From Prospect’s unprecedented baseball performance to Morgan
Maize’s softball power-hitting to Nick Batcha’s and Sarah Gorden’s
elite exploits in track and field, it was another exceptional year
for Journal-area high school sports this past spring.
Here are some sound bites as the Journal reviews the
2011 spring season. Events are listed here in no particular rank
order.
• Prospect’s amazing baseball team gathered steam after a slow
start and the Knights soared to the state’s Class 4A final four for
the first time in school history. The Knights collected Mid
Suburban-East conference, regional, sectional, and super-sectional
championships along the way.
• Nick Batcha of Prospect, Sara Gorden of Conant, and Sara
McIntosh of Palatine all shined brightly at the state track and
field competition. Batcha capped a brilliant running and jumping
career with 6th place in the boys long jump (20-3), 3rd in the
100-meter dash (10.75), and 3rd in the 200, (21.64). Gorden won the
100-meter hurdles gold medal in 14.35 seconds, finished 2nd in the
300 hurdles, and teamed with Taylor Graham, Tina Tortorici, and
Angela Herrman to finish 6th in the 400-meter relay. McIntosh won
the mile run in 5:01.35, and joined Tess Wasowicz, Cassidy
McPherson, and Becca Sund to finish 3rd in the two-mile relay in
9:14.42.
Other notable track and field accomplishments included Nick
Wisniewski’s 2nd place in the pole vault for Maine South (15 feet),
Brian Bobek’s 61-foot shot put for 4th place for Fremd, David
Eckhart’s 3rd place in the two-mile run for Maine South in 9:06.90,
and Michael Filipczak’s 2nd place in the 800 meters for Maine South
in 1:53.39.
• Leyden’s baseball team, coached by Gary Wolf in his 17th
season, achieved its best season ever, with a 27-6 record, and West
Suburban Gold conference and regional championships.
• Maize, a Leyden junior, set several school softball records,
and tied a state record, by walloping 18 home runs while pitching
24 victories for the Eagles, who won 27 games and were sectional
semifinalists.
• Brian Goss, a St. Viator senior, led his team in scoring and
set every boys lacrosse offensive record to lead the Lions to a
top-four state tournament finish, the best in school history in
this young sport. He will play lacrosse at Siena University in New
York starting this fall.
• Andrew Berg, a Maine South senior, became the first gymnast
from his school to qualify for the state finals. Repesenting the
new Maine Township Coop team, he competed in the pommel horse
event.
• Palatine, led by Jonah Hinz and Damian Przystal, won a
sectional to qualify for the state team finals in gymnastics, and
finished 5th with a school-record 149.550 points.
• In soccer, Fremd, a perennial powerhouse, and Conant, a
newcomer to the state-level scene, both reached the final four of
the Class 3A state girls finals. Conant defeated Fremd in the third
place game.
• Fremd dominated the Mid Suburban League in boys tennis, and
the Viking doubles pair of Nick Makowiecki and Maciej Niemcyzk
reached the sixth round of the consolation bracket in the state
tournament. Viking Matt Burkhardt made it to the fifth consolation
round in state singles.
• Maine West got off to a 3-6 start in softball, then won 15 of
its last 19 games to win the Central Suburban-North conference
title and advance to a regional final. Almost all of the Warrior
starters were underclass players.
• Conant achieved a historic year in softball. The Cougars won
the Mid Suburban League softball title for the first time in 37
years, and advanced to a regional final.
• Elk Grove had another stellar softball season behind all-area
pitcher Dani Goranson and a big-hitting offense led by an
outstanding group of sophomores and juniors. The Grens won the Mid
Suburban League-East championship and were sectional finalists.
• Fremd took a supposed rebuilding year in softball and turned
it into a championship one, winning their conference and reaching
the sectional finals.
• Fremd transformed an expected rebuilding season into a
championship one in girls water polo, winning the Mid Suburban
League title for the fourth year in a row and advancing again to
the state finals.
• Palatine and Buffalo Grove were in the forefront in state
badminton competition. Maggie Van Grondelle and Tomoyo Tsurumi, the
Pirates top doubles pair, won the state title. Nell Boyd and
Michelle Byjos of BG finished 5th.
Fremd’s Angela Wu, a freshman, reached the quarterfinals in
singles.
• Maine West and Elk Grove achieved milestones in badminton. The
Warriors Cindy Wong in singles and Sarah Gangl and Katrina Mira in
doubles got West into the state finals act for the first time. Elk
Grove’s doubles pairs of Jenna Ciesielski and Sierra Kane, and
Rachel Kaim and Kerry Trotter, also were state qualifiers.