Golf: Regina Dominican won its fifth straight girls state title. The Panthers finished eight shots ahead of rival New Trier and 23 ahead of third place Naperville North. Holly Alcala led Regina with a second-place finish. The Panther senior tied with Normal`s Christine Garrett but lost in a playoff.
Quincy was a seven-shot winner over New Trier in the Class AA boys state meet, while Monmouth won its sixth straight Class A title with a five-shot victory over Bishop McNamara.
Girls tennis: No more waiting in the wings. After two seasons of runner-up finishes, Hersey`s Jennifer Nasser dominated the singles field to win her first state championship. In doubles, New Trier`s Megan Mawicke made her third appearance in a title match and won her second state title, this time with Wendy Fix, 6-2, 6-3 over teammates Kim Anderson and Mary Ritchie. And Lyons Township, which advanced its entire lineup into at least the quarterfinal round, won its first state championship trophy.
Cross country: Chalk up a 15th state championship for York. Under Joe Newton, arguably the best high school coach in any sport in Illinois, the Dukes won the Class AA boys` title at Peoria`s Detweiler Park with 54 points to 213 for Hoffman Estates and 214 for Lincoln-Way.
Palatine placed four of its runners in the top 21 and repeated as champions in the girls Class AA meet and might be on a York-like run of its own with just one senior.
The Dukes had four runners in the top 25 with Bob Reed in 10th, Chris Gorski in 13th, Glen Podzimek in 18th, Derrick Keller in 21st and Dan Hoff was 38th.
Palatine will go for a third straight minus only senior Tricia Huber, who was 14th. Sophomore Julie Justmann (9th), junior Elisa Currins (20), sophomore Erin Redig (21st) and sophomore Kristen Abrahamson (44th) will return from the Pirates winning 65 points. Libertyville was a close second with 89 points and Hersey was third with 185.
In the individual competitions, there were no surprises, either. Erin Boland of McHenry won her second Class AA state championship, setting a personal record of 11:30. Niles North`s Vadim Nemad won the Class AA boys race in 14.17, the seventh best time in Class AA history. Wheaton St. Francis`
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Chris Addesso won the Class A title.
Boys soccer: Familiarity, thy name is Granite City.
Granite City and its legendary coach, Gene Baker, continued rewriting state soccer history. The Warriors captured their 10th straight title, Baker`s ninth. He has never lost a title match.
Evanston, not exactly a preseason favorite, wound up in the title game opposite the Warriors. It was Wildkits coach Tom Chmela`s first championship match appearance. The team wound up 22-1-5. For his efforts, Chmela was named Illinois Soccer Coaches Association coach of the year.
St. Charles coach Tim Dailey, one of the tops in his profession after 12 years, was fired by the board of Community Unit School District 303 for what superintendent John Vanko called ”communications problems.” Interestingly, Dailey was allowed to continue coaching the St. Charles girls team.
Volleyball: For the first time in the state tournament`s 17-year history, Downstate schools swept the big trophies. Princeton beat Huntley for the Class A crown, while Belleville West became the second Downstate school in tourney history to win a title, downing Lockport 15-13, 15-3 in the final.
Girls swimming: In days gone by, Hinsdale Central and state championships were synonymous. But 10 years worth of days had gone by between trophies, a drought that coach Carol Bobo`s Red Devils ended with a splash in the state finals at Evanston. Greta Steffenson and Chandra Littooy won individual crowns for the Red Devils. Runner-up Naperville North and third-place St. Charles had the highest finishes in their respective schools` history.
Football: Led by All-Staters Charles Edwards, Bobby Sanders and Jeremy Nau, Mt. Carmel went wire-to-wire with the No. 1 ranking in the Tribune poll, starting off a 14-0 season with a win over Cincinnati Moeller at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati and finishing with a shutout of Wheaton Central for the Class 5A title.
Richards had its 34-game unbeaten streak ended on a cool October night in Oak Lawn, with Shepard tailback Tyrone Washington almost single-handedly doing the trick on both offense and at middle-linebacker.
The upset of the year came in the Class 6A semifinals, when Downers Grove North ventured down I-55 and beat East St. Louis in the final game at old Parsons Field. But that memorable game couldn`t carry over the following weekend in Normal, when tailback David Wright and Thornton put on a second-half rally that shocked the Trojans and brought the Wildcats their first 6A title.
Joliet Catholic and Morris put their unbeaten records on the line in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs, and the romp by offensive tackle John Horn and the Hilltoppers was just the start of their joyride to the 4A title, eventually beating Geneseo in the most exciting of the six state championship games.
Robeson won the Prep Bowl, beating Fenwick to give the Public League its second straight win over the Catholic League in the annual affair.
Bowling: Crete-Monee senior Rosine Marschke claimed the state title with a total pinfall of 2,362. Brenda Edwards of Rich Central was second with a 2,271 total. East Moline won the team championship with pinfall of 10,394, followed by Decatur Eisenhower (10,101) and Rich Central (9,820).
