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44 | May 3, 2018 | The Northbrook tower sports
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Boys Tennis
North’s doubles bounce past Caxys
David Jaffe
Freelance Reporter
With Glenbrook North
freshman Nick Redstone
joining the team and playing
doubles with junior and
state qualifier Ethan Park,
there may have been an adjustment
period at the beginning
of the season.
But as the Spartans’
top doubles team, the duo
seems to be hitting their
stride. They outlasted Lake
Forest Academy’s top doubles
team of Mason Schilling
and Ben Sebolt in three
sets 2-6, 6-2, 10-8.
That helped host Spartans
to a 4-3 win over the
Caxys in the dual meet on
April 25.
“After the first set loss,
we started playing a lot
better,” Redstone said.
“We started focusing on
one point at a time and
that’s when we got back on
track.”
“I’ve learned that a
match is never over until
the last point,” Park said.
“So we had to just keep
giving it 100 percent and
pushing ourselves until the
end.”
It took some time but
Park and Redstone have
made a lot of strides since
the start of the season.
“It doesn’t matter about
the age of who you’re playing
with but the match experience
they have,” Park
said. “You have to have
experience playing in certain
situations. We had a bit
of a rough start having not
played together before this
year but we’ve been able to
overcome any obstacles we
had and are playing very
well right now.”
“Ethan and all the upperclassmen
on the team
have really been helpful to
me,” Redstone said. “He’s
Glenbrook North’s Ben Riad returns the ball against
Lake Forest Academy’s Jack Selati on April 25 in
Northbrook. Michal Dwojak/22nd Century Media
Online content
For the photo gallery
from the game, visit
NorthbrookTower.com.
a good role model and
they’ve been setting a good
example of the right way
to play for the underclassmen.”
One thing that has been
out of the team’s control
is the amount of matches
they’ve played as there
have been several cancellations
due to cold and
snowy weather. This week,
though, GBN has a match
every day, two of their
makeups including the
Caxys.
“The weather hasn’t cooperated
the way we’ve
needed it to,” Park said.
“But it’s exciting to have
as many matches as we do
this week. The team spirit
keeps getting higher. We’re
excited and pumped up.
We’re cheering each other
on. If we see a teammate
losing, we’re always cheering
and trying to help them
out.”
The Spartans swept doubles
as Tripp Schulte and
Matthew Park won at number
two, Mario D’Orazi
and Justin Kang at number
three and Jack Kramer and
Jonah Ayzenberg at number
four.
Lake Forest Academy’s
Jack Selati competed
against his friend at number
one singles in state qualifier
Ben Riad — Selati ultimately
gained the upperhand
winning 6-3, 6-3.
“I’ve played against him
plenty of times in practice.
I was making sure I kept
the ball in play and keep
my feet going and try to
tire him out,” Selati said.
“It helps that I know his
playing style, although neither
of us really has an advantage
in that regard. It’s
tough going against someone
that you’re friends
with.”
Selati has been very happy
with how the season has
gone not just for him but
for his team as well.
“When we’ve been able
to practice, I feel like the
practices I’ve had have
been really beneficial to my
play,” Selati said. “As far as
the team, I feel like this is
probably the best team I’ve
been on in my three years
here. We have so much
depth and just have a lot of
great players all around.”
And Selati is focusing on
what he can control.
Full story at Northbrook-
Tower.com
Boys Track and Field
Foley leads at Spartan Relays
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
Glenbrook North’s Kyle Foley runs at the Spartan
Relays on Friday, April 27, in Northbrook. Gary
Larsen/22nd Century Media
Glenbrook North won
two events on yet another
day of unseasonably cold
and wet spring weather, but
the Spartans’ Kyle Foley
shrugged when asked if
he’s yearning for warmer
temperatures at the Spartan
Relays on Friday, April 27.
“Honestly, it’s just the
motivation of getting
downstate that keeps me
going,” Foley said. “Whatever
the weather is, just
keep chugging.”
Deerfield won the team
title, 84-82 over secondplace
Stevenson. The host
Spartans finished sixth,
Lake Forest was seventh
and Loyola placed eighth.
Foley competed for the
Titans’ winning relay teams
in the 3,200-meter and
1,600. The 3,200 team of
Foley, Dana Sullivan, Ari
Bosse and Michael Ocasek
finished in 8 minutes, 7.55
seconds, and the foursome
ran 3:29.27 in the 1,600
and both winning times
were roughly 11 seconds
ahead of the field.
Still, without a team in
the field pushing that foursome
on Friday, a 3,200
team that returned three
runners from last year’s
fourth-place finish downstate
has some work to do.
“I feel like there was a lot
left on the table but this was
the first time we ran outdoor
and hopefully we can
get the 3,200 down to eight
(minutes) flat,” Foley said.
“We just have to keep doing
what we did last year,
when we had a lot of fire to
get to state.”
Foley is also North’s
best individual 800 runner
and coach Sean Brandt
sees a good chance for him
to get downstate in that
event. A lot of track athletes
compete in multiple
events, “but It’s excessive
for someone that runs the
events he runs,” Brandt
said. “If you’re doing
sprints and jumps it’s doable
but he’s someone that
can handle it. I’m amazed
at what he can handle.”
Brandon Ng finished second
in the pole vault with
a vault of 12’6” and teammate
Aaron Gros vaulted
12’0” to place third.The
Spartans’ Michael Siboni,
Michael Ciss, Yusuf Shaaban,
and Caleb Kim also
placed third in the 1600
sprint medley relay with a
time of 3:54.7
“Enthusiasm is kicking
back up now that they’re
getting a chance to compete,”
Brandt said. “We
have a lot of young guys
I’m excited about and our
big heavy-hitters ran really
well.
“Michael Ciss has started
consistently jumping 40
feet, which is really good
for anyone and he’s just a
sophomore, and we have
a first-year high jumper
named Aden Degabli and
he continues to improve for
us.”
One of the best moments
at this year’s 10-team, 56th
Annual Spartan Relays at
Glenbrook North came
from a soccer player.
That moment came from
Glenbrook South sophomore
Schneider Chery,
who grew up playing soccer
in Haiti, has only lived
in the United States for two
years and had never run
track before this year.
Coming around the final
turn in the 800-meter sprint
medley relay, Chery trailed
Larkin’s Malik Walkine
by a few meters but found
the kick he needed to edge
Walkine at the finish line
and give the Titans the win.
“I think I got (Walkine)
by about an inch,” Chery
said. “In a meet last week it
was almost the same thing
but I finished second.”
Relay teammates James
McPhaul, Kalvin Dela-
Cruz, and Joel Pribek set
him up and Chery came
through for them in his first
year at Glenbrook South.
“I played soccer at Niles
West before coming here,”
Chery said. “I didn’t know
(track) when I was in Haiti
but I think I’m doing pretty
good at it.”
Titans coach Kurt Hasenstein
agreed.
“Our soccer coach (Reggie
Lara) brought him over
to me in the fall and told
me I’d better get him for
track,” Hasentstein said.
“He’s doing a great job for
us.”