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42 | January 23, 2020 | the frankfort station sports
frankfortstationdaily.com
Athlete of the Week
10 Questions
with Jacob Falejczyk
Jacob Falejczyk is a
senior swimmer and water
polo player at Lincoln-
Way East.
The team is doing
tremendous this
season. What are your
impressions of the
season so far?
It’s been really great to
see. We lost a lot of good
guys from last year’s team
but we came into the season
working hard and it’s
been really cool to see the
team come together.
How did you first
start getting into
swimming?
I started swimming in the
third grade and I haven’t
stopped since. I saw a flyer
for the Gators swim team
and figured, ‘What’s the
harm?’ Now there’s just a
bond and I love it.
Do you play any other
sports?
I played football in
grade school. But I pretty
much got into swimming
so I stopped that after seventh
grade. But then I got
into water polo through
swimming.
So what do you like
better, swimming or
water polo?
Early on it was swimming.
But I love the physicality
of water polo, so now
it’s that. I’ve broken my
nose twice playing water
polo. But I just enjoy everything
about it, especially the
bond with your teammates.
What have you
learned from East
boys swimming coach
Steve Anderson?
He’s pushed me far beyond
what I’ve thought I
could do. He’s a great motivator.
He doesn’t give up
on us and we don’t give
up on him. He’s taught me
that hard work pays off
outside the pool, too.
What’s your favorite
event in swimming?
The 100-yard butterfly is
my favorite. It’s definitely
the most difficult but I like
to push myself and see how
much I can improve. I went
to state last year in the 400-
yard freestyle relay and it
was great to share that with
my teammates.
Speaking of going to
state, what was it?
Like to not only go to
state in water polo but become
the first Griffin team,
boys or girls, to bring
home a trophy in the sport
with a fourth-place finish.
It was very humbling to
get to state and to thrive
3
Julie McMann/22nd Century Media
off each other there. It was
great to make history at the
same time, too.
If you could be any
superhero, who would
you be and why?
Batman. Because he
doesn’t have any superpowers.
He gets his power
from his character. He’s a
high-character guy.
Are you planning to
play water polo or
swim in college?
As of now, no. I’m going
to major in chemical
engineering and plan to go
to the University of Dayton.
But if the opportunity
to play water polo or swim
on a club team there was
available, I’d probably
take it. These sports are
my passion.
What is the best thing
about being an athlete
at Lincoln-Way East?
Being able to be on a
team. You get to be part
of a new community and
school. You form a bond
and become great friends
with different people.
Interview conducted by
freelance reporter Randy
Whalen.
Girls Basketball
LW East falls to rival Knights
for first time in over a decade
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
Lincoln-Way East expected
to be challenged
by a stingy Lincoln-Way
Central defense on Thursday,
Jan. 16, but the Griffins
certainly could not
have imagined being held
to seven field goals in the
game.
“The ball didn’t go in
too often,” East coach Jim
Nair said. “It was a little
frustrating, the girls got
frustrated. We did a little
bit better in the second
half as far as the angles
we were attacking, but
Lincoln-Way Central did
a good job defending some
of our key girls, and we
didn’t step up.”
Senior guard Regan Lo-
Conte did step up for Central.
She scored 19 points
and the Knights rolled to
a 42-31 win over the Griffins
in a SouthWest Suburban
crossover in New
Lenox.
It was the first win for
Central (11-8 through Friday,
Jan. 17) over East
(11-5) since the 2007-08
season.
“All of us are pretty excited
since they’re our rival
team,” LoConte said.
“We all feel really good
about it.”
Olivia Molnar led the
Griffins with 17 points, but
no one else on East topped
the five put up by Brianna
Primus. Andie Perch had
seven rebounds.
Azyah Newson-Cole
added 10 points for Central,
Haley Stoklosa had
seven points and eight
rebounds, and Megan
Hutchinson pulled down
13 rebounds.
“For the most part, we
Lincoln-Way East’s Olivia Molnar drives against
Lincoln-Way Central on Thursday, Jan. 16, in New
Lenox. Molnar scored 17 points in the Griffins’ 42-31
loss. Steve Millar/22nd Century Media
did a good job defensively,”
Nair said. We lost
[LoConte] two or three
times and she’s a great
shooter, and she made us
pay. Azyah did a great job
handling the ball for them.
She doesn’t play like a
freshman.”
East could never get
on track offensively. The
Knights shut out the Griffins
over the first four-plus
minutes, jumping to an
8-0 lead, and never looked
back.
15 of the Griffins’ points
came at the free-throw
line. Molnar hit 13 free
throws.
Typically a strong outside
shooting team, East
got few looks on jumpers
and hit just two 3-pointers.
“[Theresa Snaidauf] did
a great job on Lilly Genis,”
said Central coach
Dave Campanile, who
was on the staff at East
for 12 years. “She’s shut
6
many people down with
her face-guarding. Haley
[Stoklosa] did a great job
on Andie [Perch]. We tell
the girls that the way we
defend, if we can just a hit
a few shots on the other
hand, we’re going to have
a chance to win the game.”
Despite their shooting
struggles, the Griffins were
still right in the game down
just 17-11 at halftime, but
Central extended the lead
to 32-20 after three and
cruised from there.
It was the third loss in
four games for East, including
defeats to Homewood-Flossmoor
and
Bolingbrook.
“We’ve got to do a better
job getting everyone
involved and setting other
kids up,” Nair said. “I think
we can get easy baskets off
our press and our fast break.
We haven’t got that the
last couple games, and the
scores have reflected it.”