LF_111419

LakeForestLeaderDaily.com SPORTS
the lake forest leader | November 14, 2019 | 27
Posted to LakeForestLeaderDaily.com 5 days ago
School of St. Mary’s volleyball team wins league title
Nick Frazier, Sports Editor
The School of St. Mary’s eighth-grade volleyball team poses with
the league trophy after the championship parade on Thursday,
Nov. 7. Photo submitted
The School of St. Mary’s
eighth-grade girls volleyball
team, according to coach Shawn
Edwards, has always been a
group of fighters.
That fight was on display in
the Catholic League Class AA
championship, where the Crusaders
defeated Our Lady of Perpetual
Help to win a league title
this season. SOSM celebrated
the team with a championship
parade on Thursday, Nov. 7.
“We’ve always been able
to come back even if we were
down,” Edwards said. “It was
kind of the hallmark of this team,
they had such great determination
and fight, they never ever
said they were going to quit.”
The Crusaders’ blue team,
which featured just seven girls,
went 10-1 in the regular season
while OLPH went 11-0. In the
championship game, the Warriors
came back to win the first set, before
St. Mary’s battled to win the
final two sets. It’s the first Class
AA title in the program’s history.
“I’m just really really proud
of these ladies and their accomplishment,”
Edwards said. “At
the end of it, our players, our parents,
everyone stormed the court,
they were all crying, it was a really
emotional thing. It was like
we won the NCAA championship,
it was amazing.”
According to Edwards, the
team’s motto all season was “Why
Not Us?”, a mindset that helped
lift the Crusaders to victory.
“It ended up resounding back
to us as players and coaches, that
we could do it,” Edwards said.
“Anything is possible.”
SOSM Volleyball Roster
Cami Edwrds
Gabriella Donato
Isabella Donato
Jacqueline Greene
Julia Liebelt
Sofia Rosinski
Talia Murphy
Shawn Edwards (head
coach)
Leslie Frantz (assistant
coach)
Posted to LakeForestLeaderDaily.com 6 days ago
LFHS flag football team
wins tournament
Nick Frazier, Sports Editor
There’s plenty of excellent
teams at Lake Forest High School,
and that includes a Scouts intramural
team.
Lake Forest’s flag football team
won an intramural tournament
hosted by the Chicago Bears on
Saturday, Nov. 2 at Halas Hall.
It’s the Scouts fourth time winning
the invitational since 2013.
Scouts coach Adam Mocogni
said this year’s team was especially
dedicated to coming away
victorious. On the first practice,
the team got together early on a
Saturday and did a walkthrough.
“To put it frankly, they would
not accept losing,” Mocogni said.
“[Coach Matt] Fiordirosa and I
could tell just from the beginning
that their attitude was a little different,
they were very determined
to win.”
After winning its first two
games, Lake Forest squared off
with Lemont in the title game, a
matchup Mocogni said was one
of the more exciting games the
LFHS Flag Football Roster
Connor Higgins
Andrew Crawford
Trevor Mower
Jacen Riedel
Michael Vallone
Shane Rodriguez
Alex Ignas
Anthony Ranallo
Alex Huddlestun
Alex Clark
Robby Gray
Mick Malanfant
Charlie Marx
Calvin McCarthy
Lucas Redding
Managers: Will Dee, Scott Notz
Scouts have ever played. Mocogni
said the two teams scored
four touchdowns in the final two
minutes in a back-and-forth affair.
In the end, Lake Forest scored on
a deep pass with about a minute
left, then the defense shut down
Lemont’s final drive to win.
The Scouts also won the Bears
tournament in 2013, 2015, and
2017.
COY
From Page 29
Beach, a team tradition early on in
the season.
When the Scouts fell to Libertyville
in two sets in the sectional
semifinal, that message rang true.
“All of the girls, including the
coaches, we had these yellow ribbons
on our shirt to represent the
sunrise, to bring us back to the
moment we shared early in August,”
Rupnik said. “I think that
that really set the tone for our girls
to buy in, just giving it their best
everyday and enjoying what we
have together. Your time as an athlete
and your time in high school
is limited. Just having that mindset
going into the season helped
the girls really come close.”
The Scouts spent a lot of time
together outside of school this
year, even taking in a Northwestern
volleyball game together. The
tight-knit group will graduate seven
seniors, but the future is bright
for Lake Forest volleyball.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t
more that needs to be done in the
future.
“Looking ahead at next year,
I’m excited about who’s returning,
but I also know that we have
a lot of work in store for us too,
to continue to be competitive
and just to grow in all positions,”
Rupnik said. ‘Volleyball is one of
those sports where you really have
to have strength everywhere, not
just at one place.”
That foresight is what made
Rupnik a great college volleyball
player. It’s also what makes her a
great volleyball coach.
POY
From Page 29
that chemistry really helped us
turn it around this year.”
An excellent attacker in the
front row, Thrash was tasked
with leading the team while
handling increased expectations
to perform in game. Her
stats prove that she more than
rose to the occasion, racking
up 313 kills and 229 digs. She
also played in all 37 of Lake
Forest’s matches, resulting in a
28-9 campaign.
Most notably, Thrash saved
one of her best performances
for last, totaling 12 kills and 11
digs in the two-set regional final
win over McHenry.
When looking at her game,
Thrash notes her steadiness on
the court is a key factor in her
improved play.
“I think that my consistency
has definitely improved a lot
over the years,” Thrash said.
“This past season I was really
consistent.”
“She was just so consistent
for us to be that go-to player,”
Rupnik added. “That girl knows
how to put balls down, she really
gets the team excited. In
all aspects of the game, Alyssa
was such an important person
for us.”
It was a special season for
Thrash and the Scouts, whose
28 wins were more than the previous
two seasons combined.
Thrash knew this year’s squad
was different when the team
got together after tryouts and
shared their season-long goals.
The goals were big, but attainable.
“I think that’s when it really
hit me that this was a different
kind of team,” Thrash said.
Thrash has been playing volleyball
since she was 12 years
old and played club with Adversity
Volleyball based in Vernon
Hills. Despite having the talent
to compete at the collegiate level,
Thrash plans to focus more
on her academics and not play
volleyball in college.
That doesn’t mean she won’t
miss her three varsity seasons
with the Scouts, especially her
senior year.
“The Lake Forest volleyball
program means the world to me,
I absolutely adore it,” Thrash
said. “It taught me who I want
to be as a person, and it helped
me grew into what I wanted to
be as a person, I just think that’s
so important.”