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48 | April 20, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger SPORTS mokenamessenger.com Athlete of the Week 10 Questions with Ololade Ayoola Ololade Ayoola is a senior on the Lincoln-Way East girls track and field team. You’ve been on varsity since freshman year. What is it like as a senior now? I feel like senior year should feel natural for me. But a lot of things are different this year; I kind of feel like a freshman, almost. The way practice is run now is different, and I’m doing a lot of different events — and also the same events. It’s interesting, it’s different. But the year flew by; it’s crazy. How have things changed? The workouts are a little different. We do a lot of strength training and longer workouts. It’s definitely preparing us for outdoor. You’ve been to state all three years. What have you learned from those experiences? Those two days — the prelims and finals — are your days to shine. You put it all out there. You’ve been training for months, so you know what you’re capable of. You just have to execute that day. It’s kind of calming, knowing that I’ve been there before, so I know what I need to do that day. How have you improved over the years? Running the 400 meter, it’s really a mental race as well as physical. Over the years, I think I’ve gained a lot of mental toughness on what I’m capable of doing, and just pushing myself. Although it hurts, I can push through the pain and reach my goals. How’s the season been going so far? Indoor season went well. A lot of our seniors graduated last year. There’s opportunities for freshman and people who are new to the team to contribute. Everybody’s just been improving each week. It’s really just working toward our goals for outdoors. Each week has been better, and we’ve improved our marks. There’s Photo submitted been individual growth as well as team growth. Have you stepped up into a leadership role? During practice, I know a lot of the underclassmen are watching me. I try to show them the ropes and do my best in practice, as well in the meets to make sure they’re doing what they [need to do], and I’m doing what I [need to do]. What is key to your success this year? State’s the same every year. I just have to focus on me and what I’m trying to achieve, personally. If I keep a good mindset and I’m focused on my goals for state, then I’ll be fine. As a team unit, there’s a lot of different events this year we’ll do well at state. So, it’s just making sure everyone is putting in their best effort at practice, as well as at all the meets, so we can all reach our goal for state. What’s your personal goal? I’m planning on doing the high jump and the 400 meter at state, hopefully. I obviously want to PR and shoot for the goals. What has kept you in track and field since sixth grade? When I started running track, I was like, “Wow, this is such an awesome sport, there’s so many events, and so many different things you can try.” When I got to high school, it became more serious, and it was a lot more difficult. I realized I really had a love for the sport, and there’s something about it. I guess it’s the idea of always pushing yourself each meet to be better that stuck to me — that constant improvement, trying to PR, move forward and progress. That pushed me to keep doing track, because I always like to be better and do better. What are your plans for after high school? I committed to the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign. I’m going to be running track there. It was a really good academic and athletic balance for me. I knew a lot of the girls on the track team, and the coaches were really genuine. I want to go into engineering, and they have an amazing engineering program. So, it was the right fit. As of right now, I think I want to go into chemical engineering. I’ve just had an increasing love for chemistry. My teacher, Mrs. [April] Richter, she really encourages engineering as a career choice. Interview by Contributing Editor Kirsten Onsgard. This Week In... Knights Varsity Athletics Badminton ■April ■ 20 - host Bradley- Bourbonnais, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - at Hindsale South Invitational, 8:30 a.m. ■April ■ 26 - host SouthWest Suburban Conference Tournament, TBA Baseball ■April ■ 20 - host Andrew, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 21 - host Lincoln-Way East, 7 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - at Romeoville, 11 a.m. ■April ■ 24 - host Lincoln-Way West, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 26 - at Lincoln-Way West, 