With football signing day a month away, high school players throughout the nation are narrowing their lists of colleges. Players can begin signing letters of intent Feb. 8, and almost all Division I prospects will sign that day. Here is the status of some of the state`s top prospects:
Hersey quarterback Duke Tobin has decided to visit Michigan State, Illinois and Boston College, and is also considering Arizona, Michigan and Stanford. Naperville Central QB Chris Pietrangeli is considering Northwestern, Illinois, Duke and Miami of Ohio.
Stevenson linebacker Chris Holder has visited Michigan State, Indiana and Vanderbilt and will visit Notre Dame and Stanford. St. Martin de Porres linebacker Darren Williams will visit Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and Northwestern. Mundelein linebacker John Sidari has visited Vanderbilt and Illinois and will visit Michigan and Nebraska. Naperville North linebacker Dave Garnett will visit Northwestern, Illinois, Iowa, Duke and Stanford. Hoffman Estates linebacker Chris Edwards will visit Northwestern and Southern Illinois. Gordon Tech linebacker Dan Watkins will visit Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa State and probably one other school.
Bloom lineman Chet Lacheta (6-3, 260) has committed to Notre Dame, joining wide receiver Ray Griggs of Crete-Monee, who earlier announced for the Irish.
Carmel lineman Randy Bierman plans visits to Louisville, Illinois State, Illinois and Ohio State. Lake Zurich lineman Phil Rathke has narrowed his choices to Illinois, Purdue, Indiana and Wyoming. Evergreen Park lineman Dave DuBois is down to Louisville, Purdue and Memphis State. St. Patrick linemen Vito Cinquepalmi and Joe Sartin will visit Wyoming and Southern Illinois.
Simeon tight end-defensive end Johnnie Mitchell will visit Northern Illinois, Ohio University, Miami of Florida, Illinois and one other school. Evanston running back Yonel Jourdain is considering Northwestern, Northern Illinois, Illinois State and Eastern Illinois.
At St. Viator, lineman Ninef Agakhan has committed to Michigan, lineman Eric Dahlberg will visit Vanderbilt and has been to Wisconsin and Yale and running back Brian Dunlavy has been to Northern Illinois and will visit Minnesota, Ohio University, Indiana and possibly Rice.
At Bolingbrook, quarterback-defensive back Lloyd Kerr will visit Iowa, Colorado, Tennessee, Purdue and Hawaii; and running back Ernest Crank is considering Iowa, Purdue, Arizona State, Nebraska, Hawaii and USC.
Richards` Efrem Haymore visited Minnesota last weekend and will visit Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Wyoming and Illinois.
At Romeoville, linebacker Kelvin King has Michigan State, Southern Illinois, Illinois, Iowa State and Northern Illinois on his visit list. Wide receiver Scott Michaels is considering Illinois, Louisville, Southern Illinois and Indiana State.
Andrews` Scott McLean has visited Northern Illinois and will visit Arizona State, Purdue and Nebraska.
At Homewood-Flossmoor, Randy Scianna has opted for Notre Dame (over USC and Michigan). Percy Willingham visited Minnesota and will visit Louisville, Northern Illinois and Montana State. Jason Reid will visit Eastern Illinois, Ohio University, Ball State and Wyoming. Felton Maxie will visit Montana State, Illinois State and Western Illinois. Brian Rollo visited Western Michigan.
Bremen`s Alvin Jones is undecided, and wants to see how basketball goes. He`ll visit Wyoming and Montana State. Jones was interested in Rice, but is waiting to find out who the Owls` new coach will be.
At Rich East, Carlos James has visited Iowa and Ohio State and will visit Michigan and Nebraska. Jamie Pass will visit Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern and Western Michigan. Ryan Yarbourough has visited Louisville and Western Michigan and will visit Wyoming and Purdue.
