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[NOV. 14, 2000]  Mount Pulaski’s ladies basketball team traveled to Maroa yesterday afternoon to compete against Maroa-Forsyth. Maroa-Forsyth won 65-42, leading at the end of each quarter.

Mount Pulaski’s Jason scored one 3-pointer. Maroa had three 3-pointers; two were by Sebok, and one was by Jacobsen.

The teams’ stats are as follows:

Mount Pulaski — Faith 1-1-3, Clevenger 1-3-5, Jason 2-1-6, Beekers 1-1-3, Rucks 1-2-4 and Sanders 9-3-21, for a total of 15-11-42.

Maroa-Forsyth — Furrow 2-0-4, Jacobsen 2-2-7, Hans 2-1-5, Sebok, 2-1-7, McCool 8-2-18, Sinkosky 3-4-10, Blundy 1-0-2, Whalen 3-2-8, Butler 1-0-2 and Evans 1-0-2, for a total of 25-12-65.

[NOV. 13, 2000]  Their opponents may have been taller and the schools they came from bigger, but no team played with bigger hearts and more class at Saturday’s State Class AA Volleyball State Tournament than the LCHS Lady Railers. And when it was all over, the virtually unknown and mostly unheralded Lady Railers proudly carried the fourth-place trophy off the floor of Redbird Arena and shared it with their fans. It was a classy ending from a classy group of young women.

Click here to see photos from the tournament

Complete match results on IHSA.ORG.

In Saturday’s first game the Lady Railers faced eventual state champion Chicago Mother McAuley. I was sure, with such a daunting foe ahead of them, that I would see a nervous and tight Lincoln team come on the floor for pre-match warm-ups. What I saw instead was the Lady Railers warming up by laughing and playing games like tag and grab-the-towel on the floor of Redbird Arena. This lighthearted pre-match scene was completed by the Lincoln fans singing the school song (without the band) and also getting the whole arena involved in a human wave. It was the stuff high school athletics needs much more of — perspective and fun.

But things got serious quickly as Game 1 of this match turned out to be an intense battle to the end. The game began with five successive side-outs, and the score remained 0-0 as each team’s defense refused to break. Then Lincoln’s amazing sophomore Kari McFadden stepped to the service line and, with the help of two tough blocks from Kristina Cook, took the Railers to a 3-0 lead. It was a lead they would not relinquish until the midpoint of Game 1. During that early game battle, Lincoln’s Darcy White put on a spectacular performance at the net. Darcy repeatedly slammed kills to stuff the McAuley offense. Darcy’s totals for the match were nine kills and 8 points. When the Railers weren’t killing, they were using a soft dink or a well-placed tip, by Kelli Gleason and others, to win points.

Then came the 8-8 point of the game. Primarily behind the serving of Katie Kozak and the net play of their tall front line, McAuley fought to a 14-8 advantage. But the Railers weren’t about to cave in. Darcy White took the ball at the service line and, with the help of the rest of the Railers, including a kill by Ashley Boyer, the scoreboard read 11-14. McAuley called timeout. A long service by Darcy White combined with the two successive kills by McAuley, and Game 1 went to McAuley.

The second game of the match ended 15-4, but the score was neither indicative of the level of competition nor of the effort expended by the Lady Railers. The Railers got the first point of the game and then the well went dry. The Railers would not score again until McAuley had run off 14 unanswered points.

But it wasn’t because the Railers weren’t in the battle. McAuley first scored 5 unanswered points, when Lincoln Coach Howe called timeout. After that timeout neither Lincoln nor McAuley would score until eight side-outs were exchanged. Led by Senior, Danielle Peifer, the Railer defense had dug in and held. But then, McAuley’s powerful offense broke the stalemate and eventually ran the score to 14-1. But the Lady Railers weren’t done yet. Just as they had done in Game 1, the Railers, behind the serving of Angela Maestas and Darcy White and the kill of Ashley Boyer, managed to put 3 points on the scoreboard, to put the score at 4-14.

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In the end, Mother McAuley’s twin towers, Maddie Barron (10 kills) and Megan Griffin (13 kills, three blocks), along with their powerful hitter and server Megan Knightly (nine kills, 7 points) were just too much for the Lady Railers, and the game ended with McAuley moving on to the championship game, having defeated the Railers 15-4.

