Third Annual Father-Child Free Throw Shootout

Thursday, December 6, 2007 6:00 - 7:30pm at the District 65 Building, 1500 McDaniel Avenue, Evanston. Learn more (PDF).

YWCA Flying Fish Swimmers Set Records

Just eight weeks into the season, YWCA Flying Fish swimmers are rewriting the record books with two meet records and a state record broken within the last two weeks.

In multi-state competition at IUPUI in Indianapolis on Nov, 16, 17 and 18,

Flying Fish swimmers broke two meet records -- Blake Morgan in the 11/12 100 yard breaststroke and Nick Killeen in the 13/14 100 free. Blake Morgan went on to break the Illinois state record in the 11 & 12 boys 200-yard breaststroke during a Flying Fish time trial on Nov. 19.

"I am really pleasantly surprised," commented Head Coach Peter Caragher. "This early in the season, these times are better than expected. I think the facility and the hype of swimming at IUPUI, where Olympic Trials have been held and the names of Olympic swimmers cover the walls, has a lot to do with it. I couldn't be happier with the effort of all of our swimmers."

Seventy-five swimmers from the YWCA Flying Fish competed at IUPUI, with 25 of them placing in the top 16, many in numerous events. Placing first in their events were Blake Morgan, 11 & 12 boys 500 free, 200 free, and 100 breast; and Nick Killeen, 13 & 14 boys 500 free, 50 free, 200 free, 200 IM, and 100 free. The 13 and 14 boys 200 free relay team (Peter Raffel, Keven Henley, Hunter Wilson, Nick Killeen) also took first.

Eight swimmers have set new individual team records this fall: Jake Girard, 9/10 boys 100 breast; Blake Morgan, 11/12 boys 50 breast, 200 IM, 100 and 200 breast; Caroline Duke, 11/12 girls 50 breast; Cole Morgan, 8 & under boys 50 breast; Ryan Knohl, 9/10 boys 100 fly; Nick Killeen, 50 free,100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 200 IM, 200 fly; and AJ Chen-Young, 15 & over 200 IM. In addition, the 13/14 boys 200 free relay (Peter Raffel, Keven Henley, Hunter Wilson, Nick Killeen) also set a new team record.

Another Flying Fish swimmer, Jane Munro, qualified for the U.S. Short Course nationals, and will compete in the 100-yard backstroke in Atlanta, Ga., this weekend.

Dance Marathon Hosts Lincoln School Jamboree

Northwestern University Dance Marathon hosted the third annual Lincoln School Jamboree for members of the Evanston community this past Friday evening from 6:00-8:30 p.m. The festive event included Thanksgiving-themed games, crafts, and entertainment for Evanston children and families. Admission was $5 for children and $10 for adults, with all proceeds going to Dance Marathon 2008. This year's Dance Marathon benefits Chicago-based Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation and the Evanston Community Foundation.

The Jamboree, which took place at Lincoln Elementary School, was open to all children and families in the area, and was attended by children from several elementary schools, for a total of 45 attendees. Entertainment was provided by Northwestern theater group Griffin's Tale, and pizza was donated by Domino's Pizza.

DM is one of the nation's largest student-run philanthropies, composed of 600 dancers, 400 committee members and a communitywide movement which has raised a combined total of more than $8 million for various charities and continues to grow. It raised more than $700,000 last year alone.

This year's beneficiary, Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, is a Chicago-based, national organization. Since Bear Necessities was founded 14 years ago by an eight-year-old cancer patient and his mother, the mission has not changed - eliminating pediatric cancer. For the 11th year, Dance Marathon will also support its secondary beneficiary, the Evanston Community Foundation.

For more information on Bear Necessities, visit their Web site at www.bearnecessities.org. Learn more about Dance Marathon at www.nudm.org, and the Evanston Community Foundation at www.evanstonforever.org

Hooked on Fishing

Winterizing The Gear

We are approaching one of my least favorite times of the year. No, not Christmas - it is that time of the year when I put my fishing gear away until next year. I am not much of an ice fisherman, although those friends of mine who do ice fish tell me it is a great time to catch plenty of fish. As the water freezes, I spend my days getting my fishing gear stored for the winter and planning next year's fishing trips. With that in mind, I thought I would share some ideas on how to "winterize" fishing gear so this coming spring everything is ready to go.