Downstate, lineman Greg Engel (6-4, 265) of Bloomington has committed to Illinois. Teammate Stacey Ward, a linebacker, is considering Northern Illinois, Illinois and Missouri-Rolla. Marion lineman Brian Allen is considering Army, Illinois, Northwestern and Penn. Lineman Derek Allen of Geneseo Darnall is looking at Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern, Navy and UCLA. Lineman Louis Koncor of Pittsfield is considering Illinois, Illinois State, Cornell, Missouri-Rolla and Northwestern.
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BASKETBALL
There was a silver lining in St. Charles` 67-65 loss to West Aurora on Friday. Senior guard Mark Muldowney, who had been struggling, poured in 24 of his 28 points during the Saints` second-half rally. ”He found himself tonight,” said St. Charles coach Ron Johnson. ”All he has to do is start believing in himself again.” Muldowney scored 12 points Saturday as St. Charles downed Larkin 80-64.
– Oak Park`s pressing defense did a job on West Suburban Silver rival York in their battle for first-place Saturday. Though the Dukes were shooting 65 percent three minutes into the fourth quarter, they had attempted 13 fewer shots than the Huskies, who held a 64-61 lead. When York was able to take a shot, it usually went in, but the fact that the Huskies were so pesky that the Dukes couldn`t get many shots off was the difference. Oak Park coach Al Allen went away very impressed with the job York`s Bob Ociepka has done. ”It`s incredible what he can do with all those guys with no speed,” said Allen. Still, York has lost three of its last four since opening up with 10 straight victories.
– Thornridge coach Mike Flaherty has been making all the right moves in recent weeks as his Falcons have quickly ascended to the No. 5 slot in The Tribune poll. After an emotional victory over archrival Thornton and a 2-point triumph at New Trier over the weekend, Thornridge is now 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the dog-eat-dog SICA East. It`s hard to believe that this is the same team that earlier in the season lost to Kankakee after letting the Kays get out to an 18-2 first-quarter lead. But Flaherty has been doing it by constantly putting fresh legs into the game to wear out opponents. ”That`s our strength,” Flaherty says of the Falcons` bench. ”Patrick Porter, Frank McDaniel, Mark Banas and Willie Wright have all come in and done a good job.” With the subs standing out so much, Flaherty was able to sit out starter Robert McDonald the entire second half at New Trier even though he led the Falcons with 13 points at the time.
– Proviso West coach Lowell Lucas entered the new year on the verge of joining the group of coaches with 500 career victories. Lucas, in his 19th year at Proviso West, was 498-223 in 29 years of coaching. Proviso got No. 499 Friday with a 73-48 victory over Downers Grove North. Lucas coached at Knox City (Mo.), Columbia (Ill.) and St. Charles (Mo.) High Schools and at State Fair College in Sedalia, Mo., before moving to Proviso West in 1970. The Panthers hope to push Lucas past the 500-victory plateau during a three-game home stand this week: Willowbrook on Tuesday, York on Friday and East Aurora on Saturday in the annual ”Pack the Place” event. Lucas is 337-150 at Proviso.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
When asked if the five best players in Chicago were on the floor in the finals of the recent Mayor`s Holiday tournament, Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters agreed, then took it one step further. ”(Marshall`s) Toni Foster, Rita Hale, Kenya Pittman, (Young`s) E.C. Hill and Cindy Conner are probably the five best players in the state. E.C. may be the best player in the country.” Hill and Pittman, both 5-9 guards, are only juniors.
– Montini and St. Edward are the Big 2 among Class A powers in the Chicago area, but before the season is over, Evergreen Park (11-2) and Luther North
(14-4) could be heard from. ”I wouldn`t have believed we`d be 11-2 when the season began,” said Evergreen Park coach Mike Beard, whose Mustangs are the top seed in the Chicago Christian regional. ”The attitude has been real positive. The girls have set some goals, and they`re going after them.”
