Glenview swimmer Olivia Smoliga makes Olympic team for a 2nd time
Olympian again
Glenview's Olivia Smoliga has made the United States Women's 2021 Olympic Swim Team as a member of the 4x100 freestyle relay.
The University of Georgia, Smoliga's alma mater, reported she made the team after placing third with a time of 53.63 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle final at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 18.
At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the Glenbrook South graduate earned a gold medal in the 4x100 medley relay and finished sixth in the finals of the 100-meter backstroke.
Training out of the Athens (Georgia) Bulldog Swim Club and competing for the Cali Condors, Smoliga is part of two world-record short-course meter relay teams according to SwimSwam - the 200 medley relay (1 minute, 42.38 seconds; Dec. 12, 2018, Hangzhou, China) and the 400 medley relay (3:44.52; Nov. 21, 2020, Budapest). She's the current American women's record holder in the 50-meter backstroke (55.04, Nov. 22, 2020, Budapest).
The 6-foot-2 Smoliga, a three-time NCAA champion at Georgia and a former Southeastern Conference swimmer of the year, set three Illinois High School Association records and still ranks third all-time nationally among high school girls in the 100-yard backstroke (51.43 seconds), set at the 2012 IHSA state meet.
In Illinois, she swam with the Glenview Titan Aquatic Club.
Nice shot
A team of Illinois PGA professionals won the 59th Radix Cup over a team of Chicago District Golf Association (CDGA) amateurs 11-7 on June 17 at Oak Park Country Club, but Glenbrook South graduate Charlie Nikitas did all he could.
Playing with fellow Mid-American Conference golfer Jordan Less of Northern Illinois University and York High School, Nikitas and Less earned 2.5 points out of a possible 3 points from their best-ball match.
A Glenview resident and Miami (Ohio) junior, in May Nikitas tied for second at the MAC Championships with Less and Miami teammate Cam Solomon. Nikitas was Miami's male athlete of the week for April 19 after earning a 12th-place tie at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City from April 17-18.
"Having Jordan as my partner made it more comfortable for me," Nikitas was quoted as saying after the Radix Cup. "It was nice having him on my team - we're usually playing college events against each other. It was just an awesome day."
All-staters
Glenbrook South senior shortstop Maddie Kapsimalis, who early this softball season had a streak of 18 straight hits, was a second-team 2021 Class 4A all-state selection by the Illinois Coaches Association. She will play at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Joining her was Loyola utility player Kaitlyn Raymond, who is part of the first recruiting class of the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) softball program.
Premier team
On June 13, The News-Gazette of Champaign released its 2021 all-state football team. The News-Gazette's all-state team is perhaps the most comprehensive such team in Illinois.
Its player of the year was Loyola running back Vaughn Pemberton, a senior who the publication said ran for 916 yards and 15 touchdowns in the six-game season. Joining the Ball State recruit among running backs was Maine South sophomore Mike Sajenko, a bruiser who was the Central Suburban League South offensive player of the year.
Harvard commit Brandon Svets, also from Loyola, made The News-Gazette first-team defense on the line. Svets made 7.5 tackles and 13 tackles for loss for the Ramblers, the paper said.
At linebacker was New Trier's Brady Roth, the CSL South defensive player of the year. In six games the senior made 72 tackles.
Earning special mention were: Glenbrook North offensive lineman Jackson Carsello, Maine East offensive lineman Yaser Al-Awadi, and Maine South linebacker Connor Leyden.
Congrats
A pair of Maine South graduates earned team honors from the Augustana University men's lacrosse program.
Senior Shane Forsythe was named the Vikings' offensive player of the year. After scoring 11 goals with 9 assists this season, the four-year letterman ranks in Augie's top 10 in goals, assists and points.
Junior John Calabrese earned the program's Ground Ball and "Hammer" awards. Calabrese's .647 faceoff percentage set a new Vikings record, and his 9.73 ground balls per game broke his own school record. Calabrese owns Augustana records for ground balls, ground balls per game, and career faceoff percentage.