Let's start with the tackle box. Before putting it away for the winter, open it up and make sure everything inside is dry. Rain water, moisture from its sitting around closed for awhile and water left on lures are all possible problems in your tackle box. If left all winter, the amount of rust on hooks and blades next spring will be unreal. So take a few minutes, or for some a few hours, and go through the tackle, organizing it and drying it off. Make sure the box itself is dry before closing it for the season. Check all the compartments and pockets. If there are spinnerbaits and spoons, try a light wipe with WD-40 before putting them away to keep them bright and ready for the next trip.

It is important to store fishing reels correctly to avoid damage from long storage periods. Wipe the reels down and remove any dirt or debris with a soft rag, adding a few drops of lubricant to the geardrive. It is very important to back off the drag setting on the reel to relieve the pressure and prevent the braking plates from forming soft spots and failing. This is also a good time to remove 60-70 percent of the line from the fishing reels and, come next season, put new line on your reels (Never fish with old fishing line).

Fishing rods are the easiest to prepare for storage. Simply wipe them clean of dirt and debris, and then spray a little WD-40 on a rag and wipe them down. This is a great time to inspect the rods for damaged or loose line guides. There will be lots of time to get those repaired over the winter.

Next time, we'll talk about the ultimate fishing Christmas Shopping list.
Until then, keep a tight line.

Hookedonfishing@comcast.net

Ranked Kits Off To Strong Start

By Michael O'Sullivan

The ETHS boys basketball team is off to a solid start, with a record of 4-1 through their first five games of the year. The Wildkits' season began on Nov. 19 at the Lane Tech Tournament. Despite losing their first game of the year, the Kits fought their way back and have won four consecutive games. The Wildkits finished third in the Thanksgiving tournament by beating a ranked Oak Park team 79-69. The Kits' four-game winning streak has given coach Bobby Locke and his team a lot of confidence.

"We were a little shaky in our first game and could not pull off the win. But I am really proud of the kids for battling back and putting together a string of victories," Locke said.

The Kits' only loss of the season thus far came at the hands of the 11th-ranked Zee Bees of Zion-Benton, who took first place in the tournament. Zach Morton, a senior captain, said losing the first game was tough but it taught the team a valuable lesson. "It does not matter what our rank is in the state," Morton said. "If we don't show up to play, any team can beat us on any given night. I think we found that out when we lost our first game." Even though the team struggled against Zion-Benton, Morton played well, posting 12 points and 8 assists.

One of the surprises in the early part of the season has been the great play from sophomore Ryan Frazier. Frazier, who played on the sophomore team last year as a freshman, has made a huge impact off the bench for Coach Locke. "Ryan has been fantastic and has really shown what he can do through the first five games of the year," Locke said.

"I don't think anyone thought he would be playing this well at the varsity level this early in the season. He has been a great playmaker for us off the bench and has been a guy I can rely on during a game."

Frazier scored a team-high 19 points in the Wildkits' 90-50 route of Taft High School.

With the Lane Tech Tournament behind them, Coach Locke's squad now heads into conference play. Their next four games are against teams in the Central Suburban South Conference. The Wildkits faced off against Niles North yesterday. The Kits face conference foe Maine South on Dec. 4. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. at Beardsley Gym.

No Rest for Wildkit Cheerleaders

By P.H. Toor

With the fall sports season coming to an end, many ETHS athletes are transitioning to winter sports. For the girls cheerleading team, however, there is no such transition, just one arduous, year-long season.

"Most sports you'll put in 110% for 3-4 months of the season, we do 120% all year round," said co-captain Jacqueline Newsome. "It's really hard to keep up the spirit and motivation throughout the entire school year and not get a break."

With the mentality of putting the "School First," the team has committed to cheering for the varsity football and basketball teams in addition to the competitive cheerleading season, which begins in January. After the basketball season ends in February, the team holds tryouts for next year's squad while simultaneously training for cheerleading summer camp.

"Expectations basically are that we go year round," head coach Melanie Wheeler said. "Basketball season is over in February, we take few weeks off, have tryouts in April then we start working on stunt groups, pairing girls up and preparing them for summer camp. You can go to a specialized camp where they focus on stunting and tumbling, or an all-around dance camp that teaches you cheers, motions."

This past year the 21 girls who made the team (out of 65 who tried out) attended a cheering and stunting camp to improve their scores in competition.

The competitive cheer season begins in January with four competitions. The girls prepare a three-minute routine, which includes 90 seconds of music, that is judged on motion, jumps, tumbling, stunts and pyramids. In each of the categories, the teams are judged on a scale of 1-10 and graded depending on the degree of difficulty and execution of their routines.

