Sports News,  Sports Talk,  Schedules,  Announcements

Sports News Elsewhere  (fresh daily from the Web)

[NOV. 2, 2001]  Never before in Lady Railer volleyball history has the sectional trophy found its way into the LCHS trophy case two years in a row. Until last night. The Lady Railers claimed their second successive sectional title, beating another fired-up underdog, the Champaign Centennial Chargers, 15-13, 15-5.

The Lady Railers will challenge Normal Community High School in the East Peoria super-sectional on Saturday. (If you have one ounce of Railer spirit in your blood, you won’t miss it.) Normal Community defeated its twin-city rival Bloomington last night in the Metamora Sectional final.

While the title was a repeat, it certainly wasn’t a duplicate of last year’s title run. Last year, some sports writers (whose names shall remain anonymous to protect the guilty) tried to suggest that the Lady Railers won because they "snuck up" on other teams. There is an ancient Latin word for that suggestion: hogwash. Last year’s fourth-place team earned every victory they got.

Regardless, this year there was certainly no sneaking up on anyone. The Railers had a big red bull’s-eye painted on them — the No. 1 seed in their sectional complex. They were the favorite and they were expected to win. And win they did!

In last night’s sectional championship match, an adrenaline-powered Centennial team hit the court, with fervor, for Game 1. They were intent on knocking off the No. 1 seed, just as they had knocked off the No. 2 seed in the sectional semifinal match on Tuesday. The adrenaline lasted for most of the first game and never appeared in Game 2 of the match. The Lady Railers withstood the rush.

In Game 1, both teams traded points and side-out calls until the score was Railers 5, Chargers 4. Then, for the next forever, it seemed, the Chargers could do no wrong. Two aces by the Centennial server and some Railer miss-hits and the scoreboard read 5-8 in favor of the Chargers. Coach Howe called timeout.

During the timeout all of the Railer coaches appeared to have some very specific "suggestions" to make to the Railer starters. In spite of this, right after the timeout, Centennial almost immediately scored two more points, and the Railers were down 5-10.

I hoped coach Howe would call another timeout. She didn’t. She was right. Instead, coach Howe let the Railers dig themselves out the hole they had dug for themselves. And, little by little, they did just that. Kari McFadden’s kill stopped the "bleeding" and gave Lincoln the serve. Kari then rotated to the service line and Darcy White finished the matter with an emphatic kill to give the Railers six points. Moments later, with Kelli Gleason serving, Darcy gave the Chargers an instant replay and the Railers trailed 8-10.

But Darcy wasn’t finished by any means. She rotated to the service line, and after a Samantha Conrady kill the Railers had 9.

In a crucial three-point series Missy White checked in to serve and Kari McFadden stayed in to take over at the net. Service Missy, Kari dink. Service Missy, Kari kill, times two. The Railers were finally back on top, 12-11. They would never again relinquish the lead. Kelli Gleason got the next Lincoln point, and then "the finisher," Christina Xamis, tallied the final two. Opponent’s adrenaline rush over.

Game 1 statistics showed four service points each for Kari McFadden and Kelli Gleason; three each for Missy Aper and Christina Xamis (who, by the way, tied the LCHS record on Tuesday night for most service aces in a single match, with eight). Darcy White rounded out the first-game scoring with one service point.

[to top of second column in this article]

With all of its initial fight gone, Centennial put up only a small challenge in Game 2 of the match. Lincoln quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind the consistently good serving of Kari McFadden. A momentary Charger surge brought the score to 4-3, but Centennial never got closer. The Lady Railers quickly ran the score to 8-3, then 12-5, then 15-5, and it was all over but the shoutin’. The Railer team and fans had an extended floor celebration before making the long drive back to LCHS.

Overall, the Railers were led offensively by the accurate and powerful net play of senior Darcy White, especially in Game 2. While each team member on the front line accounted for several kills and well-placed dinks, Darcy’s accuracy and strength were exceptional. Darcy’s match total stood at nine kills. Kelli Gleason led the scoring with 10 service points, and Kari McFadden added eight more. At crunch time in Game 2, Tina Cook accounted for two of the final three game-finishing points with her net play. Kari and Tina had five kills each. As always, Kelli Gleason was the playmaker, with 23 assists, and also several perfectly placed dinks for points. Missy Aper’s three service points in Game 1 were critical.

