It’s transition time! It’s not from offense to defense, rather from high school Winter sports to Spring sports, weather permitting.
High school baseball and softball (see page 10) are dependent on good weather, or, at least dry days, to play games. Often bad weather at the end of March and in April, and even, well into May can cause havoc and cancellations.
Perhaps some indoor events will prevail. West Aurora High School will hold its annual boys volleyball Blackhawk tournament Saturday, March 30. Little chance for weather-related postponements.
Track is at the mercy of weather, although events can be held during tentative conditions, and often will be, except for lightning.
• Batavia High School track and field team moves from its Upstate Eight River Conference dominance to the first-year DuKane Conference. Batavia boys track head coach, Dennis Piron, is optimistic about another solid, or better than solid, boys track season.
“We should be one of the favorites in the DuKane outdoors and again be one of the top teams in Kane County,” Piron said in a preseason preview. “We should have some very strong State level athletes this year, as well as our relay teams.”
Last season Batavia captured first place in big meets, to include the sixth consecutive Upstate Eight River championship; the prestigious Kane County meet, second oldest meet in the State; both the Peterson Prep meet at Kaneland High School and the Jim Arnold Meet at Glenbard West High School, second place in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) sectional meet, and a State championship by 110-hurdler, Sam Conger.
Conger was graduated, along with other top performers, to include sprinters Reggie Phillips and Jeremiah Evers, distance runners Sean Adams and Shane Knanishu; thrower Elijah Green, pole vaulter Owen Shuster and triple jumper Jack MacDonald.
Piron: “Although we had a disappointing finish to the indoor season conference by losing on a disqualification, the potential and effort were on display with tons of PRs (personal records).” One of his team’s strengths are the relay teams, 800, 1600, and 3200. “We look to build depth throughout the season,” Piron said.
Batavia will start the outdoor season with its home Les Hodge meet Friday, April 5. Other big meets will include Smithstrong at the Joliet Memorial Stadium Saturday, April 13; Red Grange ABC at Wheaton Warrenville South April 20; Jim Arnold, April 27; the Kane County Meet at West Aurora, Friday, May 3; DuKane Conference Friday, May 10 at Lake Park East Campus; and the IHSA sectional at Streamwood May 16.
• West Aurora and East Aurora will cross paths several places in boys track and each has a distinct schedule. Some highlights will include East Aurora at the Elgin meet, Thursday, April 11; West Aurora host to the John Bell meet Saturday, April 13; both at the Peterson Prep at Kaneland, April 20; both at the Oswego Roger Wilcox Memorial April 26; both in the Kane County, Friday, May 3 at West Aurora; and both in the Upstate Eight meet at East Aurora, Thursday, May 9.
• This year’s Spring sports will be the final competition for West Aurora in the Upstate Eight Conference. West Aurora and Yorkville will join the Southwest Prairie Conference. Yorkville’s Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference will disband after the 2018-2019 school year.
The Upstate Eight will remain with 10 schools the next school year. Fenton, in Bensenville, will take the 10th slot vacated by West Aurora and leave the Metro Suburban Conference. Half of the 10 schools in the Upstate Eight are in the Elgin U-46 School District.
• West Aurora’s new Southwest Prairie Conference 2019-2020 school year will divide into two divisions for basketball. With West Aurora in one division will be Minooka, Plainfield North, Oswego, Oswego East, and Yorkville. The other division will be Joliet West, Joliet Central, Romeoville, Plainfield South, Plainfield Central, and Plainfield East. In boys basketball each team will play division teams twice and play the other division once each for 16 conference games.
West Aurora boys head basketball coach Brian Johnson said, on the schedule next season: “I’m hoping to add Bolingbrook. We will play DeKalb (moving to the DuPage Valley to become the sixth school) again. We are in the East Aurora Shootout, Geneva MLK Shootout, and the Batavia Night of Hoops.”
• It has been another outstanding NCAA men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournament season. Following the finish of the women’s tournament April 7 and the men’s tournament April 8, fans may focus on the NCAA Division I ice hockey, March 29-April 13.
The last four teams are the Frozen Four, this year in Buffalo, N.Y. with the 16-team field set. Big Ten Conference hockey teams Ohio State and Notre Dame are in the field. Ohio State is the regular-season champion and affiliate Notre Dame is the tournament champion. Could Illinois be the eighth Big Ten team soon?