"The expectations are [alike] everyyear, to work hard and be competitive. We are always the type of squad that puts our school first," Wheeler said. "We prepare for our basketball games and we have tournaments during the holidays, so we might spend two practices on game material and two practices on competitive material. Then as we get close, we put in double sessions on Saturdays to do more competition stuff."

Currently, the team practices four evenings a week for two hours, working on their conditioning, stretching, tumbling, stunting and cheering.

"We cheer for our school and we travel with the boys. We do all the tournaments. Everywhere the boys basketball team and football team are, we go," Newsome said. "I'm really excited about this competition and our team. We have a lot of girls and we have a lot of tumblingpotential. That's the only place where other schools can have a leg up on us because our girls don't come into our school tumbling. As far as motion and stunts, we're really as good as any other team."

Until the competitive cheer season kicks off, the Wildkits cheerleaders can be seen at many high school sporting events or in the gym, training for the next part of their never-ending season.

Chute Filmmakers Interview Local Icons

Eight Chute Middle School students wrote, filmed and produced their first film, "Elderly Icons: How They Stay Fit & Healthy." Film development was under the direction of executive producer Stephanie Shanks at the Evanston Community Media Center (ECMC). The project was underwritten by the North Shore Illinois Chapter of the Links, Incorporated ARTS Facet.

Joppa Banks, Kiron Blackwood, Emmanuel Louis-Charles, Jeffrey Mullins, Khadijah Shand, Shannon Smith, Nicholas Whyte and Joycelyn Wynter spent Friday evenings and Saturdays with Ms. Shanks at the ECMC learning to master professional-grade camera and lighting equipment skills to complete the film.

Evanston icons C. Louise Brown, retired public health director for the City of Evanston, and inventor Chuck Harrison were the featured interviewees. "As seniors, we have to set good examples for our children," said Ms. Brown. "We have to begin now telling them [to include] fruits and vegetables in their diets. We need to pass that legacy [of healthy eating] on to our children," she said.

The script and questions were written by the students. The first public showing was earlier this month at the Evanston Historical Society. District 65 Superintendent Dr. Hardy Murphy hosted the recognition event.

Holiday Spirit Glides on Ice

The "Nutcracker on Ice, " to be presented Dec. 7-9 at the Robert Crown Center, 1701 Main St., captures the holiday spirit. Celebrating its 33rd year, this family show has become an Evanston holiday tradition, complete with eye-catching costumes and exciting special effects. Skaters of all ages glide out on the ice to tell Tchaikovsky's familiar Christmas story, bringing to life such well-known characters as Clara, Drosselmeyer, the Midnight Mouse and the Nutcracker.

Evanston residents skating solo parts include Annie Bennett, Elnora Bracey, Matthew Bracey-Sherman, Madeline Brooks, Emma Caroli, Blythe Chesney, Vanessa Claude, Emily Cline, Emilee Crabbe, Claire Delahorne, Lauren Dixon, Lily Freedman, Zoe Friedland, Mariah Garcia, Angel Giordano, Peggy Giordano, Tina Giordano, Olivia Grenzebach, Theresa Grodsky, Carolina Gwinn, Emily Hosman, Ginny Johnson, Anna Keeva, Eva Kennedy, Justin Lee, Linwan Lewis, Ron Lopez, Hannah Lueptow, Mallory Mancini, Isabel Reiches, Chelsea Ridley, Grace Robertson, Mimi Rosen, Ariel Simmons, Shasha Simmons, Eric Stinehart, Mathilda Sullivan, Anatolia Syed, Michelle Van Der Karr, Suzanne Walker, Kelsey Wright, and Karen Yamasaki.

The "Nutcracker on Ice" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 7; at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 8; and at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 9. General admission tickets are $8.50; reserved seats are $9.50. Group discounts are available. Call 847-448-8258.

ETHS Accepting Nominations for Hall of Fame

The ETHS athletic department is seeking nominations for the Class of 2008 Athletic Hall of Fame. Nominees must be ETHS graduates and have demonstrated outstanding athletic achievement during their high school careers or after graduation. The ETHS Athletic Hall of Fame was established during the 1994-95 school year in order to honor outstanding former high school athletes from Evanston Township High School.

Teams as well as individuals may be nominated to the Hall of Fame. Teams must be varsity level, must be from an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) and ETHS-sponsored sport, and have state or national ranking.

All nominees must be from the graduating class of 2002 or before. Nominations are due Dec. 21.

Please call Ann Carra in the athletic department at 847-424-7299 to obtain a nomination form, or download one from the ETHS website at athletics2000.com/evanston.