Naperville North is gunning for its fifth straight Du Page Valley Conference championship and its sixth in the league`s 10-year history. The Huskies are being pressed by Naperville Central and Wheaton Central. With eight games left in the league season, Naperville North and Central are tied for the lead at 10-3. Wheaton Central is one game back. . . . Crystal Lake Central beat Crystal Lake South twice last week to take a two-game lead over the Gators in the Fox Valley Conference. The losses put an end to South`s eight-game winning streak. . . . A recurring back injury has apparently ended Streamwood pitcher Ed Eichele`s season. Eichele, who injured his back when he was struck by an automobile last fall, had posted a 2-1 record and back-to-back shutouts before pain forced him off the mound and into a doctor`s office where doctors determined he had a herniated disc. . . . Oak Park shortstop Dave O`Connell will attend Harvard. O`Connell and Huskie teammate Dave Thies were among those who had raised the money to travel to Europe with Team Chicago this summer. Because of the international political climate, that trip is in limbo. . . . Andrew (16-7) is enjoying one of its best seasons. The Thunderbolts are led by junior shortstop Rick O`Neill, who is hitting .417 with 32 RBIs, and 1985 all-conference outfielder George Gilbert (.347). . . . UMPS needs umps. Umpires Metropolitan Professional Services, which supplies umpires for high school, college, semipro and park district games, is always looking for anyone interested in giving umpiring a try. Call Chuck Willeford at 963-0251 or Kurt Pingel at 934-9099 for more details. . . . Oak Forest begins defense of its Class AA state championship when regional tournaments begin May 20. State finals are scheduled June 5-6 at Lanphier Park in Springfield. Class A regionals open May 13. The small schools decide their state champion June 2-3 at Lanphier Park. . . . Several Chicago-area coaches have signed on as instructors for the Midwest Sports Baseball School in Donaldson, Ind., this summer. The school offers one- and two-week camp sessions for boys 8-20 beginning June 8. For more information, contact Thomas Haberkorn, P.O. Box 699, Hinsdale, Ill. 60522 or call 655-1711.
Basketball
Terry Nettles is the winner of the Glenn Whittenberg Memorial Scholarship Award at Proviso East. The award is presented to the college-bound member of the school`s basketball team who best exemplifies the values of the late Proviso East coach. Nettles, a 6-foot-1-inch guard, averaged 18 points a game for the 15-12 Pirates and was named all-West Suburban Conference. He is considering Northern Illinois, North Park, Augustana, Lewis and St. Xavier. Previous winners of the award are Roman Swilley, now at Olney Junior College, and Carl Davis, now at North Park. Whittenberg died in 1983.
Football
Three players from the Catholic League are on Scholastic Coach Magazine`s list of top prep football players for this fall. The list is headed by offensive tackle Joe Allen of St. Rita, defensive tackle Charles Collins of Mendel and quarterback Scott Ritter of St. Laurence. Others on the list are quarterback Kent Graham of Wheaton North and Kerwin Price of East St. Louis.
Softball
Evergreen Park coach Marilyn Wax got her 200th and 201st career victories Tuesday in a 13-2, 16-5 double-header sweep of Washington. Wax started the program 16 years ago and has only 84 losses. Evergreen Park joined the Northeast Conference in 1984 and the Mustangs won the title each of the last two years.
Track and field
Girls` track added the 3,200-meter relay to the state meet this year and subbed the 300-meter low hurdles for the 200 lows. Next year, the triple jump will be added. There is a move to make the 300-meter low hurdles race an intermediate hurdles race, using 33-inch barriers instead of the present 30-inch fences. . . . Glenbard West`s Jim Cramton, who hopes to run a 46.5 in the 400 by the state finals, bettered his state-best time with a 46.65 at the Conant Invitational. . . . York`s Bob Berger was named the outstanding performer at the Hinsdale Central Relays. Berger put together another strong double with a 1:55.07 in the 800 and 4:18.67 in the 1,600. Berger would like to see his time in the 800 drop, but he said, ”I don`t know why, but I`m tight in the last 200 meters. I ran a 60-second last quarter, so something isn`t right. I guess I need speed work. That`s the only thing I can think of.” Berger isn`t sure which events he`ll run in the state meet, and neither is coach Joe Newton. Newton`s disposition took a turn for the worse when hurdler Dave Rower suffered a hamstring injury that will probably sideline him for the rest of the season, and half-miler Zack Boudreau is showing the effects of a virus. ”I came over here feeling good about where our guys were going to run in the state meet,” said Newton, whose team finished second in the Class AA state meet last year. ”Ever since I got to the meet, things have been going right down the sewer. Berger looks like our only hope. He`s a winner.” . . . Naperville North high jumper Bruce Reynolds, who cleared 6-9 at the Du Page County championships Friday, is also a starting safety on the Huskie football team. He injured his back last fall and hurt it again during the indooor track season. He has considered not returning to football in the fall. ”I have thought about it, especially since I hurt my back in football,” he said. ”I`ll wait until before football and if my back feels good, I`ll play. I really love football and it would be hard to quit.”
