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Monday, Dec. 16

Gators at Holiday Splash

[DEC. 16, 2002]  ^"The kids did great this weekend," said Heidi Heidbreder, coach of the Lincoln Gator Swim Club. The Gators competed in the Dec. 13-15 Holiday Splash at New Lenox.

Ashlyn Schleder achieved her second A time in the 100 free, with a mark of 1:12.08. Her other A time is in the 50 free. Ashlyn placed fifth overall in her age division.

Brennan Elsas placed second overall in boys 10 and under. He has now qualified for the Illinois JO meet in four events: 50 free, 200 free, 100 back and the 100 fly.

Sam Wood placed fourth overall in the same division and achieved three JO times this weekend, in the 200 free, 100 back and 100 fly. Sam also broke his own team record in the 500 freestyle by 3 seconds.

Brie Ernst set a team record in everything she swam this weekend.

Girls 10 and under

Sarah Fuller -- 100 IM, fifth, C, 1:54.35; 200 free, second, C, 3:30.14; 100 free, 21st, C, 1:38.44; 50 back, 29th, C, 58.53; 100 fly, 21st, C, 2:04.37; 50 breast, 19th, C, 57.66; 100 back, 18th, C, 2:05.69; 50 fly, 19th, C, 51.98; 100 breast, seventh, C, 2:06.79; 50 free, 10th, C, 41.61

Ashlyn Schleder -- 100 free, second, A, 1:12.08; 50 back, first, B, 40.56; 50 breast, seventh, B, 54.73; 100 back, third, B, 1:28.17; 50 fly, second, B, 38.61; 50 free, third, A, 32.15

[to top of second column in this article]

Boys 10 and under

Brennan Elsas -- 100 IM, fifth, A, 1:21.49; 200 free, third, A, 2:30.54, JO; 100 free, third, A, 1:09.79; 50 back, sixth, A, 37.97; 100 fly, first, A, 1:18.78, JO; 100 back, first, A, 1:18.18, JO; 50 fly, third, A, 35.96; 50 free, first, A, 30.51, JO

Sam Wood -- 100 IM, sixth, A, 1:21.81; 200 free, fourth, A, 2:31.31, JO; 500 free, second, 6:53.75, team record; 100 free, fifth, A, 1:09.99; 50 back, 10th, A, 39.99; 100 fly, second, A, 1:22.34, JO; 50 breast, ninth, A, 44.25; 100 back, fifth, A, 1:25.50, JO; 50 fly, fourth, A, 36.05, 100 breast, fifth, A, 1:36.38; 50 free, fifth, A, 31.86

Girls 11 and 12

Emily Hauter -- 500 free, first, C, 7:40.73; 100 free, 38th, B, 1:15.39; 100 back, 12th, C, 1:38.68; 100 fly, first, C, 1:32.43; 50 free, 18th, B, 32.83; 200 free, 23rd, B, 2:42.99; 50 back, seventh, C, 42.95; 100 breast, 18th, C, 2:01.00; 50 fly, first, C, 39.63

Girls 13 and 14

Brie Ernst -- 500 free, sixth, A, 5:58.67, team record; 50 free, fifth, A, 27.37, team record; 100 fly, fifth, A, 1:10.11, team record; 100 free, seventh, A, 59.79, team record

[Results provided by Heidi Heidbreder]

High school basketball

[DEC. 16, 2002] 

At Lincoln

Kankakee     18   36   47     64

Lincoln          14   34   56     66

Lincoln:  Josh Gallagher 1-0-2, Chris Bunch 7-3-18, Cory Farmer 9-4-27, Ryne Kamnick 0-0-0, Derek Schrader 0-1-1, Brock Werner 0-0-0, Erik Young 6-4-16, Brand Heidbreder 1-0-2.  Totals:  24-12-66.  Three-pointers:  Farmer 5, Bunch 1.

Other

Buffalo Tri-City def. Illini Central 78-56.

