Boys golfers just miss qualifying for sectionals, state

By Paul Harris-Hertel

“Disappointing” was how Evanston boys golf coach John Willson described the near misses of his team and his individual players at moving on from last week’s regional and sectional tournaments. The team missed advancing out of regionals by one stroke, the same margin by which Wonjae Sung missed heading back downstate after shooting an 81 at sectionals.

In the regional, on Thursday, October 5th, the Wildkits shot a 307 as a team, good enough for fifth place in a tournament where the top four teams advanced. What especially hurt, said Willson, was that the Kits were in first place after nine holes.

After Evanston struggled a bit on the back nine, “it looked like we were going to be fourth,” Willson said, “but Loyola [surged ahead of us] and into a three-way tie for first and New Trier finished fourth.

“It’s disappointing to come that close and not be able to take all six players [to the next round],” Willson added.

Two individuals also narrowly missed advancing out of the regionals. Michael Peters and Jack Wadden both shot 80, one stroke higher than the cutoff for sectionals. Wadden was looking to make a return trip downstate, where he finished in the top 20 last year.

James Strzalka had Evanston’s low score at regionals with a 74. Sung added a 76 and Sean Bostrom shot a 77, as all three moved on to last Tuesday’s sectional tournament. There, in addition to Sung’s near miss, Bostrom’s 82 was two strokes off the qualifying score. Strzalka shot an 84.

“Wonjae played great overall but had a difficult time on the 16th hole,” said Willson. “Bostrom was good getting to the green but had trouble with his putting all day. And James just didn’t string together [par scores] like he usually does.”

Despite the close-but-no-cigar finish, Willson stated this year’s team was undoubtedly the best he’d had in his 17 years as head coach at Evanston.

“We beat Glenbrook North (who finished tied for first at regionals) during the season and came as close to beating New Trier at the regionals as we ever have,” said Willson.

This season was Willson’s last as head coach at Evanston, though he maintained he will “still probably be involved in the program in some way.” Willson said he would recommend assistant coach Jed Curtis as his replacement.

Wildkits Football Falls to Glenbrook South

By Paul Harris-Hertel

The ETHS football team headed into Glenview hoping to upset Glenbrook South in front of the Titans’ homecoming crowd. It did not work out that way, as the Wildkits fell behind by 20 at halftime en route to a 55-22 loss that dropped their record to 3-4 (1-2 in the CSL South). Evanston also lost star running back Michael Bolden to an ankle injury in the third quarter. Wildkits coach Tony Johnson did not know if Bolden would be available for his team’s next game against Waukegan.

Turnovers made the difference in the first half, as the Titans scored touchdowns after three of the four Wildkit first-half giveaways to build a commanding lead. However, the Kits’ first turnover did them no harm. After fumbling on the third play from scrimmage, the Evanston defense forced the South running back to fumble at the Titan 24, recovered the ball and returned it to the nine. Three plays later, Bolden scored on an 8-yard run and added the two-point conversion to give Evanston an 8-0 lead.

But the Titans answered with a touchdown less than three minutes later to tie the score, and the Wildkits turned the ball over on each of their next three possessions. A Titan interception set up a 1-yard touchdown run. Bolden mishandled a pitch on the first play of the ensuing drive, and the Titans recovered. One play later Ryan McGrath hit the Titans on an 18-yard scoring pass. The Titans’ second interception and return gave South the ball at Evanston’s five, and the Titans scored on the next play to put South up 29-8 in the first quarter.

While Johnson was complimentary about the Titans’ ability to move the ball up and down the field, he placed much of the blame for the loss on his team’s eight turnovers.

“They’re big and strong up front,” Johnson said of the South offensive line, which features a 6’5”, 316-pound tackle. “But they were playing with a short field as well. We’ve just got to do a better job.”

Bolden’s 1-yard touchdown run early in the second capped an 11-play drive and was set up by a 24-yard pass from Ryan Roveda to Brian Murphy. Bolden’s two-point run cut the Kits’ deficit to 13. It was as close as Evanston would get the rest of the day.

Late in the first half, a mishandled snap on a punt attempt by the Wildkits gave South the ball at the Evanston 23, and South scored on a 6-yard run three plays later.

Unable to stop the Titan attack in the first half, Evanston tried an onside kick to start the second half. But South recovered the kick at their own 48 and drove for another touchdown, running it in from nine yards. Another Evanston turnover, this time a fumble by Roveda, set up a 2-yard touchdown run, giving the Titans a 48-16 lead.

