Chicago Public League Sports Blog

Pain and Jubilation

It was all smiles after Lane qualified for state.

A bigger suprise was Niles West advancing. Above is #1 runner Marc Daniel Juulien.

On the flip side was Maine South. Maine South missed going to state by one point. After the race these Maine South guys faces says it all.

I was at the Niles West Sectional. It was a story of jubilation and pain.

Lane and Niles West were the most jubilant. They both advanced to state after going into the meet as underdogs. Lane became the first CPS boys cross country team to advance to state in class 3A since the elimination of the automatic Public League berth. Niles West rarely if ever makes it to state in boys cross country.

 The three teams that had the gloomiest looks on their faces was Niles North, St. Ignatius, and Maine South.

Niles North had one of the best teams it had had in a while. But #1 man Sebhat runs a terrible race, running 16 flat when he was expected to run at least 15:20's. Carlitos Rangel also had a terrible race. He finished as Niles North #1 man in regionals finishing 6th overall in regionals. Yet as sectionals he had a terrible race and finished in 61st place as Niles North 4th man.

St. Ignatius Jack Keelan ran a good race at 15:31. Most years that will qualify. Not this year. He missed out individual state qualifier by one place. Keelan went from an all-state contender to not even running the state meet.

The most dejected team was Maine South. They went from being tied at 5th and going downstate to being eliminated by a technicality.
After they found out, I saw the looks on their face. It was faces of dejection, not bitterness at Lane.

If it had been switched and Lane did not go by one point, I am sure Lane fans would be thinking exactly like Maine South.

This is what makes High School sports so crazy. In the same day you have elation in Lane and Niles West qualifying for state. Then you see the pain in Maine South, Keelan, and Niles North.

I feel the pain and elation at the same time.

Round 2 State Football Playoff Schedule

Saturday, November 5, 2011
8A
#1 Loyola at #9 Dunbar, @ Gately, 1pm

6A
#3 Hubbard at #7 Richards, 7pm

4A
#3 Harper vs #6 Sandwhich, @Gately, 5pm

Pictures Now- Niles West Sectional

Photo Album

Lane Tech fans congratulate David Timlin after finding out Lane qualified for state.(Ilona photo)

Aron Sebhat of Niles North and his teammates warm up prior to the race. Sebhat, Niles North's normal number one man finished 3rd for the Vikings and Niles North finished 8th as a team.

 

Who Wants it Most!

Lane got to the state meet by one point. The meet came down to a series of sprints at the end. Here is a look at how Lane's Lucas Beltran came out on top in one of those sprints.

(Pictures by Ilona)

1. With about 40 yards to go Lane's Lucas Beltran was behind New Trier's Eric Underwood and York's Bill Klink.

2. Beltran finally caught up to them

3. In this picture, Beltran overtakes Underwood.

4. But there are two more guys to overtake with 30 yards to go.  He mustered enough to overcome Maine South's Jon Vacarro (right in black) by .1 of a second. That was the difference between Lane making it to state and Maine South not making it.

CPS Golf Season Summary

Golf in the CPS quietly had a good year. The CPS has a couple developing programs. Here is a summary of how the CPS fared this year.

CPS Golf City Championship

Boys

Teams

1st Place: Whitney Young – 328
2^nd Place: Lindblom – 349

Individuals

1^st Place: Omari Witmore – 76 / Whitney Young
2^nd Place: Four Golfers Tied shooting 81 with Lane’s Fabian Lara winning the playoff

Girls

Teams

1st Place: Walter Payton – 200
2^nd Place: Taft – 206

Individuals

1^st Place: Jenna Greco – 42 / Taft
2^nd Place: Two Golfers Tied shooting 46 with Von Steuben’s  Aleksandra Steinert edging out Taft’s Deanna Pirpiris in the playoff

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CPS Golf IHSA State Regional Results

Boys

Class 2A – Chicago (St. Ignatius College Prep)

Individuals Advancing to Sectionals:

Ÿ      Jason Mathus – 75 /Lindblom                

Ÿ      DeVaughan Mathus – 82 / Lindblom                 

Ÿ      Mitch Fogelson – 91 /Payton                   

Class 3A – Oak Park (Oak Park/River Forest High School)

Teams Advancing to Sectionals:

#1 Chicago (Whitney Young) - 315

Individuals Advancing to Sectionals:

Ÿ      Max Notorangelo – 84 /Lane                     

Ÿ      Matthew Rueping – 86 / Lane                     

Ÿ      Benjamin Vaughn – 92 /Lincoln Park     

Girls

Class A – LaGrange Park (Nazareth Academy)

Individuals Advancing to Sectionals:

Ÿ      Khia Andrews – 107 /Lindblom  

Class AA – Chicago (St. Ignatius College Prep)

Individuals Advancing to Sectionals:

Ÿ      Jenna Greco – 81 /Taft
          Dani Fregia – 95 /Payton
          Deanna Pirpiris – 97 /Taft                     