High school wrestling

[DEC. 16, 2002] 

At Springfield

Lincoln 66, Lanphier 10

103 lbs:  McShane (L) dec. Cookson (SL), 8-6

112:  Valdes (L) won by forfeit

119:  Rogers (L) pinned Finigan (SL), 1:36

130:  Allen (L) dec. Johnson (SL), 12-8

135:  Lynch (L) won by forfeit

140:  Denney (L) pinned Sokolis (SL), 1:27

145:  Reddix (L) pinned Gregory (SL), 1:32

152:  Adye (L) won by forfeit

160:  Swinford (L) won by forfeit

171: Edwards (L) won by forfeit

189:  Moberg (SL) dec. West (L), 12-3

215:  Reinhart (L) pinned House (SL), 1:26

275:  Cooper (L) pinned Langley (SL), 2:26

Lincoln 59, Danville 16

103 lbs:  Carpenter (D) pinned Helton (L), 1:50

112:  Valdes (L) pinned Barber (D), 1:47

125:  Rogers (L) tech. fall Atwood (D), 22-7

130:  Allen (L) pinned Eweshko (D)

135:  Lynch (L) pinned Green (D), 3:47

140:  Denney (L) pinned Inai (D), 5:37

145:  Dabbey (D) pinned Reddix (L), 5:06

152:  Shaw (D) tech. fall Adye (L), 24-10

160:  Berger (L) pinned Tyler (D), 2:28

171: Edwards (L) pinned Puhr (D), 5:05

189:  West (L) pinned Brullinger (D), :55

215:  Reinhart (L) pinned Hartley (D) 1:10

275:  Cooper (L) pinned Blackmon (D), :49

LCC men in Taylor tourney

[DEC. 16, 2002]  The LCC men lost both their games in the Taylor University Tournament this weekend.

[Aaron Johnson]

LC men vs. Shawnee

[DEC. 16, 2002]  ULLIN -- Eleven players cracked the scoring column and four reached double figures as Lincoln College evened its record at 6-6 with a 97-70 victory over Shawnee at the Shawnee Classic here Saturday afternoon.

Lincoln College connected at a 56 percent clip from the field (40-72) as they rolled to a 55-26 lead at halftime. Terrance Chapman led the Lynx with 22 points, followed by Derik Hollyfield, Michael Fowler and Amir Major in double figures. The Lynx also enjoyed a 46-37 edge in rebounding.

Lincoln College will close out the 2002 portion of its schedule with a game at Moline Thursday against Black Hawk. The Lynx will then be idle until Jan. 8, when they host Lewis & Clark for a conference game.

Lincoln College (97) -- Josh Clark 2-4-0-0-5, Jeff Carlson 2-3-0-0-4, Michael Fowler 4-5-2-3-11, Rueben Trotter 4-7-0-0-8, Loyd Bowen 3-7-0-0-6, Amir Major 4-7-0-1-10, Jamaal Thompson 3-8-2-3-8, James Roberson 3-7-0-0-7, Terrance Chapman 9-15-4-9-22, Derik Hollyfield 5-8-2-4-14, Rian Lazzerini 1-1-0-0-2. Totals: 40-72-10-20-97. Three- point goals -- Clark, Fowler, Major 2, Roberson, Hollyfield 2.

Shawnee (70) -- Eric Roberson 7-12-4-9-18, Jeremy McCadney 7-14-0-5-14, Ron Powell 1-3-1-2-3, Chad Tapp 1-4-2-4-4, Andrew Hosman 3-8-1-2-7, Robert Robinson 7-18-1-2-19, Tommy King 0-1-1-4-1, Ben Ferguson 2-2-0-0-4. Totals: 28-62-10-28. Three-point goals: Robinson 4.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

LC women vs. Meramac

[DEC. 16, 2002]  ST. LOUIS -- Lincoln College closed out the first part of its women's basketball season with a 75-50 victory over Meramac in the Forest Park Classic Saturday afternoon. The Lady Lynx finish the first half of the season with an 11-3 record. Lincoln is now idle until Jan. 8.

Nicole Dearing scored all 10 of her points in the first half as the Lady Lynx took a 36-25 lead to the dressing room. In the second half, Erica Ernst scored 10 points and Kim Calhoun added nine as Meramec was never able to get back in contention.

Ernst finished with 17 points to lead the balanced Lynx attack. Calhoun finished with 14 points and Dearing had 10. Siess had 12 points to lead the losers.  

