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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.”
frankfortstationdaily.com sports the frankfort station | January 23, 2020 | 43 Boys Bowling 4 Griffins fall short at regional, but advance four RANDY WHALEN Freelance Reporter Lincoln-Way East is still looking for its first trip to the state finals since 2012. The Griffins did not find it this season, either. But they are sending four bowlers to the sectional. Seniors Luke Mittler (12th, 1,248), Anthony Bria (1,234), Nick Signore (1,225), and Demitri Przybylinski (1,206) all advanced individually out of the Joliet West Regional on Saturday, Jan. 18, at Town and Country Lanes in Joliet. The Griffins (5,952 pins over six games) finished sixth in the team race, with only the top four teams advancing. "We were right there," East coach Dan Galligan said. "We got off to a great start. We just weren't able to maintain that pace. After the fourth game, we realized we weren't going to make some of those scores and get out as a team. So, we wanted to qualify as many as we can. "Of course, the goal was the entire team, but to qualify four guys out of a loaded regional is great." Lincoln-Way West’s Cameron Jablonski (1,420) won the individual title. Host Joliet West (6,402) won the team championship, followed by Lincoln-Way West (6,333), Minooka (6,282) and Lincoln-Way Central (6,184). All four of those teams will be at what is probably the toughest sectional in the state, the Lockport Sectional on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Strike and Spare. The state finals are set for Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1, at St. Clair Bowl in O'Fallon. The senior quartet from East will join them at the sectional. While it was nice to get most of the team through, the Griffins were right there after the morning session. They were tied for the fourth and final qualifying spot with Minooka at 3,083 pins. But a 928 in the fourth game, coupled with a 1,130 score for Minooka, dropped East to sixth and 155 pins out of qualifying. "We finished off the morning session tied with Minooka," Mittler said. "We got on it and tried our best, we just couldn't keep up [in the afternoon]. There's not much you can do. "I just continued to try my hardest to make it through. I did and I'm glad I got three other teammates with me." All three of East's morning games were at least a 992, and a 1,050 in the second game was the high mark. A 2,869 afternoon total was not enough to get the Griffins through, however. Providence, which has only had a varsity team for the past five years, qualified three guys for the sectional. They are junior Sean Fitzgibbon (1,262, 10th overall), junior Carson Pass (1,238), and senior Andrew King (1,205). Also bowling for the Celtics were juniors John Ruppel (1,065) and Cain Headrick (1,063). The Celtics were consistent all day, shooting a 2,922 which placed them seventh in the morning, and following that up with a 2,911 in the afternoon to stay in seventh. They had a high game of 1,021 in the fourth but followed that up with a low of 939 in the fifth game. Jablonski bowled a 202, 245, and 240 in the morning for a 687 series. That was very good, but he really took off in the afternoon and rolled games of 239, 246, and 248 to end. In the last game, his best of the day, he had six straight strikes between the fourth and ninth frames. That helped him slip past Minooka sophomore Efrain Soto (1.379) by 41 pins. Soto shot a 300 in the fourth game. Seniors Julian Ramos (1,357) and Lucas Pirc (1,340) were third and fourth, respectively, and helped Joliet West rally. "Outstanding," Jablonski said of how it felt to win the individual title. "It's my senior year and it feels so good that I won it. I can't thank the team enough and we're happy to advance." Roundup LW East graduate Allegretti headed to the Super Bowl STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor In his first NFL season, Nick Allegretti will play in football’s biggest game. Allegretti, a Lincoln- Way East graduate and Frankfort native, is headed to Super Bowl LIV in Miami with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs beat the Tennessee Titans 35-24 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 19, to seal their first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1969 season. Allegretti, an offensive lineman out of the University of Illinois, has played in both of the Chiefs’ playoff games, primarily on special teams. The Chiefs will take on the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at Hard Rock Stadium. Henning takes on Hawaii Lincoln-Way East’s AJ Henning played his final high school football game in paradise. Henning played in the Polynesian Bowl, featuring dozens of the top players in the country, on Saturday, Jan. 18, in the Honolulu suburb of Halawa, Hawaii. He had one catch for seven yards to help Team Mauka beat Team Makai 20-13. It was Henning’s second All-Star game as he also participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, recording one catch for three yards. Fans can next expect to see Henning on the track, as he said he plans to compete for the Griffins in the spring. He finished fourth in Class 3A in the 100-meter dash last year. Kansas City Chiefs rookie offensive lineman and Lincoln-Way East alum Nick Allegretti (fifth from left) poses with East coach Rob Zvonar (third from right) and other friends and family before the Chiefs’ game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Dec. 22. Photo submitted Griffins second at SWSC Blue dance competition The Lincoln-Way East competitive dance team put up a score of 83.65 to finish as the SouthWest Suburban Blue runner-up at the conference meet Jan. 15 at Lockport. Sandburg won the championship. The Griffins are set to compete in the Normal Sectional on Saturday, Jan. 25. LW co-op gymnasts win Neuqua Invite Lincoln-Way won the Neuqua Valley Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 18, scoring 141.775 to edge Andrew co-op (141.5). Allie Reis won the floor exercise (9.575), took third 2 on vault (9.4) and was fourth in the all-around (35.725). Korina Jarosz was the winner on the uneven bars (9.35) and the runner-up on the balance beam (9.3). Skylar Koczor (9.45) was second on vault, while Olivia Gonda (8.75) took fourth on bars. East girls bowlers win two duals The Griffins beat Stagg 1,723-1,680 on Jan. 14 and topped Lincoln-Way Central 1,716-1,628 on Jan. 16. East will compete in the SouthWest Suburban Conference meet on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Bowlero Woodridge.
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