Defensively, the front-line "youngster," freshman starter Michelle McFadden, and veteran senior Tina Cook did an excellent job blocking and stuffing the Charger kill attempts. Each of them had three blocks for the match. Darcy, Kari, Missy Aper and Christina Xamis played excellent back-row defense. Samantha Conrady showed a great deal of poise and maturity after a couple of early miss-hits. Samantha came back strong and made several difficult digs (10 total) and kills that turned into Railer points, including match point. (That will teach them not to pick on her on her birthday!)

The Lady Railers will prepare today and tomorrow for their super-sectional match with Normal Community on Saturday. Match time is 7 p.m. The doors will open at 5:45. The super-sectional will be a rematch of last year’s sectional final, which Lincoln won. It would be a gross understatement to say that the two teams know each other well and that each team wants to win badly. Take the intense rivalry that exists between these two teams, add in the fact that Lincoln ended Normal’s season last year, mix in a berth to the state tournament quarterfinal round for the winner, and you have almost all the hype that high school competition can offer.

As for me, I predict a Railer victory in a fight-to-the-death three-game match. But I’m just a 100 percent totally biased Railer fan, partially disguised as a journalist.

Ladies, you’ll have to make your own dream come true. I believe you will. Everyone I talked to last night believes you will. The crucial question is: Do you believe you will? I guess that some (not me) might say you’re the underdog on Saturday. After being the No. 1 seed all week in the sectionals, maybe being the underdog will be a relief. When you win, you’ll do it by what you have been doing all year. Doing whatever it takes. We’ll be cheering you on as always.

Remember, I already have my seat at Redbird secured. I have reserved a whole row of seats for you — right on the floor. I won’t go without you.

[Rick Hobler]

[NOV. 2, 2001]  The team that sank Olympia in last Tuesday’s sectional playoffs, Central Catholic, was put down in Thursday night’s game with Mount Pulaski. Mount Pulaski defeated Central Catholic in two matches, 15-8, 15-7.

Class A sectional stats

Mount Pulaski — Service points: Laura Reeter 7; kills: Mary Olson, Lindsay Clements 9; assists: Tiffany Conaway 31

Central Catholic — Service points: Rachael Lockett 5; kills: Jaclyn Fike 10; blocks: Michelle Donnelly, Katie Olson 3; assists: Olson 21.

The Hilltoppers play Warrensburg-Lathem in the super-sectionals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Momence.

[LDN]

[NOV. 1, 2001]  B.J. McCullum will be trying to win 20 games for the fourth-straight season when Lincoln College opens its season Friday in the Three Rivers Classic basketball tournament at Poplur Bluffs, Mo.  If successful, McCullum will be the first to win 20 games for four straight seasons since Joe O'Brien accomplished the feat from 1991-1995.

Last year the Lynx finished with a 26-7 record, and expectations are high again this year.   The Lynx are rated fourth in the nation in Division II preseason poll.  "The fact that our recruiting class is talented and with our returning sophomores has given the pollsters reason to rank us high," said McCullum.

"Unfortunately with the loss of Brian Thorsen for the season, due to an ACL injury, our task will be a little tougher," continued McCullum.  "We do have a talented group of freshmen and a very intelligent team. This group of kids has been well coached in high school, and they pick up things very quickly.

"The wing and point positions should be where most of our scoring comes from. Derik Hollyfield from Aurora West and Steve Turner of Peoria Richwoods should be our strongest scorers, with a lot of help coming from Andrew Kehr, sophomore from Alexis; Gene Reed, sophomore from Atwood Hammond; and James Roberson from Chicago Robeson.  

"Michael Fowler has been doing the best job at the point on our offense, and we should get a lot of help from Paris Williams, a Lincoln High School grad. Roberson could also play the point if needed.

"In the front court Mike Sams, a sophomore from Quincy, returns and will be counted on along with Sam Jackson, a transfer from State Fair. Two freshmen will be counted on heavily to help Sams and Jackson. Jamaal Thompson (Aurora West) and Amir Major (Robeson) will be needed to help on the boards and play in the post."

[to top of second column in this article]

The Lynx mentor continued, "I think we have adequate 3-point shooters, and we have a very balanced shooting team. Some of our post players are capable of going out and hitting the 15-foot shot. Probably our biggest problem will be rebounding. We need to become more physical with our inside game.

"We were voted as the favorite to win our third-straight conference title; however, I think the conference will be well balanced from top to bottom. Danville, Illinois Central, and Lewis & Clark are probably three of the stronger teams."

Sams scored 144 points for the Lynx last season as a part-time starter and is the only one of the three with over 100 points.   Gone from last year are Marlon Brooks (17.1), Jay Bates (15.2), Creston Coleman (10.3), Eric Crockrell (11.4), Brian Moffitt (9.6) and Jerron Hobson (8.2).

