A summary of preps sports competition from area schools over the past week. Send scores and highlights to joe@therecordns.org.
CROSS-COUNTRY Hoffman Estates Sectional
Ben Crane won the three-mile race with a time of 14 minutes 53.62 seconds for New Trier, which took the team title as well on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Felix Hekster placed 11th and Atticus Miller 16th for the Trevians.
Brian Hatoum (3rd) and Nate Wehner (5th) paced Highland Park to a fourth-place finish, qualifying them for state.
On the girls side, Josie Cahill finished 25th and Hannah Falk 33rd to lead New Trier to a state berth with a fifth-place finish.
Jane Lynch (19th) led the way for Loyola Academy, which took sixth.
GIRLS SWIM AND DIVE Central Suburban League Championships
Maeve O’Donnell (50-yard freestyle), Zara Bolton (100 butterfly) and Marin Shimkus (100 backstroke) all won individual conference titles for New Trier, which also on the team title on Saturday, Oct. 28.
The Trevians also won the 400 free relay, and Lila Novelline (diving) and Elyse Newlands (200 individual medley were among the second-place finishers for the Trevs.
FIELD HOCKEY Glenbrook 1, New Trier 0
Glenbrook co-op topped the Trevians in the state championship on Saturday, Oct. 28, breaking New Trier’s streak of four straight state titles.
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Those are the feelings of local public agencies and conservation groups that will host events this weekend for residents to responsibly dispose of their pumpkins.
So if you are planning Halloween cleanup, here is where and when you can smash those pumpkins — just remember to remove all decorations first:
WILMETTE: Pumpkin Pitch (Village of Wilmette and Go Green Wilmette) • 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at Village Hall parking lot, 1200 Wilmette Ave., and Centennial Park parking lot, 2300 Glenview Road; and 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Nov. 11, in the Village Hall parking lot.
HIGHLAND PARK: The Great Pumpkin Smash (Park District of Highland Park) •4-6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, at The Preserve of Highland Park, 1207 Park Ave. W. Pumpkin smashing, target throwing and face painting.
GLENCOE: Pumpkin Smash (Glencoe Community Garden) • 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov 4, at Community Garden, 385 Old Green Bay Road. Smash, smush, crush and compost your pumpkins. If you can’t make it, drop off your pumpkins in the dumpster outside the garden’s south gate.
NORTHFIELD: Compost Your Pumpkins (Northfield Park District) • Nov. 1-15 at Northfield Community Center, 401 Wagner Road. Bring your pumpkins to the dumpster in the southeast corner of the community center parking lot.
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Township District 113 will soon begin its search for the next principal of Highland Park High School with the pending retirement of Deborah Finn, the school’s principal since 2018.
Finn is set to retire following this school year. Her contract expires on June 30, 2024.
Finn began in District 113 in 1997 as a math teacher at Deerfield High School, according to her LindenIn profile. She became a department chair at HPHS in 2008 and was named the high school’s interim principal in 2018.
Less than a year later, the District 113 School Board removed the Finn’s interim title and approved a three-year contract for Finn to serve as the school’s principal. Finn’s contract was extended another two years in 2022.
Finn stabilized a rotating chair in the HPHS principal’s office.
In 2018, Finn replaced Principal Elizabeth Robertson, who shifted to a role in district administration after just one year as HPHS principal. Prior to Robertson, Tom Koulentes was the school’s principal from 2014 until 2017, when he took a similar job at Libertyville High School; and Brad Swanson held the post from 2009-2014, when he moved over to Glenbrook District 225.
Finn’s base salary for the 2022-’23 school year was $211,034, according to her contract.
The district has also seen plenty of movement at its superintendent position. It is currently searching for a new superintendent following the Dr. Bruce Law’s retirement announcement. The next superintendent will be District 113’s eighth in eight years; though Law held the position for the last four years.
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New Trier boys soccer is state-bound for the first time in 14 years.
Senior Kevin Farina’s second-half goal was the decisive tally in the Trevians’ 2-1 supersectional triumph over St. Charles East on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at St. Charles North High School.
The victory marks the first trip to the state finals for coach Matt Ravenscraft, while New Trier will make its first state appearance since 2009, the final of fourth straight state trips under coach Craig Fairbairn.
“I’m just immensely proud of the boys and their effort tonight and truly all season,” Ravenscraft said. “We had to dig deep and the boys had to show their grit and resiliency in some key moments of the game, but they did it. I thought we were the deserved winners on the night based on that.
“I’m obviously so proud of the boys and so excited for them that they get to experience a state finals weekend. It’s certainly been a goal of mine and the coaching staff for many years.”
In 2009, the Trevians took home a third-place trophy. During the state-finals streak from 2006-’09, New Trier won two state championships (2008, 2006) — the program’s only state titles.
Under Ravenscraft, New Trier has won seven straight regional titles, and finally earned a sectional championship in 2022. This year, the Trevians (21-1-3) are taking things a step further in the midst of a one-loss campaign.
But it has not come easy. The Trevians faced battle after battle in the Central Suburban South, tying for second place after a loss to Glenbrook North and draw with Maine South. After a playoff-opening rout, the Trevians have had four straight difficult tests — a 2-1 regional win against Taft after penalty kicks; a 3-1 double-overtime win over Evanston; a 2-1 win sectional win against Leyden; and then Wednesday’s one-goal victory over the Saints.
