Sports News,  Past Articles,  Mayfield's Mutterings,  Schedules,

Announcements,  Calendar,  Sports News Elsewhere  (fresh daily from the Web)

Monday, Dec. 9

High school wrestling

[DEC. 9, 2002] 

Rockford East Invitational

4.  Olympia 117

103 lbs:  5. Chris Alexander

112:  3. Caleb Dietrich

130:  2. Alan DeLoriea

140:  2. Adam Sheppelman

152:  2. Cody Lingle

215:  2. Adam Troll

275:  2. Jimmy Bradshaw

Fresh-Soph Olympia Invitational

2.  Olympia 147

Pairings announced for State Farm Holiday Classic

[DEC. 9, 2002]  The pairings have been announced for the 2002 State Farm Holiday Classic in Bloomington-Normal. The 64-team tournament, which is the largest coed holiday high school basketball tournament in the nation, will be Dec. 26-28 and Dec. 30 at Illinois Wesleyan University's Shirk Center, Illinois State University's Horton Fieldhouse, Bloomington High School and Normal West High School. Brackets and pairings are available at www.theclassic.org.

The top seeds in the tournament are South Holland Thornwood, three-time defending champion, in boys Class AA; Rock Falls, the preseason No. 3 Class A team in the state, in boys Class A; undefeated Peoria Richwoods in girls Class AA; and Normal University High School, a 2001 state quarterfinalist, in girls Class A.

Thornwood, a state quarterfinalist the past two seasons, will have to navigate an impressive boys Class AA field, which includes five undefeated teams. The No. 2 seed in the bracket is Springfield Southeast, which features DePaul University recruit Marcus Heard; the No. 3 seed is Peoria Notre Dame, with Illinois signee Brian Randle; and the No. 4 seed is Lincoln, which has won at least 20 games in seven of the past eight seasons.

"This bracket will feature at least eight Division I recruits," said Dan Highland, president of the organizing group for the tournament. "Besides the individual talent, we have worked hard to attract some of the best teams in the state, and we feel we have accomplished that."

In the boys Class A division, undefeated Rock Falls is led by third-team all-stater Robbie Minor and special mention all-stater Isaiah Johnson. Rock Falls will be challenged by No. 2 seed Tolono Unity, which took home the fourth-place state trophy last year; 2001 Holiday Classic Class A champion Quincy Notre Dame (No. 3); and No. 4 seed Rock Island Alleman.

[to top of second column in this article]

For the girls, Peoria Richwoods, which is undefeated this season, leads a competitive Class AA field that includes No. 2 seed Galesburg, No. 3 Normal Community High School and No. 4 Springfield Southeast. 2001 Holiday Classic Class AA champion Geneseo is also back to defend its title.

The girls Class A bracket features 10 teams that won regional titles last year, including No.1 seed Normal U-High, which has reached the Elite Eight the past two years and had a fourth-place finish in 2001. The Lady Pioneers will be challenged by No. 2 seed Rochester, No. 3 Stark County and No. 4 Seneca, which won the trophy last year.

"Our slogan is 'The Best Basketball this side of March!™'" said Highland.  "Nothing demonstrates this better than this Class A girls field."

All game scores and boxes will be posted at www.theclassic.org. The site will also include tournament tidbits, live scoring updates, school information and records. Visit the website for a complete schedule of games along with ticket and hotel information.

[News release]

LCC men's basketball update

[Aaron Johnson]

LC women defeat Harper

[DEC. 9, 2002]  The Lincoln College women raised their record to 8-3 with a 74-63 win over Harper here Saturday afternoon. The Lady Lynx led by eight at halftime, opened the second half with a 17-10 run and were never seriously threatened.

Zabrina Harper led a balanced Lincoln College attack with 15 points while Erica Ernst added 12 and Nicole Dearing also reached double figures with 10. Eleven players cracked the scoring column for coach Carol Wilson.

Harper was never able to get any closer than seven points in the second half, and each time the Lynx answered with a basket to keep the game in their control.

Lincoln College hosts Florissant Valley at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11.   

[to top of second column in this article]

Lincoln College (74) -- Lakeisha Graham 2-0-4, Victoria Scott 0-1-1, Audrey Hinrichsen 1-0-3, Becky Spears 1-2-4, Kim Calhoun 3-2-8, Nicole Dearing 4-2-10, Ashley Sims 3-0-6, Maria Coronel 2-2-7, Mary Rossio 2-0-4, Zabrina Harper 7-0-15, Erica Ernst 6-0-12. Totals: 31-9-74. Three-point goals: Hinrichsen, Coronel, Harper.