Girls gymnastics: You want drama, you say. This state final had it as Addison Trail and Carmel exchanged leads to the last fraction of a point until Addison Trail`s Leticia Dennis boosted the Blazers into the lead for good in the school`s final event, balance beam. Addison Trail finished at 146.10, Carmel at 146.05. Downers Grove North`s Missy Olson was nearly perfect in winning the all-around title, while individual highlights came from Wheeling`s Wendy Lahucik, who won her second straight state championship on the beam, and from Naperville Central`s Sunni Steck, who won floor exercise after suffering an injury during that event during finals one year earlier.
Boys swimming: Fenwick, again. The Friars, led by double individual winner, Ed Pierce, stormed to their second straight championship. Tom Wright, again. The Rockford Guilford senior became the first diver in state meet history to win three straight championships. Other milestones were individual medley champion Darren Heydanek winning Stevenson`s first title and backstroke winner Brian Wells earning West Aurora its first swimming title in more than two decades.
Wrestling: Proviso East won its 10th state championship with a 35-16 victory over Waukegan in the Class AA dual team tournament at Normal. The Pirates came into the tournament with a 20-7 record but then upset favorite Providence and then Marist before beating Waukegan. Waukegan, also a surprise finalist, defeated Naperville North and Cahokia along the way. Marist took third. Sandwich won the Class A title with a 25-24 victory over Taylor Ridge Rockridge.
Naperville North`s Mike Renella (112) and Libertyville`s Mike Baumann
(119) won titles with unbeaten records.
Mt. Carmel`s Steve and Joe Williams became the first brother combination to win a state title since 1982. Junior Steve won the 130-pound championship with a 33-second pin of Belvidere`s Kelly Hamill. Sophomore Joe won his second title with a 14-4 decision over Oak Lawn`s Dan Walters. Lyons had champions in 189-pound Will Lepsi and heavyweight Greg Stec.
Girls basketball: They were on a mission.
Mother McAuley, angered at finishing fourth in the 1990 Class AA state finals, gained vindication by taking on all comers and scoring a 69-65 victory over East St. Louis Lincoln in this season`s championship game. Led by Megan Lucid, Ms. Basketball of Illinois 1990; Kati Whittingham; Norine Nolan and feisty coach Diane Darrah, the Mighty Macs not only talked a good game, they played it. Starters Kathy Thomas and Sarrah Benner also contributed, as did Joanne McCarthy, who returned to the lineup late in the year after a leg injury.
Although McAuley relinquished the No. 1 position in the Tribune Top 10 for a time after being upset by Luther North and lost the prestigious Girls Catholic Athletic Conference title to Immaculate Heart of Mary, things fell into place for the Macs at playoff time.
Marshall, Chicago Public League champions for 13 straight seasons, was knocked off by upstart Washington and standout player Kina Brown. It marked the first time Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters failed to have her team advance to the state finals in 14 years.
Luther North so dominated Class A play that it won the highly touted Dundee-Crown Christmas Tournament, defeating Maine West and Mother McAuley. After 18 straight victories, Luther North fell to IHM in the Chicagoland Girls Prep Classic at Northwestern`s Welsh-Ryan Arena. Luther North, like McAuley, received national ranking.
In the playoffs, Luther North, picked as hands-down favorite to win the Class A title, had misfortune a second straight season. Last year, it was Montini. This season, coach Frank Mattucci`s team was eliminated by Marillac in regional play. Sullivan, led by Becky Clayton and Amanda Glazebrook, went 35-0 to claim the Class A title.
Boys basketball: It was all Proviso East as Sherell Ford and the Pirates lost only one game en route to winning the school`s third state title. The slammingest, jammingest high school team in the state beat a small but determined Peoria Manual team for the Class AA championship in March.
Gordon Tech, the preseason favorite, was poised for a tournament run before star forward Tom Kleinschmidt broke a foot in the last week of the regular season, and the Rams eventually bowed out in the sectionals.
The season`s most surprising development was the season-long winning streak of tiny Nazareth, the second smallest school in the Class AA field. Led by All-Stater Sean Pearson, the Roadrunners stunned Oak Park and St. Joseph in the regionals before losing to eventual champ Proviso East in the sectionals to finish 27-1.
Unheralded Marshall won the Public League title by knocking off King and Westinghouse in the city`s Final Four at the Amphitheatre and wound up finishing third in state. King`s 7-foot sophomore, Rashard Griffith, broke a pair of backboards with some monster jams, and the Jaguars beat archrival Simeon in the season`s most controversial game by hitting a technical foul free throw to break a tie with no time remaining.
Playing unselfish team ball to near perfection, Libertyville made its way into the Class AA semifinals. Glenbrook North won its first conference title since 1973, with Chris Collins making a name for himself by hitting clutch shots at game`s end on a handful of occasions.
