Lake Forest’s Delaney Williams. PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE HANDWERKER

Two basketball players — Lake Forest High School’s Delaney Williams and Glenbrook South’s Matt Giannakopoulos — have been named DailyNorthShore.com Athletes of the Month.

Williams has achieved several personal milestones on the basketball court. The four-year starting guard is Lake Forest’s all-time assists leader (375) and steals leader (308).

Several days ago, Williams got a chance to share a milestone with her teammates. For the first time since the 2004-05 season, the Scouts reached the 20-win plateau with a 42-38 home victory over Lake Zurich.

Williams, who scored a team-high 12 points in the win over LZ, is averaging 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 3.1 assists per game this season.

Meanwhile, Matty G has put together an impressive season for the Titans. The 6-foot-5 senior guard, a three-year starter, has shown tremendous marksmanship. In averaging 20 points per game. Giannakopoulos is shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc.

His finest outing came earlier this month, when he put 40 points in the scorebook against Niles North. He made seven three-pointers.

Giannakopoulos also is averaging 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

For their sensational efforts, Williams and Giannakopoulos will receive special gifts from @properties.

Glenbrook South’s Matt Giannakopoulos. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER

CHICAGO – Chicago-based Designs for Dignity has been chosen by the national non-profit Renovation Angel to partner and combine their resources — to benefit and enhance each organization’s mission of supporting other nonprofit endeavors — by recycling luxury kitchen/bath and residential furnishings.

Designs for Dignity (D4D) provides pro bono design expertise and materials to qualifying nonprofits, resulting in the renovation and modernizing of their key program and treatment spaces, which helps them better serve their immediate populations. Renovation Angel, based in Fairfield, NJ, recycles luxury renovation and remodeling projects in the Chicago area and throughout the nation, providing a way for homeowners to donate these items, while benefiting from a tax credit. D4D will now funnel these same excess items from donations to Renovation Angel to recycle and resell, with D4D receiving a percentage of the resale

“Designs for Dignity is honored to be chosen by Renovation Angel as a charity partner,” said Jennifer Sobecki, CEO of Designs for Dignity. “The act of recycling is a win-win for both organizations — we maintain our sustainability goals by redeploying amazing kitchens, lighting and other residential items to Renovation Angel, all while supporting our organization, as well. This program will directly help our donors by giving them an outlet to recycle luxury items from remodeling projects and benefit from a tax donation. With the tremendous, continued support we receive from the design industry, we look forward to the growth of this partnership and increasing D4D’s ability to assist more nonprofits.”

Since 2000, D4D has worked with Chicago’s design community and all of its resources to work with approximately 15 nonprofits each year, which has totaled more than 200 organizations. Over that time, D4D has impacted the lives of more than 604,000 individuals, provided more than 17,000 hours of service and donated more than $7.7 million in design services and material donations to projects across the Midwest.

“We originally formed the idea of Renovation Angel during a trip to Chicago when meeting with D4D founder Susan Fredman,” said Steve Feldman, president and co-founder of Renovation Angel. “So it’s fitting to be coming full circle to partner with Designs for Dignity and help them to continue their mission of transforming nonprofit environments so those organizations can better help individuals they serve.”

For more information about Designs for Dignity, visit www.designsfordignity.org or call 800-351-6354. For more information about Renovation Angel, visit www.renovationangel.org or call 973-461-2344.

Submitted by Designs 4 Dignity

I support Adam Stolberg for Highland Park City Council to complete the remaining term vacated by Paul Frank.

Before coming to this conclusion, I took the time to meet with all of the candidates for this position. We spoke of why they are running, what skills and interests that they bring and what they expect to accomplish.

It is clear that Adam is by far the most prepared for the job. His experience and qualifications match the need of the council. His hands on government experience has prepared him for the job on day one. Adam understands the responsibilities of the office better and has a clear vision of the City’s priorities, role in our community and relationship with sister governments and partners.

Adam’s leadership and voice as the former Chairman of the Plan and Design Commission of Highland Park, and as a commissioner has been balanced, effective and appreciated by resident and businesses. In this role he comprehensively and thoughtfully addresses issues regarding zoning, housing, business development, sustainability, budgetary matters, traffic and parking issues and historic preservation. Applicants often state that Adam is respectful, and takes great care to incorporate their concerns into the actions and recommendations of the Commission. He works closely with his commission colleagues, the City Council, and City staff. He has earned
their respect and that of residents and the business and development community.

We have the opportunity in Adam Stolberg, to include a life-long member of our community with known skills and the ability to do the job. If you ask whom I want sitting on the dais with me, it’s Adam Stolberg. We need his broad working knowledge and experience to contribute to the future of our City. Let’s add Adam to the team by joining me as we cast our vote for Adam Stolberg for City Council.

Tony Blumberg
Highland Park

Editor’s note: Letters to the Editor represent the writers’ opinions and not necessarily those of Daily North Shore. We encourage readers to post Letters to the Editor– please use this link to do so.

LAKE FOREST — Worries about uncertainty from Springfield expressed by Mayor Donald Schoenheider and some members of the Lake Forest City Council are tempered by optimism over private investment in the community.

Those feelings were expressed after City Manager Robert Kiely Jr. gave the council his annual report on Lake Forest’s community goals and priorities February 6 at City Hall.

Kiely stressed financial acumen as a top priority. He also said the city needed to take a long-range view of the community’s requirements, giving clarity and transparency to actions. Schoenheider asked for Kiely’s views on the impact to Lake Forest of the continued failure of the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. Bruce Rauner to craft a budget.

“What are you hearing about the state budget?” asked Schoenheider. “I hear it’s on again, off again, on again and off again. The most troubling thing I’ve heard is they might eliminate the (Local Government) Distributive Fund entirely.”

The distributive fund is the amount of the state’s income, motor fuel and use tax shared with municipalities on a pro rata basis. Schoenheider said it produces approximately $2 million of revenue to Lake Forest.

“There are no less than 10 to 15 options floating around,” said Kiely. “I think a lot of them are trial balloons. They’re looking to see how people feel about the different ideas. I think they’re also uncertain about what the new administration is going to do in Washington. They may be getting less money from the federal government.”

Initially hoping Rauner and legislative leadership would arrive at a budget deal quickly, Kiely said he now expects it to take longer.

“I was hoping it would be done before our March budget meeting,” said Kiely.

The optimism came when Catherine Czerniak, the city’s director of community development, gave a report on the building projects going on in Lake Forest. These included the new Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. She also talked about the renovations by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer of its new facilities in town.

Schoenheider said Pfizer was moving its worldwide research and development facilities to Lake Forest from suburban New York. There will be 1,100 people employed in the facility when everything is done.

After Czerniak finished her presentation, Alderman George Pandaleon put the development going on in Lake Forest in perspective.

“As I add things up you talked about half a billion dollars of investment in our town by private business,” said Pandaleon. “That shows what a great place people think our town is when they’re willing to invest those kinds of dollars.”

Part of Kiely’s message was the importance of maintaining a long-term mindset. He said decisions should be made not on what some members of the community may want now. They should be thought out so they will look good in the future as well.

“We need deliberate mindfulness,” said Kiely. “We need to be very deliberate and transparent.”

Major programs Kiely highlighted included the city’s marketing plan, which will start to roll out in the coming months, improvements to Deerpath Golf Course, master plans at different parks, improved streetscape on north Western Avenue and a push for improved commuter train service.

“We’d like to see more express trains,” said Kiely. “We’d like to turn that 60-minute commute (into Chicago) into a 40- or 30-minute commute.”

Lake Forest City Hall

The candidates for Lake Forest District 115 Board of Education 2017

LAKE FOREST/LAKE BLUFF — Eight candidates are campaigning for four seats on the Lake Forest Community High School District 115 Board of Education, with a quartet naming itself the Final Four seeking control of the seven-member panel.

Voters will decide in the April 4 election with early voting starting March 20 at Lake Forest City Hall.

The Final Four called itself a faction of “like minded” candidates in a January 5 DailyNorthShore.com story, setting out its intention to gain a majority. The other four contestants have banded together under the moniker the Right Track, according to their website.

The field includes three incumbents and five challengers. The Final Four consists of challengers Cindy Good, Patrick Marshall, Lisa Mienville and Jennifer Neubauer.  The Right Track comprises incumbents Sally Davis, Dave Lane and Ted Moorman along with challenger Tomas Nemickas.

The Right Track candidates have the support of the Lake Forest Caucus, according to a December 8 DNS story. They are also supported by Vote Lake Bluff, according to that caucuses website. Neubauer said the Final Four contestants did not seek caucus backing.

DNS asked all eight candidates:

1. their qualifications for the job
2. what changes if any they want to make
3. what issue they considered the most important in the race

The Final Four elected to submit one response. Davis, Lane, Moorman and Nemickas answered individually.

Here are their responses with the Final Four listed first, and the Right Track listed second.

THE FINAL FOUR

Cindy Good. Photo courtesy of Final Four.

Patrick Marshall. Photo courtesy of Final Four.

Lisa Mienville. Photo courtesy of Final Four.

Jennifer Neubauer. Photo courtesy of Final Four.

What are your qualifications for the job?

Please see our bios at this link: http://www.lfhs4.com/about/

What changes, if any, do you want to make?

Our research across a range of public sources highlights an overall decline in academic achievement and fiscal responsibility, both in absolute numbers and in relation to relevant peers. We will provide that research on a continuing basis via our website, lfhs4.com and in emails to community members who sign up on the website and in our ongoing discussions with voters. The District 115 Board is designed to support its voting stakeholders. As such it is responsible for setting strategic direction, maintaining oversight and measuring performance into the administration’s key activities. When elected, we will drive to discover and communicate to stakeholders the reasons for these declines and focus the administration around a corrective strategic plan. The main goal for this will be to better serve students and strengthen the LFHS community.

