Boys Basketball

Red-hot Fitzgerald sinks Timothy Christian

For much of the season, seasoned varsity players like Will Kincanon, Sam Johnson and Jack VandeMerkt along with promising varsity newcomers like Danico Jackson and Mark Smith have garnered much of the attention for the Riverside-Brookfield High School boys basketball team. In the Bulldogs’ 71-53 win over visiting Timothy Christian last week, junior guard Kevin Fitzgerald took his turn starring for the Bulldogs with a career-high 24 points.

With RBHS trailing Timothy Christian 36-34 at halftime, Fitzgerald found his range from beyond the three-point arc in the second half to fuel the Bulldogs’ second-half surge. Fitzgerald made seven three-pointers (and eight overall on 11 attempts) in the second half against the Trojans. Kincanon scored 23 points and Jackson contributed 10 points, eight assists and five rebounds for RBHS (15-5, 8-0 Metro Suburban Conference) which is posied to claim its 13th straight conference championship.

Friars’ Senior Night spoiled by streaking Caravan

The Fenwick boys basketball team ran into red-hot Mount Carmel at the wrong time. The Caravan upset the Friars 59-51 (Feb. 7) in a Chicago Catholic League North matchup. Senior guard Keshaun Smith led the Friars (16-7, 7-3 CCL North), who struggled all night from the three-point line and behind the three-point arc. David Nichols’ game-high 23 points paced Mount Carmel (17-6, 8-2). The Caravan is in hot pursuit of league front-runner Loyola (19-2, 10-0) and St. Joseph (18-4, 9-1) for the Catholic North championship.

Girls Basketball

Bulldogs bounce back

After losing to Glenbard South 66-47 (Feb. 4) and essentially squashing any remaining hope of winning the Metro Suburban Conference championship, RBHS (22-5, 9-2 Metro Suburban Conference) rebounded well in lopsided wins over Leyden and Ridgewood. The Bulldogs seized a 16-4 lead after one quarter at Leyden Saturday and coasted the rest of the way to earn a 55-38 nonconference victory over the Eagles. Freshman guard Samantha Bloom scored a game-high 15 points for RBHS, while center Dana Rettke and forward Janae Dabney also reached double figures with 12 points and 11 points, respectively. Lyndsey Hoyd added six points for the victors.

Last Thursday (Feb. 6), the Bulldogs blasted visiting Ridgewood 71-27 in a conference meeting. RBHS built leads of 19 at the half and 35 by the end of the third quarter as multiple players contributed to the  victory. Dabney scored 11 points in the second quarter to trigger the Bulldogs’ spirited run against the Rebels.

The Bulldogs also found out last week they are the No. 6 seed in the Hinsdale South Sectional of the playoffs. The Sectional is loaded with quality teams headlined by the top two seeds, No. 1 Whitney Young and No. 2 Trinity.

Fenwick girls basketball edges St. Viator

Creighton-bound Jade Owens scored 14 points and Jenny Mackowiak added 12 points as the Friars slipped past St. Viator. Fenwick is 9-16 overall this season, including a 3-5 record in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

Wrestling

The host Bulldogs claimed their own regional title with 205 points in the opening round of the Class 2A IHSA Individual State Tournament. St. Ignatius (160.5), Nazareth (126.5), Solorio (100) and Kennedy (96) rounded out the top 5 teams from the nine-team field.

Zach Smith (106-pound weight class), Nick Giurini (113), Antonio Ochoa (132), Andrew Misiorowski (138), John Szydlo (145), Ivan Ceja (152), Richard Theus (160), Zach Colvin (170) and Zach Greenwell (220) all advanced to a regional final en route to earning a sectional berth. Joel Gonzalez and Shannon Hickey also advanced for RBHS to the sectional competition by winning their third-place bout

Giurini, Ochoa, Misiorowski, Colvin and Greenwell each won a weight class regional championship. In the title bouts, Giurini defeated Patrick Walsh of St. Ignatius 10-1 and Ochoa edged Little Village’s Dan Velazquez 7-4. Misiorowski bested Nazareth’s Matt Spiller 5-3 for the 138-pound title, while Greenwell pinned Mike Moran of Nazareth at the 5:04 mark of the match.

Boys Swimming

Fenwick boys swimming earns second at MCAC

The Friars finished second with 328 points in their home pool, trailing only Loyola (361) at the Metro Catholic Aquatic Championships. Brother Rice (286.50), Marmion (285) and St. Ignatius (262.50) rounded out the top five.

The Friars’ 200-yard medley relay and 200 free relay teams each won its race. Senior sprint swimmer Zach Tieke claimed a pair of titles in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.60 and in the 100 Free with a time of 47.64. Cavan Smith took first in the 100 butterfly (52.90). Connor Fabian and Paul Devereux finished second (1:02.87) and third (1:02.91), respectively, in the breaststroke.

“This was a great meet for us,” Fenwick swim coach Luke McGuire said. “We saw significant time drops from the younger group that tapered for their final meet. The varsity boys that are still going strong showed up as competitors. With strong leadership from Zach Tieke,  David Durkin, and Connor Fabian, we feel like we’re in good position for the Illinois state series.”

Fenwick hosts its annual sectional on Feb. 22

Cheerleading

RBHS earned 15th place in at the IHSA state meet over on Friday at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, IL. The Bulldogs punched their ticket at the state meet by finishing fourth at their home sectional.

The Bulldogs enjoyed success all season, as evidenced by their second-place finishes at the Metro Suburban Conference meet and Joliet West Cheer Fest during the regular season. RBHS also garnered fourth place at the Grayslake North invitational, Midwest Cheerfest and Huntley Cheer Invite.