Saturday's high school highlights (10/4)
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By Shannon Heaton | Sunday, October 05, 2008 |
Volleyball
West 5th, Geneseo 7th at Moline Invitational
The skinny: Though Moline was the biggest story at its own eight-team invite, Davenport West and Geneseo had their moments on Saturday at Wharton Field House. After two pool-play losses to eventual invite finalists Moline and Freeport, Davenport West won twice, trailing in both sets against Geneseo before defeating the Maple Leafs in two, then dropping the second set against Urbana before roaring back for a 15-5 third-set win.
The keys: West (7-12) got strong all-court play from Kelli Crow (20 kills) and recently-inserted starter Dana Hirschbuehler (17 kills, 13 digs) in replacing their top attacker Alexis Johnson, who was in street clothes after injuring her left ankle earlier in the week. Geneseo (8-11) got strong defensive play from Katie Lenz, particularly in the Maple Leafs’ seventh-place victory over the Moline JV team.
The twist: West scored the fewest points in any match in its first, against Freeport. That was also the case for Geneseo, which scored only 18 points in its first match against Moline.
The quotes: “We’re trying to pull things together Our two losses were against really good teams, so I don’t feel too bad about that. I’m glad we got a couple of wins. Dana (Hirschbuehler) was one of our new girls today. We had to put her on the outside and that’s altogether different for her.” – West coach Verne Keeney.
“We saw some good competition here, but unfortunately we did not play our best. We need to work on our mental toughness in game situations, definitely. Katie Lenz did well, I think Kelsey Burress did well (defensively). We have one of our tallest girls injured right now, so we’re missing about five inches in our front row. We need people to put the ball away, but our defense was good.” – Geneseo coach Rachel Hufford.
Wildcat Invitational
The skinny: Pleasant Valley roared through the four-team event without losing a set, defeating Mississippi Athletic Conference rivals Clinton and Davenport North, along with Central DeWitt, then defeated the Sabers again in the semis and Clinton in the final, 25-23, 25-8.
The keys: Defense was big for the Spartans (20-5), as Courtney Linn averaged just over nine digs per match. Too, Annie Czarnecki had 37 kills and 20 blocks on the day, overmatching the other three teams’ front lines with her size.
The twist: Host Davenport North has struggled this season, but the Wildcats were able to overcome a first-set loss to Central DeWitt for a three-set win, and took the first set against Clinton before the River Queens came back with a vengeance (21-5 and 15-7).
Northeast Invitational
The skinny: Camanche lost its first match of the day in pool play to Fulton, and struggled to defeat Assumption in three sets in its next pool-play match, but after that Camanche didn’t lose a set, setting down Maquoketa, Northeast and Durant in order to win the title.
The keys: The Indians’ 6-2 offense eventually clicked after the slow start, as Ashley Gonzalez and Haley Pulse neatly split 75 assists as evenly as can be done (38 for Gonzalez, 37 for Pulse). Ashtyn Dixon was the most successful recipient of their distribution, with 40 kills in five matches.
The twist: Despite Fulton being the only team to beat Camanche Saturday, the Steamers didn’t advance to the tournament semifinals after losing in three sets to Assumption. Fulton won the first set 21-19, but the Lady Knights rallied for a 15-12 third-set win.
Orion Invitational
The skinny: After being pushed to three sets in pool play by Alexis United and in the semifinals by Bureau Valley, the host Chargers dispatched Rushville-Industry handily by comparison, winning 21-11 and 21-15.
The keys: Tori Matzen was a dominating attacker for Orion, collecting 54 kills and 12 blocks on the day. Sami Mitton handed out 60 assists on the day.
The twist: The semifinal win over Bureau Valley was a study in contrasts. When Orion was on, it was really on, winning the first set 21-7 and the deciding third set 13-3, but then lost a tighter one to the Storm in the second set, 23-21.
Metro cross country
Clinton Invitational
The boys’ race skinny: Pleasant Valley narrowly outpointed Indianola, 70-84, to win the 18-team boys race, with Bettendorf taking sixth, Clinton Prince of Peace ninth and Muscatine 10th.
The girls’ race skinny: Urbandale proved to be too strong for the Spartan girls in the 19-team meet, scoring 76 points to Pleasant Valley’s 115. Bettendorf was sixth, Durant/Bennett took eighth and Muscatine was 10th.
