The 1998-99 high school sports year can be summed up in two words: St. Charles. The Saints dominated like no school before them, capturing a state-record six state championships.
The previous record of four was broken in early June, when the girls soccer team captured its fourth straight title. The following weekend, the boys baseball team closed out the school year with the sixth title.
Coincidentally, St. Charles also took home the first state championship of the season, winning the Class AA boys golf crown.
A look back at the year in sports:
BOYS GOLF
St. Charles outfought a stiff wind and defending Class AA champion New Trier to win its fourth boys state golf championship.
The Saints, led by seniors Scott Parsons, Jeff Augustine and Marques Morel, were 17-shot winners over the second-place Trevians. Crystal Lake South was another five shots back. St. Charles increased its four-shot first-day lead with a final-round 79 from Parsons, an 81 from Augustine, an 83 from Morel and an 85 from freshman Mike Culkin.
Rantoul’s Clark Smith was medalist with a 78-74–152. He finished a shot ahead of Crystal Lake Central’s Joe Affrunti and Bloomington’s Andy Dustman. In Class A, defending champion Quincy Notre Dame and Havana tied for the team title.
Reid Hanley.
GIRLS GOLF
Lake Forest won its second state championship in three years, 686-711 over St. Charles.
After leading by nine strokes entering the second–and final–round of the 1997 championships, Lake Forest saw its lead disappear and fell by one stroke to Homewood-Flossmoor.
But at last October’s tournament, coach Marlene Miller said her team was not discussing the previous year. It didn’t matter as the Scouts muted the competition behind a 168 by senior Sarah Johnston.
The individual title went to Beth Hermes of Sterling Newman Central Catholic, who posted a 150. The shot of the event belonged to New Trier sophomore Alexis Wooster (fifth-place 163), who aced the 17th hole for just the second hole-in-one in state-tournament history.
Ross Siler.
GIRLS TENNIS
Junior Christine Nolan of Glenbrook South became the first repeat champion in singles since 1989 with a 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 decision over Lake Forest’s Margaret Purcell.
Two other streaks came to a close, as New Trier ended West Aurora’s two-year hold on the team championship, outpacing runner-up Hinsdale Central by two points and the Blackhawks by four.
Hinsdale Central’s Lorraine Coulter and Kate Williams took the doubles title, defeating Liz Fraker and Nicole Griglione of Champaign Central 6-2, 6-4. In the semifinals, the Hinsdale duo ousted two-time defending state champions Natalie and Stephanie Matko of West Aurora, 6-1, 7-6 (6-3).
Pat Rooney.
BOYS SOCCER
Naperville North’s run to its first state boys soccer title was as impressive as it was improbable. The Huskies entered the Class AA playoffs with a 14-4-3 record, and when coach Dave Bucher looked at his team’s draw, two thoughts entered his mind:
– His team could lose in the first round.
– His team could win it all.
Seven games and seven shutouts later, Naperville North had the title and Bucher had his 306th career victory. With All-Stater Kevin Wickart hurting from an earlier injury, North managed a 1-0 victory over Rockford Boylan on a goal by the only non-senior in the starting lineup–sophomore Anthony Minniti. Interestingly, it was Minniti’s goal that gave North its semifinal victory over East Moline United.
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Peter Christofilakos finished an outstanding season–54 goals–by getting two of them in Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin’s 2-1 Class A championship victory over Prairie Ridge.
Alan Sutton.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
The only letdown for Wheeling’s Jorge Torres was falling short of his goal to break the state-meet record time of 13 minutes 50.6 seconds, set by Lebanon’s Craig Virgin in 1972. But Torres found his way into the boys record book anyway, winning a state-record third consecutive championship. His time of 14 minutes for 3 miles was the fastest in 21 years.
Jorge Torres’ individual title, his twin brother Ed’s third-place finish and Frank Velasquez’s 37th-place finish helped Wheeling win its first state title in boys cross country with 126 points to York’s 131 and Schaumburg’s 151.
York’s Donald Sage finished second to Jorge Torres for the second straight year. Westmont, led by Tommy Morrison’s runner-up finish, was second to Eureka in Class A.
Marlen Garcia.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Sandwiched between St. Charles’ state championships in boys golf and girls swimming was the Saints’ Class AA state title in girls cross country. Led by three all-state runners, St. Charles topped Naperville North 83-111 for its second consecutive cross-country championship. St. Charles’ Tera Moody, a four-time all-state runner, was 12th, Carrie Phelps was 22nd and Christine Wumpach was 23rd. Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Ann Gaffigan beat Woodstock’s Katie Hartmann for the individual title.
