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44 | March 19, 2020 | the homer horizon sports homerhorizondaily.com Baseball Providence hopes experience pays off Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter There is no substitute for experience. At least, that is what the Providence baseball team hopes this season. The Celtics have 18 seniors and 14 starters back from last season’s squad, which made the team’s deepest postseason run since they captured the trio of Class 4A state titles from 2014-2016. So, the talent is there for a return to the state finals pinnacle again this season. Of course, this area is one of the most competitive in the state. But the pieces are certainly in place. “The expectations are high,” Providence coach Mark Smith said. “Especially when you have this much experience back.” While the Celtics’ record was 23-16 last year, marking their 46th-straight season of 20 or more wins, they had a lot of close losses and finished 4-8 in the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division. “A year ago, we lost nine games in our last at-bat,” Smith said. “If we won those, we could have been 32-7, and everyone would have talked about what a good season we had. But we did what Providence baseball does and played our best in the postseason.” Providence did indeed do that. As the No. 8 seed in the Class 4A Lockport Sectional, it advanced to the sectional championship game, eventually losing 9-5 to Marist. So, what is it going to take for the Celtics to get back to and beyond that? “I feel like the leadership is the best since I’ve been here,” said Providence senior Ryan Manikowski, who is in his third varsity season. “We are really close. We have a good core group returning. We might not have that one superstar, but we have a good overall group.” Manikowski, who has committed to Creighton, is one of the team’s top pitchers. Fellow seniors Creighton commit Ryan Manikowski, in his third varsity season, is expected to be one of the leaders of the Providence baseball team. 22nd Century Media File Photo Ben Vitas, who doubles at shortstop and will attend Central Michigan, and Aidan Goggins, who has committed to Lincoln Land Community College, are also on that right-handed pitching list. “Hopefully, winning,” said Vitas, a four-year varsity player on how he wanted to finish his high school career. “We have a lot of guys with experience, guys that have been in pressure situations. I’m looking forward to seeing how we handle that. Plus, we’ve got guys with good velocity, a lot of good pitching.” Seven pitchers total who combined for 14 wins are back from last year’s team. So are seven position players, including senior Jake Mucha, of Homer Glen, who plays second and third base and can also play outfield. “Our senior class is really close and plays well together,” Mucha said. “Just that experience will help us. “I’m looking forward to the WJOL Tournament [between April 2-4], for sure. That’s always big. I know a lot of other good players in the area and [being from Homer Glen] always look forward to playing Lockport.” The rest of the returning starters are senior infielder/designated hitter Jake Hesselmann, junior infielder Ryan O’Neil, senior outfielder Luke Pell, junior catcher Jake Rybka and senior third baseman Brendan Slota, who has committed to Lindenwood University. Some newcomers to keep an eye on are sophomore outfielder Alex Alberico, junior outfielder Cain Headrick and junior infielder Ryan Hussey. All three of them can also double as a right-handed pitcher. “I’m looking forward to a fun season with a really great group of kids,” said Smith, who is in his 14th year as Celtics head coach. “We’ve got a lot of experience back but a lot of new guys, too. But there’s always something that the guys understand. They know the responsibility of wearing Celtics on their chest.” Providence was slated to open the season on Saturday, March 21, with a home game against Bolingbrook, though it is uncertain how the season will now progress with COVID-19 concerns. LACROSSE From Page 47 have had girls from other sports come out, and they have picked it up really fast.” What has made Frieri so good so soon? “Probably all the good, diverse training from my club team," she said. "That's Team ONE Lacrosse out of Glenview. They continue to help me develop my skills.” Of course, Frieri is not alone on the team, as others will have to step up for the Porters to have a winning season. Some of those key players include goalie McKenna Graf, along with fellow sophomore Paige Knight, juniors Abby Varkalis and Elle Mizwicki, and senior Ella Argianas. The Porters have a good one in Kelly. She is a 2015 Sandburg graduate, where she was a four-year starter in lacrosse for what was then a District 230 club team. She was secondteam Southwest Suburban All-Conference during the 2014 season, was named team captain junior and senior year, along with earning team MVP during the 2014 season and received Academic Award Honors all four years. She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in the spring of 2019 after a stellar four-year lacrosse career there. As a senior, she was named to the first team of the Great Lakes All-Region squad named by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association. From her sophomore through senior years, she scored at least 50 goals each season and was elected to the first team of All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin squads each year. As a senior, she was named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Merle Chapman Leadership Award Winner. She was also chosen as the winner of the "Heart of a Titan" award for her leadership, attitude and overall contributions to the team. Like everyone, Kelly, whose twin sister, Kate, played women's lacrosse at Saint Mary's College in Indiana, hopes the coronavirus scare ends quickly and school can resume so the Porters can have time to play a season. "Although it's my first year, I'm looking forward to discovering the strengths of our studentathletes and using them to build a strong foundation for this program," Kelly said. "I think that all together, team members and coaching staff, we are looking to take this program to the next level. Although it doesn't happen overnight, we have a great group of committed girls, wanting to better themselves and the program. "Our word for this season is 'purpose,' and we plan to apply that in practice, in games and in everything we do as Porters. I'm looking forward to a season full of growth."
