Sports shorts: Spartans win, Regina grad hired, IHSA on shot clock, New Trier's Falk

Glenbrook North's hockey team won the Cornfield Cup at Culver (Indiana) Military Academy last weekend.

The Spartans beat the host school 4-1 in the final after defeating Carmel (Indiana), Medina (Ohio) and the Buffalo Grove-Hersey-Wheeling coop in round-robin play.

The tournament followed Glenbrook North's 3-2 victory over Loyola Gold, No. 1 in the state, on Dec. 8.

At Culver, in the finals Glenbrook North scored 3 goals in the second period to overcome a 1-0 deficit. Owen Just started the comeback with a goal, followed a minute later by Josh Genin's power play goal. Genin capped the second period by batting in an airborne puck for the 3-1 lead.

Ryan Rossi finished the scoring for the Spartans.

Goalie Nate Kasdan was in net for all 4 victories in Indiana.

Hired

Regina Dominican graduate Molly Byrne was named head coach of the Lewis University women's lacrosse team on Dec. 2.

A fourth-year program that plays in NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference, last season the Flyers went 4-8.

Byrne played collegiately at Regis University in Denver. A four-year varsity player at Regina from 2008-12, in her senior year she scored 57 goals and was named the team's most valuable player.

Byrne, whose sister, Nora, played lacrosse for Butler University, has spent the past 12 years as assistant director and head coach of Northside Youth Lacrosse, which has multiple locations across the Chicago metropolitan area.

Molly Byrne coached lacrosse to girls from 6 to high school-aged players at all skill levels to help them develop in the sport. She prepared practice plans and fitness routines for weekly practices.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in sociology from Regis she was with the Illinois Tech women's program for one season as an assistant. There she also helped players' preparation, incorporating fitness, nutrition and weight training plans, creating practice and game plans as well as helping in recruiting.

"Molly's combination of playing at the Division II level and coaching locally will serve her well as our program continues to move forward," Lewis Director of Athletics Dr. John Planek said in a news release.

35 seconds to shoot

In its meeting Dec. 13, implementing a shot clock for boys and girls basketball was among the 10 discussion items the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) board of directors took up.

The National Federation of State High School Associations is allowing states to use a 35-second shot clock starting in the 2022-23 season.

In November, the IHSA held discussions and surveyed member school administrators on shot clock usage at a series of Town Hall meetings. The survey received 600 responses.

Nineteen percent of those surveyed wanted to implement a shot clock in 2022-23.

Forty-seven percent wished to use a shot clock on an experimental basis during regular-season tournaments in 2022-23.

Fifty-four percent of those responding wanted to the IHSA to develop a timeline to put a shot clock in play "in the future," the IHSA said in its board meeting report.

The IHSA Basketball Advisory Committee, which addresses matters for both boys and girls basketball, will review the survey information in April, the IHSA said. The board will discuss the matter again at its June meeting and is expected to take further action toward a plan, it said.

Finalist Falk

On Dec. 11 at Balboa Park in San Diego, 40 girls and 40 boys competed in the 42nd finals of the Eastbay Cross Country Championships, formerly the Foot Locker Nationals.

New Trier senior Nick Falk, the only Illinois boy who had qualified, placed 19th in the field with a time of 15 minutes, 39.9 seconds over 5,000 meters.

To the winner - Riley Hough of Fenton, Michigan - goes the spoils in these races, but the Duke University-bound Falk helped represent the winning Midwest "team."

Falk reached nationals after finishing fourth among 10 qualifiers in the Eastbay Midwest regional at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha on Nov. 27.

He was the boys runner-up at the IHSA Class 3A boys state finals at Peoria's Detweiller Park on Nov. 6.

The Latin School's Ava Parekh, the girls Class 2A state champion, finished 18th in the Eastbay national finals.