In the third- and fourth-place game on Saturday evening, the Railers once again pleasantly surprised the entire Redbird Arena crowd with a great show of mutual sportsmanship. When the Lady Railers ran onto the court for opening warm-ups, they weren’t alone. They came in hand in hand with their opponents, the Mustangs of Downers Grove South. And, after a delightful game of duck-duck-goose with DSG, both teams warmed up together. As a result, another breath of fresh air was breathed into a high school athletic event.

The match itself took a typical third-place match script. Everybody plays, everybody struggles through the emotions while trying to have fun, everyone wants it over but doesn’t want it to end, and everyone is physically and emotionally exhausted. Match over. When it was over, DSG came out on top 15-5 and 15-4 to take third place, and the Lady Railers stood as the fourth-best team in the state of Illinois.

The Lady Railers, excellently coached by Charissa Howe, Tanya Conrady and Ashley Conrady, end their storybook season with a record of 29-12-1, a regional championship, a sectional championship, a supersectional championship, an Elite 8 victory, a Final 4 appearance and a fourth-place trophy. Not bad for a team that no one else in Illinois seemed to know existed before last week.

As the individual medals were being handed out, tears were being shed and the huge fourth-place trophy was lifted high, the reason they had come so far this year was clear to everyone who knew these young women, and I hope to each of them: YOU PLAYED FROM THE HEART.

Way to go Lady Railers! And one last time, seniors, in this volleyball venue: Way to go Ashley, Becca, Angela and Danielle! You all made us PROUD!

[NOV. 13, 2000]  Lincoln College rolled to a 105-68 victory over Shawnee at the Spoon River Classic in Canton Sunday afternoon. The victory is the third straight for the Lynx and raises the season record to 3-1.

Leading the way for the balanced Lincoln attack was Eric Crockrell with 23 points and 11 rebounds.   Crockrell connected on 7-of-10 shots from the floor and added 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. Three other Lynx players joined Crockrell in double figures. Maurice Shurney connected for 18 points while Jay Bates added 12 and Brian Thorsen 11. Eleven different players cracked the scoring column for the Lynx.

Lincoln held a 42-25 halftime lead with 41 percent shooting, and they picked it up in the second half by connecting on 22-of-37 shot attempts for nearly 60 percent. Lincoln tallied 63 second-half points to run away with the victory.

Coach B. J. McCullum said, "Our players gave a great effort. We have been improving defensively each game. We played hard throughout."

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College sports information director]

[NOV. 13, 2000]  The Lincoln College athletic teams had a busy day Saturday, and, for the most part, they were very successful. The Lincoln men's basketball team defeated Rend Lake 92-69; the women's basketball team posted an 81-72 victory over Sauk Valley; and the men's swim team was a double dual winner, beating Grand Valley University 114-76 and Lewis University 111-76. Two of Lincoln's wrestlers finished second in the Muskegon Open. The lone setback on the Lynx’ busy day was the women's swim team, which lost to Grand Valley University 147-22 and to Lewis University 131-26.

Marlon Brooks and Jerron Hobson scored 24 and 21 points respectively to lead the Lynx men to victory. Coach B. J. McCullum said, "I thought our defensive intensity was very good for most of the game. We made some mental mistakes that were from a lack of concentration, but overall it was a good effort. Marlon and Jerron both gave us big lifts at different points in the game. I also thought we closed the game out well, considering we were only up six points with four minutes to go."

Lincoln held a 38-29 halftime lead, however, the Lynx hit 16-of-25 shots in the second half in outscoring the Rend Lake Warriors, 54-40. The Lynx finished the game shooting 51 percent.   Lincoln also connected on 8-of-6 shots from 3-point range. Brian Moffitt pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Lynx. Lincoln now stands at 2-1 for the season.

The Lincoln women's team got a great effort from Ronni Beebe in the first half with 12 points, and Tameeka Dawson took over in the second half by scoring 19 points. Dawson finished the game with 22 points and Beebe had 18. Katie Skaggs contributed 20 points to the Lady Lynx attack, hitting all three of their 3-point goals. Lincoln led 35-30 at halftime.

Coach Carol Wilson's squad is now 2-0 on the young season.

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In wrestling, Pat Dowty and Nathan Welsh both placed second in the Muskegon Open. Dowty, wrestling at 141 pounds, lost the title match to Jason Mester of Central Michigan, 7-2. Welsh, wrestling as a heavyweight, dropped his title match to Jim Kilcoyne of Central Michigan, 12-3. No team scores were kept in the open tournament.

