Vernon Hills Review

Girls Track: Relay units lead the way as Vernon Hills has best finish ever at State

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:28:10 -0500

Vernon Hills High School girls track and field coach Jason Rush spent late Tuesday afternoon collecting his athletes’ uniforms. Memories from the Cougars’ 2012 spring season undoubtedly raced through his mind as he prepared the threads’ hibernation. “Just checking them off,” he said during a brief break in the administrative duty. Three days earlier his team was on – at State. Vernon Hills tied for 13th place (19 points) at the Class 2A state girls track and field meet in Charleston. It marked the program’s best state finish in school history, and eight Cougars returned home as all-staters. “Amazing,” said …

Baseball: Vernon Hills’ MJ Crowley, Feece, Hagen, Marras make first-team all-conference

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:48:01 -0500

The North Suburban Conference has named its 2012 all-conference baseball team. Mundelein, which beat Vernon Hills in the NSC title game, had a team-high six first-team selections: Will Farmer (Jr., SS), Matt Langlie (Sr., P), Jared Mandel (Sr., P)., Chris Maranto (Sr., 2B), Tor Randau (Sr., OF) and Jordan Wiegold (Sr., C). Lake Zurich placed five players on the first team: Sean Eder (Sr., OF), Tanner Kiser (Jr., 1B), Mike Lutz (Sr., P), John Orlando (Sr., OF) and Wyatt Spector (Sr., P). Vernon Hills and Libertyville each had four first-teamers. MJ Crowley (Sr., P/OF), Tyler Feece (Jr., P/1B), Austin Hagen …

Baseball: Novoselsky comes through as Stevenson upsets Glenbrook North in regional final

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:12:00 -0500

Glenbrook North came into this regional title game as the prohibitive favorite. Ah, perfect. “We love being the underdogs,” said Stevenson sophomore Zach Novoselsky, following his team’s surprising 7-2 victory over visiting GBN in Saturday’s Class 4A final. “No one expected us to win. But we did,” added Novoselsky, who is known by his teammates as Big Z. “We believe in ourselves. And that’s all we need.” Big Z, who is the son of a big man in former NFL tight end Brett Novoselsky (Bears and Vikings, 1988-94), had one of the game’s big moments, when he singled home two …

Baseball: Feece, MJ Crowley star as Vernon Hills wins regional crown

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:00:00 -0500

It’s becoming a trend. Vernon Hills’ baseball team claimed a regional championship for the fourth time in five years on Saturday. The host Cougars edged Grayslake North 2-1. This Class 3A battle was decided by pitching and defense. Cougars starter Tyler Feece went five innings for the win, striking out five and allowing just one first-inning run. A bit rusty after a nine-day layoff, Feece settled down, using his breaking ball effectively for strikes. “I didn’t have my best stuff, but I was able to get out of jams,” said Feece, a junior lefty. “We made some good plays in …

Softball: Bitter tosses 1-hitter as Carmel Catholic edges Mundelein in regional title game

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:17:30 -0500

Carmel Catholic sophomore pitcher Nicole Bitter tossed a one-hit gem, and the result was a 2-0 shutout win — and an IHSA Class 4A regional softball championship for the host Corsairs — over visiting Mundelein, Saturday. It was Carmel’s first regional varsity softball title since 2007, and just the second in school history. Bitter, who allowed three walks and struck out nine, was in control all game. Mundelein’s lone hit was a single off the bat of freshman shortstop Maddie Zazas. “We really pulled together as a team when it mattered most today,” Bitter said. “And I knew we had …

Middle School Track: Hawthorn South’s Agnew claims state title

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:42:00 -0500

Noah Agnew is a state champ. The Hawthorn South eighth-grader cleared 6-2 to win the high jump competition at the 2012 IESA state and field meet, which was held recently in East Peoria. Teammate Shane Williamson also had a stellar showing in the Class AA eighth-grade division. He raced to a third-place finish in the 1600 (4:59.05). And he was 10th in the 800 (2:17.63). Hawthorn South’s other state qualifiers — all eighth-graders — were Molly Wasserberg in the 400; the 4x200 girls relay team of Dana Meline, Shannon Skeoch, Danielle Comitor, Josie Amidei and Wasserberg; and the 4x400 boys …

Boys Volleyball: Stevenson, Buffalo Grove fall in sectional semifinals

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:26:01 -0500

When the Stevenson boys volleyball team rallied from a seven-point deficit to send its Barrington Sectional semifinal against Zion-Benton to a third game, the Zee-Bees looked directly to their previous match for answers. Zion-Benton, the No. 6 seed in the sectional, dropped its second game against Vernon Hills on May 23, but responded by coming back to win the match. The Zee-Bees did the exact same thing against Stevenson, enduring the Patriots’ momentum before controlling the third game en route to a 25-23, 23-25, 25-16 victory. “I told the team, ‘I have so much confidence (in us),’” said Zion-Benton’s Josh …

