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40 | January 17, 2019 | The wilmette beacon SPORTS
wilmettebeacon.com
Boys basketball
Despite late push, New Trier drops first CSL game
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
New Trier and Evanston
came into Friday,
Jan. 11’s game looking to
gain a hold on the Central
Suburban League South’s
division. The Wildkits had
one conference loss, while
the Trevians sported an unblemished
CSL record.
The host Wildkits came
out with the win in front of
a sold-out crowd, 54-46.
“I thought (Evanston)
shot the ball well in the
first half and for us to be
down one at the half, I
thought we were executing
well in the first half,
making plays,” New Trier
coach Scott Fricke said. “I
thought we came out in the
second half and executed
well, but we didn’t finish
the plays by making the
shots.
“We gave up a two- or
three- minute spurt where
we turned it over and
that’s what they do. They
go on runs in these two- or
three-minute spurts and I
couldn’t be more proud of
the way we fought back.”
The game was one of
opposites, as the Trevians
had more of a size advantage,
while Evanston was
more guard- and perimeter-oriented.
In the end
though, it was the Wildkits’
shooting that was able
to them home to the win.
After a first half that saw
each game go back-andforth,
eventually leading
to a 24-23 Wildkits lead
at the half, Evanston took
control in the third quarter,
outscoring the Trevians
15-5. The Trevians committed
eight turnovers in
the period, including four
in a row late in the quarter.
The game looked to
be getting out of control
when Jaheim Holden hit
a 3-pointer with just over
four minutes remaining to
give the home team a 48-
35 lead. However, a 9-0
run quickly erased that and
Please see Basketball, 39
New Trier’s Spencer Boehm goes up for the layup
against Evanston Friday, Jan. 11, in Evanston. Carlos
Alvarez/22nd Century Media
Cheerleading
New Trier earns best-ever finish at conference meet
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
Senior Manny Ruiz
has been on New Trier’s
cheerleading team since
his freshman year, so he
has had a front-row seat
to watch the program rise
under head coach Kelsey
O’Kane.
“It’s a completely different
program now,”
Ruiz said. “Our coaches
have transformed the program,
we’ve worked our
butts off, and this year has
been incredible.”
The Trevians’ energy,
stunts, and tumbles
showed well at this year’s
Central Suburban League
championship meet. New
Trier placed third in the
large varsity category at
the meet, hosted by Vernon
Hills on Thursday,
Jan. 10.
“They have worked so
incredibly hard this season,
I could cry talking
about it,” O’Kane said of
her Trevians.
Vernon Hills won the
conference crown and
Maine South placed second.
“We beat Maine South
at the Buffalo Grove invite
(on Jan. 6) and we’ve
beaten Glenbrook South,
so we came in here with
high hopes. We nailed our
routine and it was everything
we could have asked
for.”
O’Kane took over the
program two years ago
and is aiming to guide it
towards even bigger and
better things ahead.
“Cheerleading hasn’t
had a huge following
in the Winnetka-North
Shore area,” O’Kane said.
“But we’re turning things
around. They’re buying
in and I definitely see this
program growing.”
“We have a group of
kids that don’t really
have a cheerleading background
so to see this much
growth so quickly speaks
to the dedication and commitment
that they have.”
New Trier competes in a
50-team meet at Fremd on
Saturday, Jan. 19, before
Illinois sectional meets
begin on Jan. 26. The Trevians
learned at Vernon
Hills that any given team
on any given day can rise
to the occasion.
“You never know because
one day a team can
be horrible and the next
day it can be the best,”
Ruiz said. “All you can do
is do your part and have
fun, because this whole
thing is about fun. This is
amazing. I’m so proud of
us.”
While Glenbrook South
failed to place among the
top three teams at this
year’s CSL championships,
the Titans were able
to leave the gym at Vernon
Hills with their heads
held high.
“The kids did well today,”
coach Jasmine Phillips
said. “I liked their
effort and they put on a
great show today. Besides
their skills, they’ve really
New Trier performs its routine during the CSL invite
Thursday, Jan. 10, in Vernon Hills. Gary Larsen/22nd
Century Media
pulled together as a team
this year.”
South senior Taylor
Berek agreed that team
unity hit a new high this
season.
“We spend so much
time together,” Berek
said. “You can tell how
much closer we’ve all gotten
and I honestly feel like
I’m good friends with everyone
on the team.”
Berek was also happy
with her team’s performance
at Vernon Hills.
“I thought we went in
with a positive attitude
and during the routine, I
could feel the energy was
up,” she said. “So we’re
obviously disappointed
that we didn’t place. I
think we all really believed
we had a chance
to place but that’s just not
how the numbers turned
out.”
Glenbrook North coach
Greg Wilhelm figured his
team might have to shake
off some rust heading into
this year’s CSL championship.
“We had really good
energy but it was our first
time coming back since
winter break, so it was a
little bit rough,” Wilhelm
said. “Our energy was
high and our warmup was
excellent but when we got
out on the mat, you could
see the cobwebs. The
sharpness wasn’t quite
there and we didn’t hit as
many stunts as we’d like.
“But this was a good,
eye-opening experience
for us. It’s a good wakeup
call.”
Spartans senior Jeniah
Griggs was disappointed
in her team’s finish outside
the top three but she’s
happy with where North is
positioned with the postseason
looming.
“We’ve definitely come
a long way this year,”
Griggs said. “Stunts-wise
we kind of struggled out
there today but overall,
we’ve been pretty good at
hitting our stuff this year.”