Ÿ      Montana Frederick – 103 /Payton                   

Ÿ      Sydney Julian – 105 /Payton         

Ÿ      Patrice Pirpiris – 108 /Taft                     

Ÿ      Yliana Velazquez – 110 /Payton                   

Ÿ      Veronica Foster – 115 /Payton                   

Ÿ      Carla Arrieta – 118 /Lane         

 

Class AA – Wilmette (Loyola Academy)      

Individuals Advancing to Sectionals:

Ÿ      Cecile Franke – 100 /Northside Prep           

Ÿ      Alyssa Martinez – 107 /Northside Prep           

Ÿ      Aleksandra Steinert – 114 /Von Steuben

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CPS Golf IHSA State Sectionals Results

Boys

Class 2A – Lemont (Lemont High School)

Individuals Advancing to State:

Ÿ      Jason Mathus – 81 /Lindblom                

 

Class 3A – Flossmor (Homewood- Flossmor High School)

Individuals Advancing to State:

Ÿ      Connor Dore – 80 /Whitney Young

Ÿ      Omari Witmore – 83 /Whitney Young

 

Girls

Class AA – Chicago (St. Ignatius College Prep)

Individuals Advancing to State:

Jenna Greco – 81 /Taft

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tony's Take - Niles West Sectional

Kevin Perez(sr) finished as the key 5th man for Lane with a 56th place finish and a time of 16:15.30. Perez outkicked Maine South's Kevin Dolan at the end. Also,  Lane's Lucas Beltran tipped Maine South's Jon Vacarro by .10 of a second. If either one of those Maine South runners finished ahead of the Lane runner, it would be Maine South celebrating a state qualification.

In preparing for the sectional meet I read a quote from Oklahoma State Men's cross country coach Dave Smith.  It goes as follow: “You’ve got to be a little bit lucky on race day.  You’ve got to be fit and you’ve got to be prepared.  You’ve got to have talented kids, but you’ve got to be a little lucky, too.”

These inspirational words express us to a "T."  We as coaches often prepare our kids every single day in practice and every moment that we have with them for race day situations.  We help them grow into the best situations where they can be mentally tough.  The young men go out and they build strength and courage.  But anything can happen on race day- not matter how good you are.
An element of luck has to be factored in somewhere along with the talent that they have.

The start of the race was as intense as it can get.  But I will get back to that in a minute.

The week began in business-like manner.  Only the 12 guys who were on the IHSA roster were permitted to practice and be with among the team during practice time.  The week of seriousness leads us to this point...

The first hope of every coach is for his or her runners is to get a clean and fair start.  Unfortunately, the race had to be called back within a few seconds of the firing of the starter's pistol.  It was believed that a runner fell just after the start.  Whitney Young coach Billy Poole-Harris and me race toward the start line.  I yell to him to tell our kids to re-boot their mental systems.  Sometimes kids gets anxiety or nerves and the original game plans go down the toilet.

All is fair for the second start and the race is underway and clean.  Right away the race favorites get out in front.  New Trier's Leland Later and Oak Park's Malachy Schrobilgen move to the front.  They have a nice chase pack joining them.  Lucas Beltran join in at the tail end of the huge blob.  David Timlin and Marcelo Burbano is there in the vicinity.  Our 4th through 6th runners Jon Vara, Danny Zimney-Schmitt and Kevin Perez are in the middle of the field.

I'm nervous because we had a strong start last year but faded badly after the first mile... but this group is superior to any unit before them.  The first set of runners roll past the snake like complex and I'm standing in the middle with York coach Jim Hedman.  York was up front with their pack and so were we.  The boys pass the first half-mile in great shape.

As the first mile approaches, I see the lead motor car and then Schrobilgen and Later leading the pack.  They cross in 4:51.  Beltran is through in 4:54 followed Timlin in 4:58.  Burbano, who was running what tepid early on, came through in 4:59.  The rest of top seven was Vara-5:08, ZS-5:09, Perez- 5:09, and Mansur "Waffles"- 5:19.  We were holding strong and definitely in the top 5 as far as I could see. 

 The second mile is where things began to pick up.  Later and Schrobilgen began to separate from the field.  At the same time there were multiple packs forming and runners stringing out.  I could hear Coach Kris Roof yell from his perch for the boys to get moving.  Timlin is off the 9:51 leader pace but his 10:18 is acceptable because he is in good company and running in the top 20 with Burbano (10:21).  Beltran was 10:23.  So we were looking well.  The remaining scoring pack was in the top 50 overall.  If we can hold this position I believe our chances of advancing would be extremely high.