What is the most important issue to you in the race?

Our research across a range of public sources highlights an overall decline in academic achievement and fiscal responsibility, both in absolute numbers and in relation to relevant peers. We will provide that research on a continuing basis via our website, lfhs4.com and in emails to community members who sign up on the website and in our ongoing discussions with voters. The District 115 Board is designed to support its voting stakeholders. As such it is responsible for setting strategic direction, maintaining oversight and measuring performance into the administration’s key activities. When elected, we will drive to discover and communicate to stakeholders the reasons for these declines and focus the administration around a corrective strategic plan. The main goal for this will be to better serve students and strengthen the LFHS community.

THE RIGHT TRACK

Sally Davis

Sally Davis. Photo courtesy of Lake Forest Caucus.

What are your qualifications for the job?

In September 2015, I was selected by the District 115 Board from a pool of 13 applicants to fill a mid-term vacancy. Since then, I have completed training in School Board Governance, Evaluation of Education Professionals, Education Finance, School Board Law, and Community Engagement.

I am District 115’s Liaison to ED-RED, the association of Chicago metropolitan area school boards, and I represent Lake Forest High School in legislative developments such as the State’s education funding reform efforts and the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. In addition, I serve on the Board’s Education Committee and I work with fellow Board Member Diana Kreiling on opportunities to enhance to the Board’s community engagement.

As the only attorney on the Board, I draw on my trial experience in Lake and Cook County’s juvenile and criminal courts, as well as my knowledge of employment and labor law, when the Board addresses issues with our counsel. I frequently suggest additional protections in contracts the Board considers signing.

As my biography demonstrates, I am an avid volunteer for our community’s students. These roles expose me to different perspectives and concerns raised by the youth and families our Board represents.

I am not a one-issue representative; I am a team player. And while I may have a strong point of view on a topic, as well as ethical and legal lines I will not cross, I am committed to playing my part to ensure that the District 115 Board is a high-performing team.

What changes, if any, do you want to make?

Most of the changes I support for LFHS already are under way and we need to make sure every student benefits from their momentum. For example:

More AP Coursework. The outdated subject matter class “tracks” have been eliminated, which has unleashed a substantial increase in the number of students taking Advanced Placement classes (+45% in the last 5 years) and in the total number of courses they are taking (57%). During this time, LFHS’s exam pass rate has remained at 95%, which means our students still have capacity to challenge themselves more.

Why do more AP classes matter? For individual students, participating in a more demanding course pays demonstrable dividends in college performance.

New School-Day Schedule: This year the LFHS Administration introduced a new school-day schedule, planned last year by our Principal Dr. Holland in collaboration with our faculty, students, parents and administrators.

The students benefit by getting an additional class period to explore electives, concentrate on areas of interest, or do homework with in-school help — all without budget increases — and they recharge their teenage brains by sleeping later. The teachers gain scheduled department collaboration time, dedicated office hours for students, and the flexibility to plan innovative lessons once a week, such as labs and field trips that require longer than 45 minutes to complete. Now we need to capitalize on these opportunities for our students and faculty.

And I could continue with examples such as: Introduction of a comprehensive data tool that creates individual student dashboards to identify support needs; preparing students to succeed in the 21^st century economy with the Lake Forest Foundation’s Innovation Incubator and TEDx talks; and Partnering with Rush Neurobehavioral Center to implement executive function skill building.

What is the most important issue to you in the race?

When the election is over, the entire District 115 community – students, parents, staff, administrators, taxpayers, and residents – must be the winner. I am excited to have our entire community engage in an honest and substantive discussion of what we want Lake Forest High School to be. None of us has all the answers and we will not always agree, but I want us to model for our LFHS students how a vigorous, civil debate can make our community stronger and healthier.

After that, our community needs to focus our considerable resources and talents to support the changes I described in question #2. And we need to work together to address external initiatives that can the potential for significant impact on LFHS, including Illinois education funding reform and proposed federal voucher programs, all while maintaining our District’s remarkable AAA bond rating.

Dave Lane

Dave Lane. Photo courtesy of Lake Forest caucus.

What are your qualifications for the job?

1. I have been a board member for almost two years, have a good working relationship with fellow board members and the administration.  I have learned how to be an effective board member in that time so will have no learning curve ahead of me
2. I am the President and Chief Operating Officer of a $200 million multi-national company.  In this role I have gained real time experience negotiating with different functions and people to gain alignment on our budgets and consensus on directives.  I have and will continue to put this experience to work while serving on the District 115 the board.
3. I have served on the Florida State University Foundation Board for six years and am the chairman elect.  So I not only have experience at the Lake Forest board I also can bring learning from this board as well
4. I have two children who are freshmen at the Lake Forest High School now.  I am able to witness firsthand how the schools’ efforts and strategies affect the students and can apply those observations in real time faster

What change if any do you want to make?

1. I do not want to make any major changes.  The school—its students, staff, administration and school board are all working towards a great vision and are working towards deploying a growth mindset in everything we do and teach.  This is good and should continue.
2. I do want to continue to help us be better at what we do embark on.  Continued innovation in the class room, continue balanced learning for the students, more communication from the administration and increasingly more effective financial decisions and efficiency

What is the most important issue to you in this race?

The most important issue in this race is whether we stay on the right track or create disruption for the sake of disruption that ultimately could lead to an immediate negative effect on our students.  This race is a question of mission and what the mission of the board is and how it can manifest itself at the high school and in the broader community.  We are fortunate to live in a great community and have a dynamic and highly effective learning environment for our children that is positioned to only get better.  We need to continue to support more of the good things the administration, staff and students have begun.

Ted Moorman

Ted Moorman. Photo courtesy of Lake Forest Caucus.

Moorman lists the following as his qualifications and answers to changes he would make and the most important issue Lifelong member of the community for all of his 58 years as well as being a LFHS graduate in 1977 and proud steward of LFHS for the past four years.

1. Strong advocate of our LFHS and one that wants to give back to our greatest community asset and make it even better.
2. Promoted to Secretary of the Board for his strong leadership and advocacy for LFHS over the past four years.
3. A fiscal conservative that demands our school provide an outstanding four year education to our students while respecting the community’s need to maintain fiscal discipline.
4. Provides strong fiscal oversight to remove unnecessary spending while providing outstanding and leading edge educational opportunities and initiatives normally only found in much larger academic institutions.
5. Lifelong LF resident, graduate of LFHS, University of Illinois (BA), Cal State University (MBA- Magna Cum Laude); Lt Colonel, United States Air Force, flying squadron commander; International Captain, United Air Lines; small business/property owner, Lake Forest Illinois.
6. Serves as a many faceted and strong board member–serves and leads on the LFHS Finance committee, NSSED board member representative (Special Education for Lake Forest), NSSED Foundation lead board member, Policy Committee Chairman.
7. Collectively, the LFHS school board drives and leads an incredibly impressive top flight institution in a small town setting.

Tomas Nemickas

Tomas Nimeckas. Photo courdtesy of Lake Forest Caucus.

What are your qualifications for the job?

I have been an active member of the Lake Forest and surrounding communities for the past 15 years, as my occupation allows for a unique opportunity to be exposed to a broad section of the population. My practice stretches across multiple high school districts in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin and allows me the opportunity to be informed of their activities.  This, coupled with my scientific training and background, provides me with a data driven, objective ability to evaluate and solve issues before me, in an impartial manner. Having had the pleasure and opportunity to be involved with both the Board of Managers of IBJI and the Executive Board, I have also had the opportunity to perfect my executive management skills, and be able to build a consensus among many and varied strong willed and opinionated parties. I have also been able to observe the differences between my eldest daughter’s education at Woodlands Academy versus my two younger children’s education at Lake Forest High School which provides me with the recent perspective of two significantly different paths aiming to achieve the same goal.

What changes, if any, do you want to make?

At this point, there are no changes that I want to make, although that does not imply that we should rest on our achievements. Improvement is a continual process of introspective and evaluation, and I would anticipate continuing the current Board’s activities related to the ongoing review process and would support those changes to policy or financial management that are appropriate.

What is the most important issue to you in the race?

The most important issue to me in the race is the ensure that the School Board of District 115 continues to remain representative of the community it serves, continues to execute its fiduciary duties related to policy and financial oversight of the district in an exemplary fashion and continues to strive to provide an excellent balance between academic experience and environment to prepare the children of the community for success as adults.

Click here, here and here to read biographical information in the Right Track.

Click here to read biographical information on the Final Four.

Top left: title from the website for Parents of New Trier, which seeks changes to the Race Day lineup. At right, logo for a petition in support of the high school’s Seminar Day on Race. Bottom left, an image about the event from New Trier’s website.

WINNETKA – Controversy is brewing over New Trier High School’s Seminar Day On Race, scheduled to be held on Feb. 28. One group of vocal parents and residents is urging District 203 administrators to add speakers to the event with what they say is a different world view, and another group of parents and residents is rallying in support of the all-day seminar.

“As citizens, parents and community members, let’s show the New Trier School Board we support Seminar Day and our educators. We recognize these conversations may not be easy, but they are important,” reads the website in support of the program. The site includes a petition that will be filed with the school board.

