BOYS BASKETBALL
Hampshire, Elgin seek toughness for stretch run
Toughness can go a long way on a basketball court, whether it’s physical or the mental variety.
Hampshire has hit hard times and Elgin has had difficulties with a young team all season. Both coaches want to see a more toughness to make turnarounds.
The Whip-Purs (13-6, 3-3) host Grayslake Central on Tuesday, and still have a chance to battle for the Fox Valley Fox title even after four straight losses, including conference defeats at the hands of Crystal Lake Central, Prairie Ridge and Grayslake North.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Brianna Markusic sets scoring mark for Oak Lawn
Brianna Markusic’s name will be on the wall.
She alone has the record.
But the Oak Lawn senior will always consider being the school’s new all-time leading scorer more than a singular achievement.
“Mainly it’s the team,” she said. “They’re the ones who give me the assists and get me open by boxing out. So it’s just like a team effort.”
-Tony Baranek
Lincoln-Way West’s Bax an ‘all-around pest’
If she were 6-foot-1, Lincoln-Way West’s Deven Bax would probably be called an “intimidator.”
At 5-4, she’s perfectly content with being every opponent’s main “pest.”
“Yeah, I get called that a lot,” the senior guard said, laughing. “I guess it’s my defense. I pretty much annoy girls. I get in their face a lot.”
To West coach Ryan White, she’s the main reason that at 20-1, the Warriors have the best record in the Southland.
-Tony Baranek
WRESTLING
Jacobs digs deep to win Fox Valley tourney
Jacobs didn’t have any individual champions at this year’s Fox Valley Conference meet, but the Golden Eagles exited the gym in McHenry with heads held high.
Because they also held the team champion trophy.
“This is our first time as a high school to win the conference tournament,” Jacobs coach Gary Conrad said. “We have a versatile room and a lot of solid guys that wrestle hard and believe in themselves.”
Jacobs sent four wrestlers to the title mat, five more to the third-place mat, and was the only program present to have all 14 wrestlers place in the top six of their weight classes.
-Gary Larsen
Vernon Hills’ Dylan Geick surprises at North Suburban tournament
The North Suburban Conference wrestling meet featured many familiar faces. But one of Saturday’s title bouts included a wrestler who is not yet a household name.
When 152-pound Vernon Hills sophomore Dylan Geick took the mat for Saturday’s championship match with Antioch sophomore Patrick Schoenfelder, it marked just the eighth bout of Geick’s high school career. By contrast, the match was Schoenfelder’s 40th of the season.
“People are like, ‘Who is this kid? Where has he come from?’ ” Cougars coach Jerry Miceli said. “It’s fun to see.”
-Jon Kerr