With the reserves playing for both teams in the fourth quarter, each side tallied one touchdown. The Titan quarterback scored on a 12-yard run, and a South fumble set up the Wildkits’ third and final scoring drive. Dwight Boney’s 46-yard run gave Evanston the ball at the Titan one and Michael Schanette punched it in from there with 19 seconds left in the game. But in a fitting end to a turnover-laden performance, the two-point conversion pass was intercepted.

The Kits must now win their last two games, at Waukegan and at home against conference-leading Maine South, to make the playoffs. Despite his team’s play against Glenbrook South, Johnson said, “I like our chances. But we’re going to focus on Waukegan, and only Waukegan, for now.”

Scoring summary

Evanston 8  8  0  6  22
Glenbrook South 29  7  12  7  55

First quarter
E- Bolden 8 run (Bolden run), 10:19
GBS- Progar 23 pass from McGrath (Kerr pass from McGrath), 7:33
GBS- Gochis 1 run (Ross kick), 2:24
GBS- Monckton 18 pass from McGrath (Ross kick), 2:13
GBS- Kerr 5 run (Ross kick), 1:53
Second quarter
E- Bolden 1 run (Bolden run), 8:19
GBS- Kerr 6 run (Ross kick), 0:59
Third quarter
GBS- McGrath 9 run (kick blocked), 9:05
GBS- Progar 2 run (kick failed), 3:58
Fourth quarter
GBS- Moylan 12 run (Ross kick), 8:19
E- Schanette 1 run (pass failed), 0:19

Soccer Notes

9/29/06: Evanston Boys U11 vs. Schaumburg SC
Storm; Score 8 - 1
Goalies: Eric Remington, Sam Spiwak
Goals: Joe Carr - 4; Richard DeMaria - 2; Jacob
Rebar, Jack Blanchard
Columbus Cup Tournament, 9/30/06
Evanston Boys U11 vs. Naperville Galaxy
Score 0 - 3
Goalie: Eric Remington
Columbus Cup Tournament, 10/1/06
Evanston Boys U11 Blue vs. Northern Iowa Stars and
Stripes; Score 0 - 2
Goalies: Sam Spiwak and Eric Remington

ETHS Scoreboard

GIRLS SWIMMING
Evanston 98, New Trier 88
GIRLS GOLF
Class AA Regionals: 452, 10th place
Low scores: Fitzsimonds 89, Merkley 112, Valcin 125, Huynh 127, Turman 136
Class AA Sectionals: Fitzsimonds 93
GIRLS TENNIS
CSL South Meet: 3rd place
#1 singles: Szokol (New Trier) d. Larson (E) 6-2, 6-1, title match
#2 singles: Loera (Maine South) d. Hohman (E) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, third place match
#3 singles: Moore (E) d. Svetlichnaya (MS) 6-4, 6-0, third place match
#4 singles: Schnoll (E) d. Allen (MS) 6-1, 6-1, third place match
#1 doubles: Daw/O’Leary (E) d. Hooglund/Kociuba (MS) 7-6, 6-3, third place match
#2 doubles: Doyle/Nelson (E) d. Wilde/Holde (MS) 7-5, 6-1, third place match
#3 doubles: Green/Westin (NT) d. Smith/Hoopingarner (E), 6-0, 6-2, title match
Class AA Sectionals
#1 singles: Bauer (NT) d. Larson (E) 6-3, 6-1
#2 singles: Montgomery (Loyola) d. Hohman (E) 6-1, 6-3
#1 doubles: Lanctot/Mack (L) d. Daw/O’Leary (E) 6-3, 6-1
#2 doubles: Rosman/Spiegel (Niles North) d. Doyle/Nelson (E) 6-4, 6-2
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Evanston d. Lake Forest 21-25, 29-27, 25-21
Evanston d. Glenbrook South 15-25, 26-24, 25-21
Maine West Tournament
Evanston d. Palatine 25-23, 25-12
Hersey d. Evanston 9-25, 16-25
Jacksonville d. Evanston 21-25, 25-20, 17-25
Evanston d. Riverside-Brookfield 25-21, 17-25, 25-17
Evanston d. Queen of Peace 25-20, 25-22