Boys gymnastics: Hinsdale Central went into the record books with its record- tying seventh state title, matching Addison Trail. But the Red Devils hadn`t had a first-place trophy since 1977. Individually, Glenbrook South senior Larry Ohannes put on a mistake-free performance to win the all-around championship. He added the pommel horse title, and Willowbrook`s Rob Janata got a pair of first-place finishes, in high bar and parallel bars. And Rich South saluted its first state gymnastics champion when Lonell Fleming won vaulting and shared the floor exercise title with Lane Tech`s Sean Grosvenor. Badminton: Palatine entered the season with the other coaches practically conceding the title. The Pirates didn`t disappoint, winning the state title with an unblemished record. The Palatine tandem of Anne Mekel-Sue Brodnan won the doubles title, while Andrew`s Viva Pongchiewboon and Palatine`s Angela Zemla forged a classic title match in singles. Pongchiewboon, whose only loss had been to Zemla, won in three games to end the defending state champion`s undefeated senior season.
Track and field: Evanston`s girls ended East St. Louis Lincoln`s nine-year streak in Class AA girls competion. The Wildkits, who were second to Lincoln the previous two years, were convincing winners with 69 points to 37 for second-place Lincoln, with Palatine third at 36. Evanston got a state record in the 100-meter hurdles of 14.13 from Renee Murphy and a first from Gabrielle Mead in the 300-meter low hurdles. The Wildkits also had a gold-medal performance from their 800-meter medley team of Murphy, Sophia Tasker, Mead and Maubra Foster. In Class A, Chicago Christian won its second straight title. The Lady Knights didn`t win an event but outscored second-place Urbana University 47-36.
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East St. Louis won its first state Class AA state boys title since 1985 with Evanston a strong second and East St. Louis Lincoln third. The Wildkits, running without injured sprint standout Howard Jones, got a first in the 3,200 meters and a second in the 1,600 from Robert Gary and won both the 800- and 1,600-meter relays. Proviso West`s Kerwin Badie won both the 100 and 200 meters, while Chicago Vocational`s Greg Wilkins won the shot and discus titles. Luther South, led by Steve Conley, won the Class A title. Conley won the triple jump, was second in the long jump and ran on the winning 400-meter relay team.
Boys tennis: Jimmy Panagopoulos finally did it. After two straight years of setbacks, the West Aurora senior ended his high school career in fine fashion, defeating Bishop McNamara`s Mike Slimack 6-1, 6-3 to capture the boys singles title.
It was the second straight year that Panagopoulos found himself in the title match. He fell to teammate Paul Pridmore in 1990 for the singles championship. Two years ago, as a sophomore, Panagopoulos lost to eventual titlist Tad Eckert of New Trier in the quarterfinals.
Hinsdale Central had minimal trouble defending its team title, amassing 38 total points to outdistance second-place Bloomington (34) and third-place Decatur Eisenhower (32). It marked Hinsdale Central coach Jay Kramer`s 13th state title since becoming head coach in 1960.
Girls soccer: After two years of finishing second, Libertyville finally delivered. The Wildcats beat tough Waubonsie Valley 1-0 to give coach Andy Bitta, who also coaches the boys, his first state title.
Goalkeeper Caroline Cerbus, the all-tournament pick at her position, led the Wildcats with some remarkable saves in the title match. Waubonsie`s sophomore sensation, Debbie Keller, was the individual hit of the finals.
The finals marked the first appearance of Granite City, which was coached by Gene Baker. Schaumburg qualified and finished third.
Top players included goalie Julie Ciasnocha of Schaumburg, defenders Kristen Knight of Naperville North, Kelly Reinert of St. Charles and Jori Seymour of Libertyville; forwards Keller, Shannon O`Neil of Hoffman Estates and Andrea Zeeb of Fremd and midfielders Heather Maier of Rockford Boylan, Allison Marquart of Libertyville and Jenny Miguel of Palatine.
Baseball: Again, it was a wire-to-wire stay at the top of the Tribune poll, this time by Thornwood, the state Class AA champions. Led by Player of the Year Cliff Floyd, who was picked No. 14 in the first round by Montreal in the 1991 amatuer draft, the Thunderbirds beat defending champion Edwardsville for the title, ending a state-record 64-game unbeaten streak.
Under the steady hand of 39-year veteran coach Jack Kaiser, Oak Park advanced to the state quarterfinals for the second straight year and again came home with a third-place trophy. Schurz won the Public League title after losing in the championship game in 1990 as All-Stater Ruben Olavarria went unbeaten on the mound and hit over .500 all season long.
Oak Forest ace Rick Gorecki put on a show that won`t soon be forgotten, throwing three no-hitters, adding a 22-strikeout game and going 12-0 with an 0.20 ERA. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Simeon`s Shawn Livsey attracted the attention of scouts all year long, pacing the Wolverines to their Top 10 finish and being selected by Houston with the 29th pick in the draft.
Driscoll advanced to the Class A semifinals before bowing out.
Softball: Softball fans were treated to two of the best high school pitchers Illinois has ever seen when Thornwood senior Tina Zuccolo and Lockport junior Amber Podlesny hooked up in the Class AA state tournament quarterfinals. Just as they did in last year`s state final, Zuccolo and the Thunderbirds got the better of the matchup, 2-0, on their way to their second straight title. Podlesny, though, set a national strikeout record of 31 in a 15-inning game against Bolingbrook, including a state-record 18 in a row.