— Leyden coach Norm Goodman celebrated a milestone Friday night when his Eagles defeated visiting Hinsdale South 57-50 in Franklin Park. The victory was the 500th to go with 154 losses for Goodman, who is in his 26th year as head coach at Leyden. One of the victories came when he coached the North team to victory in the annual Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-Star series in Peoria two years ago. In postgame ceremonies in front of a packed gymnasium, Goodman was presented with a plaque shaped like a basketball and a cake. ”I`ve been fortunate to have had good players and good assistant coaches,” said Goodman, who will start working on his second 500 when Leyden meets Gordon Tech Tuesday in the Leyden Class AA regional.
— St. Francis de Sales may have someone to replace 6-foot-9-inch Eric Anderson, who still has another year to go. Wayne Williams, the 6-4 8th-grader from Schrum Junior High School in Calumet City, will be going to de Sales next year. Williams, who holds all the scoring records for his school, admitted his choice of schools after seeing the Pioneers defeat Leo in the Rosemont Horizon last week.
— After Leo was bounced by de Sales, Fitzgerald insisted the 59-41 loss had nothing to do with playing on the larger court in the Horizon. ”I really think we play better on a bigger court, but this was one night we simply did not execute,” he said.
— South Shore set a state playoff record for one-sided margin in its 137-36 romp over Washington in the first round of the Public League playoffs. The 101-point difference bettered the previous standard of 91, set by Du Sable in a 145-54 victory over Bowen in 1967.
— New Trier has lost five of its seven games this year by margins of four points or less, including a 57-55 setback to Maine South Friday that cost the Trevians the Central Suburban South title.
— Rich Central`s Keith Gill, who suffered a knee injury two weeks ago, is still questionable for the regional, but the Olympians also will be without sophomore center Jerome Van, who was cut from the team by coach Ron Brauer after he exchanged words and shoves with a teammate last week.
— Aurora Central Catholic (13-13), Luther South (19-9), Timothy Christian (23-5) and Walther Lutheran (18-9), four of the teams in the 10-school Private School League, won regional tournaments Friday. Three of them
–Aurora Central, Walther Lutheran and Timothy Christian–are in the Lemont sectional, along with top-ranked Providence-St. Mel.
— The saga of Saunemin continues. The Eagles (25-1), in Saunemin`s last year as a high school, defeated Colfax Octavia 52-48 in the final of the Saybrook-Arrowsmith regional. It`s the best record ever posted by the school, and the regional title is both its first and last.
— Naperville Central`s 61-50 victory over Naperville North snapped North`s 11-game winning streak and set the stage for a rematch Wednesday in the Naperville Central regional. North won the first game 56-53.
— Argo wound up the only team in the SICA North to post a winning record this season. The Argonauts were 17-6. Oak Lawn and Shepard were next best at 11-13.
— Leo coach Jack Fitzgerald is a believer in the ”bird-in-hand”
theory. Playing 13 games in the Catholic League is as important to him as victories in the state tournament. He points out that his Lions tied Mt. Carmel for the league crown two years ago when the Caravan went on to win the state title.
GIRLS` BASKETBALL
— Immaculate Heart of Mary senior Joanne Murphy was having a miserable tournament before the Tigers qualified for the state quarterfinals. So miserable, in fact, that coach Dave Power admitted he had lost confidence in her. ”We had a talk the other day,” said Power. ”She was having a horrible tournament before Champaign. But she felt if she made mistakes she was getting a quick hook. `You`re right,` I said, `we`re going to stop it. You`re a senior. If you make some mistakes, I`ll live with it.` Since then, she`s gotten a few points, played good defense and gotten some rebounds.” Added Murphy: ”When Mr. Power and I had a talk about it, I figured I`d put all that behind me and try to do a good job of it in Champaign.”
— Tournament Cinderella Massac County had played Marshall before they met in Friday`s Class AA semifinals. That is, Massac had played Marshall County, Ky., which has been ranked among that state`s top 10 teams all season. Two of the Patriots` three losses during the regular season had come at the hands of the Kentucky school. The third was administered by Livingston Central, Ky. Massac County, located in Metropolis in far southern Illinois, played six games against Kentucky opponents, plus a pair against schools from Missouri. Since Massac has been bumped into Class AA, it`s been having trouble getting games against Class A Illinois schools. ”We have to cross the river to get the big schools, but this is the best schedule that we`ve played since Massac County was founded six years ago,” said coach Jim Prevallet. ”It helped us up here. Even though we`ve got three losses, it might not have been the same result if we hadn`t played that schedule.”
— By the way, Metropolis, where Massac County is located, is 22 miles closer to Atlanta than it is to Chicago.
— Ford Central has lost only two games in the last two seasons. Both have come in the Class A state tournament quarterfinals. The Lady Cougars, under second-year coach Bob Campbell, are 53-2 during that span. ”The girls are disappointed, but they`ve done a tremendous job over the last two years. The seniors and juniors have a lot to be proud of,” Campbell said. Starters Kristy Jackson and Amy Houtzel and top reserve Tara Brooks are juniors.