Softball: Vernon Hills fall 8-7 in regional final

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:02:23 -0500

Only one Class 3A regional championship was played on Friday. And, as it turned out, the softball final at Wauconda High School was deserving of the spotlight. Thanks to two big innings, Prairie Ridge defeated Vernon Hills 8-7. The Wolves scored four run in the first and added three more in the third. thanks to two big innings. “If you had asked me before the game that each team would score eight and seven runs I’d say you were crazy,” said Prairie Ridge coach Mike Buck. ‘’They have a very good team and our young kids hung in there. We …

Basketball: Breakthrough Basketball camp on tap

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:00:01 -0500

BASKETBALL: Breakthrough Basketball will hold a three-day camp for boys and girls ages 12 and up (including college players) at Libertyville Sports Complex June 15-17.

Baseball: Carmel Catholic lives to play on Saturday with regional semifinal win over Warren

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:26:05 -0500

Years from now, the No. 1 thing fans will remember about Carmel’s 8-7 victory over host Warren on Thursday in the Class 4A baseball regional semifinals will be the home run hit by Pat Kenney in a losing cause. Guestimated to have traveled 450 feet, it landed in the outfield of a faraway softball diamond and one-hopped that fence. It went so far that 30 minutes after the game, Carmel coach Joe May said, “Word has it, Kenney’s home run just landed.” And he wasn’t kidding. The seventh-inning blast pulled Warren within 8-7 with no out, but relieved Quentin Sefcik …

Baseball: Golembo drives in winning run as Stevenson edges Mustangs in regional semifinal

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:36:01 -0500

He was hitting shots all day. Thus, it would have been good strategy if Rolling Meadows had taken the bat out of Max Golembo’s hands. Instead, with two outs, a runner on second and first base open, the Stevenson senior walked up to the plate, dug in and ripped the ball into the left-center field gap. “He’s Captain Clutch,” said Stevenson shortstop Adam Walton. In an instant, this classic — a wildly entertaining 12-inning Class 4A regional semifinal — was over. Patriots freshman Willy Bourbon, who reached on a ground-ball single up the middle and moved to second a perfect …

Boys Volleyball: Stevenson, Buffalo Grove advance to sectional

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:02:01 -0500

Stevenson, Buffalo Grove, Zion-Benton and Barrington are moving on. The four regional champs will compete in the Barrington Sectional on Friday night. Host Stevenson took care of business in Wednesday night’s regional final. The Patriots improved to 31-4 by beating Carmel Catholic 25-20, 25-20. The team was led by Brad Tiller (9 kills), Collin Ryan (9 kills, 4 digs), Jason Fleischman (7 kills), Jonah May (30 assists) and Robbie Redman (8 digs). The host Patriots will now face Zion-Benton in Friday night’s sectional semifinal at Barrington (7:30 p.m.). The Zee-Bees eliminated Vernon Hills 22-25, 25-20, 25-17 in Wednesday’s final at …

Tennis: Vernon Hills’ Kadyrov falls to Pats’ Bush in sectional final

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:28:02 -0500

Green was the predominant color when the semifinals in singles and doubles were played at Saturday’s Stevenson boys tennis sectional at the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex. Green courts. Green-clad Patriots from Stevenson. Green-clad Vikings from Fremd. Vernon Hills High School junior Ismail Kadyrov stood out glaringly. He was dressed in an all-white outfit and appeared ready to eat some strawberries and cream and play on a certain grass court in England. “I looked at Ish this morning, saw what he was wearing and said, ‘Smart choice,’” said VH coach Doug Gerber, alluding to the sunny, steamy conditions on Saturday. “(Cougar) …

Baseball: Vernon Hills’ Marras looking forward to teaming up with Mundelein’s Maranto

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:27:41 -0500

Senior catcher Chris Marras finished his regular season at the high school level in impressive fashion. He was the only player to reach base safely all three times (2-for-2, walk) in Vernon Hills’ 8-0 North Suburban Conference title game loss against Mundelein last Thursday. Then, on Saturday, he belted a grand slam in a 5-4 non-conference win over Niles West. “More guys on this team are contributing than any team I’ve ever played on,” Marras said. Marras, who will play at Butler next season, is hitting right around the .400 mark with three homers and 15 doubles. He will be …

Girls Soccer: Carmel comes oh so close in regional final

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:47:09 -0500

GIRLS SOCCER: The season ended for Carmel with a 2-0 loss to the host Titans in the Glenbrook South Regional title match on Saturday.

Girls Track: Carmel Catholic’s Paul places in three events at State

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:47:18 -0500

GIRLS TRACK: Carmel Catholic’s Megan Paul concluded her Corsairs career at the state meet by finishing second in the 400-meter run (school-record 55.21), third in the 200 (school-record 25.05) and fourth in the 100 (12.05).