The petition was started by a group of parents and residents who were concerned about the vocal opposition on a seminar they view as important, a group representative told DailyNorthShore. After brainstorming, the group decided a petition was a simple way for people to express their support of the event to the school board. As of Feb. 7, more than 3,000 people had signed the petition.

Carol Callahan, a Wilmette resident whose daughter is a sophomore at New Trier, signed the petition in support of the program. “My daughters found New Trier Seminar Day an eye-opening experience. They gained insight into how our history as a nation of immigrants of all races and religions continues to impact us today. The array of subjects covered by dozens of speakers prepares them for study, work and living among people with different backgrounds and experiences, whatever path in life they choose,” she told DailyNorthShore.

The group opposing Seminar Day created a website and Facebook page called Parents of New Trier, detailing their concerns. The tagline on the website is “Because New Trier’s All School Seminar Day is Biased, Unbalanced, Divisive, and Costly.”

Parents of New Trier maintain that Seminar Day lacks speakers with varying points of view who may offer solutions to real world problems, such as gang violence in Chicago. The group has proposed alternative panelists on their website such as Jason Riley, a Wall Street Journal columnist, Millwaulkee Sheriff David Clarke, or NFL football player Benjamin Watson.

Betsy Hart, a New Trier parent who is a spokesperson for the group, told DailyNorthShore that Parents of New Trier is forming as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with plans to be a voice for people in the community, bridge divides and make a difference in a tangible way. On Feb. 26, Corey Brooks will speak at a private home about his work with Project Hood, an organization working to end violence and build communities in Chicago.

“Our issue is not at all with Seminar Day in talking about race. It is the world view that it is coming from,” Hart said. Hart said the group’s concern is that the focus is not on real solutions, but rather workshops that she and others in the group view as divisive and politicized. “It doesn’t take courage to talk to New Trier students about white privilege. That’s not courage, that is a cliche,” she said.

The theme of Seminar Day is “Understanding Today’s Struggle for Racial Civil Rights.” The New Trier website states: “The goals for the day are to help students better understand how the struggle for racial civil rights stretches across our nation’s history, that people of diverse racial backgrounds were involved in each chapter in this history, and how previous civil rights movements connect with the issues that we are discussing today.”

Students will have the opportunity to choose from 100 workshops presented by New Trier staff, student groups and experts from the Chicago area. The workshops range in topic from discussing representations of people of color in various forms of media to analyzing western bias in the field of science.

In addition, two keynote speakers are scheduled to speak at each campus. Colson Whitehead, award-winning author of The Underground Railroad, will speak at the Winnetka campus, while Andrew Aydin, co-author of the award winning graphic memoir series MARCH about congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, will speak at the Northfield campus.

This year isn’t the first year New Trier has held a day-long program focussed on race. Last year the school held a Seminar Day on Martin Luther King Day, featuring Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Sons, and a special presentation by Malcom X’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz.

Moving forward, many parents and residents who both support and oppose this year’s Seminar Day plan to attend the New Trier school board meeting scheduled on Feb. 20 to share their views.

LAKE FOREST – The Friends of Lake Forest Library Scholarships are grants of $2,000 awarded to graduating seniors (residents of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff or Knollwood) who clearly demonstrate a passion for reading. The Friends of Lake Forest Library inaugurated this scholarship in 2003 to recognize students whose lives are enriched by reading.

Application process:

1. Submit application form
2.  Submit a 500-word essay
3. Submit letter of recommendation from an adult who is not a relative

Completed application may be turned in as follows:

1. Turn in completed application to the LFHS CRC by 3:30 PM March 15, 2017
2. Drop off completed application to the LF Library by 5:00 PM March 15, 2017.
3. Mailed applications must be postmarked by March 15, 2017. Mail to: Friends of Lake Forest Library Scholarship Committee, 360 E. Deerpath, Lake Forest, IL 60045

Late applications will not be considered.

Applications may be found on the Lake Forest Library’s website at www.lakeforestlibrary.org/friends/scholarships

Submitted by Friends of the Lake Forest Library

Students from Avoca West Elementary, Marie Murphy School and New Trier Varsity Voices join in song at the 6th Annual Avoca District Choral Concert.

WILMETTE – Students from Avoca West, Marie Murphy and the New Trier Varsity Voices came together in song for the sixth annual Avoca District Choral Concert. Ninety students in grades 3-12 participated in the concert entitled “The Earth is Singing.” The concert opened with all three ensembles singing the Georgia Sea Islands spiritual “Yonder Come Day” and closed with the South African folksong “Bonse Aba” conducted by guest conductor David Ladd, New Trier Music Department Chair.

The younger students shared how much fun they had singing with students from the other schools. “Not only is this a beautiful event from an artistic standpoint, but the mentoring that occurs as the older students model techniques, behaviors and leadership is a tremendous gift to these young musicians,” shared Avoca Superintendent, Kevin Jauch.

This event was inspirational and joyful for the participants and those who had the opportunity to hear the children’s voices raised in song. Many audience members were moved by Avoca West’s poignant performance of Z. Randall Stroope’s piece “Inscription of Hope.” The text of the piece is based on words that were found scrawled on a cellar wall in Cologne, Germany during the Holocaust. Also of note was the Marie Murphy Concert Choir’s performance of “I’m Goin’ There,” a Greg Gilpin arrangement of the “Wayfaring Stranger” folk song, with solos by Davina Shin and Cecilia Perez.

New Trier Varsity Voices impressed with the 1960’s jazz tune “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” and then moved to the modern song “Brave” featuring solos by Meagan Rittmanic, Maliha Syed and Gracie Nayman. You can watch the entire performance by visiting www.avoca37.org.

The Avoca West Spring Choral Concert will take place on Monday, April 24 at 6:00 PM in the Avoca West South Gym. The concert will feature the school’s two choirs, Primary Choir and Concert Choir, comprised of 100 students in grades 1-5 under the direction of Elizabeth Weismehl with guest conductor Daniel Hammond, choral director at Marie Murphy.

Submitted by Avoca School District 37

In December, the North Shore School District 112 (NSSD 112) Caucus voted to endorse the following candidates for election to the NSSD 112 School Board:

• Dan Jenks
• Art Kessler
• Brent Ross

Our District is extremely fortunate to have so many capable and qualified members of the community who have stepped forward to run for the NSSD 112 School Board.

The Caucus is committed to bringing representatives of the entire community together to identify candidates who are highly qualified to serve on the NSSD 112 School Board. We attempt to seek consensus among community members with a broad range of differing views.

The Caucus is a group of community volunteers composed of delegates representing each of District 112’s schools, including both parents of students and community members who do not have children in the District. There were 56 voting members of the Caucus drawn from across the District and representing a wide range of opinions and viewpoints. These volunteers met and worked together to identify qualified candidates for the NSSD 112 School Board in several meetings this fall. The Caucus is not affiliated with NSSD 112 or any political action groups.

Endorsement of a candidate required a vote of at least two-thirds of the delegates to the Caucus. The voting reflected the consensus, reached by a diverse group of stakeholders from across District 112, that the endorsed candidates are highly qualified to serve the interests of the community on the District 112 School Board over the next four years. Not receiving an endorsement should not be viewed as a criticism or comment on the qualifications of a candidate – the concurrence of two-thirds of the delegates is required for endorsement, reflecting the consensus of a diverse group of community members.

The goals of the Caucus are to:

1. Exchange ideas and facilitate concerted action on matters of mutual educational and community interest;
2. Obtain input from a cross-section of community members who reside throughout the geographic boundaries of the District and who reflect the District’s varied stakeholders; and
3. Find, endorse, and support to the conclusion of the election, qualified candidates for the NSSD 112 School Board.

This year’s Caucus demonstrated that a diverse group of community members could work together, respecting their differences, to achieve consensus about the qualities needed to lead the District over the next four years.

In the interest of providing the information needed to make an informed decision, the Caucus is inviting all of the candidates for NSSD 112 School Board to a forum on March 12th and posting materials we used for consideration on our website www.d112caucus.org. Watch for more information about the forum. This year there will also be a number of other candidate forums.

Because the results of this year’s elections for NSSD 112 School Board are likely to have a significant impact on the future of the District, please take the time to learn about the full scope of the job of serving on the School Board and the candidates who seek election. Go to candidate forums, attend a coffee or two, read the candidates’ statements and ask yourself who is best qualified to serve the entire community. Consider who will work well with other Board members, administration, teachers, parents and other members of the community to lead NSSD 112 through a challenging period. We are fortunate to have so many smart, capable and committed candidates.

Please take the time to learn about the candidates. Your vote will make a difference in April.

The District 112 Caucus Board:
Andrea Wintroub, Chair
Daniel Struck, Secretary
Mandy Castle, Publicity Chair

Editor’s note: Letters to the Editor represent the writers’ opinions and not necessarily those of Daily North Shore. We encourage readers to post Letters to the Editor– please use this link to do so.

This editorial was written by the editorial team of New Trier News, where it was first published.

At New Trier we are very lucky to have an involved community and caring parents. It’s not unusual for every seat to be taken at Board of Education meetings because parents want to know what’s going on at our school.

New Trier parents are organized too, with an active New Trier Parents’ Association (NTPA) and Facebook groups like “New Trier Parents.”

However, when it comes to the All School Seminar Day, parents need to let students make the ultimate decision on attending or not. They need to let students take the lead in supporting or opposing this day.

Yes, parents do have a vested interest in this day as it is their kids who are attending, and depending on who you speak with, are gathering valuable information on civil rights or getting brainwashed by a “leftist administration.”

However, the students are the ones who are processing this information, signing up for the seminars, and having thoughtful discussions about race.