In Class A, Catie LaBracke posted a runner-up finish for the second straight year and led Marian Central Catholic to its first championship. Marian had other all-state finishes by Tiffany LaFontaine, who was 18th, and Brooke Lada, who was 22nd.
Mindy Peterson of Taylor Ridge won the individual championship.
Marlen Garcia.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Sandburg won a tough match from previously unbeaten Naperville Central 15-10, 14-16, 15-12 for the title in the 25th girls state tournament.
All-State setter Stephanie Brandys fed the ball to front-liners Erika Lange and Katie Engel, and the Redhawks couldn’t handle either of them. Lange had 24 kills, Engle 16. Brandys had a state-finals record 45 assists.
Naperville Central, which finished 42-1, was led by All-Stater Elizabeth Gower. The Redhawks won the second game, but Sandburg ran off six straight points to win the deciding third game.
In Class A, Quincy Notre Dame upset St. Francis 3-15, 15-12, 15-3 in the semifinals and then handled Kansas 2-15, 15-7, 15-3 for the title.
Reid Hanley.
GIRLS SWIMMING
St. Charles’ swimmers earned a record 189 points while placing first in five different events and won their fifth consecutive girls state championship in November. Their score topped the 178 set by Hinsdale Central in 1979. New Trier was second with 141 points, Naperville North third with 109 1/2.
The Saints’ relay team of Kristen Brennan, Erin Thomas, Christine Anderson and Laura Lipskis won the 400 freestyle relay in a state-record time of 3 minutes 28.24 seconds.
Brennan was involved in four victories, swimming on the championship 200 and 400 freestyle relays and winning titles in the 100 and 200 freestyle. Teammate Lipskis took the 500 freestyle title in 4:59.03.
Two girls, Hinsdale Central’s Jessica Roberts and Neuqua Valley’s Jessica Wagner, both won their third straight individual titles, each besting their previous state records. Roberts won the 100 backstroke in 55.93, and Wagner set a record in the 100 breaststroke at 1:02.44.
Jerry Pazin.
FOOTBALL
This was a season of pure entertainment, thanks to the creative, explosive passing attack of undefeated Class 6A champion Wheaton Warrenville South. With help from his ex-quarterback and son Jeff Thorne along with revisions of the West Coast passing game and the run-and-shoot, Wheaton South coach John Thorne fashioned an unstoppable offense featuring All-State quarterback Jon Beutjer and a four-receiver set headed by All-Stater Jon Schweighardt and second-team All-Stater Eric McGoey.
Beutjer set a state record for touchdown passes in a season. Schweighardt set state records for TD catches in a season and a career. Beutjer and McGoey eradicated the IHSA’s postseason record book during a 42-14 title-game victory over an outstanding Barrington team.
At the other end of the spectrum was unbeaten 5A champion Mt. Carmel, with the most intimidating defense in the state. Led by All-State linebacker Jerry Schumacher, the Caravan stuck it to Providence 28-3 in the title game. The game of the year in the regular season was Mt. Carmel’s last-minute comeback victory over Providence when the pair of then-unbeaten teams drew a sellout crowd of 8,000 to Gately Stadium.
Undefeated Kaneland, ripping Nashville 21-7 in the final, won a repeat state title behind its talented trio of QB Eric Delaney, All-State receiver P.J. Fleck and running back Kyle Schrader.
Mt. Carmel opened the season ranked No. 1 with Wheaton South No. 2. It remained that way for 14 weeks. The final poll resulted in the first tie in the history of the Tribune’s football rankings.
Bob Sakamoto.
BOWLING
Lockport won the school’s second team bowling championship in February, and its first since 1994, by rolling past six teams in the state tournament’s final six games. Lockport had a total pinfall of 11,056, Freeport was second at 11,022 and Conant, leader through much of the tournament, took third at 11,020 in the closest finish since 1990.
Defending champion Liz Berg of Rockford East won the individual championship, the first Illinois bowler to win two. Bouncing back from two poor games, she rolled final-round scores of 228 and 251 to edge Sycamore’s Kari Keutzer, 2,484-2,477. Prospect’s Amy Ward, who led through most of the weekend, finished 20 pins back in third (2,464).
Jerry Pazin.
BOYS SWIMMING
St. Charles won its second state title in three years, outscoring runner-up Marmion Academy by eight points and third-place Oak Park by 12.
The Saints placed first in two events: the 200 medley relay (Jim Brennan, Dan Knudson, Steve North and Andrew Hine) and the 100 butterfly, won by North. Jacob Wasinger’s second place in that event put the Saints on top.
