Badminton
As expected, Erin Hois of Downers Grove South won her second singles title in three years. What was unexpected was her performance in the final, when she defeated Prospect’s Kate Geaman 11-0, 11-0 to become the first player to win a title match without surrendering a single point.
Andrew, led by seniors Jennie Ripoli, Angie Presbitero and Becky Staneart, won its third team title for coach Terry Ter Haar. Ripoli and Presbitero reached the final eight in singles and finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Staneart, with doubles partner Meredith Siler, placed second, dropping the doubles title match to Downers Grove North’s Sara Harris and Abby Kalal 15-5, 15-7. The Downers North duo finished the season 37-0.
Pat Rooney.
Boys gymnastics
Mundelein continued its dynasty, winning its third straight state championship and sixth overall since 1989. The Mustangs had hoped to break the modern state-meet scoring record (164.85) they set in 1999, but they fell just short with a 164.8.
Mundelein became the third team in boys gymnastics history to win at least three consecutive state titles and the third team, boys or girls, to win six championships.
Mustangs junior Matt Michalek finished second in the all-around competition and won parallel bars during the event finals. Glenbard South junior Kenny Gesiakowski emerged as a surprise all-around winner; he also won the high bars.
Meanwhile, Adam Rahmel of Naperville North won floor exercise, Adam Furman of Crystal Lake South won pommel horse, Chris Allin of Hoffman Estates took rings and Naperville North’s Jon Joyce vault.
Ken O’Brien.
Girls track
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Homewood-Flossmoor’s Adia McKinnon was clear with her intentions in the preseason. She wanted to set a state record in the 400-meter dash. With a crowd of 7,000 anticipating a record run in the state finals, the UCLA-bound McKinnon won in 52.91 seconds, breaking the previous record of 53.25 set in 1988 by Carmelita Williams of East St. Louis Lincoln. McKinnon also won the 100 and the 200 and was a member of the victorious sprint medley team.
Morgan Park repeated as Class AA champion with 72 points to 48 1/2 for Thornwood and 47 for Homewood-Flossmoor. The Mustangs, with just one senior in the lineup, won two events. Tiffany Kennedy, Ariel Hughes, Jasmine Williams and Damaris Parchment won the 4×100. Shanna Pickett joined Kennedy, Hughes and Parchment to win the 4×200. Morgan Park has won five of the last seven state Class AA titles.
Behind Sarah Schmidt’s triple-jump championship, St. Joseph-Ogden won the Class A crown with 49 points to Erie’s 48 1/2.
Marlen Garcia.
Boys tennis
Sophomore Adam Rubenstein led New Trier to its fourth team title in five seasons. He became the first player in 10 years to win consecutive state doubles titles as he and Mack Reynolds defeated Ottawa’s Tom and Ted Nagel 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Sophomore Paul Rose placed fourth in singles for New Trier.
In singles, Geneva’s Josh Braley defeated defending champion Tom Hanus of Palatine, snapping the junior’s 71-match winning streak and denying his bid to become the first repeat champion in 14 years. Braley finished the year with a 35-2 record.
Pat Rooney.
Boys track
Class AA: York had not won a state track title since 1939, and coach Joe Newton hadn’t won one in 41 years at the school. Donald Sage ended those streaks at Eastern Illinois’ O’Brien Stadium.
Sage, a senior, became the first Class AA runner to win the 1,600- and 3,200-meter titles back-to-back as York outscored Lemont standout Nick Bromberek 70-38 for the title. York junior Tim Hobbs won the 800 in 1:52.18, and the 4×800 relay of John Janulis, Adam Roche, Pete Cioni and Pete Stasiulis won in 7:48.07.
Stanford-bound Sage set a Class AA record in the 3,200 meters with 8:42.89 and just missed the Class AA and IHSA records in the 1,600 at 4:07.58. He ran a leg on the 4×400 relay that qualified for the finals.
York’s title marked the first time a distance-oriented team had won the state title and the first time a state cross-country champion had won in track. Newton, who retired from coaching track after the meet, now has a track title to go with his 20 state cross-country titles.
York junior Terre Mastrino was ninth in the 100, second in the 400, third in the 200 and anchored the sixth place 4×400 relay team.
Bromberek had a nearly perfect meet in scoring all of Lemont’s points. He was second in the 100 (in a photo finish) but won the long jump (23-8 1/2), the 400 (47.50) and the 200 (21.54).
Romeoville, led by Cedric Williams, won the 4×100 and 4×200 relays and took third. The 4×100 team of Andre Westmoreland, Phil Wells, Reggie Gray and Williams set a state record of 41.47.
Class A: Leo sophomore Ryan Shields was untouchable in the sprints, but the Lions couldn’t overtake St. Joseph-Ogden for the team title. St. Joseph-Ogden came away with a 54-53 victory. Shields won the 100 in 11.06 seconds and came back to win the 400 in 48.25 and the 200 in 21.82.