No Lincoln College coach has ever started with four 20-win seasons.  Allen Pickering, current athletic director, had 11 seasons of 20 wins but did not win 20 in his first season. O’Brien also failed to win 20 in his first season, before finishing with four straight 20-win seasons. The record for most consecutive 20-win seasons was set at six by Pickering.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[Lincoln College men’s basketball roster]

[Lincoln College men’s basketball schedule]

Lincoln College men’s basketball roster

Lincoln College men’s basketball schedule

Hemenway begins 12th season 
as winning swim coach

[NOV. 1, 2001]  Coach Dan Hemenway begins his 12th season as swim coach at Lincoln College when the Lynx open their season Friday at Western Illinois University.  Hemenway has compiled an amazing record at LC, with 11 straight appearances in the national tournament.   The Lynx men have finished second in the nation the past three years, and the women finished second in 2000.

Despite all of the success in the pool, Hemenway said, "I am really proud that last year’s team finished first in the nation in grade-point average. That was a huge feather in our cap. All of the other awards are great, but that is the highlight."

Lincoln College hopes to be more competitive on the women’s side this season with a larger class of girls. Last season the Lynx had quality but did not have numbers. "It was extremely tough to score high in team events due to our lack of numbers last year," said Hemenway. "We are looking for Liz Wilson and Bonnie DiFoggio to be our leaders this season as co-captains of the squad.   Both had good years last season, and we expect more of the same this season.

"I feel we should compete for the regional title and should finish in the top five in nationals. With the quality and the numbers we have, we should do well in dual meets.  Our first meet at Western will be one of the toughest, as we swim against four-year schools.

"Angela Couch, a freshman from Lincoln High School, is expected to bolster our distance events this season, with Leslie Seago showing a lot of promise.  We aren’t sure what events she will be swimming, at this time. Rachel Willenborg has been outstanding in early workouts in the fly events, and we look for her to have a good season.

"Carmen Altman shows a lot of potential as a diver, which gives us an opportunity to score points in that event.  Several others have shown they will be able to help us in the team scoring."

[to top of second column in this article]

On the men’s side, "We have several sophomores returning who were selected as All-Americans last season," said Hemenway. "We should be in the running for the regional title, and I feel we have an outside shot at placing at least second in the nationals once again."

Heading the list of returnees for coach Hemenway will be Doug Garofalo in the distance events.  He will be joined in the distance events by freshman Scott Sampson. Ramiro Palmer is being counted on heavily in the breaststroke and IM after a very successful year last season.

Others being counted on heavily are Matt Ryther in distance and IM, Zach Welch in the butterfly and breaststroke, and Sean Calhoun and Tim Philosophos in diving. Welch and Garofalo are serving as co-captains this season.

"We have a large group of freshmen who will be counted on to score points and gain experience for next season," said Hemenway. "Obviously our sophomores will be the backbone of the team with the experience they gained last season."

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[Lincoln College men's and women's swimming rosters]

[Lincoln College swimming schedule]

Lincoln College swimming rosters

Men

Women

Lincoln College swimming schedule

[OCT. 31, 2001]  It was Oct. 30. A full moon, partially masked by an eerie cloud, loomed over Charleston — and Lady Railer volleyball players, coaches and fans got the scare of the their postseason life. It had nothing to do with Halloween.

It had everything to do with the Lady Railers being down 4-10 in Game 2 of their sectional semifinal match against Effingham. And here comes the scary part — the Lady Railers had already lost Game 1 by a score of 12-15.

Fortunately, a great all-around team effort and extraordinary performances by Christina Xamis and Kelli Gleason ended the nightmare. Everyone’s heart is beating again. The Railers are still alive. The heart-stopping final score was 12-15, 15-11, 15-7.

The Lady Railers advance to the sectional championship match on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Charleston. They will face Champaign Centennial, who upset No. 2-seeded Decatur Eisenhower in the second three-game match of the evening.

The fifth-seeded Effingham Flaming Hearts arrived in Charleston pumped up, ready to play and eager to send the No. 1-seeded Railers home until next year. They almost got their wish.

In Game 1, Effingham could do no wrong. Everything seemed to go their way. Not that the Railers didn’t put in the effort; they did. But every ball and every official’s call went against them. The Railers took what they could get. What they got was a beginning glimpse of what would eventually help win the match for them: the serve of Christina Xamis, the net play of Kelli Gleason and a never-say-die effort from everybody.

