Before her senior soccer season, Lemont’s Suzie Knutte decided to try something completely different.
Knutte, a senior forward who earned all-state honors last season, spent the winter wrestling for Lemont. She qualified for state, then headed into soccer feeling ready to take on any challenge.
“I think the wrestling was definitely really helpful with agility and getting me in really good shape with all the conditioning,” Knutte said. “It also helps with your movement and aggression and stuff like that.
“Since I wasn’t doing club soccer over the winter, I was worried I wouldn’t be in shape, but wrestling really helped. I was a bit worried that my touch wouldn’t be there with soccer, but that hasn’t been an issue so far that I’ve noticed.”
With 13 goals and four assists this season for Lemont (8-4-1), Knutte certainly isn’t showing any rust.
“I thought wrestling was great for her,” Lemont coach Rick Prangen said. “I know she loved doing it. It played into just that competitive nature about her and that tough-nosed nature.
“I think it helped her with a bit more of the digging deep sometimes on the soccer field and with the one-vs.-one mentality.”
Knutte developed an interest in powerlifting a couple years ago and Lemont assistant coach Robert Hammerschmidt encouraged her to try wrestling.
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“I was like, ‘It sounds interesting — I guess I’ll try it,'” Knutte said. “I went to an open mat day and I really liked it.”
Knutte found immediate success in her new sport, finishing with a 27-5 record. She went 1-2 at the state meet in Bloomington.
As girls wrestling continues to grow, Knutte felt like she was a part of a special community.
“Since it’s so new and there are so many new girls trying it out, when you go to tournaments, girls from different schools are cheering you on,” Knutte said. “One tournament, there was a delay and we were sitting on the mats playing games together.
“Everyone is just so nice.”
Knutte, who finished 27 goals and 16 assists last season, is wrapping up a family tradition of Lemont soccer players, following her older sisters, Katie and Maggie.
With time winding down on her high school career, she is determined to make the most of what’s left as Lemont closes in on a South Suburban Blue title and hopes to make a big playoff run.
“I don’t think it’s really hit me yet that it’s almost over,” Knutte said. “It feels so short, especially with missing one year because of COVID. I’m the last of my sisters and this is it for us, so I really want to do well.”
Andrew’s anchor: Senior midfielder Emily Tobin had a hat trick April 20 in Andrew’s 6-0 win over Stagg.
Tobin, an IUPUI recruit, is up to 13 goals and eight assists for the Thunderbolts (9-6) after playing defender last spring in her first high school season.
“Tobin can play so many roles for us,” Andrew coach Loren Zolk said. “We used her on defense when we needed to and now we’re seeing how dangerous she can be offensively. She is a very versatile player.”
Scoring Smycz: After playing a defensive role as a freshman for Reavis, Olivia Smycz led the Rams in scoring last season with eight goals.
Now a junior midfielder, Smycz has already equaled her goal total from last spring.
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“She is our creator and goal scorer,” Reavis coach Konrad Dziedzic said of Smycz. “She has a major impact on our offense. She’s great on set pieces and helps us generate a lot of our goal-scoring opportunities.”
Reavis (5-8-1, 3-3-1), which hoping to win its second straight South Suburban Red title, is locked in a tight battle with Evergreen Park (3-3-1) and Argo (2-3-1).
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.