homerhorizondaily.com sports the homer horizon | March 19, 2020 | 45 Softball Returning LTHS seniors all have high hopes for upcoming season RANDY WHALEN Freelance Reporter The delightful dozen. That’s what the Lockport Township softball team has this season in terms of returning seniors. That’s correct, 12 seniors are back from a Porter team that was very close to a sectional championship last season. With all that experience returning, Lockport hopes to scratch its 15-year itch and win a sectional championship for the first time since 2005. “I believe we should be a conference contender along with playing late into the postseason,” coach Marissa Chovanec said. “We have to beat our local competition day in and day out; the postseason will be no different.” It won’t be. It’s just a matter of winning those postseason games against the other top opponents. Last year, the Porters did something they hadn’t done in a long time: Beat Lincoln-Way East. That was no easy task for Lockport, which had a 12- game losing streak to the Griffins, which dated back to May 22, 2014. But last season, the Porters won a trio of games against East, including 11-3 in a Class 4A sectional semifinal. En route to that, the Porters pulled out an undefeated SouthWest Suburban Conference championship. That was their first league title since 2013. In the postseason, they looked poised to break through and capture their first sectional title since 2005. But they fell to eventual Class 4A thirdplace finisher, Joliet West 6-5 in the sectional title game. “I think last year really fueled us,” Lockport senior pitcher Gianna Bauer said. “It made us more hungry to do it. Especially since we’ve been together for a while, just us being together is big. This is one of the most talented groups in awhile. “We all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and that will help. We are focused on getting to state.” For Bauer, this is probably her last chance at softball glory. Although she’s left open the possibility of walking on at Western Michigan University, she doesn’t plan to. She plans to concentrate on her academics and is one of two seniors on this seasons squad that don’t plan to play in college. The other is first baseman Sydney Bush, who will attend Bemidji State University. Bauer is certainly the elder statesman on the team. That’s because she’s the lone four-year varsity player. In fact, she’s the lone player, other than the end of their sophomore season, when some were brought up for the playoffs., that’s been on the varsity for more than two years. “This group has played together for four years,” Chovanec said. “Other than moving up Gianna, we made that choice to have them stick together. On a lot of other programs, a lot of our players would have been four-year varsity ones. But we kept them on the freshman and then the sophomore team because we had a lot of talented players on the varsity the past three years.” Yes, they have as the last three teams have gone a combined 91-17, twice reaching 31 wins and last year getting 29. All three of those seasons resulted in regional championships, and twice in that span, the Porters lost in the sectional title game. If this season is played in full, they should have similar numbers. Of the dozen returning seniors, 10 of them are going on to play in college. Two of those are pitchers, Madeline Kundrat, who will continue on at Seton Hall, and Alyssa Drogemuller, who will continue at the University of North Alabama. “Alyssa, Gianna and I are all so different in styles,” Kundrat said of pitching. “I’m not as fast, but I have a lot of movement on my ball, so all our styles will help throw everyone off. I know we all have the defense behind us, too. “We are hoping this is our year.” Drogemuller burst on the scene last year. Not just pitching-wise, but hitting, too. She played right field also last season and hit a robust .549. “We have been together for all four years and are the best of friends,” Drogemuller said of the key to this season. “We are all determined that we are going to state this year. It’s just our hearts that tell us that. Our heads are in the game, and we give 110 percent all the time, and we are one big