Harper (63) -- Rammel 6-5-17, Bales 3-1-7, Budruweit 2-2-6, Williams 7-1-16, Christopoulus 2-2-6, DeGelleke 3-5-11. Totals: 23-16-63. Three-point goals: Williams.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Lynx swim teams post victories over Eureka

[DEC. 9, 2002]  Lincoln College defeated Eureka 100-47 in women's swimming action at Lincoln this past weekend. The Lynx men also posted a victory over Eureka, by a 101-34 margin.

Lincoln High School graduate Angela Couch was a winner in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of :26.42 and also won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of :58.81. Jill Doxsie was also a double winner with a time of 1:16 in the 100-yard breaststroke and a time of 2:30.37 in the 200-yard IM.

Ryan Poss was a double winner for the Lynx men, taking the 50-yard free and the 100-yard free. Jared Sexton won the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard breaststroke for the Lynx.

Top placings for the Lynx women:

1,000-yard free -- 1. Toni Ortega, 12:32.11.

200 free -- 1. Rachel Willenborg, 2:05.42, 2. Leslie Seago, 2:07.76.

50 free -- 1. Angela Couch, :26.42, 2. Jenine Mills, :34.31.

200 IM -- 1. Jill Doxsie, 2:30.37, 2. Rachel Seida, 2:36.72

100 fly -- 2. Rachel Seida, 1:14.26.

100 free -- 1. Angela Couch :58.81, 2. Anna Ahlstrand, 1:04.20.

100 back -- 1. Rachel Willenborg, 1:05.81.

500 free -- 1. Leslie Seago, 5:36.42, 2. Megon Conlon, 6:21.14.

100 breast -- 1. Jill Doxsie, 1:16, 2. Anna Ahlstrand, 1:20.65.

[to top of second column in this article]

Top placings for the men:

200 medley relay -- LC (Hierman, Sexton, Davidson, Gentry), 1:47.29.

1,000 free -- 1. Scott Sampson, 10:25.85, 2. Jeremy Bostrom, 11:02.03.

200 free -- 1. Bryan Sherman, 1:56.98, 2. Eric Girard, 2:05.35.

50 free -- 1. Ryan Poss, :23.67.

200 IM -- 1. Jared Sexton, 2:09.89, 2. Jonathan Gentry, 2:19.46.

100 fly -- 1. Jonathan Gentry, 1:01.40, 2. Eric Girard, 1:05.92.

100 free -- 1. Ryan Poss, :51.57, 2. Eric Piper, 1:00.58.

100 breast -- 1. Jared Sexton, 1:07, 2. Brandon Davidson, 1:11.55.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Lynx wrestle in Terre Haute

[DEC. 9, 2002]  Lincoln College's A.J. Blahut took top honors in the Indiana Little State wrestling tournament at Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday. Blahut pinned Mark Hickey of Illinois College in 2:16 of the championship match.

Blahut was the lone champion for Lincoln coach Dave Klemm; however, several other Lynx mat men placed high in the tourney.

Josh Collins finished second in the 125-pound class, losing the title match 10-4 to Wiley Craft of the University of Indianapolis. In the same weight class, Jim Fascetta finished fifth by winning over Manny Rodiguez of Millikin, and Josh Bluatte decisioned Joe Lampett of Manchester 5-2 to place seventh.

Just Collins was pinned in 1:21 by Matt Krulik of Indianapolis and placed fourth at 133 pounds. Nick Fannin was a seventh-place winner over Reece Collins of Wabash.

At 141 pounds, Chris Ravenna of Lincoln placed third by decision over Mike Hanlin of Manchester, 10-7, and Frank Beasley of Lincoln was sixth at 157 pounds as he lost a 2-1 decision to Mark Zimmerman of Heidelberg.

Lamar Fenner placed fourth in the 174-pound class as he lost a 13-8 bout to John Davis of Manchester, and Pete Mueller was fourth as he lost 5-3 to Aaron Royhan of Indianapolis in the heavyweight division.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Men's basketball pre-game notes

Illinois State vs. Western Kentucky

[DEC. 9, 2002]   The Illinois State Redbirds, including Gregg Alexander of Lincoln, play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, at Bowling Green Ky.

Click here to view background information (in Adobe Acrobat).

[Click here if you need to download the Adobe Acrobat reader.]

