Ramblers freshman Hiller qualifies for first IHSA girls wrestling state final
Harlee Hiller, a freshman at Loyola, qualified for the first Illinois High School Association girls wrestling state meet.
Hiller improved to 18-4 on the season by pinning Round Lake's Vianny Hernandez in the 105-pound championship at the Evanston sectional.
The first IHSA girls individual state finals in wrestling will be held Feb. 25-26 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
Boys qualifiers
A number of area boys qualified for the IHSA's individual wrestling finals, which were first held in 1937.
Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Loyola and New Trier all competed at last weekend's Class 3A Barrington sectional.
The first four place-winners at each of the 14 weight classes at sectional meets statewide advanced to the individual state tournament Feb. 17-19 at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
Boys advancing to the state tourney:
113 pounds: Glenbrook South senior Arnold Park, who has a record of 24-9;
120: Loyola junior Massey Odiotti (37-4);
152: Glenbrook South senior Will Collins (21-2);
160: Loyola senior Cooper Wettig (12-2);
182: Loyola sophomore Quinnn Herbert (32-11);
195: New Trier senior Jack Cummings (32-3);
220: New Trier sophomore Ty Stringer (26-4); and
285: Glenbrook South junior Drew Duffy (18-3).
Collins and Odiotti both won their respective sectional titles at Barrington.
Girls gymnastics qualifiers
Competing at the Mundelein sectional, Glenbrook South senior Thalia Skoulikaris is an at-large qualifier in the all-around competition for the girls gymnastics state final, Feb. 18-19 at Palatine High School.
Skoulikaris also qualified into the state final vault competition with the highest score of any at-large qualifier, 9.3250.
She will be joined in vault by New Trier senior Maria Morabito.
Morabito also advanced to Palatine in the floor competition, with the top score of any at-large qualifier, 9.2250.
Glenbrook North sophomore Isabel Gott also advanced out of the Mundelein sectional as an at-large qualifier in floor exercise.
Girls bowling
With a second-place finish at the Buffalo Grove sectional at Arlington Lanes in Arlington Heights, New Trier advanced to the girls bowling state finals.
The championship will be held Feb. 18-19 at the usual site, The Cherry Bowl in Rockford.
The Trevians finished with a score of 5,334, in second place 47 pins behind sectional champion and perennial power Vernon Hills. The top four teams at each of the state's six sectionals advance to the finals.
Behind a second-series score of 641, best in the 104-player field, New Trier senior Maya Morales finished fifth overall at the Buffalo Grove sectional.
Seniors Erika Truong, Shannon Burgert, Lilli McLaughlin and Ella Kastelic, and freshman Madeline Blake rounded out the Trevian scorers for coach David Hjelmgren. Seniors Maya Palomino and Ava Vickery also are on the squad.
He's No. 1
New Trier's Nick Falk has been named the 2021-22 Gatorade Illinois boys cross country runner of the year. Falk is the first Trevian to win that award.
The Duke-bound senior placed 19th at the Eastbay Cross Country Championships in December after finishing fourth at the Eastbay Midwest regional.
Falk finished second in Illinois' Class 3A cross country state final and at the Hoffman Estates sectional. He won the Glenbrook South regional as well as the Central Suburban League title.
Until the national Eastbay race in San Diego, Falk never finished below second place in a 2021 cross country race.
Gatorade also noted Falk's 4.40 weighted grade-point average, and his volunteering for the Run BeCAUSE charity race.