WB_081618

More documents

Recommendations

Info

30 | August 16, 2018 | The wilmette beacon SPORTS wilmettebeacon.com Flynn wins first national title Michael Wojtychiw Sports Editor Eighteen seconds ahead of the pack, New Trier sophomore Andrew Flynn beat out his nearest competitor at the USA Triathlon Youth Elite Boys National Championships Aug. 4 in West Chester, Ohio. The Wilmette native went on to win the national title with a time of 30 minutes, 21 seconds. “It was a great feeling. Honestly, I didn’t expect to win it,” Flynn said. “I thought I was going to come in second place. There was one other kid that I thought was going to, for sure, win the race. Then I ended up breaking away from him. “It was a great feeling. I don’t really know how to explain it. You don’t usually become a national champ. That happened to me and I’m still getting over it. It’s a great feeling.” Flynn had a slow progression into doing triathlons. He first started to New Trier sophomore Andrew Flynn at the top of the podium after winning the USA Triathlon National Championships in West Chester, Ohio. Photo submitted swim when he was 5 or 6 years old and then added the running portion a year or two later. Running with his mom helped him get more serious about running and then between the ages of 8 and 9, he started entering triathlons. Despite being a part of the Mach II Triathlon Team, a club team based out of Geneva, Flynn trains by himself because it’d be too far for him to constantly travel to practice with his club teammates. However, it was his club teammates that lead him to participate in the USA Triathlon series, a series of triathlons with participants from all over the country. This year marked the last year Flynn could participate in the Youth Elite Boys age group, as next year he’ll move up to the Junior Elite Male level because he’ll be 16 years old. Prior to this year’s meet, the highest Flynn had finished at the National Championships was 14th, accomplished last year; He finished 39th the year before. Flynn, of Wilmette, holds a flag over his head. “I was just determined that I wanted to be at the top of my age group every year,” Flynn said. “My weakest link of the triathlon was the biking and that’s why I really started to take that more seriously. The last year, I’ve really tried to work a lot more on my biking. That’s what helped me this year. “I also progressed a lot in my swimming. I wasn’t always the best swimmer, but I started to go to a lot more practices. I really progressed in that area, too.” One thing that’s eluded Flynn thus far is participating in international events, something he hopes to change next year. He’s hoping that with this recent result, USA Triathlon will pick him for the opportunity to accomplish that goal. But Flynn knows that’s something he can’t control. “I’m going to be aging up to an older category so it’s 16 to 19 years old,” he said. “I hope, maybe next year, my main goal, I really want to go race international. I hope USA Triathlon will maybe pick me for some of the races, to go out. That’s kind of like what I really want to do right now, to race international, but we’ll see what happens with me.” ALITTLE SUMMER SPARKLE! 801 Oak Street Winnetka www.bratschiinc.com Est. 1937 UPGRADE YOUR KITCHEN OR BATH FIXTURE FOR AFRESH NEW LOOK. Lic. 055-004618 BRATSCHI PLUMBING 847-446-1421
wilmettebeacon.com sports the wilmette beacon | August 16, 2018 | 31 From the Sports Editorial Intern Reflecting on a summer of learning 1st-and-3 photo SUBMITTED Three TEAMS of the FALL 1. Andrew Flynn (above). The New Trier sophomore won the USA Triathlon Youth Boys Elite National Championship Aug. 4 in West Chester, Ohio. Flynn improved from a 14th-place finish at last year’s national championship race. 2. Matt Murlick. The New Trier graduate and Marquette University junior finished tied for seventh at the Illinois Open, shooting an eightunder-par for the tournament and tying for second among the amateur players. 3. Josh Rosenkranz. The NT graduate won the 10,000 meter race during MIT’s outdoor conference track meet this year. Michael Parsky Sports Intern Wow, summer really does breeze by. It feels like yesterday that I was unpacking my gear from college and ready to begin my three months of rest and relaxation. As I now prepare to say goodbye to my friends and family, and head back to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I will begin my sophomore year in September, I’d like to reflect on the amazing experience I had at 22nd Century Media and acknowledge those who made it so great as well. To begin, I’d like to thank Mr. Eric DeGrechie, the managing editor of 22nd Century Media’s North Shore office, for giving me the special opportunity to cover high school sports in the communities I grew up in and around. I also owe a huge thank you to the three sports