New Trier and St. Charles East went scoreless through the first half in the supersectional. But just minutes into the second half, the Trevs snagged the lead. Sophomore Calyx Hoover took a pass from Oliver Fernandez and fired a ball far post and past the Saints keeper to make it 1-0.
About 15 minutes later, the Saints recorded the equalizer, but the draw didn’t hold for long.
The Trevians drew a free kick just a few minutes later and Aidan O’Neill found Farina for the game-winning goal.
“Our senior captain, the fourth of four Farina brothers to come through New Trier, put the team on his back in that moment,” Ravenscraft said.
New Trier’s defense held the rest of the way, and Ravenscraft credited nearly every man on the roster for their contributions during the playoff run.
“It’s come together over time,” he said. “We’ve fine tuned our rotation, but the boys just believed. This group doesn’t waver under pressure or when they’re on the back foot. … We like to build play and … create movement off the ball and find a free man. That’s just who we are. We’ve done that all season and tonight was no different.”
New Trier will play familiar foe, Glenbrook North, in a state semifinal at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, at Hoffman Estates High School. The Spartans handed the Trevians their only loss on the season, a 2-1 defeat on Sept. 11.
At 21-3-2, the Spartans losses came at the hands of Evanston (2-1, Sept. 14), Niles North (5-2, Oct. 5) and Grayslake Central (1-0, Oct. 10). Glenbrook North beat Palatine 2-1 to win the Fremd Sectional and then topped Elgin in penalty kicks — after a 0-0 draw in regulation and overtime — to advance to the state’s final four.
Sports can be unpredictable, but New Trier and Glenbrook South took that to new heights in a sectional showdown Wednesday evening.
The twists and turns kept everyone guessing, from the raucous crowd to the stressed-out coaches.
“We thought we won or lost multiple times during that match,” Trevs coach Hannah Hsieh said. “It was fun. We will definitely remember this game.”
The instant classic could only produce one victor, however, and that honor went to New Trier, which erased a seven-point third-set deficit to capture the sectional championship with an exhausting 26-24, 24-26, 27-25 win on Nov. 1 in Glenview.
The final point of New Trier’s dramatic sectional victory Wednesday.
In each set, the team that built a substantial advantage went on to lose. In the decisive set, the Titans grabbed a 16-9 lead before the Trevians stormed back, tying the game at 19-19. But GBS broke away again to reach match point with a two-point lead, 24-22.
New Trier had a final surge left, however. A KitKat McGregor kill and three Titans errors completed the Trevians’ comeback victory.
“It feels insane. Obviously that’s like the craziest win we’ve ever had,” McGregor said. “I didn’t even want to think about how that could have been our last game. I just wanted to think keep the smile on our face and just win. And I feel amazing about it. It was definitely our best game.”
McGregor, a junior outside hitter, stepped up during the drama, tallying 5 of her 6 kills in the final set. Fellow junior Emma McHatton was there with her, smacking four kills in the third set.
KitKat McGregor takes an offspeed approach to a swing against Glenbrook South.
Before her two most clutch kills, McGregor also had two hitting errors. But senior setter Jenny Perkins wasn’t thinking about that.
“I know they all can swing it,” Perkins said of the Trevians attackers. “Sometimes you have a bit of an off swing, but I know they’ll all get it in. I trust them.”
Perkins dished out 7 of her 14 assists in the third set, and added 3 kills and an ace. Her fellow senior setter, Alex Belak, added 13 assists in the match.
Plenty of Trevians contributed to the special night, but none more than star Ana Vetter (match-high 18 kills). The Wake Forest commit carried New Trier to an opening-set win that saw the Trevians down 17-10 at one point.
The Trevs clawed their way back into the game but were still down 23-20 late. A point later, her team down 23-21, Vetter kills ended four of the next five points to hand New Trier the 26-24 win.
Setter Jenny Perkins sets up one of her hitters on her way to 14 assists.
In the second set, New Trier bounded out to a nice lead, 16-12, near the midway point. The Titans fought back. GBS middle Caroline Crawford smacked 5 of her 13 kills in the set, helping her team escape a 24-23 deficit to force a third set.
Crawford was at it again in the third set as GBS took the sizable advantage, but the Trevians well-rounded offense — McGregor, McHatten and Vetter combining for 13 kills in the set — was a factor in the dramatic ending.
“That is the nature of this team. We have strong senior leadership that wants it and the girls love each other and they want to do it for each other,” Hsieh said. “I think that is a huge difference when you have girls who want to play for each other and seniors who don’t want their seasons to end.
“That was a complete team effort. They had moments of great play, we had moments of great play — and not. I’m just so proud of them for the fight.”
The victory was New Trier’s 14th in a row, and it was the Trevs (28-6) first three-set match since Oct. 6, a span of 10 matches.
New Trier’s (left to right) Lauren Cortina, Alex Belak and Ana Vetter celebrate a point during the three-set victory.
New Trier earned its first sectional championship since 2017 and moves on to play potent Benet Academy (37-2) in the Bartlett Super-sectional at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3. The Redwings placed second in IHSA Class 4A in 2022 and have six more state trophies, including four championships, since 2011.