Lincoln College (75) -- Ariel Lamb 1-0-2, Lakeisha Graham 1-0-2, Victoria Scott 4-0-9, Amber Bell 2-1-5, Becky Spears 2-0-4, Kim Calhoun 5-4-14, Ashley Sims 2-0-4, Maria Coronel 0-0-0, Mary Rossio 1-0-2, Zabrina Harper 3-0-6, Erica Ernst 4-9-17.  Totals: 29-15-75. Three-point goals: Scott, Dearing.

Meramac (50) -- Vaughn 1-0-3, Hanegan 0-1-1, Head 2-0-4, LaPee 1-2-4, Lamatana 2-2-7, Siess 3-5-12, Meyer 2-0-4, Spuhl 2-2-7, Jenkins 1-0-2, Prosser 3-0-6.  Totals: 17-12-50. Three-point goals: Vaughn, Lamatana, Siess, Spuhl.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Three LC wrestlers place second

[DEC. 16, 2002]  RIVER GROVE -- Three Lincoln College wrestlers brought home second-place finishes in the Art Kraft Memorial wrestling tournament here Saturday afternoon.

Josh Collins finished second at 125 pounds, A. J. Blahut was second at 184 pounds, and Pete Mueller was second at heavyweight.  

Collins lost the title match 7-0 to Nick Vogt of Meramec, Blahut was beaten 8-4 by Matt Sasolino of Triton, and Muller dropped a 7-4 decision to Joe Kirwin of Meramec.

In other Lincoln College results, Jim Fascetta lost to Tymer Cooper of Harper, 9-8, to finish fourth at 125 pounds; Chris Ravenna defeated Josh Oster of Elmhurst, 2-1, to finish third at 141 pounds; and Justin Collins won an 11-10 decision over Martine to finish third at 133 pounds.

At 157 pounds Frank Beasley was a 6-0 winner over John Sklana of Triton to finish third; Lamar Fenner beat Joe Neren of DePaul, 10-5, to place third at 174 pounds; and Bryan Morgan placed fifth at 197 pounds by beating Alonzo Roane of Niagra, 6-1.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Western Kentucky holds off the Redbirds 63-43

[DEC. 16, 2002]  NORMAL -- Trailing by only five points at halftime, the Illinois State men's basketball team held strong with Western Kentucky until the second half, when the Hilltoppers dominated en route to a 63-43 win Sunday afternoon in Bowling Green, Ky.

With the loss, the Redbirds remain winless this season, falling to 0-6, while Western Kentucky improves to 3-3. ISU was led by Gregg Alexander, who had 18 points and was the only Redbird player to post double digits. Vince Greene chipped in six and Trey Guidry had five. WKU was led by Nate Williams, who led all scorers with 20 points, and  Patrick Sparks added 10.

The Redbirds scored only 20 points in the first half and trailed just 25-20 at halftime, but the Hilltoppers came out on fire in the second, taking a commanding 13-point lead before the 'Birds scored their first field goal of the half. A jumper by Alexander at the 15:53 mark kept ISU alive, but Western Kentucky's dominance from the start of the quarter prevailed through the end of the game.

[to top of second column in this article]

The Redbirds came to within 10 with 12 minutes to play, but Western Kentucky answered, going on a seven-point run and leading 44-27 with nine left in the game.

ISU shot 27.6 percent from the field on the game, including 25 percent in the second half. They were 16-of-58 from the field.

The Redbirds return to action at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at home against Jacksonville.

[Erica Fricke, assistant director of media relations, Illinois State University]

Bears win! Or do they?

By Greg Taylor

[DEC. 16, 2002]  The Chicago Bears won their fourth game of the season Sunday in Champaign, beating the playoff-caliber New York Jets 20-13 before another huge crowd on a beautiful December Sunday afternoon. After the game, in the locker room, players were upbeat and excited about their third victory at Memorial Stadium to go along with four defeats. However, the cynic in me must ask two questions.

First, where has this ability to finish the effort been all season? And second, did the Bears really do themselves any favors by improving to 4-10 on the season?

Let's deal with question No. 1 first. This game reminded me of several other Champaign games this season where the Bears were in a position to win late and could not seal the deal. What if they don't give up late TDs against New Orleans and New England? What if John Shoop actually allows Jim Miller to throw the ball downfield against Philadelphia? What if the Bears don't hand Green Bay two gift-wrapped TDs during the Monday night debacle?