— Shiloh, which draws its 115 students from the communities of Hume, Metcalf, Brocton and Redmon, had never won a regional before this season. But the Lady Raiders might get used to playing in Champaign. Six of the 12 players on coach Bobbi Mattingly`s roster are freshmen, including second-leading scorer Courtney Porter. The Raiders also have three sophomores on the team, including starters Jill Barrett and Tammy Porter. The Raiders may have to do it, however, without Mattingly. She`s been cut to one-half time by the school district for the 1987-88 school year, and she`s none too happy about it. ”I work daily from 8 a.m. until almost 10 p.m., plus almost every Saturday,”
said Mattingly, who also coaches junior high basketball and is the school`s assistant music director. ”I make no bones about it, I won`t stay there. It`s impossible to keep everything the way I want it at half-time. I`ll have to go someplace where they`ll give me the opportunity to put the time in. I`m willing to work.” Mattingly says her players are aware of her plight. ”I know they have feelings, I can see it in their eyes, but I will not let them get emotionally involved in this. This has not made them any better or worse.”
— McLeansboro reserve Holly Sloan is the daughter of former Bulls` coach Jerry Sloan. The junior does not share one characteristic of her famous father, however. She stands only 5-3.
— Boy, was the Illinois High School Association glad to see Massac County, Geneseo and IHM advance to the tournament`s second and final day. Not that there are any preferences for who wins on the court, but those three schools were the winners in quarterfinal ticket sales. Massac County brought in 551 fans, Geneseo 550 and the Tigers 502.
— Don`t look for Seneca senior ”Frito” Beck`s real first name. You won`t find it. Seems the Irish reserve had a particular fondness for corn chips as a child. By the way, don`t tell anybody, but her real name is Juanita.
— You probably want to know just what was the silliest sight at the 1987 girls` tournament. How about the two middle-aged Seneca fans who loved their Irish, complete with the leprechaun outfits. Or perhaps it was the Hancock Central Bluegirl fan who came to town with his beard painted blue. Take your pick.
SWIMMING
— The 56th annual state meet earned seven individuals and three relay teams automatic All-American status with their times. Loyola sophomore Erik Maurer (1:39.89 in the 200 freestyle and 45:85 in the 100 freestyle), Schaumburg junior Brock Harr (1:53.47 in the 200 individual medley), Hinsdale South junior Brian Kurza (a state-record 20:57 in the 50 freestyle and 45:89 in the 100 freestyle), Hinsdale Central sophomore Brian Gunn (4:29.94 in the 500 freestyle) and Hinsdale Central senior Dave Burgess (4:31.48 in the 400 freestyle) bettered All-American standards. Hinsdale Central (3:07.30), Glenbrook North (3:10.32) and St. Charles (3:10.36) qualified in the 400 freestyle relay.
— Homewood-Flossmoor`s state backstroke champion Eric Wilhelm was pulling for Hinsdale Central to win the team title. ”I swam with Keith Culshaw (who was second in the backstroke) in Hinsdale every day this summer,” said the Viking senior. ”I was worried about him in the finals. I was glad to see them win. I thought I had worked the hardest and that I would win. I knew it would come down between us.”
— Kenwood`s Barry Riley was the only Public League swimmer to place. The senior was fourth in the 100 breaststroke. ”I thought I had the ability to win,” he said. ”I was prepared, but you have to put your body and your mind together at the right time. Even so, I`m proud to have placed. I was 13th the last two years in qualifying, so I didn`t get to swim on Saturday. That kind of motivated me to get into the top six. I wasn`t good in football or basketball, but when I got into the water, it was pretty obvious I was going to be a swimmer.”
— Hinsdale Central swimmers wore T-shirts that said, ”Times are a changin.` ” With apologies to Bob Dylan, the times did change the Red Devils` way, and their 15th state championship banner is on order. . . . Hinsdale coach Tom Schweer was more confident than he likes to admit: He brought a change of clothes to change into after the traditional ”dunk the coach”.
— St. Charles coach Dave Bart didn`t get dunked in the pool as the Saints` state championship string stopped at five thanks to Hinsdale Central. Bart was philosophical about the end of the streak. ”It`s just one year,” he said. ”Last year we won. Everyone knew they (Hinsdale Central) were loaded. We have a good junior group, the sophomores were super and we have a good freshman bunch. We`ll start working towards next year tomorrow. The race starts all over then.”
— Kurza won`t have any trouble getting motivated next year if Maurer swims in one of his events. The two standouts met for the first time Saturday, and the results were exciting, with Maurer winning the 100 freestyle in 45:85, four one-hundreths of a second faster than Kurza. ”The first thing I did when I hit the water was take a breath,” said Kurza. ”That was dumb. That wasn`t the reason I lost the race. He`s just quicker. I`ll have to swim against him next year, too. I`ll come back. This just gives me more to work for next year.”
WRESTLING
— Class AA state champion Marist is ranked No. 3 in the latest Amateur Wrestling News Prep 25 national poll. The Redskins trail only No. 1 St. Edward of Lakewood, Ohio, and Midwest City, Okla. ”It`s a great lift for this program,” said Marist coach Mark Gervais. ”I`ve said this is one of the best teams ever assembled. They`ve got a lot of character.” Providence, which would have won the individual tournament if a score had been kept, was 15th in the Prep 25. Gervais is trying to set up a meet with St. Edward next year. The Ohio school is 325 miles from Chicago, 25 over the Illinois High School Association traveling limit, so a meet involving St. Edward, Marist and Delta High School of Muncie, Ind., is in the works, with a team from Michigan to be included.