Alex Blanch and Ramiro Palmar were both double winners for the Lincoln College men swimmers. Federico Gentry and Keith Tobin were also first-place winners, while the 400-yard freestyle relay team placed first. Both of the victories came against four-year schools. Coach Dan Hemenway said, "We were very pleased with the effort against four-year opponents."

Blanch won the 200 free in 1:50.54 and the 100-yard butterfly in :53.57. Palmar was a winner in the 100-yard breaststroke, in 1:01.87, and won the 400-yard IM in 4:24.93. Tobin's win came in the 500-yard freestyle, with a time of 5:04.74, and Gentry won the 1,650-yard free with a time of 17:44.73. The 400-yard relay team won with a time of 3:21.21. Swimming on the winning team were Blanch, Gentry, Palmar and Jake Sexton.

Lincoln College did not have any winners in the women's swimming events.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

Introduction by Jeff Mayfield

[NOV. 13, 2000]  Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the sharks — I mean the Buckeyes — used up all the magic left over in the genie's bottle and pulled out a 24-21 escape over the courageous Illini. This week we are introducing to our loyal LDN readers a new face in our lineup, Mr. Greg Taylor. Greg has filled in when Tom Seggelke is on assignment elsewhere. Greg is originally from Champaign and has keen insights into both the football and the basketball programs at Illinois. I know that you will welcome Greg with traditional LDN flare! Greg and I once again got you fantastic LDN readers close to the action as we tried to will the winning field goal to go wide. The official right on the spot did not agree with all of the fans in the north end zone. They called for a recount, but their votes were already tabulated...

Injuries

Illinois lost their starting QB at the most crucial point of the game. Kurt Kittner was literally knocked out of the game as time expired in the third quarter. While Dustin Ward (of Champaign Centennial HS) performed well, the loss of their star created a feeling of fear on the Illinois sideline. In addition, starting halfback Rocky Harvey hurt his knee early in the second half and did not return, and two key defensive backs, safety Bobbie Singleton and cornerback Anthony Hurd, left the game and also did not return (Hurd is out for the season).

Illinois' receiving group once again failed to take advantage of key opportunities to keep offensive drives alive. Most painful was a dropped pass on a third-and-four play in the middle of the fourth quarter, which would have kept a drive alive. Equally troubling is the fact that 6-foot-5 Walter Young did not have a reception in the game even though he held a substantial height advantage over every Ohio State defensive back and linebacker.

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[Ohio State marches down the field and #47 Dan Stultz kicked a 34-yard field goal to give OSU a 24-21 nail-biting victory over the Illini.]

More questionable calls from the officials

The game-winning field goal appeared to be wide right (I was standing under the goal post), yet the official never hesitated. Also, no penalty was called on the helmet to-helmet contact which knocked Kittner out of the game. In the NFL, Ohio State’s player (Mike Doss) would have been penalized and probably fined at least one week's pay — instead the only result of the play is Illinois loses their greatest offensive weapon.

Defensive woes

Ohio State ran at will Saturday and could have easily scored much more than 24 points. Illinois must address every facet of their defensive scheme by fall of 2001 if they want to seriously consider a run for the title.

Lack of game-breakers

Last year, Brandon Lloyd was the key in this area. This year, Illinois' two greatest options offensively spend most of the game on the sideline. Simply put, coach Turner must find creative ways to get Christian Morton in the game! (Option two, Brandon Lloyd, is out for the year with — guess what — an injury!)

Overall, the 2000 season has been very disappointing for Illini fans. However, I really feel our future is bright if the team is able to address a few key areas of concern. Coach Ron Turner has taken the program from disaster to a very decent status. Now it is time to elevate the program one step further. Are they up for the challenge? Only time will tell, but this Illini fan feels pretty good about the possibility of consistent greatness in Champaign on autumn afternoons in the future!

[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 semifinal match at 11 a.m. in Redbird Arena. Goliath #2 will be Chicago Mother McAuley with a record of 36-5 and 11 times the 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 semifinals," he said. He will now undoubtedly always remember Lincoln. It was Borck's final match in a distinguished 16-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, Mich., 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), who pinned Sean Hardy in 1:15; Josh Lepper (197), who decisioned Derek Corder 16-7; and Nathan Welsh (heavyweight), 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 1,000-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 was Palmar with 2:17.71 in the 200-yard backstroke. Colberg, Gentry, Blanch and Sexton teamed to 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]

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