In Game 1 that effort totaled two service points, both aces for Christina, and the net-finesse plays of Kelli Gleason. Before the match was over, Christina would have a phenomenal, "you were in a zone" 17 total service points — eight aces, six digs and an assist. "X-traordinary!"

Kelli would end up with eight service points, seven kills and 27 assists, among other statistics. Phenomenal, considering Kelli is usually the one who sets up the kill for everyone else except herself. All of this while the Railers were facing defeat and imminent elimination from the postseason.

But back to Game 1. The Flaming Hearts won it 15-12. Forget the rest of the details. They would scare you.

[to top of second column in this article]

In Game 2, the Railers, in spite of all their effort, soon found themselves down 4-10, after initially being up 4-3. Effingham ran off seven consecutive points before a defensive block by Michelle McFadden resulted in a side-out for the Railers. Kelli Gleason’s next three serves began the Railer comeback. The momentum was shifting slightly back to the Railers, but it was still 7-10 in favor of Effingham. Then came Christina Xamis’ first service run — six straight service points, including three aces. A kill by Kari McFadden and two blocks by the Railer front line and the Railers were up 13-10. Momentum shift accomplished.

Serves by Missy Aper and Kari McFadden notched points 14 and 15 and the Railers were "back to even"; match score, one game each.

In the decisive Game 3, the Railers never trailed. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a battle to the very end. At the service line, Christina Xamis, once again, made sure of it. Eight service points and three more aces were more than Effingham could handle. The "service specialist" had worked her back-line magic. Kelli, Tina Cook, Kari McFadden and Darcy White reclaimed ownership of the net. Everyone hustled, passed and dug out difficult hits. Just as the Railers refused to lose Game 2, they willed themselves to win Game 3. Missy Aper’s serve and a well-placed dink by Kari McFadden produced the game and match final score of 15-7 in favor of the Railers.

EVERYONE played like champions. Tireless defense was played. For example: Missy Aper and Christina Xamis, six digs each; Kari McFadden, five digs and two blocks; Samantha Conrady, four digs and two blocks, Tina Cook, three blocks and Michelle McFadden, two blocks. Likewise, offense was spread around the court: Kari McFadden, 10 kills; Tina Cook, nine kills; Kelli Gleason, seven kills; Darcy White, five kills, Michelle McFadden, three kills; and Samantha Conrady, two kills. Everyone played with intensity and passion. Excellent coaching resulted in the appropriate adjustments being made to avoid a repeat of Game 1. Without any of these parts, the Railer’s season would now be over.

The Railers learned some scary lessons last night. Every team is gunning for you. Bring your A game each night. Emotions will run high. Refuse to lose. Whatever it takes!

And, the next time you want to scare me … do it any place except on the volleyball court.

GO, RAILERS!!

[Rick Hobler]

Sectional results and upcoming games

[OCT. 31, 2001] 

Prairie Central results

Mount Pulaski defeats University High
15-7, 15-8

Central Catholic defeats Hartsburg-Emden
15-3, 15-5

Charleston results

Lincoln defeats Effingham
12-15, 15-11, 15-7

[Click here to read Rick Hobler's report,"'X-traordinary' effort allows Lady Railers to advance"]

[to top of second column in this section]

Upcoming games

Thursday at Fairbury

Mount Pulaski plays Central Catholic
for the Prairie Central championship, 7 p.m.

Thursday at Charleston

Lincoln plays Champaign Centennial
for the Charleston Sectional championship, 7 p.m.

[OCT. 29, 2001]  Never take any team for granted. Take each match one at a time. Two postseason truths. Saturday night the Lady Railers heeded these truths and dominated the Rantoul Lady Eagles 15-4, 15-3 to claim the regional title. The Railers were so dominant that the match took only 30 minutes to finish. The Lady Railers (27-7-1) move on to play Effingham in the Charleston Sectional on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Behind the excellent serving of Kelli Gleason, Christina Xamis and Samantha Conrady, and great blocking by the entire front line, the Railers rolled to victory in Game 1. In fact, the only time the Railers trailed was at 0-1. Every point Rantoul scored in Game 1 came when an over-pumped-up Railer hit the ball long on an over-zealous kill. Not a bad problem to have.

[Darcy White, Tina Cook and Kelli Gleason,
LCHS seniors, accept the trophy for the team.]

