The closing of all-girls Immaculate Heart of Mary will mean a slight shift in the landscape of girls high school athletics in the next two years.
IHM, which has been losing enrollment steadily, announced Jan. 28 that it would close at the end of this school year. Two weeks later, the Archdiocese of Chicago gave permission to IHM’s sister school, St. Joseph, to begin admitting female students this fall and end 44 years as an all-boys parochial school.
Instead of having its girls compete in the East Suburban Catholic for the 2005-06 school year, St. Joseph decided to simply pick up IHM’s Girls Catholic Athletic Conference schedule.
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“We will continue to stay in the GCAC for one year,” St. Joseph athletic director Brandon Aldridge said, “then go to the East Suburban Catholic.”
Aldridge said that 90 girls already have registered for the upcoming school year. “Realistically,” Aldridge said, “I think we’ll get 300 girls.”
There’s also been talk that with IHM leaving, some schools are showing an interest in joining the GCAC. But GCAC President Darlene Graf of Queen of Peace said, “It’s been brought up a couple of times, but I’ve never gotten a call.”
— Alan Sutton
Hurting
Hales Franciscan’s best outside shooter, senior guard Mike Robinson, has a Friday appointment with a sports doctor to evaluate the fractured bone in his right (shooting) hand. Robinson was injured last week during practice.
“He’s out for now, but we’re hoping he’ll be back at some point during the playoffs,” Hales coach Gary London said.
— Bob Sakamoto
In the swim of things
Chicagoland’s top swimmers will try to punch their tickets to the state meet in sectional action Saturday.
Top bets to qualify for the maximum of two individual events include Palatine’s Kyle Sorenson, Evanston’s Jacob Johnson and Doug Lennox, Wheaton South’s Will Schaffer, St. Charles East’s Curtis Dauw, Loyola’s Bobby Navarre, New Trier’s Zach Siegel, Deerfield’s Bernie Soya and Waubonsie Valley’s Andy Long and Steve Lalka. The state meet is Feb. 25-26 at New Trier.
— Dave Surico