Senior point guard Donna Walsh has assumed the leadership role. ”She`s holding the team together on and off the court,” said Beard. ”During summer camp, one day she wasn`t the leader, and the next day she was. It has been that way since.”
– There`s nothing fancy about St. Scholastica`s 11-1 start this season. ”We have a more structured offense, some strong kids with varsity experience and an energetic group of kids who enjoy playing the game,” said coach Sr. Noreen Fararri, whose Stingers suffered their first loss Saturday, losing to No. 15 Washington 51-45 in the Galaxy Tournament at Rich South. Leading the way for St. Scholastica are seniors Kelli Fitzgibbons (18 points a game), Pam Schaffrath (14 points, 14 rebounds), whose twin brother plays for Gordon Tech, and JoEllen Thiel (8 points, 6 assists, 4 steals). Fitzgibbons and Schaffrath have been on the varsity for four years. Junior Bridget Flaherty chips in with 11 points a game. The Stingers face a tough test Tuesday when they travel to Regina Dominican.
– Lisa Larson`s 11-point, 6-rebound effort coming off the bench in New Trier`s 65-61 victory Saturday over Young may have earned the junior forward
”a starting role,” said Trevian coach John Schneiter, who also had high praise for Liz Richards` 10-rebound performance.
– A lot of players finish in double figures in scoring and rebounding, but blocked shots? Caryn Alexander, a 6-2 junior at Highland Park, is doing just that. Early in the season she blocked 24 shots in a game, and Saturday she had 17 in a 45-41 loss to Glenbrook South. ”If she jumped, she could block 50 shots,” coach Charles Schramm said with a laugh. ”She`s just starting to come into her own. If she keeps working, she`ll be a Division I player.”
Don`t think Alexander only blocks shots against weaker competition, either. She had 13 against No. 1 Maine West. Her scoring totals have picked up, too. In her last three games, she scored 27, 27 and 29 points. ”She can shoot the jumper from the outside, and she`s learning how to drive,” said Schramm.
”Her best days are still down the road.”
– Bob Dwyer saw it coming. He realized his highly regarded Joliet West team, ranked No. 5 before the season began, wasn`t hitting on all cylinders when the Tigers took on West Aurora in the quarterfinals of the recent Wheaton North Christmas tournament. And the picture became quite clear to his players, too, after suffering a 58-43 loss. ”West Aurora has a good team, so you can`t take anything away from them, but we weren`t playing defense, and we weren`t thinking,” said Dwyer, whose Tigers got back on track Thursday by defeating Bradley-Bourbonnais 51-43. ”I had been expecting it. Things weren`t coming together the way I had hoped they would. It all fell apart in the West Aurora game.” Dwyer gave his troops a mini-vacation after the loss, and if their first game back is any indication, it seems to have done some good. ”Our attitude is good,” Dwyer said. ”Now we have to see if we can pull together for the last stretch (of the season).”
– Oak Forest came alive in the Hillcrest tournament, upsetting Sandburg and Thornton before losing by 11 to Tinley Park in the finals. It confirmed coach Sue Boner`s belief that the Bengals are a solid team. More importantly, the players now believe it. ”I told them they were good, they just had to start playing like it,” said Boner, whose team suffered overtime losses to tough Richards and Conant just before the tournament. ”The Hillcrest tournament was the turning point in their minds. It gave them confidence.” In its first game after the tournament, Oak Forest defeated Lincoln-Way 50-38 with Kim Wood collecting 29 points and 17 rebounds. ”She was awesome,” Boner said of the junior who is averaging 17.9 points and 13.5 rebounds a game. ”She`s starting to use her body better inside.” Another underclassman who has contributed greatly to the Bengals` success is sophomore point guard Sue Will. She`s averaging 12 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds a game. ”She`s dedicated to the game,” said Boner. Oak Forest gets another shot at 11th-ranked Tinley Park Thursday at home.
