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Monday, March 24

Gator swimmer wins medals at Junior Olympic meet

[MARCH 24, 2003]  Brennan Elsas of the Lincoln Gators competed in the Illinois Junior Olympic championship meet this weekend at the University of Illinois Chicago and placed in the top 10 in several events. Brennan, a 9-year-old, was swimming against the top 30 boys in the 10-and-under age group in the state.

On Saturday he placed 13th in the 100 free, 14th in the 200 IM and 19th in the 100 back.

On Sunday he was on fire. In the 50 free he placed seventh with a time of 29.46, which enabled him to receive a medal. He also broke the team record in the 50 free, which had been held by Dirk Steinfort since 1987, and his time was fast enough to qualify for zone competition. In the 100 fly Brennan placed ninth, and in the 200 free he placed sixth, with a time of 2:23.04, which gave him another medal.

Coach Heidi Heidbreder of the Lincoln Gator Swim Club said it was a big accomplishment for Brennan to place in the top 10 in his age group because most of the other swimmers were 10 years old. "He has worked so hard this year for this," she said.

Clark sets 3-point record as Lynx win season finale

[MARCH 24, 2003]  DANVILLE -- Josh Clark set a new NJCAA 3-point field goal record to lead the Lincoln College Lynx to a 95-73 victory over Bevill State Community College. The victory gave the Lynx seventh place in the national Division II tournament and concluded their season with an outstanding record of 28-8.

Clark set the tournament 3-point record as well as the Lincoln College single-game record. Donnie Aeilts held the previous Lincoln College record with seven 3-pointers against Muscatine, Iowa, on Jan. 21, 1989. The Lynx also set a single-game 3-point record with 19 3-point goals, breaking the record of 14 set against Illinois Central on Feb. 2, 1991.

Coach B.J. McCullum won 20 games for the fifth straight year. Allen Pickering won 20 games for six straight years, 1979-85, as mentor of the Lynx. McCullum also moved into third place on the all-time Lincoln College win record and stands at 123-43 in five years as coach. He trails only Pickering, who registered 368 wins from 1971-87, and Norm Kaye, who had a record of 135-77 from 1957-64. McCullum's .741 winning percentage places him second to Steve Yount, who was 82-17 from 1987-90 for a percentage of .828.

Led by Clark, the Lynx were 11-of-22 from 3-point land in the first half as they were able to take a 42-35 lead to the locker room. The Lynx broke the game open in the second half as they outscored Bevill 53-38.

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Clark finished the game with 35 points and was joined in double figures by James Roberson with 18, Terrance Chapman with 17 and Derik Hollyfield with 10. Clark pulled down 11 rebounds in addition to his 35-point effort. Lincoln College finished the game shooting 48 percent from 3-point land and 44 percent overall.

Lincoln College (95) -- Josh Clark 12-22-0-0-35, Jeff Carlson 0-2-0-0-0, Michael Fowler 2-4-0-0-5, Rueben Trotter 0-2-0-0-0, Loyd Bowen 0-0-2-2-2, Amir Major 3-8-1-2-7, Jamaal Thompson 0-1-0-0-0, James Roberson 6-10, 2-2-18, Terrance Chapman 5-15-6-8-17, Derik Hollyfield 4-8-0-0-10, Rian Lazzerini 0-1-0-0-0, Brian Thorsen 0-0-1-2-1.  Totals 32-72-12-16-95. Three-point: Clark 11, Fowler, Roberson 4, Hollyfield 2.

Bevill State College (73) -- Antonio Bright 6-17-2-2-16, Scott Canterberry 0-1-0-0-0, Hosea Butler 6-15-2-2-20, Maurice Owens 0-0-0-0-0, Donterrio Erby 2-10-0-0-4, Joseph South 0-1-0-0-0, Tyler King 0-2-0-0-0, Montrell Richardson 8-14-3-4-19, Danien Veal 2-6-4-6-8, John Creel 1-4-2-2-4, Brandon Hill 0-1-0-0-0, Eric Smith 0-1-0-0-0, Derek Gray 1-4-0-0-2, Terence Mayes 0-2-0-0-0.  Totals 26-79-13-16-73.  Three-point goals: Bright 2, Butler 6.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Lincoln College baseball vs. Parkland

[MARCH 24, 2003]  Conference favorite Parkland College handed Lincoln College an 8-5 setback in baseball at Galen Shirley Field Sunday afternoon. Parkland is 3-0 in conference play, while Lincoln College falls to 0-3.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Lincoln College softball vs. Lincoln Land, Spoon River

[MARCH 24, 2003]  Lincoln College weekend softball report:

Saturday games

Lincoln College split a pair of softball games with Lincoln Land here Saturday afternoon. The Lynx, 4-4, won the opening game 5-4 behind Beth Conner. Lincoln Land scored six times in the fifth inning of the second game to earn a split in the twin bill, 6-1. 

