Libertyville Review

Stevenson Sectional Notebook: Patriots dominate en route to title

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:36:01 -0500

VERNON HILLS — While watching the third set of his brother Ben Bush’s third-place match at the Stevenson Sectional Saturday, Stevenson boys tennis player Jeremy Bush got a cramp in his right leg. Just a few minutes later, Ben Bush also came down with a leg cramp. “I think he likes to copy everything I do,” Jeremy Bush said with a laugh. Playing in temperatures that were uncharacteristically warm for this spring season, Ben Bush was locked in a dual with Barrington’s Varun Parekh. He got treatment from the Patriots’ trainer and eventually won the third set — and the …

Libertyville Athlete of the Week: Jaffke leaves with a medal

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:34:00 -0500

Nicole Jaffke can recall breaking the 6-foot mark in the pole vault when she joined the Libertyville girls track and field team as a freshman. That mark seems so inconsequential now. Three years later, Jaffke is a state medalist after closing out her career with the Wildcats at the Class 3A state meet in Charleston Saturday. Jaffke, who plans to pole vault at Marquette in the fall, finished sixth in the state finals with a vault of 11 feet, 6 inches. “It did not go as well as I hoped,” said Jaffke, the Pioneer Press Athlete of the Week for …

Carmel looking for ‘great things’ in 2014

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:32:02 -0500

MUNDELEIN — Although no one from Carmel’s boys track and field team qualified for a trip downstate at Friday’s Class 2A Vernon Hills Sectional, it was not a lost evening. Carmel finished 13th overall (12 points) in a 15-team field. But moments after the meet, the Corsairs’ coaching staff was all smiles. Now they say their focus must turn toward what they said is a bright future loaded with potential. “Sure, it’s always great to send kids downstate, but I can’t say anything but great things about how hard our kids worked to get to this point, and how hard …

May 18 high school sports scoreboard

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:52:22 -0500

Sports scores from around the area Wednesday.

Loyola, New Trier advance to state semis

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:33:53 -0500

GLENVIEW — Loyola and New Trier each moved one step closer to a rematch of last season’s girls lacrosse state final by winning their respective supersectional games Wednesday at Loyola’s Glenview campus. The top-seeded Ramblers had no trouble with Libertyville, earning a 23-5 win, while the second-seeded Trevians fought off a determined Glenbrook South for their 20-9 victory. Loyola (21-3) ran away from Libertyville (15-3) early in the first half, scoring the first nine goals of the game. The Ramblers then triggered a running clock before the break. But Loyola continued working on its own game, especially its motion offense, …

Hersey downs Carmel in sectional semis

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:17:09 -0500

MUNDELEIN — Hersey advancing to the Class 3A girls soccer Mundelein Sectional final is no fluke. But how it got there Tuesday night was equal parts strategy and luck. Facing Carmel in the semifinals, the Huskies won the toss. They elected to play the first half west-to-east. That meant the Corsairs were facing a setting sun. It was the difference in the game as Hersey, playing with the sun at its back, got two first-period goals from junior Lauren Gierman en route to a 3-1 victory and a match with Mid-Suburban League-rival Buffalo Grove in Friday’s sectional final. “We knew …

College roundup: Epifanio named to all-region team

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:12:02 -0500

Maine South alumna Emily Epifanio, a senior catcher on the Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team, was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Great Lakes Region first team. Epifanio started 37 of the team’s 39 games and hit .382 with a .488 on-base percentage and a .588 slugging percentage. She finished her career with 27 home runs, the third most in program history. She also received Whitewater’s Position Player of the Week honor on April 29 after an impressive six-game stretch: The Park Ridge native hit .467 (7-for-15) and helped the Warhawks to a 5-1 record. Trinity alumnae Mimi Ramirez and Laura …

New Trier captures state title in 4x800 relay, Schmidt wins pole vault

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:24:09 -0500

CHARLESTON — Saturday’s Class 3A girls track and field state final was full of firsts for New Trier’s 4x800-meter relay. It was the first time this season that senior all-state runners Courtney Ackerman and Jessica Ackerman had run on the same 4x800 relay. Courtney Ackerman decided she felt healthy enough after Friday’s state preliminaries to run in two races on Saturday. She joined her twin sister, sophomore Mimi Smith and senior Kathleen Keene on the relay. The Trevians reaped the benefits of that decision en route to winning a state title. Jessica Ackerman, running the relay’s third leg, rocketed from …

Lakes dominates Vernon Hills Sectional

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:40:31 -0500

VERNON HILLS — Lakes was dominant during Friday night’s Class 2A Vernon Hills Sectional boys track and field meet. So dominant, in fact, that the Eagles’ 144 team points were nearly twice as many as their next closest competitors. Lakes senior Ty Summers’ mark of 53 feet, 1/2 inch in the shot put was good enough to send him to next week’s state meet in Charleston. Among his teammates also headed downstate are Shaun Beutlich (10.97 seconds in the 100-meter dash), Ryan Prais (1:59.29 in the 800) and Ray Trevor (49.28 in the 400). All four finished first in their …

Pole vaulters lead area athletes at state

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:48:59 -0500

CHARLESTON — Senior pole vaulters Carly Schmidt (Lake Forest), Christine Stitcher (Deerfield) and Nicole Jaffke (Libertyville) stood out from a large group of area athletes competing in the Class 3A girls track and field preliminaries at Eastern Illinois Friday. The trio cleared 11 feet — the top qualifying height Friday — to advance. The state finals for all three classes are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday. Jaffke will be joined in the field-event finals by teammate Hayley Becker, a senior high jumper who cleared 5-04 Friday. A few other area athletes will also compete in Saturday’s finals. Highland …

May 17 high school sports scoreboard

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:32:21 -0500

Sports scores from around the area Friday.

Fremd trims Barrington for Buffalo Grove Sectional championship

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:41:22 -0500

BUFFALO GROVE — Just six days after holding off a formidable rival to win the Mid-Suburban League championship, Fremd frustrated another familiar opponent Thursday night. Held at Buffalo Grove High School on a clear, cool night with almost no wind, the Vikings used their superior depth in the hurdles, high jump and pole vault to defeat Barrington and win their second consecutive 3A boys track sectional championship. “It feels so great. People say Palatine is our biggest rival, but we know it’s Barrington,” sophomore sprinter Jawan Gaines said, who ran the final leg of the Vikings’ state-qualifying 4x400 relay team. …

May 16 high school sports scoreboard

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:26:06 -0500

Sports scores from around the area Thursday.

Carmel still searching for identity

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:33:29 -0500

MUNDELEIN — Will the real Carmel Corsairs please stand up? That’s the question softball coach Jason Raymond and his players are asking themselves as they enter the home stretch of the 2013 regular season. Because with only three games left on the schedule to open the week, Carmel remains a team in search of its true identity. Will it be the powerhouse Corsairs who seem to outslug opponents at will? Or will it be the club that’s shown its youth, with occasional mental and defensive lapses costing it multiple games this spring? Last week, the Corsairs (18-9 overall as of …

Libertyville Athlete of the Week: Stewart just runs her race

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:22:01 -0500

PALATINE — What does it take to run a Carly Stewart race? It takes a runner who sizes up her competition with tactful precision. It takes a runner with heart and desire. It takes a runner for whom each stride has a purpose. “A Carly race is you go in hard and you settle in,” said Libertyville girls track and field coach Tom Bizosky. “You get behind the leader, but then the most important thing is to stay consistent with your lap times.” At Friday’s Class 3A Palatine Sectional, Stewart, a Libertyville senior, won the 800-meter run in a school-record …