Win those four games (all very winnable) and you are looking at 8-6 instead of 4-10. Throw in the choke game in Detroit and missed opportunities late against Buffalo and St. Louis on the road and playoff talk is more than just talk -- it becomes a reality.

Sunday Chicago won for three major reasons: First, no turnovers on offense. Chris Chandler did a great job (where's he been all year?) against a strong New York defense, and the Bears received solid running from former Jet Leon Johnson and the A-Train -- not Anthony Thomas but rookie Adrian Peterson (who showed why he should have been playing much more this year). Shoop allowed the Bears to throw downfield and the offense scored just enough to win.

Second, New York couldn't convert touchdowns, instead settling for field goals.

[to top of second column in this article]

The Bears played most of the game with two rookie cornerbacks on the field (a disaster waiting to happen), but the Jets didn't exploit this advantage regularly and the defense was just good enough.

Finally, the Bears won because they were lucky
-- something they had in '01 and something they haven't seen much of this year. Wayne Crebet fumbles to end the game; the Jets return a kickoff for a touchdown, only to have it called back by a hold; Edinger has just enough leg twice to convert very long field goals. Lady luck looked favorably on the Bears on Sunday.All of which leads me to question No. 2: Did the Bears do themselves any favors? In short -- NO! They are now behind both Cincinnati and Detroit in the Byron Leftwich and Carson "Heisman" Palmer sweepstakes and are tied with Houston and Minnesota at four wins. The positive in this discussion is the fact Houston, Detroit and Minnesota all have franchise quarterbacks and would likely not take another QB in the 2003 draft. However, the Bears could still win next Sunday at Carolina and will probably face a Tampa team in week 17 that will rest many their starters in preparation of the playoffs.

Should the Bears tank the rest of the season? Why not, when you are really playing for 2004?

Bears win! Bears win! Bears win! Only Chicago could lose when they win.

[Greg Taylor]

Articles from the past week

By Jeff Mayfield

[DEC. 16, 2002]  There is a beautiful, majestic owl that sometimes roosts in our neighborhood. And when he starts making noise you can hear him plain as day. Saturday he was doing that, and my son started mimicking the bird, "Hoo, hoo." Who? "Cook"… that's who!

Brian Cook continued his domination of non-conference foes by hitting for a double-double Saturday in Illinois' 70-54 win over Temple. All Cook did was to lead all scorers with 25 points. He also led all rebounders with 11 and may have led all vendors in popcorn sales for all we know!

The greatest thing about his most recent performances is the leadership he has brought this team. I've read that he isn't a vocal leader and therefore is not doing his job in that capacity. Give me a guy who can score and rebound any day -- that's plenty of leadership for any ship that I'm on!

Now it's time for some of his teammates to step up and share some of the load. It will be interesting to see how many people dive off the Cook wagon when he has a bad game or two. And it will be interesting to see who steps up for Illinois and rescues us on the days Cook can't.

Maybe it will be Dee Brown. Awakened from his first-half slumber, he shook some of the Owls out of their trees for 15 second-half points, and he was the only other Illini in double figures.

Illinois only shot a season-low 43 percent. You will read in other outlets how Temple's tough zone confused the Illini. However, IF you've ever been to the United Center, YOU know that it is a difficult place to shoot! IF you don't believe me, ask Michael… and I don't mean Abbott! MJ remarked many times how he missed the friendly rims and bounces of the old Chicago Stadium and was not all that enthralled with the background, rims or any of the UC's nuances for that matter.

On the other hand, we have warned several times right here that we're not sure that this Illini team is shooting the rock as well as past teams have shown. But there's plenty of potential and plenty of time for this Illinois bomb squad to heat up; and we're hoping that they do it at just the right time.

The Illini did hold Temple to 29 percent shooting with some pretty good "D," but refer to the above for another factor in their demise! Illinois did convert on an amazing 19-of-21 free throws. Thanks to the entire team for reading about the need to improve in that category right here in the LDN! The Orange and Blue also out-rebounded Temple 38-37.

All it does is get tougher from here on out, as Illinois' next two opponents are Missouri and Memphis. Don't be fooled by MSU's big loss at Columbia… They'll be much tougher in the Pyramid! And Mizzou is so due Saturday… I'd love to see us shut them down again!

