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[NOV. 11, 2000]  It's shaping up to be a David versus Goliath weekend at the Class AA Girl's Volleyball State Finals. At the end of the first game Friday afternoon, it was David: 1-Goliath: 0.

The role of David is being played "from the heart" this weekend by the smallest, least known school in Class AA: the LCHS Lady Railers. Today's Goliath was five time Chicago Public League Champion, Lane Tech. The Lady Railers crushed Lane Tech, in two straight games, 15-8 and 15-2 to advance to Saturday's Semi-Final match at 11:00 a.m. in Redbird Arena. Goliath #2 will be Chicago Mother McAuley with a record of 36-5 and 11 times the State Girl's Volleyball State Champion. The Lady Railers don't appear to be intimidated.

In Friday's first game, the Lady Railers started out strong, then became a little tentative, but finally finished their opponent off by doing what they have done all year long-play like a team. The Lady Railers never trailed in either game. They took the first four points behind the strong serving of Danielle Peifer that included two aces. Lane then surged back to tie the score at 4-4. After that, Lincoln never looked back. Kari McFadden and Kristina Cook served on the next two successive possessions and when they were through, so was Lane's chance of winning, as the score stood 9-4 for the Lady Railers. Kelli Gleason, Ashley Boyer and, once again, Kari McFadden served out the remainder of the first game resulting in a 15-8 Railer victory. Good defensive play all around, kills and soft touches by Danielle Peifer, Kristina Cook and Kari McFadden and the always-consistent setting of Kelli Gleason, were the rest of the story of Game 1. Smelling a chance to move to the Final Four, the Railers moved in for the kill.

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In Game 2 of the match, the Lady Railers relentlessly served, blocked and killed, while only making two mistakes. The game was only close in the very beginning as Lane managed 2 points to the Railers 4. After that it was all Railers. The Railers served up four aces, one each by Kelli Gleason and Kristina Cook with two for Ashley Boyer. Darcy White made two excellent serves to put the Lady Railers at the 11-2 mark. Crucial blocks on the front line by Cook and Gleason repeatedly stuffed the Lane attack. Kills on offense and defense from Cook and Danielle Peifer added punctuation marks to the Railer victory. The game ended quickly with a 15-2 score.

Once again the Lady Railer fans were the "seventh man" on the floor. A large, raucous group of LCHS students, along with parents and other fans, once again made their presence known at Redbird Arena. Both Coach Howe and the Lady Railers, in post-match interviews, acknowledged the impact of the Lincoln crowd. "Our fans are wonderful", they said.

Lane's Coach, Ron Borck, who was reported earlier this week to have asked the question: "Where is Lincoln anyway?", was gracious in his response when I questioned him in the post-match press conference. He assured me that he knew exactly where Lincoln was now-"on their way to the semi-finals", he said. He will now undoubtedly always remember Lincoln. It was Borck's final match in a distinguished sixteen-year volleyball coaching career.

One Goliath down. Two more to go. GO LADY RAILERS!

[Rick Hobler]

[NOV. 11, 2000]  Lincoln College opened its wrestling season at Muskegon, Mi. Friday and split a pair of dual meets. The Lynx lost to Grand Valley State University in the first match, 33-9. The Lynx rebounded in the second match to post a 30-16 victory over Olivet College. Lincoln will be wrestling again Saturday in the Muskegon Open.

Lincoln's two returning All-Americans were double winners Friday. Pat Dowty (141) decisioned his opponent, 6-3 in the opening match and he pinned Mike Storts of Olivet in 1:10 of his second match. Matt Veach (157) won both of his bouts with decisions. Veach decisioned Jeremiah Gitchel 6-3 and then stopped Adam Herrington 13-3.

Scott Schultz was the only other Lincoln winner against Grand Valley with a 3-2 decision against Christian Ciaglia. Joining the two All-Americans in the win column against Olivet were Clint Shaw (165), a 14-3 winner over Nick Hannah; Matt Morel (174) pinned Sean Hardy in 1:15; Josh Lepper (197) decisioned Derek Corder 16-7; and Nathan Welsh (Heavyweight) was a winner by forfeit.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[NOV. 11, 2000]  The Lincoln College men's swimming team posted a 112-49 victory over Millikin University in Decatur Friday while the women's swimming team suffered a 69-48 loss to the Big Blue.

Winners for Lincoln included the 400 medley relay team of Keith Tobin, Doug Zimmer, Zach Welch and Doug Garofalo in 3:57.33. Frederico Gentry won the 1000 yard freestyle with a time of 10:31.34 and Nick Colberg placed second at 10:41.21. Ramiro Palmar won the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.89 while Alex Blanch and Jacob Sexton tied for first in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of :22.91.