4:30 p.m. Softball ■April ■ 20 - host Thornridge, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 21 - host Lemont, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - host Tinley Park, 11 a.m. ■April ■ 24 - at Thornton, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 26 - at Joliet Catholic, 4:30 p.m. Girls soccer ■April ■ 20 - at Naperville North Tournament, 5 p.m. ■April ■ 21 - at Naperville North Tournament, 5 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - at Naperville North Tournament, 10 a.m. ■April ■ 25 - at Thornwood, 6:15 p.m. Boys tennis ■April ■ 20 - at Bradley- Bourbonnais, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - at Plainfield North Quad, 9 a.m. ■April ■ 25 - host Thornwood, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 26 - at Stagg, 4:30 p.m. Girls track and field ■April ■ 21 - at Lockport Invitational, 4:30 p.m. Boys track and field ■April ■ 21 - at Red Grange Invitational, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 25 - host Bolingbrook/ Thornton, 4:30 p.m. Boys volleyball ■April ■ 20 - at Lockport, 5:30 p.m. ■April ■ 21 - at Brother Rice Smack Attack, 5 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - at Brother Rice Smack Attack, 9 a.m. ■April ■ 25 - host Sandburg, 5:30 p.m. Boys water polo ■April ■ 21 - host Lincoln-Way West, 5 p.m. ■April ■ 25 - at Bradley- Bourbonnais, 5 p.m. Girls water polo ■April ■ 21 - at Lincoln-Way West, 5 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - at Naperville North Invitational, 9 a.m. ■April ■ 25 - host Bradley- Bourbonnais, 5 p.m. Griffins Varsity Athletics Badminton ■April ■ 20 - host Andrew, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 21 - host Joliet Central, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 26 - at SouthWest Suburban Conference Tournament, 4:30 p.m. Baseball ■April ■ 20 - host Homewood- Flossmoor, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 21 - at Lincoln-Way Central, 7 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - at Lemont, 10 a.m. ■April ■ 25 - host Sandburg, 4:30 p.m. Girls soccer ■April ■ 25 - at Lincoln-Way West, 6:15 p.m. Girls softball ■April ■ 20 - host Sandburg, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 24 - host Plainfield South, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 25 - host Stagg, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 26 - at Minooka, 4:30 p.m. Boys tennis ■April ■ 20 - at Thornwood, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 22 - at Oswego Quad, 8:30 a.m. ■April ■ 25 - at Lincoln-Way West, 4:30 p.m. ■April ■ 25 - at Downers Grove South, 6 p.m. Boys track and field ■April ■ 21 - at Tinley Park Invite, 4:45 p.m. ■April ■ 25 - at Bradley- Bourbonnais/Thornwood SWSC Tri, 4:30 p.m. Girls track and field ■April ■ 22 - at Glenbard West, 9:30 a.m.
mokenamessenger.com SPORTS the Mokena Messenger | April 20, 2017 | 49 Girls Water Polo Central edges East in win over former teammates Jeff Vorva Freelance Reporter The closing of Lincoln- Way North last June and its impact on athletes and coaches is old news. Most sports have settled in, and athletes have gotten used to the displacements and switches. But there was one spring sport in which athletes and coaches felt a little funny when they played each other. The water polo community is still getting used to the changes, as evidenced in Lincoln-Way Central’s home 9-7 victory over Lincoln-Way East on April 11 in a battle for the SouthWest Suburban Conference lead. East now has a bunch of former North players on the squad. Central now has a group of former East players on its team. And the coaches? Former North coach Kendra Will is now at East, while her former assistants, Pam Dettman and Pat Shaughnessy, are head and assistant coaches, respectively, at Central. All three led North to a state appearance in 2016, and the three were back on different sides of the pool for this battle. “It was weird at first,” said Nicole McCabe, a former East standout who had five goals, including the goal with 3:17 left that broke a 7-7 tie game. “It was fun. We were cracking a lot of jokes.” “Some of the girls on East were my best friends,” teammate Caroline Heathcock added. “It was definitely tough to play them, especially when you know their skill sets. I played with them last year, and I played with them in the club season. We knew it was going to be pretty evenly matched.” After that game, the Knights had an 8-0 record in the SouthWest Suburban Conference, while Sandburg was in second with a 7-1 mark, and East was 7-2. The two teams battle again May 5 at East. The sectional sites were