[Provided by Todd Kober,
 director of media relations,
Illinois State University]

Articles from the past week

By Jeff Mayfield

[DEC. 9, 2002]  As I’ve said on more than one occasion, this is a fun time of the year. Almost every sport is in action and making a move. Even the ones that aren’t are doing something at their winter meetings. Let’s examine a few with local implications:

We saw how the young Illini responded to the bright lights of Assembly Hall. But many wondered how the "kiddie korps" would do outside of the friendly confines of Cham-bana. How ’bout a "W" on the wild and wacky road of Arkansas? Illinois prevailed in a squeaker, 62-58, and yes, they didn’t finish it or seal it the way we’d all like to see it. However, I’ve preached through the years this one important point: You get NO extra brownies for ANY style points. Translation: Even the ugliest of wins is better than a pretty loss! Period!

Brian Cook led the way with 18 points and could have had a lot more. He also had four rebounds, four assists and two steals to offset five turnovers.

Illinois was mauled on the boards 36-21 by Arkansas, including a 15-4 shelling on the offensive glass. The Illinois were able to recover some of those lost possessions by forcing the Hogs into 22 turnovers while committing only 15 themselves.

James Augustine had a huge game for the Illini with 10 points and six rebounds. The Illini got to the FT line only nine times but converted seven of them. That, coupled with 50 percent shooting from the field on the day, all contributed to a big Illini road victory. The statement was that the "W" is more important than any other stat!

Folks wondered what complexion this year’s Sacred Heart-Griffin team would bear with a new coach with Quincy roots. And said coach didn’t act like he was too worried about our vaunted one-two-two ball press and host of prolific perimeter shooters. By his own admission he may have underestimated us just a bit. According to him, it was 10 times better than he thought it would be, as the final outcome attested to a Railer 65-46 win. In fact, a case could be made that this game was over at halftime, with the Railers exploding to a 30-13 lead at the intermission.

Brock Werner continued his outstanding play by firing in 23 points, mostly bombs from way downtown. It’s nice to see him have success after he suffered a knee injury that limited him so much last season. He also has shot hundreds of shots in his driveway over the years, and it’s nice to see him hit them in prime time for the Railers.

Erik Young continues to be a force in the middle, as he went for 12 and six, and Cory Farmer added 10.

This is a pretty balanced Railer contingent. If they can continue to work hard and not be satisfied by what they’ve accomplished, it could be very interesting how good this team could be.

Next up for Lincoln will be a true test is they travel to take on the highly ranked and regarded Spartans of Springfield Southeast in a rare Tuesday night affair.

[to top of second column in this article]

LCC showing its muscle

Lincoln Christian College traveled north to participate in the annual Midwest Regional Tipoff. And LCC came away with two wins, while one team wouldn’t even show up to play them. Lincoln clipped Moody 65-58 and then drubbed Emmaus 85-42. That takes the record to 6-5 and precedes a tough matchup at MacMurray Tuesday night before a very difficult tourney at Taylor University this weekend.

However, this team has played a brutal schedule and has acquitted themselves well. After the first of the year they will be playing teams on their level, and it could really be "Katie, bar the door!!!"

New coach Jim Jumper told a "FANdamonium" audience a week ago that his kids were ready for all challenges. He was right again! Just look at how his Hilltoppers handled the defending Class A state champions from Pleasant Plains this past weekend, 52-39. How’s that for a home opener? The Toppers received nine points from Craig Erlenbush; Brian Clements had 12 points and seven rebounds; and Justin Anderson had 18 points and five rebounds. Friday’s game helped take some of the sting off Tuesday’s loss at Niantic.

This is a darn good Mount Pulaski team that figures to make a lot of noise in our area this year.

That’s right. YOUR Chicago Bears could REALLY help out my Oakland Raiders with a huge win on Monday night! So, I will once again be rooting like crazy for the Bears tonight with no ill will towards coach Wannstedt or the fish. IF you’re looking for a GREAT Christmas gift, how ’bout some Bears tickets? Call Tom at 737-7344 for availability.

Get your dialing fingers ready. TONIGHT, we want to hear from you. Call us at 735-3306 with your question or comment. IF by ANY chance you read this column, could you please e-mail me this afternoon at jmayfiel@lccs.edu. I want to get a feel for talk on the Illini, the NFL, the Railers and Toppers, and others… or just "E" to say you read it, and at least it gives you something to laugh at!

See you at 6 tonight on the Lincoln Daily News LIVE link, FIX-FM 96.3 radio or on CITV-5 Lincoln.

Have a great week, everybody!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• "Quick Monday morning mutterings," posted Dec. 2
• "Semple shines but Bears win in OT," posted Nov. 25
• "Illini make it a Champaign double," posted Nov. 25
• More columns...

Announcements

Back to top

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law & Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health & Fitness | Calendar

Letters to the Editor