900 W. Central Road in Arlington Heights.
The Stallions Rugby Club offers competitive teams for boys from grades fifth through 12th. Membership Dues are $235 for high school players and $135 for players in grades fifth through eighth. Through the generosity of club sponsors, dues assistance is available to players on an as-needed basis. For more information about the Stallions, go to www.arlingtonstallionsrugby.com and to inquire about dues assistance call 847-845-4982.
The club announced the addition of local orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Moss of Orthopedics Associates to its staff. Dr. Moss recently completed a fellowship in sports medicine in which he provided care to the San Diego Chargers professional football team and the USA Rugby National 7-a-side team.
Feeder basketball
The Buffalo Grove Boys Feeder Basketball Program will be holding tryouts for fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth-grade teams on Sunday Dec. 2 from noon to 4 p.m. at Buffalo Grove High School. All players trying out must live in the Buffalo Grove attendance area. Parents are required to register their son upon drop off at noon and asked to return by 3 p.m. Those selected to play on the 2012-13 teams will attend a parent/player meeting from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Practice begins Dec. 10 and the season ends in mid-March. For additional information, please contact the Buffalo Grove Athletic Department at (847) 718-4020.
Ÿ Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com or FAX to (847) 427-1173.