Journal & Topics Media Group

Our Sports Stories Of The Year


The 2018 calendar year was full of memorable moments and amazing performances by Journal-area teams and athletes. Here are our top sports stories for 2018:

 

Maine West Girls Basketball Finishes 3rd At State: Maine West girls basketball went 28-4 in Kim deMarigny’s first year as head coach in 2016-17, so hopes were high for 2017-18. The Warriors didn’t disappoint. Maine West started the season 17-0 (in 2017), before falling to Geneva in the first game of 2018. The Warriors went 14-0 after that to reach the final four. Maine West fell to Geneva again (last 3 losses overall in program) in the state semifinals. The Warriors, who are 29-2 in the calendar year, defeated Edwardsville 45-41 to place third in Class 4A at Redbird Arena in Normal. Maine West trailed 41-40 with 2:38 to go, but ended the game on a 5-0 run to end the season with a win. The Warriors roster consisted of Allison Pearson, Sarah Magnoni, Catherine Johnson, Rachel Kent (who scored her 1,000th point in 2018), Marissa Fucarino, Ellie Centella, Bianca Mando, Dylan Van Fleet, Alisa Fallon, Jocelyn Jacob, Lena Albo, Angela Dugalic, Vanessa Reyes, Gabriela Alvarado and Jessica Riedl.

Maine West senior players Allison Pearson (left), Alisa Fallon (center) and Catherine Johnson pose with Maine West Principal Dr. Audrey Haugan and the Class 4A third place trophy in front of a packed Spec Gym Tuesday, March 6.

Loyola Completes “Revenge Tour”: Loyola Academy football started the season 3-3 and almost everyone thought it was the end of the Ramblers dynasty — except Loyola. Loyola won the final three regular season games to enter the Class 8A playoffs as the No. 19 seed (out of 32 teams). They upset No. 14 Minooka 38-14 to face undefeated No. 3 Oswego. Loyola shutout Oswego 22-0 to set up the first stop of the “revenge tour.” Maine South defeated Loyola in 2016 for the state title, but the Ramblers did the unimaginable and shutout No. 6 Maine South 17-0 to reach the semifinals against No. 2 ranked and undefeated defending state champion Lincoln-Way East. LWE defeated Loyola for the state title in 2017 and won 26 games in a row, making them the state title favorites. Loyola won this time, 24-16, to the extreme joy of its home fans. The Ramblers tour ended with much joy as they knocked off undefeated No. 1 Brother Rice 13-3 in the state championship. Earlier in the season, Brother Rice beat Loyola 35-3. Loyola has reached the state final four straight years and hopes to add one more in 2019. If fans learned anything in 2018, it’s don’t doubt the Ramblers.

Loyola celebrates winning the Class 8A state championship over Brother Rice.

Maine West Football Has Record Year: Maine West football had something to prove in 2018 and ended up posting its best season in program history. The Warriors wanted to show they belonged and were not a one-year fluke after making the playoffs in 2017. West went 8-1 during the regular season including a perfect 5-0 in the CSL North for its first undefeated run in the North in program history. The offense was led by the three-headed monster of Jake Bellizzi (239 carries, 1,539 yards, 26 TD), Ely Grimmer (29 catches, 615 yards, 9 TD) and Danny Kentgen (113-for-221 passing, 1,677 yards, 21 TD, 8 INT). The Warriors broke a vast majority of individual and team records along the way. Maine West ended 9-2 with its first playoff win in school history after defeating Benet (who eliminated the Warriors from the playoffs in 2017) in front of an excited crowd in Des Plaines. The Warriors historic season ended with a loss to Willowbrook in the second round.

Maine West’s Danny Kentgen (7) unleashes a pass under pressure.

Dogs, Bandits Bring Excitement To Rosemont: The Chicago Dogs, an independent baseball team, made its debut in Rosemont at the brand new Impact Field. They posted a solid debut season, going 45-54 to finish fourth out of six teams in the American Association North division. Chicago lost its inaugural game May 18 and its first home game ever, but ended the season strong under coach Butch Hobson. The Dogs went 6-4 in their final 10 games and won the season finale 6-3 over Lincoln. The first home run in team history was hit by Rolling Meadows alum Kyle Gaedele. Fans were also introduced to Squeeze, the yellow mustard mascot for the team. Right down the road from Impact Field in Rosemont is Parkway Bank Sports Complex, home of the Chicago Bandits. The Bandits went 37-10 in the regular season to advance to the National Pro Fastpitch softball championship series at Rosemont against USSSA Pride. Unfortunately, Chicago was swept in three games, but still made fans proud of their amazing run. The Bandits started the season 18-0, a new team record.

Chicago Dogs pitcher Josh Goossen-Brown fires home against the Gary SouthShore RailCats during June 26 home game at Impact Field in Rosemont.