Norissa Stetter led the Lynx hitting attack with four hits, including a double, in four trips to the plate. JoJo Halko contributed a pair of hits in four trips, and Nicole Dearing had a big hit to drive in a pair of runs.

In the second game, Jen Polhemus was the starting pitcher. She was hit on the foot by a line drive in the third inning, and Loren Kokenes took over on the mound, taking the loss. Conner pitched in the sixth and seventh innings.

Stetter and Halko continued their hot hitting with a pair of hits each for the Lynx.

Lincoln Land       200 002 0 - 4-3-0

Lincoln College   012 110 x - 5-11-1

Priddy (L) and Quinn; Conner (W) and Halko.

Lincoln Land       000 060 0 - 6-7-0

Lincoln College   100 000 0 - 1-7-1

Geather (W) and Quinn; Polhemus, Kokenes (3-L), Conner (6) and Halko.

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Sunday games

Lincoln College (6-4) handed Spoon River of Canton a pair of setbacks in softball action here Sunday afternoon. The Lynx won the first game 3-1 behind the strong pitching of Jen Polhemus and took the nightcap 8-2.

Erica Ernst had a pair of hits in four trips with a double and a pair of RBIs for Lincoln College. JoJo Halko and Jenna Clayton each finished the game with two hits in three trips.

In the second game, Beth Conner picked up the win on the mound, and Ashley Grako led the offensive attack with four hits, including a double, in four trips to the plate. Norissa Stetter, Nicole Dearing, Marie Burash, Amy Schultz, Halko and Ernst each contributed two hits for coach Al Pickering.

Spoon River       010 000 0 - 1-4-0

Lincoln College  020 100 x - 3-10-1

Demas (L) and Thompson; Polhemus (W) and Halko.

Spoon River       100 001 0 - 2-7-0

Lincoln College   202 040 x - 8-16-0

Bubby (L) and Ball; Conner (W) and Clayton.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Articles from the past week

[MARCH 24, 2003]  Of all the scripts Lincoln's Brian Cook has authored through the years, none were even close to what actually materialized Saturday in the stinkin' RCA Dome. Who ever heard of a team nailing 11 3-point shots in a first half? Much less the team being a basketball team from Notre Dame! I've heard the phrase "luck of the Irish," but that was ridiculous! But give ND some credit; they came out and played the game of their lives, when Illinois wouldn't have hit water if they had fallen out of a boat.

Too bad it was at the expense of one of our favorite sons, Brian Cook. When Cook's shots failed to drop he tried to will his team to victory. Especially judging by a career-high 16 rebounds.

And while the SCORE, especially most of their nut-case callers, and several other distraught fans throughout Illini nation want to blame this loss on one scapegoat, believe me, there's plenty of blame to go around for the entire team. I will say that you're not going to beat many people when they convert 13 treys. In fact, why don't I just go to the summation right now: Notre Dame hit their shots, Illinois didn't… end of story!

Stray arrows (boy, does that sum up the game or what?)

--Cook became the third highest point scorer in Illini history with his 19 versus the Irish. He finishes with 1,748 points.

--He's also fifth all-time on rebounds with 815 and fourth in blocked shots with 136.

--He and his teammates went 51-2 in the Hall during his four years -- an all-time record and the best home record in the country over that four-year span.

--He and his mates were one win away from advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for an unprecedented third straight time.

--I still think he will be a top 15 pick in the NBA draft and maybe even a lottery pick.

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--The Big Ten still has two teams alive in the final 16. Not bad for a weak, soft conference in supposedly a down year!

--Bracket busters… I've still got three Final Four teams left, but I'm not winning any bracketology awards.

--The Lincoln Railers for having the most wins in the state of Illinois! Did you notice that Peoria Central and Thornwood just happened to be two of the teams that were able to upset Lincoln this year?

--The Lincoln College Lynx for finishing seventh at the national juco tournament in Danville with a thrilling 95-73 victory over Bevill State Community College from Louisiana. The Lynx lost a heartbreaker by two on opening night or, who knows, Lincoln might have won it all!

--Hartsburg-Emden, the 7A state volleyball champions!

--In 8A action, Hartem and Mount Pulaski have advanced to the Final Four round!

If you're going to disappoint me, disappoint me when the weather's like this and we can all enjoy being outside… Are there even any basketball games left???

We'll sort it all out on "FANdamonium" tonight at 6 on the LDN live link, CITV Channel 5 and FIX 96.3 FM radio.

Have a great week, everybody!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• March 21 column: "Cook's NCAA double-double leads Illini to victory"

• More columns...

Announcements

[MARCH 6, 2003]  The Lincoln PONY Association will have its annual spring sign-up this year beginning March 9 and running until March 29. Sign-up sheets can be obtained at the front desk of the Lincoln Rec Center. On Saturday, March 29, representatives of Lincoln PONY will be on hand to assist with signups.

Lincoln PONY ball is for both boys baseball and girls softball, ages 8 through 14.

Additional information can be obtained at the Lincoln PONY website and at http://www.pony.org/.

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