The small, vocal, and well organized opposition movement seems to only be coming from parents. Parents created the Facebook group, the petition to “balance or suspend” the seminar day, and the website parentsofnewtrier.org to mobilize their displeasure with the content of the day.

While we appreciate our parents’ involvement, they should let students fight their own battles. Committing our own “minds to inquiry” and advocating for what we believe, whether it is for or against the existing seminar day. Parents forbidding their children to attend Seminar Day goes against all that we are taught at New Trier.

Denying us attendance is denying us the opportunity to evaluate, question and make conclusions regarding the content presented.

Our adult lives are not going to always be filtered or protected by our parent’s views and the earlier we learn to think critically for ourselves, the more open we become to new ideas and learn how to evaluate them.

The majority of student voices that have been shared on this topic seem to have been in support of the program. Former and current New Trier students have written open letters on websites and created petitions supporting the seminar day as it currently exists.

Of course there are also students that are opposed to the seminar day, but their voices are drowned out by the opposition coming from parents or from people outside of the community.

We urge those students to come forward so they can be heard and there can be discussions to understand the day’s purpose.

It is our job as students to tell the school and the community how the people who are actually involved and experiencing the day feel about it. This is an opportunity for student voice to shine through the fog of polarized parent opinions from the community and hyper-partisan websites such as Breitbart.

Our voice can be heard, not just through writing about it on Facebook, but also through action. So, show up at the Feb. 20 board meeting or go to the Seminar Day, because numbers are impossible to deny.

New Trier News editorial staff
Winnetka

This editorial originally was published in New Trier News, the school newspaper at New Trier Township High School. The authors are members of the paper’s editorial team.

*****

Letters to the Editor represent the writers’ opinions and not necessarily those of DailyNorthShore. We encourage readers to post Letters to the Editor– please use this link to do so.

LAKE FOREST — Multiple generations of Lake Foresters ranging from those with no memory of the Great Recession to some who remember the end of World War II got together for a discussion about the future of their community.

The city held its initial planning session to begin updating its strategic plan February 7 in the cafeteria of Trustmark in Lake Forest. People with different perspectives talked to each other about what was important to them in the community.

A crowd of more than 150 attended a planning session for the City of Lake Forest Strategic Plan.

“This is our first step,” said City Manager Robert Kiely Jr. “It is a deliberative conversation of our hopes for our community. It should be helpful and spirited. There are differences (between us) but there are a lot of similarities. My son and daughter-in-law have moved back here. They love this community but they think a lot differently.”

After a presentation by Lake Forest College anthropology professor Holly Swyers helping the crowd of more than 150 people understand what shaped the generations in the room, they talked to each other at tables of 10. Each table reported its highlights before there was a general discussion.

Most of those reporting from the breakout groups said education, safety, open space, tradition, a sense of community, fiscal responsibility, family, togetherness and a welcoming community were important traits.

There were also concerns such as a stock of affordable housing to allow young people to return and raise their families in town, financial concerns facing the city like police and fire pensions and dispelling stereotypes outsiders have of the community.

Before the crowd broke into groups, Swyers explained her view of what constitutes generations. She asked for a show of hands of everyone who remembered the Great Recession. Nearly all went up.

Swyers then narrowed the upright arms by asking who remembered 9/11, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Watergate, the John F. Kennedy assignation, the McCarthy hearings and the end of World War II. Hands kept going down until few were up.

“Names like millennials were made up by marketing people who want to sell you stuff,” said Swyers. “Your generation is defined in terms of times of your life and what you saw. What was important when you came of age? I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall. I can easily insert terrorist for communist.”

Before the group discussions began, Swyers gave some parameters. Each table had a moderator who was one of her anthropology students from the college. She said people first needed a sense of safety in their community and then economic well being. Though important to people, she said those were generally present in Lake Forest.

Once people are personally and financially secure, they are looking for a sense of family and social recognition, Swyers said.

Tom Swarthout, a former alderman, said it was time to stop talking and start acting to bring affordable housing to Lake Forest. He said the demolition of Barat College was a lost opportunity and that tearing down some older homes is a current opportunity.

Alderman Tim Newman said he recognized issues presented by some of the financial uncertainty surrounding the State of Illinois and pension obligations. He said he was optimistic and invited public participation.

“We’ll get through this and we want your support,” said Newman. “Reach out and let us know how you feel.”

Some college students said they did not always feel welcome in the community while others said they did. Jacobi McClellan, a fraternity president at the college, made an offer to the city’s residents.

“If you have a volunteer opportunity let us know,” said McClellan. “We have a 15-hour community service requirement. Here’s my email address.”

Kiely said Swyers and her students will prepare a report of the evening in the next two weeks. Then a group of 75 to 100 community leaders will review the information. He said he hopes there will be a draft of the plan in late March and the City Council will adopt it in April.

WILMETTE – The Wilmette Police Department is investigating a residential burglary that occurred on Monday, Feb. 6 between 3:30 p.m. and 4:20 p.m. in the 500 block of Lawler Avenue (east of I-94 & south of Lake Avenue). The offender(s) forced entry to a side door and appear to have searched several rooms on the main floor of the residence, but specifically targeted jewelry in the master bedroom.

The police ask that people immediately contact them by dialing 9-1-1 if they see something suspicious.

In other news, the WPD made an arrest related to another residential burglary. On Jan. 31, Wilmette detectives charged a 35-year-old Chicago man in connection with a residential burglary that occurred on Jan. 19 in the 900 block of Sheridan Road.

Working with other suburban police departments, Wilmette detectives were able to identify the suspect and assisted in his arrest after police say he was observed committing a residential burglary in Berwyn.

Submitted by the Wilmette Police Department

HIGHLAND PARK – Representatives from the Reconfiguration 2.0 Community Team were reviewing a timeline for a March 2018 Referendum when one simple question was left dangling: “Has 2.0 as a group decided that all 12 schools cannot remain open?”

The question was asked by Board Member Karla Livney. Art Kessler 2.0 Steering Committee and Board of Education (BOE) candidate explained that a May survey asked “would you raise taxes to keep all 12 schools open, and the majority of people said they would not. I think the question still has to be asked again with actual numbers, but at this stage I’d be surprised if the public would favor a tax increase to keep all 12 schools open,” he said.

Livney said, “So at this point 2.0 is not willing to start with the one premise that all 12 schools cannot stay open? I’m wondering if 2.0 has reached that conclusion because you studied the numbers and it would be helpful if you could say it.”

Kessler said, “It’s more than just the numbers, there are a lot of educational reasons why you wouldn’t keep 12 schools open.”

Livney persisted to get a direct answer. “We don’t have a lot of time. Can’t we have some givens? All people are going to understand is ‘I don’t want my school closed’.”

Another member of the 2.0 Steering Committee joined in the conversation at the Feb. 7 BOE meeting: “It’s always better when people feel like they’re coming to their own conclusions,” said Rafael Labrador. “We’re not walking on eggshells, but we want to discuss this with the whole team.”

Board President Samantha Stolberg agreed with Livney and said: “You have potential board member candidates who are campaigning saying I will keep all 12 schools open. I think we need to tell the community that this is not an option.”

The conversation will continue at the Feb. 8 workshop at 6 p.m. Labrador said that since the 2.0 Committee operates under the Open Meetings Act there’s a lot of material that will be discussed.

At the beginning of 2.0, “we found that we weren’t working closely enough with the board and we weren’t working closely enough with one another,” said Labrador. Now 2.0 has gone from four committees to two committees and there’s more opportunity for “full transparency,” he added.

Labrador said there are now 23 members remaining out of 31 on the 2.0 Team and the board and the team will discuss a plan to recruit more members at the workshop.

Kessler said LINK Strategic Partners will conduct focus groups on Feb. 22 and 23 to get an idea of what people are looking for in a referendum. There will be 12 people in each of the two groups. One group will focus on parents of children either entering the district or in the district and the other group will focus on empty nesters.

Kessler explained that 2.0 will also conduct two surveys: a statistical survey with configuration and education questions, and the second survey will be open to the community giving more people an opportunity to participate.

“In early March 2.0 we will be doing community forums, and throughout the whole process the team will continue to work on reconfiguration,” said Kessler. Phase 3 will begin in early May and by the end of June final recommendations will be brought to the board.

During public comments Rick Heineman said: “We are at risk of not making a March 2018 referendum, because I don’t think that 2.0 has had the resources to do the job right.”

He recommended that Nagle Hartray Architecture “devote more time to the effort” and Gilbane Building Company become “heavily involved.”

“The problem was when we started the referendum effort none of the options were financially viable, because SCFFAC (Superintendent’s Citizen Finance and Facilities Advisory Committee) didn’t have the resources to find out what it cost and in order to be fiscally responsible we must spend money to make sure that they can do the job right,” said Heineman.

He mentioned the possibility of having a school built in the Golf Learning Center (2205 Skokie Valley Road) or possibly building a new school on the Lincoln School site. “We can’t compare the cost for repairing Braeside and Ravinia with the cost of putting up a new state of the art school, because we just don’t have the numbers,” Heineman added.

John Fuhrer, director of operations and facilities, said that next month there should be a project update with Gilbane and Nagle Hartray.

Adam Kornblatt, who was on the 2.0 Steering Committee before he became a board member, said: “We tried to get Gilbane to come to meetings and get involved in July and here we are in February.”

This spring Jennifer Ferrari, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, will leave the district for a position at Distinctive Schools in Chicago. “I’m here to thank Jennifer for her stupendous and dedicated sense of purpose and initiative in serving kids,” said Neil Codell former principal and superintendent of District 111 [before it became  D-112]. “I wanted to personally thank you as someone who lives for digital learning advocacy for every child and personalized learning plans. I congratulate you on your next endeavor.”