The Champs Are Here! Oakton, Triton Win National Titles: Oakton Community College baseball went 44-17 this season, including 11-2 in the playoffs to win its first NJCAA Division III World Series championship in the spring. To win the title, Oakton had to beat four-time defending champion Tyler in a thrilling 14-11 game that went 13 innings Friday, June 1. The team, coached by Bill Fratto, not only won the title, but did so with a lot of help from local talent. Dan Sullivan (St. Viator), Timo Schau (Maine South), Russell Langan (Maine South), Jeff Mustari (Maine West), Sam Kindle (Maine West) and Jack Splett (Wheeling) all contributed on the way to making history. Triton College men’s basketball won the NJCAA Division II national championship title for the first time in program history. Triton (33-4) was coached by NJCAA Division II Coach of the Year Steve Christiansen. The Trojans beat McHenry CC (114-75), Illinois Valley CC (105-66), Olive-Harvey (102-64), Ulster County CC (107-59), Danville Area CC (87-71), Southwestern CC (85-67) and finally Pima CC (89-85) in the playoffs on the way to the national title. Triton’s team included Journal-area alum Jose Alvarado (Leyden).

Oakton’s Dan Sullivan (St. Viator) gets a good lead off earlier this season against Prairie State. (Dion Martorano/Journal photo)

Hockey Day: Local Teams Compete For State Titles: The Buffalo Grove/Hersey/Wheeling Stampede (46-15-4) captured its second Blackhawk Cup state championship in the Combined Division at the United Center with a dominating 7-2 win over Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley in March. In the girls division, New Trier dashed any hopes of a repeat championship for Glenbrook by defeating the defending champions 5-1 at the United Center. Maddie Dunham scored the only Glenbrook goal of the game. In the Red Division final for boys, Loyola Academy topped fellow Journal-area team Stevenson 4-2 at the United Center for the Ramblers first state title since 1996.

Stevenson goalie Elias Sandholm (53) makes a save as Loyola’s Eamon O’Brien (21) tries to chip it past him. (Dion Martorano/Journal photo)

Maine South Downed By 80-Foot Shot: Call it the double heartbreaker in Evanston for Maine South. The Hawks lost 45-44 on a miracle 80-foot shot by Wildkit freshman Blake Jones at the buzzer earlier this year. The play, a viral video sensation, saw Peters rebound a missed free throw with 2.6 seconds remaining, fire a Hail Mary down the court and hit nothing but net to stun the Hawks who held a 44-42 lead. Maine South’s Tommy Gardiner lost his father in a car accident while the Hawks were competing in Galesburg 11 days earlier. Gardiner made his return to the court and was shown support from his team and the Wildkits. Evanston players wore “Hawks Fly Together” shirts during warmups before the game in Thomas Gardiner’s honor.

Stevenson Wins Back-To-Back Twice: Stevenson girls water polo proved it is still the team to beat by winning back-to-back state championships after defeating Fenwick 12-7 this past spring. Stevenson ended the season 35-1. The Patriots beat Mother McAuley (12-9) and Naperville North (13-6) to advance to the finals against Fenwick. Lauren Maloney (6 goals) and Claire Haas (3 goals, 1 assists) led the Patriots in the state title game May 19. Haas, who now plays at USC, ended her career with 434 goals, third most in IHSA history. Stevenson is 139-5 over the last four years with state titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018. A week earlier, Stevenson’s badminton team also repeated as state champions in dominating fashion. The badminton team scored 25.5 out of 26 potential points as Esther Shi repeated as singles state champion and the team of Emily Hu and Jenny Yang won the doubles state title. Jyotsna Harikrishna and Benna Li finished second in doubles and Shibani Ram placed third in singles for the Patriots.

Stevenson coach Jeff Wimer has a wide smile as he celebrates with Melanie Blake (20) and Maanasa Devabhaktuni (right) after winning state.

Bulldogs Win American Legion, State Titles: The Mount Prospect Bulldogs American Legion baseball team had an eventful season to say the least. They won the Cook County title after strong play and a number of teams shutting down around them, including Arlington Heights. They advanced to the state tournament, to the chagrin of other teams, and controversially won the state title. The Bulldogs beat Milan (3-0), Newton (8-6) and Danville (3-1) in the three state games. While waiting for the finals, weather made its presence known and forced league officials to hand the title to Mount Prospect. The Bulldogs went to regionals, but fell after two games. They lost 5-1 to Terre Haute and 9-8 to tournament host Napoleon. Mount Prospect (16-8), coached by Jim Haffey, drew players from Maine West, Prospect, Hersey, Conant, Rolling Meadows and Loyola Academy.

Mount Prospect Bulldogs players have fun cheering on players from NWSRA.

Dompke Visits All Stadiums: Elk Grove boys cross country coach David Dompke completed the journey of a lifetime Tuesday, July 31 when he threw out the first pitch at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The lifelong baseball fan completed his goal of attending a game at all 30 Major League ballparks, with the Pirates game against the visiting Chicago Cubs being his last. Dompke’s father sent a letter to the Pirates’ owners along with a Journal & Topics article about Dompke’s mission to reach each park. The Pirates put icing on the cake by allowing him to throw out the first pitch, creating a memory that will last forever.

David Dompke with his wife Kristen, daughter Emily and son Evan on the field at PNC Park.

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