Reid Hanley.
Girls soccer
Patrice Feulner and three-time Tribune All-Stater Anne Poulin led St. Charles to a 2-1 victory over Lincoln-Way for the Saints’ fifth consecutive girls soccer title. Despite playing with a 102-degree fever, Feulner scored the winning goal with less than 3 minutes to play.
On the road to that title, St. Charles survived its worst start in girls soccer. The Saints opened the season by losing to Glenbard West and Lincoln-Way and were 3-2-1 when coach Joe Moreau moved Poulin–an All-State midfielder who had scored 28 goals in 1999–to sweeper. Not only did the Saints compile a 24-0-1 mark the rest of the way, they allowed only four goals in those 25 games, with Poulin controlling the defense.
She and Feulner dominated the state finals at Naperville Central. Of the team’s eight goals, Poulin scored four and Feulner three. Both will attend Arizona State.
This is the last title for the school as simply “St. Charles.” Next season St. Charles North will begin junior varsity competition, so the current campus will be renamed St. Charles East.
Quincy Notre Dame, which finished fourth, was led by one of the state’s all-time leading scorers. Beth Liesen finished with 59 goals for the season, 169 for her career. Both of those marks gained ties for second in the IHSA record book. Cary-Grove’s Laura Demke is the leader in both categories–76 goals for one season, 205 for her career.
Alan Sutton.
Boys volleyball
Sandburg became the only team to win back-to-back state championships as it beat Stevenson 15-2, 17-15. Bob St. Leger, Tribune All-State first-team selection, had 15 kills while setter Jake Michalowski had 33 assists.
The Eagles closed at 41-1 overall–he best team record since Glenbrook North went 41-0 in 1993–and are 78-5 over two championship seasons. They won 19 straight after a two-game tournament loss to Downers Grove North in late April. For Sandburg coach Joann Holverson, it was her third volleyball championship in two seasons. Her girls also won the 1998 Class AA title.
Jack McCarthy.
Baseball
All season long, Providence, led by left-hander Carmen Pignatiello, was ranked No. 1 in the state. But Catholic League rival De La Salle knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs in the sectional final.
Then New Trier, last year’s state runner-up and the No. 2-ranked team most of the season, won the state title, beating Joliet Catholic 8-6 in the championship game.
Coach Mike Napoleon’s team won the close ones during its stretch run. Among their eight playoff victories, the Trevians beat Notre Dame 8-7, Loyola 2-1, Oak Park 2-1, Stevenson 2-0 in 10 innings, Edwardsville 4-3 and, finally, Joliet Catholic.
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A 1-2-3 pitching punch of Eric Willson (12-0), Steve Floersch (10-1) and Peter Elmer (8-0) sparked New Trier to a 35-7 record and the first baseball, football or basketball state title in the school’s 100-year history.
New Trier first baseman Matt Lottich, a second-team All-Stater in basketball and winner of All-State special mention in football, was named state tournament MVP. He had three RBIs in the final and five hits in eight official at-bats over the three games. In 1999, he went 10 for 11 in the tourney, giving him a two-year record of 15 for 19 (.789).
Lane Tech won the Public League title, beating Harlan 3-2 in the final at Comiskey Park, but the Indians were eliminated by Moline in the state quarterfinals.
Bill Jauss.
Softball
Four years ago, Joliet coach Dale O’Connell made a commitment to the future by starting five freshman. His foresight paid off as Joliet (35-2) cruised to the Class AA title with a 4-0 victory over Moline. In the three-game state tournament, the Steelmen set a record with 32 hits and outscored Normal West, Fremd and Moline 20-2. All-State pitcher Mary Jaszczak finished with a 28-1 record, a 0.25 earned-run average and 24 shutouts, two shy of the state mark. Seven Joliet players were named to the all-tournament team, including All-Stater Katie O’Connell and second-team All-Staters Kristina Saxon and Carissa Schwartz.
Downers Grove South’s Amy Krahula put together an amazing string of 1121/3 scoreless innings that included 15 straight shutouts. It ended when Downers South (36-3) fell 3-1 to Joliet in the sectional finals.
In Class A, Casey-Westfield won an unprecedented seventh title with a 6-1 victory over Rock Island Alleman. Chicago-area representative Kaneland lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Pinckneyville when a controversial non-call by the plate umpire cost the Lady Knights the potential tying run.
All-State pitcher and DePaul recruit Sarah Martz rewrote the record books with 492 strikeouts in 225 innings during her 33-1 season that saw her post a 0.16 ERA. “K-Martz” also set the career strikeout record with 1,391, and she batted .515 with 42 stolen bases. Academically, she ranked No. 1 in her class.
Bob Sakamoto.