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hplandmark.com sports<br />
the highland park landmark | February 21, 2019 | 39<br />
Athlete of the Year<br />
LFHS hoops star surges<br />
late to earn crown<br />
<strong>HP</strong>’s Motzko gains<br />
close to 200 votes<br />
Joe Coughlin, Publisher<br />
What a finish.<br />
Two female studentathletes<br />
who know how to<br />
finish put on a show, especially<br />
in the waning hours<br />
of 22nd Century Media’s<br />
annual Athlete of the Year<br />
contest.<br />
More votes were cast on<br />
the final date of the twoweek<br />
online-voting competition<br />
than any two days<br />
combined, and in the end,<br />
Lake Forest High School’s<br />
hardwood heroine, Halle<br />
Douglass, edged Glenbrook<br />
North’s treasured<br />
trotter, Carly Harris, by<br />
about 100 votes.<br />
“It feels so great to<br />
know that so many people<br />
in town care about me<br />
and support me enough to<br />
vote,” Douglass said. “It’s<br />
so cool to see.”<br />
The Athlete of the Year<br />
competition featured a<br />
pool of 16 standout student-athletes<br />
from the<br />
North Shore. Twelve of<br />
the competitors earned automatic<br />
entry for winning<br />
Athlete of the Month contests<br />
in 2018, while four<br />
more won at-large bids<br />
thanks to 22nd Century<br />
Media sports editors.<br />
Douglass, an at-large<br />
selection, is a junior point<br />
guard for the Scouts,<br />
whom she has led to a<br />
24-7 record and a regional<br />
championship.<br />
She leads her team in<br />
points, assists, rebounds,<br />
steals and blocks,<br />
Douglass and Harris<br />
went into the final couple<br />
Halle Douglass, a Lake Forest junior pictured in a game<br />
this season, won 22nd Century Media’s Athlete of the<br />
Year contest with a late push. 22nd Century Media File<br />
Photo<br />
Tommy Motzko represented Highland Park in the Athlete<br />
of the Year competition.<br />
days exchanging the leads<br />
over and over. On the final<br />
day of voting, Saturday,<br />
Feb. 9, Harris had a 50-<br />
vote lead with less than<br />
two hours remaining.<br />
But not to be denied,<br />
Douglass surged forward<br />
in the final hour, winning<br />
5,294 to 5,171.<br />
The contest collected<br />
17,000 votes in total.<br />
About 200 of those<br />
votes went to Highland<br />
Park’s lone entry, Tommy<br />
Motzko, a linebacker and<br />
running back for the football<br />
team.<br />
Loyola Academy’s Tommy<br />
Barr finished in third,<br />
while Alex Arenson (767<br />
votes), a North Shore Country<br />
Day School tennis player,<br />
and Nicole Kaspi (605),<br />
a New Trier soccer player,<br />
rounded out the top 5.<br />
Local product Thomas takes<br />
over <strong>HP</strong>HS boys tennis program<br />
Staff Report<br />
For the<br />
first time in<br />
20 years,<br />
Highland<br />
Park boys<br />
tennis will<br />
have a new<br />
leader this Thomas<br />
spring.<br />
The high school has<br />
named Chris Thomas its<br />
new varsity coach in the<br />
wake of longtime coach<br />
Stephen Rudman.<br />
“The Highland Park tennis<br />
program will represent<br />
hard work and sportsmanship,”<br />
Thomas said in a<br />
press release. “I am most<br />
excited about the impact<br />
Boys Hockey<br />
Highland Park 6, Homewood-Flossmoor 2<br />
Zach Simon scored twice and tallied<br />
two assists to lead the Giants to the playoff<br />
win Feb. 12 in Highland Park.<br />
This Week In ...<br />
Giant Athletics<br />
it will have on our young<br />
men, both as individuals<br />
and as athletes. I look<br />
forward to helping them<br />
improve their games and<br />
witnessing their growth<br />
and passion for tennis”<br />
Thomas comes over<br />
from the Glenrbook North<br />
boys tennis program, where<br />
he served as assistant coach<br />
for the last three seasons.<br />
Thomas, a New Trier<br />
High School graduate, is<br />
also the director of highperformance<br />
programs at<br />
the Glenbrook Racquet<br />
Club in Northbrook.<br />
With the Trevians,<br />
Thomas was All-State in<br />
2003 and 2004 and finished<br />
second in state as<br />
high school highlights<br />
The rest of the week in high school sports<br />
Boys Swimming and Diving<br />
■Feb. ■ 22 — State Championship at New<br />
Trier, 5 p.m.<br />
Boys Basketball<br />
■Feb. ■ 22 — at Palatine, 6 p.m.<br />
an individual 2004. He<br />
played collegiate tennis for<br />
Eastern Illinois University.<br />
Thomas’ predecessor,<br />
Rudman, was dismissed<br />
from the program in the<br />
summer of 2018 after Township<br />
High School District<br />
113 received a complaint<br />
that he was physically and<br />
verbally abusive to players<br />
in the boys program.<br />
In October 2018, Rudman<br />
filed a lawsuit against<br />
District 113.<br />
The varsity boys tennis<br />
team opens its season<br />
April 13 at Prospect High<br />
School. The first home<br />
match for the Giants will<br />
be on April 25 against<br />
Glenbrook North.<br />
Spencer Lidov, Jack Elbaum and<br />
Sam Shachtman recorded a goal and<br />
an assist each as Highland Park moved<br />
on to the second round of the state tournament.<br />
■Feb. ■ 25 — Regional at Lake Forest, 7 p.m.<br />
Girls Track and Field<br />
■Feb. ■ 23 — at Olivet Nazarene University,<br />
10 a.m.<br />
Boys Track and Field<br />
■Feb. ■ 22 — at University of Wisconsin —<br />
Parkside, 5 p.m.<br />
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847-272-4565 www.22ndcenturymedia.com
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