This was the first board meeting with the North Shore District 112 Co-Interim Superintendents Edward Rafferty and Jane Westerhold. Dr. Westerhold explained that Jessica Velasquez, executive assistant to the superintendents, has been helpful in setting up meetings with board members and building leaders.

“In the next couple of weeks we’re trying to get into all of the buildings and meet as many people as we possibly can,” said Dr. Westerhold.

Author Maggie Curry is a senior at New Trier Township High School.

New Trier’s all-school seminar day coming up on Feb. 28, about civil rights, has gotten the attention of Breitbart, Illinois Family Institute, and even the Chicago Tribune as controversy over the content of the day raises concerns for some parents.

A parent Facebook group was created called “New Trier Parents Seminar Day Review” and changed to “Seminar Day Discussion.” The group was public but is now a closed group with 159 members. According to the Facebook page, the group caters to “people who care about the Seminar Day Program at New Trier.”

The Illinois Family Institute published an article written by Laurie Higgins on Jan 10. headlined, “New Trier High School Avoids Diversity Like the Plague.”

In this article, Higgins provided summaries of the seminars, along with a section she called, “What Can Parents Do?” In that section, Higgins advised parents to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the names of teachers leading seminars.

Higgins said this would help disrupt the day because “leftist teachers depend on their anonymity, autonomy, and absence of accountability to exploit their positions.”

Ten FOIA requests were made to the school from seven individuals. Each request had several individual requests within them, totaling over 50 requests, according to Christopher Johnson, assistant superintendent for finance and operations at New Trier’s Northfield Campus.

On Feb. 3, the Chicago Tribune also published an article about the seminar day, headlined, “New Trier High School parents debate planned civil rights seminar.”

Members of the Facebook group expressed concerns about students being manipulated and having one-sided viewpoints forced onto them, but many members wanted change made to the day rather than getting rid of it altogether. Posts on the public version of the Facebook page included:

One parent member of the group said: “The goal should be to have the students walk out thinking, ‘What skills can I use to solve this problem?’ And not ‘I am a bad person because of my racial and socioeconomic classification.’ ”

Another said she felt the day was a good opportunity: “You are not giving our students enough credit. Those of you who feel this seminar is too one-sided have surely shared your feelings/positions with your children — send your kid to seminar day and let them bring that perspective into the discussion. The whole point of the day is to get students thinking and talking about race.”

And a New Trier senior expressed a similar, favorable opinion when he signed up for the Microaggressions seminar because he didn’t agree with it. He said: “I’m interested to hear what they have to say and I think I’m gonna bring an opposing perspective to that, which might not be exactly what the day is for. But if they’re making me come to school, I’ll do with it what I please.”

In an interview, Assistant Superintendent Tim Hayes said that he has heard more positive feedback about the day from parents than negative. He also said that teachers and staff had heard from students that “this is a topic that they’re interested in, but it’s very difficult to talk about it because what you see in the media and online is when adults start to talk about it. They generally just start arguing with one another and there’s not a lot of discussion actually happening.”

Junior Liam Murphy attended half the day last year, but left early. He said the day was “beneficial in some aspects, but to have an entire day dedicated to it seemed a little extreme to me.”

He said it would have been better to have a variety of opinions and to have these topics integrated into regular school days.

Senior Callie Fauntleroy said she was one of the first girls in her advisory to register, but she also sent an email to parentsofnewtrier.org in response to posts on the Facebook page. She has yet to hear back yet.

She said, “I was very shocked and pretty disgusted and altogether ashamed that people would protest the seminar day.”

The website, Parents of New Trier, that Fauntleroy emailed was established this year. The subtitle of the website is “Because New Trier’s All School Seminar Day is Biased, Unbalanced, Divisive, and Costly.”

The website advises people to write to the board, attend board meetings, and suggest alternative presenters. There’s a page dedicated to panelists suggested to create a more balanced point of view for the day. There’s also a link to a petition to “Balance – or else suspend – New Trier’s Seminar Day on race.” The number of signatures and names of signers is not open for the public to view.

Another petition to show support for the seminar day was also made. This petition has accumulated 2,306 signatures.

Fauntleroy stated, “By wanting to get rid of this day, you might as well have said ‘let’s make a petition to rid the school of the civil rights movement.”

This article was written by Maggie Curry, a senior at New Trier High School. It was first published in the New Trier News newspaper.

Editor’s note: Letters to the Editor represent the writers’ opinions and not necessarily those of Daily North Shore. We encourage readers to post Letters to the Editor– please use this link to do so.

The Rotary Club of Highland Park/Highwood Charities is seeking applications from non-profit organizations in its service area for the 2017 charitable grant program. The deadline to submit applications is Friday, April 7.

Organizations must complement the human services mission of Rotary (see www.rotary.org ), which includes children, elderly, physically and mentally challenged and those in financial need within any of the above categories.

“Rotary Charities distributed more than $60,000 in grants to organizations serving our two communities over the last few years” said Paul Munk, Chairman of Rotary Club Charities. “These grants are underwritten directly through our various fundraising events, including our upcoming Gala scheduled for April 8, 2017”.

Individual grants, which will be awarded in June, typically range from $1,000 to $5,000. For more information or to request a grant application form, please contact Paul Munk at paul_munk@msn.com or by phone at (847) 274-3681.

Submitted by Rotary Club of Highland Park/Highwood Charities

Brian Stickler turned in one of his best performances of the season on Feb. 7, when Lake Forest topped host Libertyville 53-43.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Scouts (8-13, 4-6).

Stickler, a junior forward, tallied a team-high 17 points to go along with seven rebounds.

The team’s other stat leaders were Reed Thomas (8 points), Mead Payne (8 points, 4 rebounds), Michael Bogdanowicz (6 points), Sean Tryka (5 points, 3 rebounds), Jed Thomas (4 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals) and Justin McMahon (4 points, 2 assists, 2 steals).

St. Rita 50, Loyola 49

— Ramar Evans, who was named to the Chicago Catholic League all-star team, came up with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists in Loyola’s 50-49 setback to visiting St. Rita on Feb. 7.

Julian DeGuzman finished the contest with 12 points.

DeGuzman and junior guard Kevin Cunningham were named to the CCL North Division all-star team.

Hersey 65, Glenbrook South 62

— Close again.

Glenbrook South came up just short on Feb. 7, when it lost 65-62 to visiting Hersey.

Three players scored in double figures for the Titans (8-14, 1-7): Jimmy McMahon (16), Dom Martinelli (14) and Jacob Elgazar (13).

GBS, who has lost four straight, have been competitive as of late. The Titans lost by six points to Niles West on Feb. 3 and then by two points to Lane Tech on Feb. 4.

Fremd 53, Glenbrook North 44

— Glenbrook North went for the upset on Feb. 7, but it never materialized.

Despite a strong outing, the Spartans (10-13, 3-5) fell to visiting Fremd 53-44.

The Vikings kept their unbeaten record intact. They are now 22-0 on the season.

GBN sustained its fourth loss in a row.

The Spartans were led by Kellen Witherell (17 points).

Stevenson 56, Lake Forest 34

— Scoring continues to be an issue for Lake Forest.

The Scouts, who managed just 10 points in the first half, dropped a 56-34 decision to visiting Stevenson on Feb. 4.

At the same time, good defense kept Lake Forest in the game. Following a three-pointer by Brian Stickler, the Scouts were down only seven points, 22-15, with 3:08 left in the third quarter.

“Our guys played hard, especially defensively,” said LF head coach Phil LaScala. “We held them to 20 points in the first half. You can’t defend much better than that, especially against a team like Stevenson.”

The Patriots, who are 16-4 overall and 8-1 in the North Suburban Conference, eventually broke through on the offensive end. They put together a 25-point fourth quarter.

Indiana University recruit Justin Smith, who didn’t start the game, tallied nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. His night included a pair of emphatic one-handed dunks.

Smith’s stuffs were eye-popping. But it was Willie Herenton who did the most damage. The senior guard led all scorers with 21 points. He had 10 points in the first half and 11 in the second half.

Senior guard Justin McMahon led the Scouts (7-13, 3-6) with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Stickler ended up with seven points and three rebounds.

Buffalo Grove 51, Highland Park 42

— A trap game?

Less than 24 hours after winning an emotional game over rival Deerfield — and riding a four-game win streak — Highland Park traveled to Buffalo Grove and fell 51-42 on Feb. 4.

Ziv Tal scored 20 points and had five steals for the Giants (12-10, 6-2). He was 4-for-8 from three-point range.

HP’s Jack Zeidler had seven points.

Lane Tech 44, Glenbrook South 42

— Glenbrook South came up just short in a road game at Lane Tech 44-42 on Feb. 4. With the loss, the Titans slipped to 8-13 overall.

Loyola 67, Marmion Academy 50

— Loyola didn’t waste any time returning to winning form.

The Ramblers (16-6, 7-2), who saw their 10-game win get snapped against Fenwick on Jan. 31, went on the road on Feb. 3 and defeated Marmion Academy 67-50.

Four LA players finished in double figures: Kevin Cunningham (14 points), Matt Lynch (12), Kai Khasu (10) and Julian DeGuzman (10). The leading rebounders were DeGuzman (7) and Matt Sechman (6). Cunningham and Ramar Evans were credited with four assists each.

Evanston 65, New Trier 33

— Evanston kept its CSL South record unblemished (8-0) by topping visiting New Trier 65-33.

