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44 | May 24, 2018 | The orland park prairie Sports opprairie.com Sandburg scores a goal, but loses another heartbreaker JEFF VORVA, Sports Editor It figures. Sandburg’s girls soccer team, which had scored just six goals in 16 regular-season matches, couldn’t catch many breaks on the field or off the field. The Eagles dropped their first-round regional game to Mother McAuley, 2-1, on May 15 at the Sandburg Regional. Bella Strolia scored a first-half goal but McAuley tied it up in the second half and eventually won on penalty kicks after overtime play. Yet, due to a reporting error to the Illinois High School Association, it was reported all around the state that the Eagles lost the match, 1-0. An injury to scoring threat Madison Manzke hurt the Eagles (2-13-2) all season and while they played strong defense throughout the year against a tough schedule, they lost seven matches 1-0 and had a 0-0 tie. It’s the first time since 1996 that the Eagles did not win a postseason tournament. District 230 rival Andrew won the regional on Friday, May 18, with a 2-0 victory over McAuley. Bass fishing Sandburg finished fourth out of six teams in the state in the unified competition on Saturday, May 19 at Carlyle Lake in Carlyle. The unified division requires that at least two anglers in the boat are special needs students. The Eagles caught one fish totaling 1 pound, 1/16 ounces. Pontiac won by catching eight fish weighing 8-6/16. In the state competition, Providence Catholic took eighth with a haul of 12- 10/16. Boys track Orland Park’s Brian Ferguson, a sophomore at Marist High School, won the Class 3A Morton Sectional 400-meter dash with a tie of 49.88 seconds on Friday, May 18. Ferguson broke his own school record for sophomores in that event and he will participate in the IHSA state meet beginning Friday at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Tennis For the second straight year, Sandburg did not have a qualifier for the state tournament as the Eagles finished tied for sixth in its own Class 2A sectional on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19. District 230 rival Stagg won the event with 28 points and will send two singles players and two doubles teams to the state tournament. Water polo Sandburg’s Joseph Jenkot, Josh Grella and Kyle Fox were named to the Lincoln-Way East all-sectional boys water polo team. Mike Rzeszowicz and Richard Sokolowski made the third team. Tara Maher, Natalie Barkowski and Bella Wrobel made the first team for the girls at LWE while Emma Crnich was on the second team and Ashleigh Asiddao was on the third team. RIGHT: Sandburg soccer player Bella Strolia (waving) scored the Eagles’ lone goal in a 2-1 regional loss to Mother McAuley. Sandburg’s Grace Corluka (left) and Mother McAuley’s Margo Chakinis jostle during regional action on May 15. PHOTOS BY JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
opprairie.com Sports the orland park prairie | May 24, 2018 | 45 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Sismelich goes a long distance to help Cardinals PATRICK Z. MCGAVIN Freelance Reporter The very idea of running is to be open, free and alive. The Cartesian assertion, “I think, therefore I am,” is the dominant form of expression. The middle and long distance runner embodies these feelings intimately. Steve Sismelich is acutely aware of the feeling of release and pure sensation. The challenge is achieving a particular kind of grace. “One of the first things they teach you is that you have to be the runner you want to become,” Sismelich said. An Orland Park native, Sismelich wrapped up a distinguished four-year running career in cross country and track at North Central College, a Division III powerhouse program in Naperville. On May 5, he helped the Cardinals capture the men’s outdoor championship in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. He set a personal record by clocking 31 minutes, 8.74 seconds to finish second to teammate Nolan McKenna (30:58.40) as North Central captured the top five places in the 10,000-meter run. “We have great camaraderie, and the fact we have so many other great runners is why I have been able to run these times,” he said. Sismelich has shown versatility and passion for the sport, running everything from the indoor mile to the 10,000 meters. In April, Sismelich established personal bests in the 1,500 (4:06.42), the 3,000 (9:09.90) and 5,000 (14:46.09). The Cardinals open NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin, starting Thursday, May 24. Sismelich found out on Saturday, May 19, that his times did not qualify, however, so his college running career is over. He first developed his passion for running at Providence Catholic, where he graduated in 2014. “It was my freshman year at Providence, and at that point in my life I had not really been involved in competition and I had a buddy who encouraged me,” he said. “I tried it, and I had some initial success and it was just something I wanted to continue.” Another former Providence runner, Jerry Davis, helped influence him to matriculate to North Central. At Providence, Sismelich had plenty of natural ability but was still learning about discipline, purpose and the nature of competition. In making the transition to college competition, he underwent an accelerated process in learning and developing those necessary traits. “The two main things you learn about college competition is the mental part and the training,” he said. His workout rhythm and training regimen is both grueling and intense. He estimates averaging running between 80 to 90 miles per week. North Central is rated the No. 1 Division III program in the country by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Cardinals’ middle and long distance runners undergo two significant movements, on Mondays and Wednesdays, a tempo workout that emphasizes speed and a midweek uphill work that helps build endurance. His longest race — 10,000 meters — converts to 6.2 miles. It is natural to wonder what races through his mind. “In the 10,000, it has what we call three stages, and the most important and hardest is the third part, and what you never want to do in that third part is what we call fall asleep,” Sismelich said. “Once you do that, you can never get back. What I focus on and what I try to do is visualize the practice, and ideally what you want is to have your practice run and your [competition] run to be parallel with each other.” Sismelich has also excelled off the track. He is academic all- CCIW and is set to graduate with his degree in marketing in June. The next stage of his life is open and marked by discovery. He concedes his competitive running career is probably over. He is mulling joining some college classmates and possibly take part running a marathon in Minnesota. Running has taught him crucial life lessons. “Running has made me not just an athlete but a better person,” he said. “One of the things the coaches talk about and what you learn is not to be intimated or be afraid, of the talent level around you or the times you run, and in the process you learn a presence, a lifestyle of discipline.” Steve Sismelich, an Orland Park native, has been competing with talented teammates in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter events at North Central College, which is the top NCAA Division III program in the country. Photo submitted Football From Page 47 Finally, Tinley Park would be in Class 5A, District 4 along with Marian Catholic, Thornridge, Hillcrest, Joliet Catholic Academy, Rich Central, Rich East and Rich South. Again, there are no powerhouses. Joliet Catholic has one of the richest traditions in IHSA football history but the Hilltoppers have been down for the last couple of years. All of this is going to take a lot of work and a lot of time before we see it – if we see it. But while we are yakking about this overhaul, let’s consider another problem that coaches and fans have – the public vs. private school issue. I have written thousands of columns over the years and never once touched on this hot-button issue because it’s something that I never believed would be changed without a major overhaul of the system. Well, now that the system could be overhauled, this issue should be in the conversation. We all know that private and public schools do not play on a level playing field. Private schools can draw student athletes from a heck of a lot more miles than public schools can. How many kids from Indiana play at Mt. Carmel? Having a separate playoff system for private and public schools may or may not be the best idea, but it should be given careful consideration while we are considering changing conferences to districts. After all, why try to fix the engine and ignore the four flat tires?
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