And I mean that in EVERY sense of the word. Coach Neil Alexander and his staff have lulled me into a false sense of security. I may be as bad as some of his players in this respect. I know that we'll find a way to win. But you sure had to search long and hard for it Saturday night versus a vastly improved Kankakee ball club.

I've heard of slow starts, but this game may have even taken the cake for the slowest start ever. There were possibly six turnovers on the first seven possessions. We put the "UG" in "ugly!" But somehow Lincoln was only down by a bucket at halftime, thanks to an acrobatical half-court 3 drained by Chris Bunch! That momentum buster may have been enough to turn the tide, as we don't think the Railers trailed the rest of the night.

But they did hang on for their lives. Kankakee kept chipping away, and LCHS kept missing their free throws and took a few ill-advised shots until it was a one-point game. Cory Farmer then hit a big front end of a one-and-one, and his miss bounced around until time ran out as Lincoln found that way to a two-point win, 66-64.

But this is a mark of a special team -- they get outplayed by a team with tremendous athleticism and still find ways to beat you. IF that's not GREAT coaching, then I don't know what is!

The Railers also drubbed Taylorville this weekend, 71-23.

[to top of second column in this article]

Mount Pulaski chops down another giant

The Hilltoppers keep knocking down giant after giant. After dethroning last year's Class A state champion Pleasant Plains squad, they next tackled No. 15-ranked Riverton. And even though they had a guy go off for 34 points, it wasn't enough. Mount Pulaski ran its record to 7-2 with a 70-59 upset. Next up is a home battle with Clinton tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

The Lincoln College Lady Lynx are rolling right along. Two more victories this weekend put them at a sparkling 11-3 including a nice 75-50 romp over Meramec.

The LCC Angels hit another snag in the road, losing to Grinnell 73-49. Former Lady Railer Brittany Robbins continues to lead the way for Lincoln.

LC lost a 72-69 squeaker to Rend Lake, and LCC took two losses this weekend at the Taylor University tourney, losing to the hosts 73-52 and to Tri-State University 103-77. But tough competition for both teams now will make them more battle-ready when conference and postseason play gets here.

We commend all of our area coaches for playing such tough schedules!

ISU lost at Western Kentucky 63-43 yesterday. Lincoln's Gregg Alexander led all scorers with 18 points. (Click here for game report.)

Lincoln's Lady Railers were hoping to get another win under their belts. But they were denied on Saturday afternoon as Quincy won a hard-fought 54-49 overtime contest in Lincoln.

Just when you leave them for dead, the Chicago Bears step up and rise from the dead. The last few weeks all anyone would talk about was how improved the Jets were with Chad Pennington at the helm. But after the Bears won 20-13 Sunday in Champaign, we're not hearing as much talk. Check the incomparable Greg Taylor's story on the game!

How 'bout the game Sam White of LCHS recently rolled? The senior Railer put up a 286 to go along with another 600-plus series. Sam would like to possibly continue his bowling career at Western Illinois University.

White, who is a student manager for the Railer basketball team, took his accomplishment in stride. He told the LDN that he fully expects to improve and that a perfect 300 game looms on the horizon.

He is a recent addition to the list of some great student managers, including Adam Butts, Stacy Willis, Jamie Graack, Ryan Gleason and Colby Elkins.

IF YOU were ever a Railer manager for ANY sport and have a story YOU can tell, please contact us here at the LDN. We try to never leave any stone unturned here and appreciate ANYone and EVERYone who has ANYthing to do with our young people! You managers, stat and scoreboard/book people make ALL the games more enjoyable for all of us. THANKS from the LDN for all you do. We do take notice!

…has been fun the last two weeks as you amaze us with your answers to the trivia questions! We've got lots to talk about: the Illini, the Railers, the Bears, just to name a few. So, hit the LIVE LDN link or tune your radio to FIX 96.3 FM or your TV to Channel 5 and join Greg and me tonight at 6!

And "Happy Birthday" to the best little local sport I know, who just turned 2 on Sunday. He called me his buddy this week, and therefore he's my player of the week!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• "Cook, Illini, Railers, Preachers, Toppers all make statement," posted Dec. 9
• "Quick Monday morning mutterings," posted Dec. 2
• More columns...

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