Blanch also won the 200 yard butterfly in 1:59.68.Winning the 100 yard freestyle for the Lynx was Jacob Sexton in :51.07; Tobin edged teammate Gentry to win the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:05.34. Gentry finished at 5:05.81. Also winning for the Lynx in the 200 yard backstroke was Palmar in 2:17.71. Colberg, Gentry, Blanch and Sexton teamed two win the 400 yard freestyle with a time of 3:31.16.

For the women, Kristen Holtane posted a time of :27.89 to win the 50 yard freestyle for the Lynx, Liz Wilson won the 200 yard breakstroke in 2:58.74 and the 400 yard freestyle relay team made up of Lindsey Luhtala, Tamara Campion, Kristen Holtane and Bonnie DiFoggio won with a time of 2:17.71.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[NOV. 10, 2000]  After months of being courted by universities all over the country, Gregg Alexander officially signed his national letter of intent Wednesday to attend Illinois State University. Gregg appears to be relieved that the whole process is now behind him and he can settle back into school and leading the basketball Railers to another outstanding season.

Gregg was the Central State Eight player of the year last season, when he led the Railers to a 19-8 record by averaging 24.6 points per game and, incredibly, scored in double figures in every single contest. Alexander has led Lincoln to a 72-15 record during his three-year varsity career, which included a 1998 trip to state and the Elite Eight — the first time for Lincoln in nearly 20 years.

Gregg and his Railsplitter teammates will open the season on Monday, Nov. 21.

[NOV. 10, 2000]  Katie Skaggs hit two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to give the Lincoln College women an 89-88 victory in the season opener against Carl Sandburg at Galesburg Thursday night.

Coach Carl Wilson said, "We had five players in double figures and got a great team effort from everyone. A lot of people stepped up and helped us gain the victory. Jesse Dullard was especially a workhorse on both ends of the court."

Hitting double figures for the Lady Lynx were Chanel Roebuck, 16; Tameeka Dawson, 12; Ronni Beebe, 12; Dullard, 12; and Sara McLaughlin, 10. Lincoln led 44-40 at halftime and held on for the victory even though they were outscored 48-45 in the second half. Carl Sandburg (0-2) stayed in the game with five 3-point goals, while the Lynx were shut out from 3-point land.

Lincoln College plays at Sauk Valley Saturday.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[NOV. 10, 2000]  Lincoln College evened its men's basketball record with a 75-54 victory over Carl Sandburg Thursday night in Galesburg. The Lynx are now 1-1 on the season.

Maurice Shurney led the Lynx with 21 points on perfect shooting from the field. Shurney hit both of his 3-point tries and connected on seven of seven from 2-point land. His only problem came at the free-throw line, where Shurney connected on only one of four. Joining Shurney in double figures for the Lynx were Jay Bates with 13 points and Marlon Brooks with 12. Eric Crockrell helped the Lynx to a 37-35 edge on the boards by controlling 11 rebounds.

The Lynx shot 49 percent from the floor for the game, including four of 13 from 3-point land. Carl Sandburg was held to 35 percent shooting by the Lynx defense. The hosts did make eight of 19 shots from 3-point territory. Thirteen of the Lynx saw playing time and 11 cracked the scoring column.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[NOV. 10, 2000]  A good nucleus of returning sophomores gives Lincoln College men’s basketball coach B.J. McCullum high hopes for this season. The Lynx have six returning lettermen and two sophomore transfers to build around.

Coach McCullum began his third season at Lincoln College with a record of 45-19. His first squad won 20 games, and last year the Lynx finished with a 25-7 record. "With a sophomore-laden team, I expect us to be very competitive by the end of the season," said McCullum. "We have a tough schedule, which should help us at the end of the season. We open with Southeastern Iowa, the defending national champions, at their place. We are also playing in a three-day Thanksgiving tourney at Three Rivers, and their coach (Gene Bess) will break the 900-victory barrier this season. They have won two Division I titles in the past 10 years. We also play at Indian Hills, and they had two first round draft picks in the NBA last season, plus they have three Division I championships to their credit. It will be a very competitive schedule."

McCullum continued, "Hopefully by playing the great competition we will learn of our weaknesses, and the men can work on them and be ready by tournament time. We should be a good rebounding and a good defensive team. We will also be a good transition team. Our biggest problem will be 3-point shooting. Hopefully we have enough strengths in other areas to overcome the lack of 3-point shooters. We lost over 100 3-point goals from last year’s team, including Drake Ford, who set the school career record for 3s with 194 and the single season record with 108.

