Lesniak looking forward to new role as Elk Grove baseball coach
Steve Lesniak, who played on the Prospect's 2001 state championship football team, now hopes to bring a championship mindset in another sport at Elk Grove High School.
Lesniak is the new baseball coach for the Grenadiers, succeeding Terry Beyna, who is the school's boys athletic director.
Beyna, who won more than 350 games the last 20 seasons, stepped down to spend more time with his children.
He believes Lesniak is the perfect fit.
"I am excited for Steve to be provided the opportunity to lead the baseball program," Beyna said. " Steve will bring great passion, a tremendous work ethic and a wealth of baseball knowledge to the program. I know he will pour his heart and soul into the program."
Lesniak is a longtime social studies teacher at Elk Grove.
He got high marks from Bob Murphy, Elk Grove's assistant principal for student activities.
"Coach Lesniak is an outstanding teacher and coach," Murphy said. ""He is a beloved colleague by all, and a great role model for our students. We are so proud to have him as our next head baseball coach."
Lesniak brings an impressive resume.
He played four years at Prospect and then competed collegiately at Harper College and Illinois State.
He has been with the Elk Grove baseball program since he began teaching at Elk Grove in 2007.
"For the past 12 years, I've had the privilege of learning from two of the best baseball coaches I've come across in my lifetime, Terry Beyna and Don Spaniak," Lesniak said. " I'm excited about the opportunity to represent the Elk Grove High School baseball program and build upon the winning foundation put into place by Terry Beyna."
Lesniak says there will be a sense of urgency to his teams.
"We will compete on every pitch and play with urgency," he said. "Our players will be prepared to execute in all phases of the game and represent Elk Grove High School and our community with pride and integrity both on and off the field."
Cross country
Taylor University junior Sarah Harden (Hersey) was named the Crossroads League Female Cross Country Runner of the Week following an impressive performance on her home course.
Harden was the top NAIA finisher at the Ray Bullock Invitational. She placed second out of 103 runners, finishing only behind an NCAA Division II Indianapolis athlete. Despite hot weather and difficult terrain, Harden's time of 18:11.8 was only 16 seconds off her personal best on the Taylor University course.
Her impressive performance helped the No. 3 Trojans to earn third place as a team. (Behind Indianapolis and No. 1 Madonna).
The junior has now garnered eight runner-of-the-week honors during her career.
Harden's brothers, Seth Harden and Josh Harden, are on the Taylor men's cross country team.
Men's golf
Drake junior Tim Lim (Barrington) won his first collegiate golf tournament at the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Derek Dolenc Invitational.
His 5-under-par round propelled him into a tie for first through three rounds with a total of 209 (72-71-66), before defeating Belmont's Evan Davis and Southern Utah's Jake Vincent in a one-hole playoff.
Lim tallied a field-best 13 birdies through three rounds, and his final-round 66 is the lowest round by a Bulldog since Lucas Scherf fired a 65 in the Twin Oaks Intercollegiate event last February.
Women's golf
Carthage freshman Adrienne Rohwedder (Wheeling) was selected as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women's Golfer of the Week.
Rohwedder tied for first at the CCIW Preview, shooting a 2-over par 74. She followed it with a second-place finish at the UW-Whitewater Fall Invitational, leading the Lady Reds to a school-record two-day score of 615.
Rohwedder played her last six holes of the second day at 1-under par despite steady rain, finishing at 1-over for the tournament (74-71). It marked her fifth straight top-five finish in five starts.
Women's soccer
Augustana senior Cora Jacobsen (Palatine) was one of seven Vikings on Senior Day when her team won 3-0 over Saint Mary's (IN). The Vikings remained undefeated at 5-0-2.
Women's tennis
Millikin's Katie Cooper (Prospect) and Danielle Beard pulled out a win in a tiebreaker, defeating Illinois Wesleyan 7-4 in the tiebreaker, and winning the match 8-7.
Women's volleyball
Oakland University freshman Jessica Reidl (Maine West) recorded 10 kills with a .333 hitting percentage plus added 5 blocks in the Golden Grizzlies' four-set win over Maryland-Baltimore County at the Colorado Classic.
Prospect Prance
The 13th annual Prospect Prance, hosted by the Prospect girls cross country team, is Wednesday.
It is for kids from kindergarten to eighth grade. One of the goals of the event is to give back to the community and the kids in the community by promoting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging an active and fit lifestyle while supporting the program's dear friend, Cammy Babiarz, and all the other girls and boys in the world with Retts.
Registration opens at 4:10 p.m. and the 1ΒΌ-mile race will begin after warmups and registration. For more information, contact pete.wintermute@d214.org
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