Junior point guard Andrew Kirkpatrick had eight points for the Trevians (10-10, 3-4).

The 19-3 Wildkits were led by Nojel Eastern (15 points).

Highland Park 46, Deerfield 33

** See Recap.

Maine West 51, Glenbrook North 48

** See Gamer.

Niles West 52, Glenbrook South 46

— A win was there for the taking.

But it didn’t happen for Glenbrook South on Feb. 3. Despite having leads at the end of the first, second and third quarters, the Titans fell to host Niles West 52-46.

GBS (8-12, 1-7) was led in scoring by Matt Giannakopoulos (17 points) and Jimmy McMahon (13 points).

Fenwick 46, Loyola 37

** See Recap.

Prospect 54, Glenbrook North 46

— Glenbrook North played a tough team tough.

But the Spartans wound up losing to host Prospect 54-46 on Jan. 31 in nonconference action. The Knights are a 17-4 ball club.

In the loss to the Knights, GBN (10-11, 3-4) was led by Luke Amen (12 points), Sean Merrigan (10 points), James Karis (7 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds), Nick Sardarov (6 points) and Tommy Gertner (5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists).

New Trier 79, Manley 39

— New Trier got back into the win column on Jan. 30, when the Trevians blew past visiting Manley 79-39.

The 10-9 Trevians knocked down 12 three-pointers in the 40-point victory. Senior guard Aaron Peltz hit six threes on his way to a team-high 18 points.

Spencer Boehm finished the contest with 15 points, while Andrew Kirkpatrick scored all 10 of his points in the third quarter. James Connors added six points, while Ciaran Brayboy and Dylan Horvitz had five points apiece.

Niles West 48, Lake Forest 26

— Niles West jumped ahead 15-5 after one quarter and went on to defeat Lake Forest 48-26 in a shootout at Northside College Prep on Jan. 29.

The Scouts (7-12, 3-5) were led by senior guard Justin McMahon (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals) and Connor Hanekamp (7 points). Jed Thomas led LF in rebounds (6) and assists (2).

Highland Park 49, Lemont 48

— Highland Park coach Paul Harris must’ve come up with some kind of halftime speech.

His Giants went into halftime at the Lincoln-Way West Shootout on Jan. 28 trailing Lemont 30-8.

Talk about swapping an L for a W. The Giants (11-9) rallied to win the game 49-48.

Ziv Tal led HP with 19 points, four assists and three steals. The junior guard made five three-pointers.

Jack Zeidler and Daniel Michelon also finished in double digits, scoring 13 and 11 points respectively. Zeidler led the team in rebounds (4), while Michelon added three assists. Nine of Michelon’s 11 points came via the three ball.

War on the Shore

— It just keeps getting better for Loyola.

The Ramblers took down St. Patrick 69-60 in a War on the Shore game at Evanston on Jan. 28. It was their 10th straight win.

Ramar Evans (19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and Kevin Cunningham (18 points, 3 assists) led LA (15-5, 6-1) to the victory. Matt Lynch also helped out with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

With the loss, St. Patrick slipped to 18-4.

New Trier also competed in the War on the Shore. The Trevians (9-9, 3-3) dropped a 63-49 decision to a highly touted Jacobs squad, which improved to 18-1.

NT was led in scoring by Spencer Boehm (11 points). The team’s other scoring leaders were Aaron Peltz (9 points), Andrew Kirkpatrick (7), Ciaran Brayboy (7) and Dylan Horvitz (7).

GBN’s James Karis receives resistance from a couple of Highland Park defenders during a drive to the basket in Friday night’s game. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN TRAUTMANN

Daniel Michelon of the Giants (right) drives against GBN’s Tommy Gertner. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN TRAUTMANN

HP’s Noah Shutan and Thano Fourlas battle GBN’s Brandon Bayzaee for possession. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN TRAUTMANN

Ziv Tal of the Giants draws three GBN defenders. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN TRAUTMANN

HP’s Jack Zeidler dribbles against GBN’s Nick Sardarov. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN TRAUTMANN

Thano Fourlas of the Giants (No. 35) goes for a steal against GBN’s James Karis. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN TRAUTMANN

GBN’s Jame Karis looks to dish while being guarded by HP’s Luke Zemelis. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN TRAUTMANN

Highland Park 63, Glenbrook North 59

— Paced by Ziv Tal, Noah Shutan and Daniel Michelon, Highland Park completed its two-game CSL North sweep over visiting Glenbrook North on Jan. 27.

The Giants improved to 5-2 in league play with a tight 63-59 victory over GBN (10-10, 3-4).

Tal led all scorers with 26 points. Shutan tallied 15 points, while Michelon finished with 12 points.

The Spartans received solid play from James Karis (16 points, 3 assists), Brandon Bayzaee (13 points), Tommy Gertner (9 points, 6 rebounds) and Kellen Witherell (9 points).

Maine South 56, Glenbrook South 44

— Matt Giannakopoulos tossed in a team-high 17 points in Glenbrook South’s 56-44 setback to visiting Maine South on Jan. 27.

Jimmy McMahon added 12 points for the Titans (8-11, 1-6).

Loyola 47, St. Ignatius 36

— It was a good night for the host team.

Loyola not only beat visiting St. Ignatius 47-36 on Jan. 27 to extend its win streak to nine games, but the Ramblers also seized the coveted Jesuit Cup.

The Ramblers secured the win with some dynamic defense. St. Ignatius was limited to 11 points in the second half.

LA’s stat leaders were Ramar Evans (15 points), Kevin Cunningham (12 points), Matt Lynch (7 points), Julian DeGuzman (10 rebounds, 3 assists) and Kris Lampley (6 rebounds).

Niles North 65, New Trier 39

— It was a tough night for New Trier.

The host Trevians dropped to 3-3 in the CSL South with a 65-39 setback to Niles North on Jan. 27.

Spencer Boehm had 11 points for NT. Jack French and Aaron Peltz had six points apiece.

Warren 49, Lake Forest 37

— Lake Forest was looking to sweep its two-game regular-season sweep against Warren.

Didn’t happen.

After falling behind 27-16 at halftime, the host Scouts, who beat Warren 70-65 in three overtimes on Dec. 10, lost this one 49-37 on Jan. 27.

Justin McMahon (13 points, 3 rebounds) and Mead Payne (10 points, 3 rebounds) led the Scouts.

Lake Forest’s Reed Thomas (right) battles for a rebound against Waukegan’s Antonio Riddle. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER

Lake Forest 72, Waukegan 69

— A win to build on?

Lake Forest came up with an impressive win on Jan. 25, when the host Scouts edged visiting Waukegan 72-69 in overtime.

The offense is starting to heat for Scouts (7-10, 3-4). Seventy-two points is a season high.

And they did it against a formidable opponent in Waukegan (12-7, 4-3).

Four Scouts scored in double digits: Justin McMahon (22), Connor Hanekamp (18), Brian Stickler (16) and Jed Thomas (12). McMahon was 9-for-12 from the foul line. Hanekamp made 8 of 9 from the stripe, including a pair down the stretch.

The team also shot well from three-point land: 9-14. McMahan had three threes, while Hanekamp, Thomas and Stickler came up with two each.

LF’s leading rebounders were Thomas (8), Hanekamp (6), Mead Payne (6) and Stickler (4). Payne was credited with five assists, while Thomas had three dimes.

Glenbrook North 58, Lake Forest Academy 53

— Junior Kellen Witherell turned in a 19-point effort to help Glenbrook North to a 58-53 victory over visiting Lake Forest Academy on Jan. 24.

The Spartans (10-9, 3-3) also received solid outings from Luke Amen (12 points, 4 assists), Tommy Gertner (8 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists), Evan Barnes (7 points) and Nick Sardarov (6 points, 5 rebounds).

LFA was led by senior Chris Harris. He tallied 24 points, which put him over the 1,000-point plateau (1,009) for his career.

LFA’s record is now 14-6.

Highland Park 54, Von Steubon 50

— Ziv Tal pumped in 23 points as Highland Park topped Von Steuben 54-50 in a shootout at Whitney Young High School on Jan. 21.

The win evened HP’s record to 9-9.

Tal went 8-for-15 from the field (3-7 from beyond the arc) and added three rebounds and two steals.

The Giants also were helped out by Daniel Michelon (8 points, 2 steals), Luke Zemelis (7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), Tyler Gussis (6 points, 7 rebounds) and Noah Shutan (6 points, 7 assists).

Lake Forest Academy 55, Gateway Sports Academy 37

— Chris Harris (21 points) and Ben Canady (13 points) paced Lake Forest Academy in its 55-37 victory over visiting Gateway Sports Academy on Jan. 21.

Glenbrook South 62, Palatine 58 (OT)

— Add 30 more.

Glenbrook South senior guard Matt Giannakopoulos continues to put up big scoring numbers. In a 62-58 overtime win at Palatine on Jan. 21, Matty G hit six three-pointers on his way to a game-high 30 points. He has scored 90 points in his last three games.

Teammate Chase Thomas tallied 13 points for the Titans (8-10, 1-5), who snapped a three-game losing streak. Gavin Morse had seven points in the win.

Glenbrook North 56, Marshall 50

— Glenbrook North got back on track with a 56-50 win over Marshall in RCB Memorial Shootout at Whitney Young High School on Jan. 21.

GBN improved to 9-9 on the season. The Spartans were led by Kellen Witherell (12 points, 5 rebounds), Brandon Bayzaee (11 points, 3 assists), Luke Amen (6 points, 3 assists), Evan Barnes (11 points, 3 rebounds), Sean Merrigan (5 points, 3 rebounds), Max Knebelkamp (5 points) and Tommy Gertner (4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists).