Andrew Schnell of Marmion was the top individual winner, taking first in both the 200 and 100 freestyle.
Pat Rooney.
GIRLS GYMNASTICS
Things did change this season, but in the end, one thing remained the same: Fremd won it all. The Vikings’ consecutive-meet winning streak ended at more than 50 when they finished second in the Lincoln-Way Invitational. But Fremd rebounded to win the state title for the sixth straight year and ninth time since 1985.
Barrington junior Stacey Magiera won the all-around (38.275 points) at the state meet. In the event finals, Magiera won the uneven bars (9.75) and balance beam (9.7) competitions.
Fremd sophomore Ashley Henning won the vault with a record-tying 9.875 score. Jacobs junior Jamie Grabowski won floor exercise (9.675).
Ken O’Brien.
WRESTLING (INDIVIDUAL)
St. Charles’ Jason Potter won the battle of unbeaten 171-pounders and claimed his second straight Class AA state championship in Assembly Hall in Champaign.
Potter overcame a 6-1 deficit to defeat Maine West’s Bill Kopecky.
Potter was one of five Class AA wrestlers to repeat. Romeoville’s Paul Collum (125 pounds), West Aurora’s Israel (125) and Nathan (140) Martinez and Machesney Park Harlem’s Cal Perry (112) each won a second state title.
Ryan Cumbee (41-0 at 135), Maine West’s Joe Weber (47-0 at 152), Proviso West’s David Hilliard (33-0 at 160) and Sandburg’s Brian Corcoran (27-0 at 185) finished with unbeaten records. Paul Augle of Providence won the 119-pound title.
Reid Hanley.
WRESTLING (TEAM)
Providence had been the top team in Illinois–and one of the top teams in the country–all season. However, due to injuries, illness and defections, the Celtics weren’t overwhelming favorites to win the Class AA dual-team championship at Augustana College in Rock Island.
Moline, wrestling before a home crowd, was poised to give Providence all it could handle in the finals. But the Celtics used six pins to pound the Maroons 50-15 and win their third consecutive dual title.
Providence, which edged Maine West 32-28 in the semifinals, got pins from state champion Paul Augle at 119 and Sean Chinski at 125 to quiet the crowd and start the rout. Sean Nuetzman (152), Ben Bowman (171), Nick Mancuso (189) and Matt Kucla added pins. The Celtics finished 27-1, their only loss coming to St. Edward of Lakewood, Ohio.
In Class A, Sandwich (25-0) dominated to win the team title. Even Providence’s victory in Class AA wasn’t as decisive as Sandwich’s 53-6 victory over Byron in the Class A finals.
Reid Hanley.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
A poet whose words inspire not only herself but others, Marshall’s Kourtney’s Walton wrote the perfect ending to her senior season.
The Rutgers-bound 6-footer scored a Class AA title-game record 30 points in a 68-56 victory over Galesburg to secure the girls state basketball championship for the Commandos, the seventh for legendary coach Dorothy Gaters.
En route to the title and Gaters’ 659th career victory, Marshall beat two-time defending state champion Loyola, Huntsville (Ala.) Butler, Montgomery County (Ky.), East St. Louis and two-time Class A champion Nokomis in compiling a 31-1 record. USA Today wound up ranking Marshall No. 2 in the nation.
Walton was not alone in leading the Commandos’ charge. Sophomore Cappie Pondexter, who has college recruiters drooling, scored 20 points in the title game, and three-point specialist Kimya Murray got 12. To reach the finals, the Commandos survived a gritty performance by Glenbard West and Illinois-bound guard Kristi Faulkner.
Molly McDowell of Nokomis hit a desperation three-pointer in the Class A semifinals to help inspire Nokomis to its second state title, and she then was voted Ms. Basketball.
Alan Sutton.
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BOYS BASKETBALL
Even when Isiah Thomas was dominating the high school basketball scene, St. Joseph couldn’t win a state championship. But an unassuming bunch headed by a guard who knew when to light it up went on a daring postseason run that climaxed with St. Joe’s 61-51 victory over Warren for the Class AA title. The Chargers upset East St. Louis 66-61 in the quarterfinals thanks to guard Brandon Watkins’ 20 points in the fourth quarter. He scored 12 in the fourth quarter of a 59-40 semifinal triumph over pre-tournament favorite King. Watkins had 19 points and unheralded Steve Morgan 14 in the victory over Warren.