At 0-1, Kelli Gleason stepped to the service line. A powerful kill by Tina Cook, two aces by Kelli, and two suffocating blocks by Tina Cook and Michelle McFadden, and the Lady Railers led 6-1. Rantoul’s next three scores came when Lady Railers missed on front-line kills. After an ace serve by Darcy White put the Railers up 7-4, Christina Xamis came in and worked her magic at the service line. Once Christina put the ball in play, three faulty hits by Rantoul and a kill by Tina Cook put the Railers ahead 11-4. Missy Aper and Samantha Conrady finished off the Eagles as great Railer hustle and excellent net blocking brought home the victory.

If the Railers appeared to dominate in Game 1, they were even more dominant in Game 2. Having worked off some of the overkill adrenaline, the Railers settled down, some smiles appeared on their faces between plays, and they took care of business. Once again, it was the serving of Samantha Conrady, Christina Xamis and Kelli Gleason that secured the regional championship. These three accounted for 13 of the Railer points. Kari McFadden and Darcy White had the remaining two service points.

[to top of second column in this article]

The Railers methodically eliminated Rantoul by once again playing well together and with good hustle and energy. Front-line blocking was again crucial to the victory. The game and the match ended on a seven-point service run by the quiet but powerful Samantha Conrady. With Samantha at the service line, a dink and a kill by Darcy White as well as a game-ending kill by Kari McFadden brought the evening to a close.

Overall it was a good first postseason match for the Railers. Their serves and blocking skills seemed even more impressive than usual. Excellent, well-placed serves by Samantha Conrady, Kelli Gleason and Christina Xamis were crucial to the championship. Samantha ended with 10 service points, including two aces, while Kelli and Christina ended with nine and seven points, respectively, including three aces. An additional ace by Darcy White brought the team total for the night to six.

The entire team hustled through several extended rallies with a "never let it drop on our side" attitude. Defensive blocking by Michelle McFadden, Tina Cook and Kari McFadden ended several Rantoul scoring attempts.

All of these game attributes will be crucial as the Railers move on through the postseason.

Congratulations on being regional champions! You earned it all year long, match by match. You also earned your No. 1 seed. Now you’ll have to defend it each night.

Beginning today, you face two more contrasting tournament truths — The competition gets better in each successive match; there is no tomorrow.

GO, RAILERS!

[Rick Hobler]

[NOV. 2, 2001]   

•  Lady Railers are marching on!!! After a very slow start Thursday night, the Lincoln High School Lady Railers dashed Champaign Centennial’s hopes and dreams by capturing the sectional championship. Up next for the Railers (29-7-1) is a Saturday night date at East Peoria, where they will tangle with a familiar foe, the Normal Community (34-3) bunch. Thank you, Rick Hobler, for an outstanding job of bringing Lady Railer volleyball to our great LDN fans! And good luck, Lady Railers!!!

•  Speaking of championships… the LCC Angels won their sectional-regional championship, I believe for the very first time (even the year they won the national championship, they did not claim the regional title). However, they weren’t finished yet. They won all of their first-round games yesterday at the national tournament at Faith Baptist in Ankeny, Iowa. LCC took matches over North Central, 30-24 and 30-13; Baptist Bible, Mo., 30-25, 28-30, 15-6; and Ozark Christian, 30-19 and 30-22! Today the Angels face their nemesis, Clearwater Christian, at 11 a.m. to determine which flight they will be in, either 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. For more in-depth coverage, go to www.lccs.edu, click on athletics, then scroll down to the NCCAA tournament logo-icon, and you’ll get more info than you could ever use!

•  The Illinois Fighting Illini start a stretch of what I’m calling four of the most difficult games you could ever have to play. This Saturday they will battle Purdue at West Lafayette, Ind. The LDN thinks that this will be a much harder football game than most people think. If the Illini defense does not throttle the potent Boiler spread-offense it could be a long game. On the other hand, if Illinois can produce some kind of road magic, a quality bowl game looms on our horizon!!!

•  Lincoln Railer boys basketball hits the hardwood for two-a-days starting bright and early Monday morning. Part of the success of Railer hoops is because of the total dedication by players, coaches and all of the support personnel. I think I can speak somewhat knowledgeably on this subject… There is a price if you want to be good. We believe that the Green-White scrimmage should fall on Thursday night, Nov. 15. We’ll bring you more details on the "new look" Railers soon!

•  Also on the Railer news front is Gregg Alexander… Gregg chipped in six points in ISU’s opening exhibition victory last night before an announced crowd of just under 5,000 patrons. All indications are that Gregg is fitting in nicely and that ISU is primed for another outstanding season.

[Jeff Mayfield]

Announcements

Back to top