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34 | March 19, 2020 | The lake forest leader SPORTS
LakeForestLeaderDaily.com
Athlete of the Week
10 Questions
with Sydney Leonardi
Leonardi is a senior captain
on the Lake Forest
girls track & field team.
How did you get
started running track
& field?
I started my freshman
year. When I was a kid I
played soccer and lacrosse,
I didn’t have a lot of skill
but I was always fast.
What’s your favorite
part of track & field?
Even though it doesn’t
seem like it, it’s such a
team sport. You get a lot of
support from your teammates.
Even in the 4x400
we’re all going to line up
and cheer for everyone.
Even though it is individually
based, a lot of it comes
from the team as well.
What’s the most
challenging part of
track & field?
The mental side of
things. It is so individual,
you feel like if anything
goes wrong it’s kind of
your fault. You really have
to run for yourself. It all
depends on what you do, it
is kind of nerve-wracking
in that sense.
What’s the best
coaching advice you’ve
ever gotten?
Not every day is going
to be the best day. Just put
everything on the track,
give everything you can
that day, and no what you
can still be proud of yourself.
Do you have any premeet
rituals or lucky
superstitions?
Before I get in my
blocks, I have a little thing
I do every time, it’s more
to make me feel better.
If you could play
another sport, what
would it be?
I still wish I did lacrosse.
My sister played, and I
think it’s a really fun sport
to play. Or maybe soccer.
Who is your favorite
athlete?
Eliud Kipchoge, he ran
the marathon in under two
hours. I watched his whole
race, that’s insane. No
matter what sport you’re
in, someone setting a new
world record like that is
amazing.
22nd Century Media file photo
What’s your favorite
place to eat?
My go-to is either Culver’s
or Portillo’s. After
a track meet, you kind of
want that kind of food.
If you won the lottery,
what’s the first thing
you would buy?
I would want to go on a
trip with my family. Something
that’s an experience.
If you could travel
anywhere in the
world, where would
you go?
At this moment in time,
maybe not to Europe. But
I really love historical
things and a lot of architecture,
and Europe has
those things so I’d want to
go there.
Interview by Sports Editor
Nick Frazier
The Varsity: North Shore Podcast
Guys discuss how coronavirus
affects high school athletics
In this week’s episode of
The Varsity: North Shore,
the only podcast focused
on North Shore sports,
hosts Michal Dwojak,
Nick Frazier and Michael
Wojtychiw discuss how
the covid-19 outbreak has
brought local high school
sports to a screeching halt.
BOYS WATER POLO
Lake Forest 12, Maine
Soccer
From Page 35
Find the varsity
Twitter: @NorthShorePreps
Facebook: @thevarsitypodcast
Website: LakeForestLeaderDaily.com/sports
Download: Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn,
PlayerFM, more
First Half
The guys discuss everything
they know about the
coronavirus outbreak.
high school highlights
The rest of the week in high school sports
West 0
The Scouts cruised to a
Calling all
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Second Half
They move on to predict
how the coronavirus
outbreak will affect high
school sports moving forward.
season-opening victory on
March 11.
Stuckslager said.
All-Conference senior
Katie Bondoc returns and
will play the wingback
position to fill in for the
injured Lily Bryant. Camy
Esplin will play alongside
Bires as a center defender,
and All-NSC goalkeeper
Sophia Divagno should
once again be one of the
top netminders in the area.
The Scouts are coming
off a successful 2019 season
in which they won 11
games, finished third in
the conference and won a
regional title. Now, with
an added boost, Lake Forest
is primed for a deeper
postseason run.
The key for the team,
according to Stuckslager,
is for the Scouts to stay focused
and play their game
when things aren’t going
their way.
“Being able in tight situations,
that lets us keep
playing our game and not
get frustrated,” Stuckslager
said. “Teams will
be doing different things
to stop us. We’ve talked
to the girls, it’s a lot of
problem-solving. What
are they giving you? What
can we take, how can we
adapt, and how can we
change?
“We’re still growing
into our roles, but it’s exciting.
It’s fun to watch the
girls, they seem to have a
lot of enthusiasm. I think
everyone is excited for a
lot of reasons.”