Christy Bridge, a gifted 6-foot-2-inch junior for Class A girls basketball power Yorkville, remained in critical condition Saturday night in an Aurora hospital after the car she was driving collided with a truck on Route 47 and Countryside Parkway on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials at Rush-Copley Medical Center, where Bridge was taken by paramedics after the accident, declined to release details on the 16-year-old’s condition.
An official for the Yorkville Police Department said officers are interviewing witnesses and trying to reconstruct the accident. Preliminary indications are that Bridge pulled in front of a truck on Route 47 when she was struck, the official said.
Bridge was averaging 21 points for the Foxes and played Tuesday night in a 63-21 victory over Westmont. In the aftermath of the accident, Yorkville administrators postponed Thursday’s game with Lemont, rescheduling it for next month. On Saturday, in their first game without Bridge, the Foxes lost at home to Marengo, 65-44. Yorkville falls to 7-2.
Bridge’s older sister, Sarah, is a senior and teammate on the basketball team.
In the small, tight-knit community located 55 miles west of Chicago, family, teammates, friends, school officials and parents held a vigil for Bridge.
Patrick Z. McGavin.
Lolino ailing: Lane Tech boys basketball coach Frank Lolino Sr. was admitted Friday evening to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
According to Lane Athletic Director Rich Rio, Lolino has had various stomach ailments and considerable weight loss the past month and was brought to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Initial tests were negative, Rio said.
“Nobody is quite sure what the problem is,” Rio said. “But the doctors ran some tests on Friday and want to run a few more. So we’ll find out what’s going on in the next day or so.”
Assistant Robert Lamb will be the interim coach until Lolino’s return.
Ref dies in game: Mount Zion school board member and referee Craig Benton collapsed and died Friday while officiating a varsity boys basketball game between Shelbyville and Teutopolis.
Benton, 34, arrived Friday at Shelby Memorial Hospital in full cardiac-respiratory arrest, hospital officials said. He was pronounced dead later that night.
Benton collapsed on the sidelines during a timeout with just more than a minute remaining in the game. He was given CPR at the scene and taken to the hospital.
“He came over to the scorer’s table to sit down, and I went to get him a cool towel, and by the time I got back, he was lying on the ground,” Shelbyville Athletic Director Randy Niles said. “The ambulance was there in about 5 or 6 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.”
The game was held up for approximately 20 minutes.
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Benton, a longtime local basketball, baseball and softball official, played baseball, football and basketball at Mount Zion High School in the early 1980s.
Benton was elected to the Mount Zion school board in 1995 and had one year remaining in a four-year term. He was employed as a customer representative at Bodine Electric.
He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and two children.
Cats score again: Northwestern got its second key Chicago-area recruit of the week when Naperville North running back Chris Brown made a verbal commitment to the Wildcats late Friday.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 210-pound Brown chose coach Gary Barnett’s program over Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Michigan State and Boston College. NU is expected to play Brown at tailback. Chris’ older brother, Levelle, is senior who played fullback for the Wildcats this season.
Earlier in the week, NU received a verbal commitment from Wheaton Warrenville South receiver Jon Schweighardt.
New-look tourney: The Public League’s 16-team Christmas basketball tournament that tips off Dec. 21 is undergoing some late changes.
Minneapolis Patrick Henry and Gary (Ind.) Westside have dropped out because of rules from their respective state athletic associations. Julian and Lincoln Park will replace them.
Public League basketball coordinator George Stanton said he would re-arrange the pairings Saturday night.
“The Gary team can’t participate because there are teams in our tournament that have traveled more than 300 miles,” Stanton said. “Minneapolis can’t play in any tournament with more than four teams from outside Minnesota.”
Hoops tickets: Tickets for the Class A and AA boys state basketball championships will be available from the Peoria Civic Center starting this week.
Between Monday and Dec. 28, fans may order up to four tickets for both the Class A (March 12-13) and/or Class AA (March 19-20) tournaments by mail only. Prices for the eight-game all-session packages are $32, $24 and $16. Requests should include name, address, tournament preference and a check, money order, or credit card information. Checks and money orders should be payable to Peoria Civic Center. Credit card orders should include: type of card, card number and expiration date. Orders should be mailed to: Peoria Civic Center Ticket Office, IHSA Boys Basketball, 201 SW Jefferson St. Peoria, IL, 61602.
If all-session tickets remain after the mail-order period, fans can order up to four tickets for either tournament starting Jan. 9 at the Civic Center ticket office or by phone, 309-673-3200.
Ticket orders will be filled on an as available basis.
Junior Olympic cross country: Lake Forest’s Victoria Jackson finished fourth among 15- and 16-year-old girls Saturday in the National Junior Olympics Cross-Country Championships in Lisle. Jackson completed the 5,000-meter course in 19:14, 39 seconds behind champion Jinny Hanifan of Waterville, Ohio. In the boys 5,000 race for 17- and 18-year-olds, Oak Park’s Tyler Kirk was sixth in 16:06. Tyler Williams of Boise won in 15:55.1.
No finals surprise: Streamwood’s Kim Hunn missed the finals by a mere 14 pins at last weekend’s USA National Bowling Championships in Reno. The senior had a disappointing first round that left her in 43rd place with a 183 average. But she rallied the next day to finish with a 193.25 average and a 4,638 cumulative pinfall, good for 27th place overall.
The top 24 bowlers compete for five spots on Team USA. Oswego’s Kari Schwager was also among with 56 female bowlers on hand. She closed in 39th place overall with a 4,497 pinfall and a 187.38 average.