family. “As for my hitting, I just Please see SOFTBALL, 41 Boys Track and Field Lockport hopes outdoor season will still commence next month Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter By its nature, the track and field season is two parts in one season. Indoor and outdoor. With the closing of the schools for at least the next several weeks due to coronavirus concerns, the Lockport Township indoor season came to a premature end last week. Prior to that, the Porters were on a record pace. But they are holding out hope that school can resume as scheduled on April 6, and the outdoor season can kick off as scheduled with a meet at Belleville West on Friday, April 10, at 11 a.m. In the meantime, the athletes will have to train themselves and work out on their own. "We have a special group, and it's up to them now," Lockport track and field coach Tom Razo said of what is hopefully just a layoff from competition. "It's strange, it's a strange time of life. We have a lot of kids in a lot of events that can do well at the state meet. One of the standouts for the Porters is senior Kyle Langellier. At last season's Class 3A state meet, he placed fifth (48.91 seconds) in the 400-meter dash and was the anchor on the 4x400 meter relay that placed second (3:19.58) in the state. "It's a bummer that we can't do the [SouthWest Suburban] Conference or Top Times [unofficial state meet at Illinois Wesleyan] meets," said Langellier of the events that were scheduled for Saturday, March 21, and March 27 and 28. "But still, thankfully this is happening during the indoor season and not the outdoor season. Hopefully, we can get back and have an outdoor season." Lockport was supposed to host a quad meet on Saturday, March 14, with Fenton, Joliet Central and Streamwood. But that was canceled even before the governor declared schools to be closed for two weeks. But the Porters did run in four indoor meets this season. The most recent one of those was on March 9 at the Downers Grove South Mustang Relay Invite, which was held at North Central College in Naperville. There, they broke a pair of school indoor records. Those were in the 4x200 meter relay, where seniors Michael Walkosz, Langellier, Michael Gradle and sophomore Gabe Czako came in with a time of 1:31.59. The old record of 1:32.20 was set in 2018 by Jacob Freese, Langellier, Walkosz and Conor Mc- Carthy. A new mark was also made in the 4x400 meter relay. That was 3:27.39, done by the foursome of Walkosz, Czako, Colin Stapleton and Langellier. The old record was 3:29.09, done just last year by Langellier, then senior Ray Holland, Czako and Walkosz. "We were blessed to have that meet and get those times," said Langellier of the Mustang Relay Invite. "Gabe ran well there and really surprised us. Our 4x200 relay was spicy, and it was a good first step for our 4x400 meter relay, a great positive.” Walkosz, who placed sixth (:49.36) at state in the 400-meter dash last spring, agreed. "I'm happy with how we did the 4x200," he said. "I've never run that fast. I got the team off to a decent lead, and they did the rest. "I feel like this [layoff] will show who works the hardest. As [sprint coach Robert] Beach says, 'Be the team that works the hardest.' The people that do that will come out of this well." The 4x400 meter relay that took second in the state last year, only missing first by .14th of a second, consisted of Walkosz, Czako, Holland and Langellier. Czako was a freshman on that team and knows this group is a special one, so he is very hopeful that the season can go on. "We were working hard before the season," Czako said. "We were able to come out in the indoor season and get some PRs. We have a lot of guys doing well and pushing each other even harder. Now, we just hope to get our outdoor season in this spring." When the outdoor season hopefully takes off, the Porters will be strong in other areas, too. Seniors Ross Cronholm and Jacob Hinchley and junior Wil Kiley head the distance running. Czako and Arron Kiela will be looked to in the hurdles, Colin Cunnane is the top pole vaulter and Matt Johnson is looking to emerge in the throwing events.
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