The boys’ race keys: Austin O’Brien was PV’s top finisher, taking second with a time of 16 minutes, 15.6 seconds, but Matt Rubins also finished in the top 10 (eighth, in 16:37.8) and Zach Bozman just missed the top 10 (16:49.2, 4.3 seconds behind the 10th-place finisher). O’Brien finished 2.1 seconds ahead of Bettendorf’s Nick Young, who took third in 16:17.7.
The girls’ race keys: Northeast’s Morgan Casey handled the pressure of running against competition from much larger schools, outkicking PV’s Anne Martin to win the girls’ title by nearly five seconds, finishing in 14:54.6. North’s Kelsey Regan was fifth, finishing in 15:21.6.
The twist: Strong performances from Prince of Peace runners Drew Sikkema and Audrey Griffin were impressive Saturday. Sikkema was fourth with a time of 16:21.6, and Griffin was sixth in 15:24.5 in their respective flights.
Alleman Meet of Champions
The boys’ race skinny: United Township landed three top-10 finishes to outdistance the host Pioneers, 45-67, for the title.
The girls’ race skinny: Just as their UT boys’ counterparts were able to accomplish, Alleman’s girls earned three top-10 finishes to outdistance Dunlap, 50-70, for the team title.
The boys’ race keys: The Panther boys got leadership at the top from CJ Dundy, who finished third in 16:01, but also got a fifth from Cody Webster and an eighth from Nick Gates to secure the victory.
The girls’ race keys: Senior Kathleen Hogan went under 19 minutes for the first time this season, finishing 15 seconds ahead of Sherrard’s Shelbie Pettie for the individual title. Allie Braet added an eighth and Dani Schroeder – still rounding into form after an early-season injury – was 10th.
The boys’ race twist: On the first race held at Davenport’s Credit Island Park, Alleman’s Tim Hird was beaten for the first time this season, as Streator’s Jon Richards pulled away for a 15-second victory for the individual title.
The girls’ race twist: Central’s Rebecca Wilder turned in a fine time of 19:24 over the longer 5K distance, leading the Blue Devils to a third-place finish in team competition.
Metro girls swimming and diving
Jefferson J-Hawk Invitational
The skinny: Sterling didn’t win a single individual event, but depth carried the Golden Warriors to the team title, 235-229, over Rockford Boylan. United Township was sixth with 115 points and Sterling Newman took eighth with 82 ½.
The keys: Sterling took second in the 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays, as well as a third in the 200 freestyle relay. Ann Wolber was second in the 200 freestyle and Sophie Borer was second in the 500 free.
The twist: UT’s Alyssa Busch won two events (200 IM and 100 backstroke), while Newman got wins from Marissa Gill in the 50 freestyle and from 2007 state qualifier Mary Sue LeMay in diving.
Metro girls tennis
Rock Island Gold Invitational
The skinny: Rockford Auburn and Alleman tied for first place in the eight-team meet, as each team scored 35 points.
The keys: Alleman and Rockford Auburn each won two flights on the day. The Pioneers’ flight wins came at No. 2 singles, as Allie DeRoo won a three-set battle over Princeton’s Tristan Hicks, and at No. 1 doubles, where Hannah Schrader and Samantha Good overcame a first-set loss to a Rockford Auburn pair, 6-7, 6-4 and 6-4.
The twist: Despite playing without a team, Sherrard’s Jessica Garlach reached the finals at No. 1 singles, but wound up falling to Sterling Newman’s Katie Kipping, 6-1, 6-1.
Kewanee Invitational
The skinny: United Township held off the host Boilermakers, 22-20, to win the title behind two first-place finishes in doubles and two seconds in singles.
The keys: The Panthers got flight wins from the teams of Keegan Bushnell and Cassie Stone at No. 1 and Elizabeth Dokas and Emily Johnson at No. 2.
Bloomington Invitational
The skinny: In one of the Illinois downstate’s better in-season meets, Moline took third place.
The keys: In matchups against Chicago opponents, the Maroons did find some struggles, though the doubles team of Hannah Helms and Kayleigh Sanchez (No. 3) did force a second-set tiebreaker against a Libertyville duo. Sanchez also went three sets against a player from Westchester St. Joseph at No. 6 singles.
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