This was the crowning glory for St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore, reaching the summit of his profession for the first time in 30 years. Thomas interrupted his color commentary during a nationally televised NBA game to congratulate Pingatore and his alma mater.
Lincoln’s 6-10 Brian Cook won the Mr. Basketball award over Mt. Vernon guard Kent Williams and King center Leon Smith. That trio headed the All-State team along with guards Sean Harrington of Elgin and King’s Imari Sawyer, a junior. While Cook and Harrington signed with Illinois and Williams with Southern Illinois, Smith entered the NBA draft and hopes to be selected in the first round.
Bob Sakamoto.
BADMINTON
One of them is a little worn, but after winning the state badminton singles championship in May, Stevenson’s Miwa Kuniwake owns a T-shirt collection that is unparalleled.
As she progressed through the singles bracket this year, Kuniwake wore for inspiration her commemorative championship shirt from the 1997 tournament–when she won the state doubles title.
And she picked up another garment in this year’s tournament, becoming the first player in history to win both the state singles and doubles titles. In the final, Kuniwake downed Colleen Treacy of Naperville Central 13-10, 11-7 to cap a 39-0 season.
In the doubles final, Hinsdale South’s team of Alison Orendach and April Niemann rallied twice in the first set to beat Willowbrook’s Erica Verapaele and Val Hornback 17-16, 15-11. That victory helped the Hornets claim a first-place tie in the team competition with Willowbrook. Both teams, both from the West Suburban Gold, scored 15 points in becoming the sport’s first co-champions since 1983.
Ross Siler.
BOYS GYMNASTICS
Mundelein staked its claim as team of the decade. The Mustangs repeated as state champions, winning its fourth state title in the 1990s and fifth since 1989.
Stevenson led the state meet after the third and fourth rotations. Mundelein pulled away on parallel bars and high bar, its best events, to set a state-meet record score of 164.85. Hinsdale Central (161.65) was second and Stevenson (161.15), in its state-meet debut in only the program’s third year, took third.
Stevenson junior Eric Block won the all-around competition with a 56.9 score, and also won the pommel horse.
Suchy won still rings and Tazioli won vault, while Wheaton North’s Matt Speedy won floor exercise and high bar. On parallel bars, Suchy, Tazioli and Hoffman Estates senior Chris Allin shared first place.
Ken O’Brien.
BOYS TENNIS
Glenbrook North ended New Trier’s three-year hold on the state title. Both of the Spartans’ singles players–Louis Jacobsohn and Jeremy Edelson–reached the quarterfinals, while the doubles team of David Wolff and Jon Kaspers placed fourth.
Palatine sophomore Tom Hanus completed an undefeated season with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Conner Murnighan of Loyola in the singles final. New Trier’s Joe Smeeton and Adam Rubenstein took the doubles title, defeating Karl Morgan and Jeff Maddrell of Barrington 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Pat Rooney.
GIRLS SOCCER
Let’s see: death, taxes. The other thing that can be counted on? St. Charles winning the state girls soccer title.
The Saints added their seventh of the 1990s with a 3-0 victory over Lincoln-Way.
St. Charles did see its 88-game unbeaten streak end, however, in a 2-1 loss to Fremd early in the season.
And Naperville Central held the No. 1 position in the rankings after beating St. Charles 2-1 in the title game of the Naperville Invitational. But St. Charles’ fourth consecutive state title was impressive enough.
All-Stater and Parade All-American Becky Myers set a career assist record for Joe Moreau’s 28-2-1 team. Sarah Lynch might have won the award–if there was one–for Comeback Player Within the Year. She started the season, missed almost a month, then came back to register a phenomenal 13 goals in eight playoff games. Lynch, first-team All-Stater Anne Poulin and second-team pick Patrice Feulner scored in the title game.
Alan Sutton.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Sandburg (37-4) scored a trio of firsts when the Eagles defeated Glenbrook South 15-11, 15-7 for the state crown. Brian Brennan and Doug Loizzo each had 10 kills and setter Chris Neylon added 36 assists as Sandburg became the first school to claim two boys state volleyball titles (the first came in 1996). Sandburg also completed a volleyball sweep, as the boys matched the Class AA championship won last fall by the girls team. Joann Holverson coached both, becoming the first Illinois coach to win both boys and girls titles. Naperville North, which spent much of the season atop the Tribune rankings, claimed third place with a 15-6, 17-15 triumph over Lincoln-Way to finish 37-4-1.
Jack McCarthy.
GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD
Morgan Park ran away with the Class AA state title with 108 points, more than East St. Louis and Proviso West, which tied for second, combined.