 The final mile looked promising as it became a dog fight.  I could see a good percentage of the race from the top of the baseball fence.  York had big numbers up front and appeared to be the eventual winner.  However, I saw a lot of white and red tops up front.  I wasn't sure if it was Maine South or Niles North.  I know they had various sets of uni's as we do.  But since we had three guys in the top 25, I felt we were ok.  Finally, with less than a quarter-mile to go, it was Burbano to pass me as I motor down to the opening of the stadium.  He was moving strong and still in the top 20.  Timlin didn't look as sharp but wasn't getting passed.  Beltran had the look of a runner trying to hold on.  He did as far as  I could see.  But the key to any winning team is the back of the scoring team- the 5th runner!!  ZS was our 5th runner for the entire race but he has faded late in his races.  He approaches where I'm yelling with 200m left and totally out of gas.  We are in trouble... but wait.  Perez blows past him and continues his surge into the stadium!  That's our top 6 in.  I estimate that he is about 60th or so.  That might be good enough.  Once I get to the finish line everyone is in...

 I believe we may be in.  Not sure.  I tell Coach Roof that it's either we are 5th or nothing.  No individual either because the numbers up top appear to be kids on teams not advancing.  We were too far away to send anyone.  We ran the team pack route. 

 The host Niles West got a sneak peek and immediately began to cheer and their coach Mr. Grossman get emotional.  They obviously were in although those weren't the official results (not posted anyway).  I asked the Niles West official if she could display Lane Tech's results.  She said "6th."  I immediately dropped my head in disappointment and walked away.  She yelled out "but it's a tie with Maine South!"  I could not believe it as my heart raced like crazy.  Sure enough, that's what the paper indicated.  There is no 6th place tie.  Both teams would go.  Coach Roof is cautiously optimistic.  He had every right to be.  The results were not official until signed and posted.

It was at least 20 minutes that went by and Coach Roof called me over and said "they have to go to video review."  Whoa!  Why? Apparently, there was a Niles West runner who fell at the finish line and may not have been properly scored.  So, finally after an hour plus, the results stated that Lane Tech was awarded the 5th place spot all by themselves and advance to the state championship with 173 points to Maine South's 174.  We were as excited as can be.  It was an unbelievable feeling to finally advance to state under some of the most trying circumstances imaginable.  The entire team deserves this because they gave everything from the first day of practice until now.  Actually this was four year plan in the making from the time this senior class were freshman.  What turned out to be one of the most suspect classes is now perhaps the best unit.  They stuck with it and now get to enjoy the spoils that the state championship will bring.

 As for Maine South, my heart goes out to them.  I chatted with Coach Nordahl for a bit afterwards.  He was very disappointed but happy for us.  His team showed a ton of class in dealing with this ordeal. 

 Coach Tony Jones

Niles West Class 3A Cross Country Sectional Results

Malachy Schrobilgen(sr) of Oak Park and Leland Later of New Trier lead at the 3/4 mile mark.

Results

Standing Ovation in a Loss

Throw out the final results, many CPS played really well in the state playoffs. Simeon took Lockport down to the wire before finally falling 18-15.

I am a firm believer that it is not the final score that determines your success, rather it is how well you play the game. The CPS played some really good games in the first round of the state playoffs and had some great efforts. Is this a sign that the CPS is headed in the right direction?

Here is a list of games that although we lost, the teams deserve a standing ovation:

Maine South 35 Curie 13
Rochelle 43 Urban Prep 41
Sycamore 36 King 29
Sterling 18 Julian 14
Evergreen Park 10 Marshall 6
Lockport 18 Simeon 15

King, Julian, and Simeon continue their season as they are Illini teams that are still alive in the city playoffs. Urban Prep and Marshall almost became the first Chicago Conference team to win a state playoff game against non-CPS opponents.

Dunbar and Harper are still alive in the state playoffs after wins against CPS teams. Dunbar plays #1 ranked Loyola and Harper plays Sandwhich in the second round.

Well Represented!

CPS qualifies record 4 teams and 6 individuals to state class 2A and 3A state cross country meets

Eric Shan(jr) of Whitney Young does his school (and the CPS) proud by qualifying for state in one of the toughest sectionals in the state.

Class 3A Team Qualifiers
Lane Tech

Class 3A Individual Qualifiers
Eric Shan(sr), Whitney Young

Class 2A Team Qualifiers
Jones
Mather
Northside

Class 2A Individual Qualifiers
Yusef Hood(sr), Kenwood
Porter Truax(sr), Payton
Jeremy Rainey-Brown(jr), Payton
Alexis Bermudez(so), Little Village
Leonardo Flores(jr), Kennedy

Last year set the record when the CPS qualified 2 teams (Jones and Kenwood) and 3 individuals (Oscar Medina (Lake View), Jeffrey Rector (Roosevelt), Abe Haji(Mather) and Felix Peralta (Juarez)) to state. This year, the CPS broke all of those records by qualifying an astounding 4 teams and 6 individuals - doubling last years totals.

Recent CPS State Qualifiers

The Sun-Times interviews Marcelo Burbano(jr) of Lane after he led Lane to a state appearance. I have never seen Lane get this much media attention. Even though York won the meet the big story of the meet was Lane qualifying.

Hats off to Hubbard

Hubbard 17 Bremen 7

Congratulations to Hubbard for knocking off Bremen in a first round state playoff game. In a day which the CPS had great efforts, Hubbard was the only CPS team to come out victorious over non-CPS schools.