WRESTLING
The Feb. 24-25 Class AA state dual-meet championship will take place at Leyden`s West Campus in Northlake instead of the east campus in Franklin Park. ”We had to do it for the parking,” said Leyden coach Chuck Farina.
”There isn`t much parking at the East building, but there is plenty at the West building. There could have been a problem if there was a lot of snow.”
The Friday session will feature two duals at 6 p.m. and two at 8 p.m. The semifinals will be at 1 p.m., the third place match at 6 p.m. and the finals at 8 p.m.
– Bloom Trail`s Mike Stone was ahead of New Trier`s Dougal Jeppe 5-0 and in control in the first period when he pinned himself in the 145-pound finals at the Leyden Invitational on Saturday. Stone had his legs around Jeppe when he was pinned. ”He stuck himself,” said referee Ed Luety. ”He had his legs in and everything. The only thing that was touching the mat was his shoulders. You can still be in control and get pinned.” Bloom Trail coach Gabe Damiani didn`t see it that way and was ejected by Luety.
– Niles West`s Marc Tadelman ate too many holiday treats. He was a pound overweight at 119 at Leyden, and had to run it off. ”I was sick during my first match,” said Tadelman, who is 17-0. ”I was over basically because of vacation. I had trouble last week, too. I had wrestled most of these guys here before, so I knew what I had to do. The guy I beat in the finals (Glenbard North`s Tony Rigirano) I beat 5-2 at the Conant tournament, and I pinned him here, so I guess I`ve improved.”
– Farina has retired from teaching but plans to continue coaching for another year or two. ”This is great, I really like it,” said Farina, in his 35th season. ”I`m out of the daily grind. I relax in the morning and come in for practice in the afternoon a lot fresher. I`m enjoying this year more than I ever have. I`ve got 561 dual meet victories, and I want to go after the national record of 602. I might get that next year, but probably the year after. When I get it, I`ll hang it up. That`s something to shoot for. When I started we wrestled on 12-13 matches a year, and now you have 25-30, so the record will be broken. I will be able to say I had it for my era. That`s my goal, not that it means anything to anybody else, but it`s a goal.”
– Glenbard North`s Mike Palazzo went down to 140 pounds for the first time this season at the Leyden Invitational. Palazzo had two pins and a major decision in winning the title. ”I felt pretty good,” said the 23-1 senior.
”I thought it would be a lot harder since this was the first time. It wasn`t that bad. I had wrestled some at 152, so this is a lot different. I`m a lot stronger at 140 than I was at 152. I was getting horsed at 152.”
GYMNASTICS
Winning the Larkin Royal Invitational is old hat for Elgin. The Maroons, who outscored host Larkin 133.9-128.4 Saturday, won the meet in 1985 and 1986 and finished second to Streamwood, third Saturday with 127.6, last season. The previous three meets were held in December.
”I figured we`d be in the top three,” said Elgin coach Sher Zimmerman.
”The girls did what they expected to do, and were satisfied with their performances.”
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The Maroons` previous high this season was 131.6 in a dual meet against Streamwood.
”This is a good meet for us because it has three (Upstate Eight)
conference schools (Larkin and Streamwood are the others) and five other schools we don`t usually see,” Zimmerman said. ”It`s good to do well in the first invitational after Christmas. If you don`t have the tricks by now, something isn`t working.”
Working their way to the top three Saturday for Elgin were freshman Laurie Rennhack (first on balance beam with an 8.8) and senior Brenda Parisek (third in vaulting at 8.8 and in the all-around with 8.625). The other key performer for Elgin is Natalie Peshek, whose best finish Saturday was fifth
(8.7) on bars.
Streamwood had the distinction of fielding Saturday`s all-around champion, as Jodi Reese edged Larkin standout Amy Kovacs 8.895-8.85. It was the first time Kovacs has been beaten this season, and it wasn`t even Reese`s best night. She averaged 9.15 at the Dec. 30 Maine West Invitational.