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
CSL Conference Meet: 3rd place
Top times: Page 19:15, Fenn 19:15.1, Lexi Delaney 20:30, Lauren Delaney 20:31,
Roberts 20:33

FOOTBALL
Glenbrook South 55, Evanston 22

BOYS GOLF
Class AA Regionals: 307, 5th place
Low scores: Strzalka 74, Sung 76, Bostrom 77, Wadden 80, Peters 80
Class AA Sectionals: Sung 81, Bostrom 82, Strzalka 84

BOYS SOCCER
Lake Forest 2, Evanston 1
Evanston 4, Maine West 0
Evanston 5, Waukegan 3
Maine South 2, Evanston 0

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
CSL Conference Meet: 5th place
Top times: D’Arcy 16:06, Levon 16:29, Moral 16:34, Finnegan 17:26, Boyer 17:59

Girls Swimming Beats Top-Ranked New Trier

By Paul Harris-Hertel

Seventeen years is a long time to wait for anything. But that’s how long the ETHS girls swimming team had gone without beating New Trier in a dual meet. On Friday Oct. 6, that streak came to an end, with Evanston beating the state’s number one ranked team 98 to 88 in Winnetka.

“It’s a pretty big deal for us to beat them,” said Wildkits head coach Kevin Auger. “Both programs rose [to state championship caliber] together, but we just haven’t been able to beat them head-to-head.”

The meet came down to the final race, the 400-yard freestyle relay. But the meet was indirectly decided on the previous race, the 100 breaststroke. Evanston’s Kristina Walsh and Jordan Schweizer came in first and second and Maddy Norris finished fourth, scoring a total of twelve points for the Wildkits and giving them an almost insurmountable lead.

“We knew we needed to go 1-2-4 in the breast,” said Auger. “That made them have to finish 1-2 in the final relay [to make up the points].”

New Trier split up their top relay team, putting star Emily Dominski on one team and their other standout, Kate Shumway, on another, in the hopes of finishing first and second in the final event. But without the top two Trevians on the same relay team, Evanston was able to take first in the 400 free relay and seal the victory.

The Kits’ depth made the difference, as the efforts of several Evanston swimmers offset the performances of Dominski and Shumway. The Wildkits won’t have that advantage at the state competition, where only the elite swimmers face off, which is why Auger believes New Trier is still the favorite to win it all.

“They’re still the team to beat at the state level,” Auger said. “But we had more kids contribute tonight. This was a total team effort from top to bottom.”

The Kits also won the 200 medley relay and got a first place finish from Walsh in the 200 individual medley. Grace and Sophie Borchers finished first and second, respectively, in the 100 butterfly, and Becca Thompson and Becky Ramsey did the same in the 500 freestyle.

New Trier is just the latest of the high-ranked teams victimized by the Kits this season. The girls started the year by beating Loyola and Lake Forest, both ranked in the Top 5 in the state at the time. The win over New Trier, however, is undoubtedly sweeter than either of the Wildkits’ early-season victories was.

Evanston will see the Trevians again this season at the conference meet, where Auger considers his team “co-favorites” along with New Trier.

“At conference I’ve always thought we could compete with them,” said Auger. “Our top three swimmers in each event can finish in the top six in conference.”

Girls Swimming
Evanston 98, New Trier 88
Wildkits results:
200-yard medley relay: 1. Evanston 1:50.92, 3. Evanston 1:54.65
200 freestyle: 2. Thompson 1:58.47, 3. Kulman 1:59.84
200 individual medley: 1. Walsh 2:14.00, 2. S. Borchers 2:17.37
50 freestyle: 2. Frigo 24.80, 3. Kruse 25.12
Diving: 3. Johnston 173.10, 5. Lietzau 99.40
100 butterfly: 1. G. Borchers 59.57, 2. S. Borchers 59.58
100 freestyle: 2. Frigo 55.10, 3. Kulman 55.24, 4. Mustoe 55.25
500 freestyle: 1. Thompson 5:15.02, 2. Ramsey 5:17.46
200 freestyle relay: 2. Evanston 1:40.56, 4. Evanston 1:43.70
100 backstroke: 2. G. Borchers 1:00.90, 4. Munro 1:01.71, 5. Ramsey 1:03.72
100 breaststroke: 1. Walsh 1:08.96, 2. Schweizer 1:10.97, 4. Norris 1:11.72
400 freestyle relay: 1. Evanston 3:37.63, 4. Evanston 3:46.14