. . . Pete Thiel, the oldest of Naperville North`s Thiel brothers, will attend Wabash College in the fall and compete in track and soccer. He has never played high school soccer, but likes the game enough to give up cross country. ”I`m pretty quick and have good soccer instincts,” said Thiel. ”I just enjoy soccer and want to do it. I don`t want to become one of those running robots.” . . . Oak Lawn`s Kim Bodey continues to impress in the girls` weight events. At the SICA North meet, Bodey won the shot put in 43-7 and the discus at 131-3. Argo`s Kim Pticek led the Argonauts to the team title with victories in the long jump (16-1 1/2), 400 meters (58.0) and 200 meters (27.2). Oak Lawn`s Scott Cappos, the other half of the Spartan weight duo, won the shot put at the Hinsdale Central Relays at 55-8 3/4 and the discus at 163-6. Cappos, who has the best Class AA shot put in the state at 57-9 1/2, uses the discus spin in the shot and is having problems. ”I don`t know how to explain it, but I can feel I`m doing something wrong,” said Cappos, a junior. Cappos has been consistent, but is looking for a big throw to put him near 60 feet. . . . Leyden distance standout Mitch McCormick has signed with Northwestern. McCormick, whose 4:20.0 in the 1,600 is one of the state`s best, is ready for the state series. ”I really haven`t been pushed, I`m just waiting,” he said. ”I think I`ll get it in the sectional with Bob Berger and Tim Clancy (Oak Park).” . . . Oak Park junior Alvin Campbell had a big day at the Hinsdale Central Relays. He set personal bests in the long jump (23-0), high jump (6-8) and 110 high hurdles (14.49). He also won the triple jump at 48- 1/2. Campbell, who is a black belt in karate, missed last week`s Hilltopper Invitational to participate in a karate demonstration in Arkansas given by his father, who is a karate instructor. ”It was hard to get back in the groove,” Campbell said. ”I only had one weekend off, but my timing was all off. I had a good day, but I didn`t feel good. I came in with my legs sore.”
Gymnastics
Two of Glenbard East coach Steve Kafka`s goals before the season were to be conference champs and to be in the state finals as a team again. Mission No. 1 was accomplished Friday night as the host Rams scored a season-high 147.25 to win the Du Page Valley Conference meet. Wheaton North was second at 122.6. Glenbard East again was led by senior Dave Raczynski, who captured the all-around title with an 8.23 average. Raczynski also finished first in floor exercice (8.75) and horizontal bar (9.05). Naperville North`s Rich Frye won the pommel horse title (8.4), and Wheaton North`s Marty Kimball was first in vaulting (8.95). Other gold-medal winners included Glenbard North`s Gilbert Gido on parallel bars (7.9) and Glenbard North`s Paul Castaldo on still rings (8.1). ”We had an excellent meet and scored a lot of points,” Kafka said.
”But if we would have hit parallel bars, we`d have gone 150. There were a few falls and a couple of extra swings that hurt our score. It was a surprise, since we usually do much better in the event. I guess we just weren`t concentrating.” . . . The outcome of Saturday night`s Mid-Suburban League meet came down to Conant senior Chuck Suda`s vault. Trailing Wheeling by three-tenths, Suda`s first-place effort of 9.2 gave the Cougars a 148.2-147.9 victory. ”I knew we were close,” Suda said, ”but not that close. I was just thinking about staying on my feet. The adrenalin was pumping for all of us.” Wheeling coach Dave Watters, whose team scored a season high, had a sinking feeling. ”After pommel horse, I thought we had them,” he said. ”Then, after high bar I thought we had them again. But it`s always close between us. We`re capable of nights like this. I hope it continues through the state series.”
. . . Conant coach Ed Raymond was voted MSL Coach of the Year. Rolling Meadows` Al Gallate was named Assistant Coach of the Year.
