Transition!
• With the high school football eight-class State championship games last weekend at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, the transition is to Winter sports. Basketball, wrestling and swimming tournaments fill the schedule.
• IC Catholic Prep High School, which captured its third successive State football championship (see page 12 photo), made successful its transition to Class 4A following championships the two previous years in Class 3A.
• Swimming and diving coach Bill Schalz this year is making a transition from head coach at both Rosary and Marmion Academy in Aurora to not coaching. He led the Rosary girls to second place earlier this month in the State meet at Evanston High School behind champion Neuqua Valley. Rosary, under leadership of Schalz won seven State championships in his 28 years of coaching. Marmion won one State championship.
• Of the four football teams in The Voice area of circulation, two won State championships last weekend, IC Catholic Prep and Joliet Catholic Academy.
• William Krefft, head football coach at IC, said the transition to Class 4A brought McNamara in the championship game. “It was the toughest opponent we have faced in a title game,” he said earlier this week. The cupboard will not be bare, even with the influence of strong starting seniors on the team. “In the State championship game we started four sophomores and six juniors. They will all be back (next year).”
• Joliet Catholic Academy rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to defeat perennial power Montini, 35-27, in the Class 5A State championship. Montini once led 21-7. Montini head coach Mike Bukovsky said, “We had a 21-14 lead late in the first half and got deep into their territory and couldn’t get points. The same was true at the end of the third quarter. Overall we needed better offensive consistency.” Montini running back Nick Fedanzo has committed to the University of Illinois, Mike McNicholas to Kent State University, and a half-dozen college football prospects are undecided. Next year Montini will have seven offensive and six defensive starters return.
• Bill Schalz was reflective recently following the Rosary second place finish in the State swim meet. “We had seven seniors with State meet experience and four girls swam in State meets all four years. They provided incredible leadership all season long.
“Kat Mueller, Anne Tavierne, Athena Ye, and Jess Geriane all were finalists in all four of their events. Athena was State champion in the 100 fly. Ellie Brault, Linda Licari, Sydney Vanovermeiren each finished second in State in one event. (We had) a fantastic group of girls with great families supporting them. Not only are they all America swimmers, our varsity had a 3.9 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale).”
What will Schalz remember about coaching at Rosary? “I received a letter from a swimmer the night before the State meet. She talked about how she didn’t know anyone at Rosary when she was a freshman, but the girls on the team treated her like family from day one. That is typical of Rosary and the swim team.”
Schalz said, “Marmion has been a part of my life since I came (to attend the school) since 1976. I intend to stay involved with both schools. They are important to me and my family.”
• High school boys basketball Thanksgiving tournament champions included Oswego East over West Aurora, 63-51, in the championship game of the Naperville North/Oswego Hoops for Healing; St. Charles East over Willowbrook, 77-60, in the St. Charles Ron Johnson championship game; and Waubonsie Valley over Batavia, 56-31, in the championship game at Batavia. “What worked best for us is that we showed signs we can defend,” Oswego East head coach Ryan Velaquez said. “Rithik Ganesan came off the bench and provided quality minutes in the championship game.”