"As for goals, we hope to repeat as conference champions and go to the national tournament. With the support we have in Lincoln, going to the nationals should be our goal every year."

Heading the list of returnees is Marlon Brooks, 6-0 guard from Peoria Manual. McCullum said, "He was our second leading scorer last season and was named all-region and all-conference. He was selected as the co-freshmen of the year in our conference. Eugene Bates, 6-0 guard from Chicago Robeson High School, takes the ball to the basket and has great athletic ability. He is a good rebounder and probably our best perimeter defender."

Returning in the front line is 6-6 Eric Crockrell from Chicago Robeson. "He has looked very good thus far in practice. Eric is an outstanding rebounder and has shown signs that he will be a better scorer in the postseason," said McCullum. "Also showing a lot of scoring potential is Brian Moffitt of A-C Central High School in Ashland. Brian has been playing much harder in practice this year, and he can definitely get the ball in the hoop."

Ryan Brinker and Michael Wehrle are the other returning sophomores who lettered last season. McCullum said, "Ryan does a lot of the little things it takes to win. He is one of our better passers, and if he can knock down the shot, he should see a lot of playing time. Michael has worked very hard to improve his shot, and he was a solid backup last season, and we are looking for more of the same from him this season."

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Ryan Reynolds was redshirted last season, and he has been bothered by a stress fracture in his leg this season. "The guys really respect Ryan, and he is an extremely hard worker who should be ready by the time we open the season, " said McCullum.

Two transfers are expected to help the Lynx tremendously this season. Creston Coleman played this past season at South Plains, Texas. The Peoria Manual graduate, a 6-1 guard, has been slowed by a broken foot but is probably 65 percent right now. "He may be our best passer and is a good shooter. We look for him to get a lot of playing time," said McCullum. Maurice Shurney, 6-7, of Chicago Dunbar, played at Jacksonville, Texas last season. McCullum stated, "If Maurice works hard, he could be as good as anyone in our region. He is playing at about 80 percent of his ability right now and is as good as most people. If he plays at 100 percent, he would be better than anyone. He is one of the better prospects we have had at Lincoln College."

The Lynx have several freshmen who have an opportunity to help this season. Included among the freshmen are Brian Thorsen, 6-8, of Schaumburg; Jerron Hobson, 5-11, of Manual; Kaleb Shumard, 6-7, of Lincoln; Michael Sams, 6-4, of Quincy; Walter Moore, 6-2, of Maroa-Forsyth; Gene Reed, 5-9, and his brother Terry Reed, 5-9, of Atwood-Hammond; and Andrew Kehr, 6-1, of Alexis.

Coach McCullum said, "Thorsen is a very physical player and may be the best screener I ever coached. He has the ability to get his teammates open. Hobson may be the best player we have at pressuring the basketball and is a solid shooter. Shumard has never played organized basketball before; however, he may be the best shooter on the team, and he is a good passer. He needs to work on his defense and on understanding the game a little better. If he works hard, I think he can earn a scholarship at a four-year school.

"Sams was the starting center for Quincy High School last season and is a good offensive rebounder. With his size being only 6-4, he needs to develop his game away from the basket a little. Moore played the post in high school, and he too needs to develop his game away from the basket. Kehr has a bright future and needs to work in the weight room to get stronger. He has a good understanding of the game. Gene Reed is a solid player, and he needs to mature physically. Terry Reed is a bright player who works hard in practice every day. He needs to keep working to be ready to help us next season."

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

Lincoln College men's basketball roster

Managers: Mike Miller, Corey Miller, Ryan Link, Adam Braeback

Team statisticians: Jenna Dupius, Kelly Flanagan

Head coach: B. J. McCullum

Assistant coach: Kirk Whiteman

Click here for Lincoln College men's basketball schedule

[NOV. 9, 2000]  Lincoln College wrestling coach Dave Klemm, beginning his 10^th season, will have to replace eight of 10 starters off last year’s fifth-place national team. The two returning starters, Pat Dowty and Matt Veach, are both returning All-Americans. The Lynx compiled a 12-3 mark in dual meets last season and had six All-Americans. Klemm has compiled a record of 84-66-1 in dual meets in his nine years at Lincoln College.

"We obviously have a lot of holes to fill," said Klemm. "We will be looking for leadership from our two returning All-Americans. It looks like we should be competitive; however, we don’t have much experience on the varsity level. Several of our wrestlers return from last season, but they were not among the starters. They did get some valuable experience wrestling in non-varsity matches."