editors I worked closely with, Brittany Kapa, Michael Dwojak, and Michael Wojtychiw, for taking me under their wings and teaching me the tricks-ofthe-trade on how to be a great and effective professional journalist. I came into the job expecting to perform the cliché duties that intern’s do in Hollywood films: going on coffee runs, making copies, and keeping your head low. That was not the case at all. Within five minutes of introducing myself, shaking everyone’s hands, and logging on to the Wi-Fi network, I hit the ground running as an email with my first two writing assignments had been sent to me before I even stepped foot in the office. And the rest is history. I believe that the only way a writer gets better is if he or she writes as much as possible. For most of the summer, I was turning in two-to-three articles a week, which was astronomically higher than I expected. I think the reason why I wrote so much this summer was the high level of trust my editors had in me. They always were willing to give me extra assignments, edited my articles right in front of me before they were published, and were never worried about me missing a deadline. This confidence my editors exhibited toward me really made a difference in my writing and really allowed me to grow and flourish as a writer and I could not be more appreciative of that. Aside from having the AP-style rules seared into my head (thanks guys), waiting around for some coach to respond to an email I sent a week ago, or having a communications coordinator at an undisclosed university give me the wrong time for an interview because he forgot that we are in central-standard time, I really had a fun time working in the office, whether it was cracking sarcastic jokes with Ms. Kapa and Mr. Wojtychiw during my intermittent trips to the editors desks to ask questions, or listening to Mr. DeGrechie talk sports with the office and say how amazing the New York Yankees are. From a worldly standpoint, something I realized throughout my time at 22nd Century Media is that everyone has a good story to tell. I wrote a lot of feature articles on athletes this summer from all different sports and backgrounds. Michael Parsky’s first game coverage this summer was the Loyola-Highland Park baseball game held in Glenview. 22ND CENTURY MEDIA FILE PHOTO To hear about the good and the bad, the adversity, the perseverance, and ultimately the triumphs from these athletes was truly memorable. To bring their stories out of obscurity, and unveil them to the public, is probably one of the most rewarding jobs a journalist can do. Additionally, I also learned how small the world can be. To travel and visit the school’s I grew up competing against on the basketball court, and to be able to meet and interview people within my hometown community of Lake Forest, including interviewing my former high school basketball coach, was definitely a highlight of my time here at the paper. With troves of knowledge and experience under my belt, I now look forward to taking all I have learned and applying it up in Madison. As a newly admitted student to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Wisconsin, I hope all I have accomplished here at 22nd Century Media will translate to success in the classroom at UW and in practice as I look to rejoin The Daily Cardinal student newspaper in the fall as well. For one last time, and for good measure, thank you 22nd Century Media for granting me the opportunity to work for you and giving me invaluable experience that I will use going forward. And to steal KVWN Channel 4 News Anchorman Ron Burgundy’s line, a tad bit, you stay classy North Shore of Chicago. Listen Up “It was a great feeling. Honestly, I didn’t expect to win it.” Andrew Flynn — New Trier sophomore, on winning the USA Triathlon National Championship tunE in What to watch this week FIELD HOCKEY: There’s no better time to play some quality competition than the first week of the season. • Loyola hosts a play day with numerous local teams at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at its Glenview campus. Index 27 - This Week In 27 - Athlete of the Week Fastbreak is compiled by Sports Editor Michael Wojtychiw, m.wojtychiw@22ndcenturymedia.com.
Page 1 and 2: ® More movement at Loyola Academy
Page 3 and 4: wilmettebeacon.com news the wilmett
Page 5 and 6: wilmettebeacon.com wilmette the wil
Page 9 and 10: wilmettebeacon.com NEWS the wilmett
Page 17 and 18: wilmettebeacon.com SOUND OFF the wi
Page 19 and 20: the wilmette beacon | August 16, 20
Page 21 and 22: wilmettebeacon.com LIFE & ARTS the
Page 23 and 24: wilmettebeacon.com DINING OUT the w
Page 25 and 26: wilmettebeacon.com CLASSIFIEDS the
Page 27 and 28: wilmettebeacon.com SPORTS the wilme
Page 29: wilmettebeacon.com SPORTS the wilme

WB_081618

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?