New Trier 61, Glenbrook South 44

** See Recap.

Vernon Hills 68, Highland Park 62 (2 OTs)

— Ziv Tal had another huge game.

The Highland Park junior guard tallied 28 points in his team’s double-overtime setback to host Vernon Hills 68-62 on Jan. 20. Tal’s night also included four rebounds, three steals and three assists.

Jack Zeidler of the Giants had 10 points and six rebounds. HP’s other stat leaders were Daniel Michelon (9 points, 5 assists) and Kobe Mandell (8 points, 6 rebounds).

With the loss, the Giants slipped to 4-2 in the CSL North and fell a full game behind Deerfield (5-1).

Loyola 56, St. Francis 29

— More of the same.

Loyola defeated host Wheaton St. Francis 56-29 to win its eighth straight game on Jan. 20.

The Ramblers (13-5, 5-1) were led by Kevin Cunningham (11 points), Matt Sechman (10 points, 5 rebounds), Ramar Evans (10 points), Julian DeGuzman (9 points) and Matt Lynch (9 assists, 4 rebounds).

Deerfield 49, Glenbrook North 38

— Glenbrook North was outscored 20-10 in the fourth quarter and ended up losing 49-38 to visiting Deerfield on Jan. 20.

Tommy Gertner came up with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Spartans (8-9, 3-3).

GBN’s other stat leaders were James Karis (9 points, 3 assists), Kellen Witherell (7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) and Brandon Bayzaee (5 points, 2 assists).

With the loss, GBN fell two games behind Deerfield in CSL North standings.

Lake Forest Academy 78, Prairie Ridge 46

— Austin Clamage did some damage.

A lot of it.

The Lake Forest Academy senior guard hit 11 of 13 three-pointers on his way to a 39-point outburst in his team’s home win over Prairie Ridge 78-46 on Jan. 18.

“An incredible performance,” said LFA head coach Matt Vaughn.

Lake Forest 60, Mundelein 35

— Lake Forest needed this.

The Scouts snapped a three-game losing streak with a decisive 60-35 victory over visiting Mundelein on Jan. 18.

Jed Thomas led LF (6-10, 2-4) in scoring with 22 points. The junior guard also had four rebounds.

Senior guard Connor Hanekamp finished the contest with 12 points and four steals.

Mead Payne led the team in rebounding (9).

Loyola 65, Ridgewood 55

— Seven in a row.

Loyola topped visiting Ridgewood 65-55 to extend its win streak to seven games on Jan. 17. The Ramblers (15-5, 4-1) have won nine of their last 10 games.

The stat leaders against Ridgewood were Ramar Evans (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals), Julian DeGuzman (20 points, 8 rebounds), Matt Lynch (10 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) and Kevin Cunningham (9 points).

Glenbrook North 56, Vernon Hills 47

— Four players finished in double figures as Glenbrook North claimed a 56-47 victory over visiting Vernon Hills on Jan. 13.

Junior Kellen Witherell led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds.

The Spartans (8-8, 3-2) also received solid performances from Tommy Gertner (11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), Luke Amen (11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) and James Karis (10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals).

Zion-Benton 46, Lake Forest 43

— Once again, Lake Forest was competitive.

The Scouts (5-10, 1-4) won the fourth quarter (14-9) but lost the game (46-43), when they fell to visiting Zion-Benton on Jan. 13.

It was the third close loss in a row for LF.

Senior forward Reed Thomas led the Scouts in scoring with 12 points. He also had three rebounds and three steals.

The team’s other stat leaders were Connor Hanekamp (11 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds), Justin McMahon (7 points, 2 assists, 2 steals) and Mead Payne (4 points, 2 rebounds).

Niles North 79, Glenbrook South 73

— How about Matty G!

Senior Matt Giannakopoulos poured in a career-high 40 points for Glenbrook South on Jan. 13. The senior guard made seven three-pointers.

However, his big game wasn’t quite enough. The Titans (7-9, 1-4) fell to host Niles North 79-73.

GBS freshman Dom Martinelli also stood out. He didn’t miss a shot on his way to 16 points.

The Titans continue to be a team which doesn’t quit. They made it close in the end despite falling behind 20-2 early in the contest.

Highland Park 56, Maine East 42

— Highland Park evened its record to 8-8 overall with a 56-42 victory over host Maine East on Jan. 13.

The team was led by Ziv Tal (12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists), Daniel Michelon (11 points), Jack Zeidler (11 points, 5 rebounds), Luke Zemelis (7 points), Noah Shutan (6 points, 6 assists) and Charlie Fleischer (6 points). Michelon and Zeidler made three three-pointers each.

The Giants improved to 4-1 in the CSL North.

Niles West 44, New Trier 26

— New Trier slipped to 2-2 in the CSL South on Jan. 13, when the Trevians dropped a 44-26 decision to host Niles West.

Highland Park’s Ziv Tal, seen here in earlier action this winter, tallied 32 points in win over Maine West. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER

Welcome to the 30-point club, Ziv Tal.

Tal, a junior guard, had a career game in Highland Park’s entertaining 75-70 victory over visiting Maine West on Jan. 10. He finished the game with 32 points.

Tal went 10-for-18 from the field, including 4-for-9 from three-point range, and 8-for-9 from the line.

He also starred on the defensive end with six steals.

In addition to Tal, HP received solid work from four other players: Daniel Michelon (10 points, 2 assists), Jack Zeidler (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), Luke Zemelis (7 points) and Noah Shutan (7 points, 5 assists, 2 steals).

As a team, the Giants (7-8, 3-1) shot 44 percent from beyond the arc and 83 percent from the free-throw line.

Lake Forest Academy 86, CCA Academy 46

— Balanced scoring lifted Lake Forest Academy to an easy 84-46 victory over visiting CCA Academy on Jan. 10.

The Caxys, who improved to 12-3 overall, were led offensively by Chris Harris (22 points), Vaso Vukmanovic (16 points) and Tyler Grumhaus (16 points).

New Trier 59, Lake View 43

— Led by Andrew Kirkpatrick (14 points), Matt Samuelson (11 points) and Spencer Boehm (10 points), New Trier improved its record to 8-6 by taking down visiting Lake View 59-43 on Jan. 9.

Loyola 51, De La Salle 35

— Loyola continues to be on a roll.

LA extended its win streak to five games with a 51-35 victory over visiting De La Salle on Jan. 6. The Ramblers (10-5, 3-1) were led by Ramar Evans (16 points, 6 rebounds), Kevin Cunningham (11 points), Matt Lynch (8 points, 4 assists) and Matt Sechman (8 rebounds, 3 blocks).

Lake Forest Academy 55, Highland Park 37

** See Recap

Evanston 64, Glenbrook South 52

— Glenbrook South didn’t go down without a fight in its game at Evanston on Jan. 6.

After falling behind by 15 points, the Titans (7-8, 1-3) trimmed the Evanston lead to two points in the fourth quarter only to lose the CSL South game 64-52.

GBS received strong outings by three of its seniors: Matt Giannakopoulos (16 points), George Arvanitis (15 points) and Chase Thomas (15 points).

Lake Forest Academy, 53, Marian Central Catholic 47

— Chris Harris popped in 32 points to spark Lake Forest Academy to a 53-47 victory over host Marian Central Catholic on Jan. 6.

Harris scored 21 of his game-high point in the second half. LFA outscored the hosts 35-20 in the final two periods.

Junior guard Matey Juric added eight points for the Caxys (10-3).

Lake Zurich 42, Lake Forest 35

— Justin McMahon came up with a team-high 14 points in Lake Forest’s 42-35 setback to host Lake Zurich on Jan. 4.

The Scouts are now 5-9 overall and 1-3 in the North Suburban Conference.

Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest: LA 59, Timber Creek 50

— Talk about a rewarding trip.

Loyola turned in one stellar performance after another in its four-game set in the Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest in Naples, Florida. The Ramblers (9-5, 1-1) capped things off by going 4-0 and beating Timber Creek 59-50 in the championship game on Dec. 30.

Senior Ramar Evans, a Maryville College recruit, was named the tourney MVP. Junior Kevin Cunningham made first-team all-tournament.

In the title game over Timber Creek, senior Jimmy Alexopoulos paced the LA attack with 15 points. Julian DeGuzman tallied 13 points, while Evans had 12 points and five rebounds. Matt Sechman also pulled down five boards.

Hinsdale Central Tournament: Crete-Monee 74, GBN 67

— Glenbrook North put 33 points on the board in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as Crete-Monee (8-5) claimed a 74-67 victory in a Day Four consolation game at the Hinsdale Central Tournament on Dec. 30.

The Spartans (7-8, 2-2) had two players score more than 20 points. Tommy Gertner tallied 22 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Jame Karis had 21 points, eight assists and seven steals.

Sean Merriman added 10 points and four assists.

Wheeling Hardwood Classic

** See Recap.

Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest: LA 47, Poinciana 32

— Loyola advanced to the title game of the Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest in Naples, Florida with a 47-32 victory over Poinciana on Dec. 29.

The Ramblers (8-5, 1-1) used a balanced attack to beat Poinciana in the semifinal round. Ramar Evans had 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Julian DeGuzman and Kevin Cunningham had 10 points each, while Matt Sechman had a team-high eight rebounds.

LA limited Poinciana to 13 points in the first half.

