Northern Illinois Sports Beat: Friday 5

By Cody Cutter, NISB Publisher
[email protected]

Writer's Note: Friday 5 returns after a two week absence due to website issues.

Today is Friday, May 8, 2009. There are 37 days remaining in the high school sports year. Only 71 days until the start of the 2009-10 prep sports season, and 82 days until high school football starts.

Inagural Bass Fishing Meet Kicks Off Today

The IHSA will embark upon a first-time State Championship on Friday and Saturday, May 8-9 that is expected to lure outdoor enthusiasts from around the state and country to Carlyle Lake.

The 2009 IHSA Bass Fishing State Finals are not only the inaugural edition of its kind in the state, but also in the United States, as the IHSA became the first high school state association in the country to sanction the activity in June of 2008.

Carlyle Lake, the largest in-land lake in the state of Illinois, will serve as the focal point of the state finals.

The battle for the state title features 53 teams, as schools qualified at 18 Sectional events hosted in late April.

Teams can have two students fishing on their team boat, with one alternate on land. A coach captains each boat, which will be on the water competing from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

State Tournament title sponsor Country Financial, the City of Carlyle, Plano Tackle Systems, Wired2Fish and FLW Outdoors have made sure fans on site will have plenty of activities to fill the time between the tournament�s first baited hook and the final weigh-ins. Such activities include a Kids Fishing Derby, and a concert by the South 70 Band.

Moline (Argyle Lake) and Rochelle (Pierce Lake) won their respective Sectional tournaments. Sterling Newman took third at the LaSalle Lake Sectional.

Moline's team of sophomore Austin Paytash, freshman Devon Gamboe and sophomore Zach Latting caught 8.90 pounds of bass.

Rochelle's team of sophomore Nick Rhoads, freshman Jacob Cook and junior Kenny Blomberg caught 13.14 pounds of bass.

Newman's team of senior Ryan Gilbert and sophomore Jared Kelly caught 9.22 pounds of bass.

Carrier Mills-Stonefort had the most poundage with 14.40. Teutopolis's Brett Deters had the largest bass of the sectionals, with a 7.70 pound catch.

DeKalb Badminton Competes in Sectionals

DeKalb is the only area school with a badminton program.

The Barbs closed out a very good dual meet season at 9-1. They lost their first meet to Glenbard South, and went on a nine-meet winning streak. They had two shutouts (15-0) in the season, against Elgin and Bensenville Fenton.

On Thursday, the Barbs competed at the Elmhurst York Sectional. They competed against York,
Des Plaines Maine West, St. Charles North and Streamwood. Mary Kilborn and Jasmine Hollins competed in singles, and Josie Belmont-Cassie Owens and Lisa Paulson-Melissa Welsh, competed in doubles.

No individual made it to state, but Hollins came the closest. In the third place game, she fell to York's Liz O'Brien 21-10 and 21-15.

The last time the Barbs won a sectional was 1987.

The JV squad closed their season with a record of 8-2.

Bass Fishing Casting Contest

There will be a casting contest at this year's State Meet open to any high school student who wants to compete.

The contest will be held at designated times on both Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. State qualifiers can participate as well. The event will take place near the Fishing Celebration Expo from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, and 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Awards will be presented at 3:00 pm at the weigh-in stage.

Stockton, Galena Girls Track teams Compete at New Trier

New Trier High School in suburban Winnetka is big. Their enrollment is 4,176.

At the 11th Annual Trevian Invite this past Saturday, 13 teams competed for the meet championship. Schools included Homewood-Flossmoor (2,940), Chicago Whitney Young (1,186), Lake Zurich (2,286), Skokie Niles West (2,525), Oak Park Fenwick (712), and both the Glenbrook schools (2,136 for North, 2,598 for South).

Also in the mix were the Galena (638) and Stockton (325) cooperatives. Most athletes on those teams come from the host school (Galena's 278 and Stockton's 180).

A couple of small school athletes proved they could hang with suburban athletes.

Galena's Ashley Rojemann blasted away the competition in the discus. She had a toss of 137' 5� that best the second place throw by over 33 feet. Her performance is tops on the NISB Honor Roll.

Stockton's Jackie Cahill won the long jump and the triple jump. She had a long jump performance of 16' 8� and a triple jump performance of 35' 6.5�, one foot better than second place.

Not bad for �downstate� talent.

Another Friday 5?

Did the newest NISB feature become so popular, that someplace else is using the same name?

The Rant Blog on the McHenry County Sports website (a Northwest Herald publication) started using the Friday 5 a week after NISB began it's Friday 5.

It's most likely a coincidence. We think.

Additional information came from IHSA Press Releases.

Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns about Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at [email protected].
Want more Cody? Check out his NISB Blog, Because I Said So, at Cody�s Corner!