Seniors Crystal Riley and Takoya Thomas led the Mustangs of coach Derrick Calhoun. Thomas upset Homewood-Flossmoor’s Adia McKinnon in the 100 meters and ran anchor on the winning 800 relays. She also ran on the third-place 400 relay and was third in the 200. Riley was second in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and in the long jump and triple jump.
McKinnon anchored the winning 800-meter medley relay and won both the 200 and 400.
Proviso West’s Jasmin Jackson successfully defended her long-jump title. She also anchored the winning 400 relay.
St. Charles’ Tera Moody won her second straight 1,600-meter title. Morris’ Adriann Leschewski needed her last throw to win the shot put a second straight year. She also won the discus with 148-5 on her last attempt. Warren’s Kristen Pace repeated as high-jump champion.
Timothy Christian won the Class A title despite having no individual champions. Timothy got a second from freshman Tefesah Storey in the 400, plus seconds from its 800- and 1,600-meter relays. Kristen VanHeukeim and Amanda Whitmer ran on both relays.
Reid Hanley.
BOYS TRACK AND FIELD
The Class AA state title came down to the sturdy legs and stout heart of Jon Schweighardt. The Wheaton Warrenville South senior needed to put the Tigers in fourth place or better in the final event, the 1,600-meter relay, to give his team the title.
In typical Schweighardt fashion, he ran a 48-second anchor leg to put the Tigers first to the finish for the championship. Schweighardt, an All-State receiver for the state champion Wheaton South football team, also set a meet record in winning the 300 intermediate hurdles and won the 110-meter hurdles. Wheaton South took second in the 800 relay, Brett Bell was fourth in the 400 and Adam Green second in the 200.
Wheaton South finished with 51 points to 45 1/2 for second-place Thornwood and 38 for York.
Thornwood, which didn’t have a 1,600-meter relay team, was forced to watch the final event. The Thunderbirds won the 800-meter relay and were third in the 400 relay.
York’s Donald Sage was close to a match for Schweighardt, winning the 3,200 meters in 9:02.78 and then coming back to win the 1,600 in 4:13.02.
Reid Hanley.
SOFTBALL
No. 1 Lockport (34-3) fell just short of its goal, finishing third in the Class AA tournament after losing 2-1 to Chatham Glenwood in a record 20 innings. The longest game in state-tournament history took 4 hours 38 minutes, and Lockport All-State pitcher Shannon Lindgren set a Class AA record with 18 strikeouts.
SICA West rival Sandburg (28-11), ranked second in Chicagoland, finished fourth, bearing out the contention that the SICA West was the state’s strongest conference. As for other SICA West members, Joliet (27-5) lost to Lockport in the sectional finals, Lincoln-Way lost to Joliet in the regional finals and Stagg also advanced to sectionals.
Never before have five teams (Joliet was No. 3, Lincoln-Way No. 8 and Stagg No. 10) from a single conference would up in the final Top 10 rankings. And, the aces of all five teams return next spring. Four SICA West players–Lindgren and Katie Blackmore of Lockport, Jenny Tyrrell of Stagg and Heather Suca of Joliet–were chosen for the Tribune’s All-State Team.
This also will be remembered as the year of the freshman. The influx of first-year talent was unparalleled, led by Laura Severson of Lincoln-Way, Brittany McIntyre of Sandburg, Chrissy Lund of Barrington, Ellen Stoddard of Fremd and Jenna Hall of Minooka.
Bob Sakamoto.
BASEBALL
While St. Charles struggled to a 5-9 start and fought to reach and surpass .500, several perennial powers took turns at No. 1 in the Chicago-area high school baseball rankings: Sandburg, Barrington, Oak Park, Andrew, Providence.
But when June rolled in, the Saints were on a roll. Behind All-State pitcher Jim Caine, who finished 12-0, St. Charles won 26 of its final 28 games and beat New Trier 12-3 for the state title.
Junior Matt Lottich of New Trier stamped himself as perhaps next spring’s most heavily scouted player. He had a record 10 hits in 11 times at-bat in the three state-tournament games at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva.
In addition to Caine, named to the Tribune’s All-State team were Andrew catcher Nick Trzesniak, Thornton Fractional South first baseman Mike Holba, Larkin second baseman Jason Richardson, Clemente shortstop Victor Diaz, Schaumburg third baseman T.J. Nall, outfielders Jerron Hicks of Harlan, Chuck Peters of Sandburg and Pat Flynn of Providence and designated hitter Brandon Sing of Joliet.
Bill Jauss.