recently released by the Illinois High School Association, and both teams, along with Lincoln-Way West, Sandburg and six other teams, will battle it out in the Lincoln-Way Central Sectional in May. Since 2012, Central, East and North have qualified for state. In the April 11 battle, Central led 4-1 midway through the second period, and East scored five straight goals to take a 6-4 lead with 4:13 left in the third. Central scored a pair of goals from Megan Cales and McCabe in the final 2:29 to knot the game up heading into the fourth. McCabe scored first in the fourth, and East’s Paige Lincoln-Way Central goalie Claire Connors gets ready for a pass after making a save April 11 during a game against Lincoln-Way East in New Lenox. Jeff Vorva/22nd Century Media Ruffner answered. McCabe scored what turned out to be the winning goal with 3:17 left, and Nicole Howe added an insurance goal with 52 seconds left. Also scoring the Central were Heathcock and Erin Muellerschoen. Meghan Fischer and Ruffner each had two goals for East. Jordan Bruni, Reis Parkinson and Katelyn Meagher each scored for the Griffins. Central goalies Claire Connors and Erin Kay and East goalie Kaylie Pollard made big stops throughout the game. “A lot of shots were taken from the outside, and I focused on that and tried to position myself,” Connors said. Baseball LWC doubleheader sweep features perfecto John Van Gennep, a junior pitcher for the Knights, threw a perfect five-inning game April 12 in the second game of a doubleheader against Thornwood. He finished the game with zero hits allowed, zero walks and 12 strikeouts. Softball Plainfield Central 4, Lincoln- Way East 3 Allison Jaquith finished the game 2-for-3 in the Griffins’ loss April 12 at Plainfield Central. Marist 7, Lincoln-Way East 3 high school highlights The rest of the week in high school sports Christine Malito went 2-for-3 and drove in all three RBI in the Griffins’ first loss of the season April 11. Alex Storako went 2-for-4 at the plate and struck out six opposing batters. Lincoln-Way Central 8, Homewood-Flossmoor 1 Marina Esparza smacked a three-run home run to lead the offensive output for the Knights against the Vikings April 11. Ashley Platek was right there with Esparza, hitting a two-run homer. On the pitching side, Amanda Weyh completed the game and gave up only one run. Girls soccer Lincoln-Way Central 1, Homewood-Flossmoor 0 Madi Jenig scored her first goal of the season in the Knights’ win over the Vikings April 11. Shannon Klemm assisted. Peyton Vecchiet recorded her seventh shutout, which was the eighth of the season for Central overall. Girls water polo Lincoln-Way East 16, Stagg 7 Reis Parkinson scored three goals in a strong offensive performance for the Griffins April 10. Paige Ruffner, Jess Wolf, Sarah Jackson and Claire Fries all scored two goals. Emily Bonebrake, Emily Costella, Meghan Fisher and Abby Al-Muddaris scored a goal apiece. Paige Spacek had five saves, and Kaylie Pollard had four saves in goal. Boys tennis Lincoln-Way East 7, Joliet Catholic 0 Ryan Mitchell, Declan Merbeth and Will Evans, all singles players for the Griffins, led the way in East’s win over Joliet Catholic April 12. The victory was the Griffins’ sixth consecutive dual meet win. Lincoln-Way East 7, Sandburg 0 Ryan Mitchell led the way for the Griffins on the singles side April 11, and the first doubles combination of Matt Zuccato and Weston Dell set the tone for the doubles teams. Boys volleyball Brother Rice 2, Lincoln-Way East 1 Jake Snyder had 30 assists over the course of the threeset match April 11 for the Griffins, who won the first game 25-23 before falling 25-12 and 25-14 in the next two games. Lincoln-Way Central 2, Richards 0 Eric Phalen recorded two aces and 14 digs to stuff the stat sheet for the Knights April 11. Not far behind was Matt Von Holst, who had one ace and five kills in Central’s 25-20 and 25-16 wins over the Bulldogs. Lincoln-Way Central 2, Joliet Catholic 0 Mason Davis led the way for Central with 11 kills and two blocks April 10 against Joliet Catholic. The Knights won Game 1 25-21 and Game 2 25-18. Willy Kickert kicked in four kills and three blocks, and Jack Yurkanin added two aces, 10 kills and two blocks. Badminton Lincoln-Way West 8, Lincoln- Way East 7 Savanna Watson and Veda Prestamer won in three games in doubles competition April 11. Prestamer also won in three games in her singles match. Ana Huter picked up a three-game point at No. 9 singles. High School Highlights is compiled by Editor Tim Carroll, tim@mokenamessenger.com.
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