Klemm continued, "We had our challenge matches last week, and the starting lineup will include the two All-Americans, Pat Dowty (Franklin, Ind.) at 141 pounds and Matt Veach (Springfield) at 157. Dowty will be moving up a weight class this year, having wrestled at 133 last season. Veach will continue at the 157-pound level. Our first two spots, Nathan Hilgendorf (Lincoln) at 125 and Paul Johnson (Granite City) at 133, are both untested on the college level. They are both sophomores; however, they have no varsity college wrestling experience.

"Our other starters at the present time will be Don Jones (Darien) at 149, Clint Shaw (Urbana) at 165; Matt Morel (Bourbonnais) at 174, Brushawn Adams (Springfield) at 184, Josh Lepper (Fort Wayne, Ind.) at 197 and Nathan Welsh (Quincy) at heavyweight.

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"We are concerned about injuries, as we have only one wrestler at the 174 and 184 class. If they should suffer from an injury, we would have to move someone out of their weight class into that position. Obviously our success is going to depend on keeping people injury-free. DeAngelo Love is returning at 133 pounds and is likely to see action. A couple of transfers, David Clark (133) and Joe Herron (149) will probably help in the second semester. They are not eligible the first semester. Herron is a Division I qualifier from last season.

"Our big goal is to qualify for nationals. Wrestling, like any other sport, has two seasons: regular and tournament time. We may struggle early; however, I think we will be ready to compete once the tournaments start at the end of the season. Harper will probably be one of our strongest opponents, as they have a solid lineup returning from last season. Harper competes in our division. We open at the Muskegon, Mich., duals, and they are ranked No. 1 in the nation in preseason polls."

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

Lincoln College wrestling roster

Click here for Lincoln College wrestling schedule

[NOV. 8, 2000]  A celebration has been planned for the Lady Railer volleyball team on Sunday, Nov. 12. A car parade, beginning at the Kruger elevator, will kick off the celebration at noon. The festivities will continue at 1 p.m. with a ceremony in Lincoln Community High School’s gym.

[NOV. 7, 2000]  Tickets for the state volleyball tournament are on sale Tuesday through Thursday in the main office at Lincoln Community High School. Pat Zurkammer handles the ticket sales.

Lincoln High School will be playing Chicago Lane at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 10, at Redbird Arena. Tickets are $7 per session.

Tickets for the winning team’s semifinal and final sessions will go on sale at Redbird Arena immediately after the game. An announcement will be made on the public address system as to the exact location of those ticket sales.

COME OUT AND CHEER THE LADY RAILERS TO VICTORY!

Click here for the tournament schedule for the Lady Railers

[NOV. 7, 2000]  The following statistics are for Lincoln Community High School’s ladies volleyball team, as of Nov. 6:

Team Members	Season’s Totals (so far)				Season’s Best Single Match
	Kills	Blocks	Aces	Assists	Kills	Blocks	Aces	Assists
Aper, Missy	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Boyer, Ashley	225	9	47	15	13	2	4	2
Conrady, Samantha	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Cook, Kristina	216	107	7	27	12	14	1	3
Dawson, Dominique	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Franz, Megan	2	0	3	0	2	0	2	0
Frasier, Maria	13	3	2	3	3	3	0	1
Gleason, Kelli	56	28	52	757	5	4	5	38
Hahn, Becca	32	17	1	3	4	2	1	2
Maestas, Angela	1	0	9	0	1	0	2	0
McFadden, Kari	83	41	16	9	7	5	4	3
Peifer, Danielle	138	64	28	7	8	5	4	2
White, Darcy	156	7	17	2	8	2	2	2
Wilkinson, Emily	5	5	24	2	2	2	5	0
Xamis, Christina	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	3

The team has scored a total of 1,100 points this season, including 933 kills, 281 blocks and 206 aces. The best single match this season had 46 kills, 30 blocks and 12 aces.

[NOV. 7, 2000]  The tentative schedule for Lincoln Railer volleyball this weekend is as follows:

Lincoln High School will be playing Chicago Lane at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 10, at Redbird Arena.

If Lincoln wins on Friday, they play on Saturday at 11 a.m. If they lose on Friday, they are done.

If Lincoln wins on Saturday at 11 a.m., they play again at 7:30 p.m. If they lose on Saturday at 11 a.m., they play at 4:45 p.m. for third place.

Media One will not be broadcasting Friday's match against Chicago Lane.

They will broadcast Saturday's championship game on Wednesday, Nov. 15, whether or not Lincoln plays.

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