Hinsdale Central Tournament: GBN 47, Urban Prep 46

— Glenbrook North got into the win column on Dec. 29, when the Spartans edged Urban Prep 47-46 in a consolation bracket game.

GBN was led by Luke Amen (12 points, 2 assists), James Karis (11 points, 3 assists, 3 steals), Tommy Gertner (8 points, 9 rebounds) and Sean Merrigan (7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals).

York Tournament: Day 4

— Highland Park and Lake Forest lost tight games on Day Four of the York Tournament on Dec. 29. But both teams had a player earn all-tourney honors.

LF senior guard Justin McMahon was recognized after averaging 15.3 points per game. HP’s all-tourney selection was junior guard Ziv Tal, who averaged 16.3 points and 2.5 steals per game.

HP (6-7, 2-1) came up just short against St. Laurence 43-42 in its tourney finale. The Giants tied the game 36-36 with 4:10 left to play on a beautiful scoop layup by Daniel Michelon (10 points, 2 assists). And they held a one-point lead, 39-38, on a three-pointer by Ziv Tal (10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assist) with 2:47 remaining in regulation.

St. Laurence closed out the contest by going 5-for-7 from the foul line.

HP had some good looks at the basket late in the game but couldn’t convert.

“I thought we executed well down the stretch,” said HP head coach Paul Harris.

Harris liked what he saw from his squad during the four-game set.

“We finished with a 2-2 record and had seven good halves of basketball,” Harris said.

After a quiet first half (0 points, 1 rebound), HP senior Jack Zeider had a strong second half (8 points, 6 points).

HP’s other stat leaders were Thano Fourlas (5 points), Tyler Gussis (4 points, 2 assists) and Noah Shutan (3 points, 3 assists).

Lake Forest looked like it was on the road to a win. The Scouts (5-8, 1-2) went on a 9-0 run in the third quarter to take a 23-19 advantage against Rolling Meadows. But the Mustangs wound up winning the contest 40-38 by going 8-for-9 from the foul line in the final 5:55 of regulation.

“Rolling Meadows does a good job of running its offense,” said LF head coach Phil LaScala. “They’re very patient. Every possession counts against a team like that.”

Justin McMahon of the Scouts wound up sharing game honors (14 points) with Rolling Meadows’ Jared Murphy. The point guard scored all of his points in the second half after only attempting two shots in the first half.

“They blanketed Justin the whole time,” said LaScala. “He got a little more aggressive in the second half. Our job is get him more shots.”

Fellow guard Jed Thomas had eight points and four rebounds, while Reed Thomas tallied seven points and six rebounds.

“I thought we matured a little in the tournament,” LaScala said. “We’re not that far off, but we need to get there.”

Proviso West Tournament: Bogan 72, NT 51

— New Trier wound up going 1-2 in the Proviso West Tournament after losing a 72-51 decision to Bogan on Dec. 29.

Junior point guard Andrew Kirkpatrick turned in a terrific effort in the loss. He finished with a game-high 21 points. He made 3 of 6 from three-point territory and went 6-for-6 from the foul line.

Junior Griffin Ryan had 13 points and five rebounds for the Trevians (7-6, 2-1), while sophomore Spencer Boehm ended up with nine points and seven rebounds.

Hinsdale Central Tournament: Maine South 48, GBN 31

— This one didn’t go well for Glenbrook North.

In a second-round consolation game at the Hinsdale Central Tournament on Dec. 28, the Spartans struggled to score in a 48-31 setback to Maine South. They tallied only 11 points in the first two quarters of the contest.

GBN’s stat leaders were James Karis (9 points, 3 assists), Kellen Witherell (7 points) and Luke Amen (6 points).

Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest: LA 61, Fort Myers 44

— Kevin Cunningham had a big say in Loyola’s 61-44 victory over Fort Myers in the quarterfinal round of the Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest in Naples, Florida on Dec. 28. The junior guard had 20 points, six steals and three assists.

Senior Ramar Evans had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Matt Lynch helped out with eight points, while Matt Sechman and Julian DeGuzman had four rebounds apiece.

York Tournament: Day 3

— Highlighted by Justin McMahon’s 22 points, Lake Forest improved to 2-1 at the York Tournament on Dec. 28 by downing Oswego 55-42.

The Scouts, who put up 21 points in the second frame, also received solid work from Connor Hanekamp (12 points, 7 rebounds), Reed Thomas (4 points, 7 rebounds), Brian Stickler (4 points, 4 rebounds) and Mead Payne (5 points).

Meanwhile, Highland Park had a tough fourth quarter (2 points) and wound up losing to Wheaton North 62-34 in the quarterfinal round of the 32-team York Tournament on Dec. 28.

Junior guard Ziv Tal had an outstanding outing for the Giants. He hit four three-pointers and led all scorers with 20 points.

HP had only nine rebounds in the contest.

Proviso West Tournament: Young 70, NT 43

— State-ranked Young was unrelenting — on both ends of the floor.

On their way to a 70-43 victory over New Trier in the second round of the Proviso West Tournament on Dec. 28, the Dolphins broke open a tight game — they led 40-33 with 3:24 left in the third quarter — by hitting their first eight shots in the fourth quarter.

“I was happy with our effort,” said NT head coach Scott Fricke. “But we have to stay focused for four quarters.

“We had an effective game plan for three quarters,” the coach added. “But then, they went on a run.”

Young’s constant defensive pressure also wreaked havoc on NT. The Trevians ended the game with 27 turnovers.

Which was way too many in Fricke’s estimation.

“Ten to 12 of those were unforced errors,” he said.

NT’s stat leaders were Andrew Kirkpatrick (8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals), Spencer Boehm (7 points, 6 rebounds), Griffin Ryan (7 points, 2 assists), Ciaran Brayboy (6 points, 7 rebounds) and Aaron Peltz (6 points on 2 threes).

Hinsdale Central Tournament: Bolingbrook 78, GBN 45

— Glenbrook North opened play in the Hinsdale Central Tournament in tough fashion, losing a 78-45 decision to undefeated Bolingbrook on Dec. 27.

The Spartans (6-6, 2-2) played Bolingbrook to a 15-15 tie in first quarter only to fall behind by 13 at halftime.

Max Knebelkamp led GBN with 10 points. Tommy Gertner had eight points and six rebounds. James Karis ended up with seven points, four rebounds and two assists, while Nick Sardarov had seven points, four rebounds and two assists.

Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest: LA 59, Immokahlee 42

— Loyola got off to a good start in the Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest.

The team defeated Immokahlee 59-42 in the opening round on Dec. 27. Senior forward Matt Sechman led the Ramblers with 14 points and seven rebounds.

The other stat leaders were Kevin Cunningham (12 points), Ramar Evans (9 points, 7 rebounds), Jimmy Alexopoulos (9 points) and Matt Lynch (6 assists).

York Tournament: Day 2

— This was impressive.

Highland Park knocked off the tourney’s top-seed, De La Salle, 66-59 in the second round at York on Dec. 27. Ziv Tal (21 points) and Daniel Michelon (17 points, 5 rebounds) led the way for the Giants. Kobe Mandell went 3-for-3 from three-point land to finish with nine points, while Jack Zeidler added seven points and five rebounds.

HP shot 80 percent from the foul line, while the Giants shot 50 percent from the field, including 12-24 from beyond the arc.

Lake Forest also had a good outing in Day Two of the York Tournament. The Scouts topped Lyons 56-51 behind an 18-point performance by senior guard Justin McMahon. The team’s other stat leaders were Reed Thomas (8 points, 5 rebounds), Michael Bogdanowicz (8 points, 6 rebounds) and Jed Thomas (6 rebounds).

Proviso West Tournament: NT 50, DGN 40

— Downers Grove North came into this opening round game at the Proviso West Tournament on Dec. 27 with an 8-1 record.

Thus, count this as a very good win for New Trier. The Trevians outscored DGN 23-11 in the final eight minutes to claim a 50-40 victory.

The Trevians were paced by Aaron Peltz (15 points, 2 steals), Andrew Kirkpatrick (12 points), Griffin Ryan (10 points, 5 assists, 2 steals), Spencer Boehm (8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Ciaran Brayboy (4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists). All 15 of Peltz’s points came on the three-ball.

York Tournament: Day 1

— Daniel Michelon came up with a breakout game in the opening round of the York Tournament.

The junior guard tallied 25 points in Highland Park’s 61-50 victory over Timothy Christian on Dec. 26. Michelon was 7-for-10 from three-point land. He also went 4-5 from the foul line. And he added a team-high three steals.

Fellow junior Ziv Tal ended up with 14 points, four assists and three rebounds.

Jack Zeidler just missed double figures (9 points). He added three steals and two assists.

Noah Shutan helped out with four steals.

Meanwhile, Lake Forest lost 42-26 to Stagg (9-2) in its tourney opener at York on Dec. 26. The Scouts were held to two points in the third quarter. LF’s stat leaders were Justin McMahon (7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), Brian Stickler (5 points) and Danny Hart (5 points).

Taft 69, Loyola 67

— Ramar Evans is heating up.

The Loyola senior poured in 26 points in his team’s 69-67 overtime loss to Taft on Dec. 23. He also added six rebounds and four assists.

Overtime games have not been kind to the Ramblers (5-5, 1-1) this season. They now are 0-3 in extra-session games.

LA’s other stat leaders were Matt Lynch (10 points, 3 assists), Kevin Cunningham (9 points) and Matt Sechman (6 rebounds).

Glenbrook North 54, Maine East 47

— Glenbrook North got back on the winning track with a 54-47 victory over host Maine East on Dec. 22.

Tommy Gertner came up big for the Spartans (6-5, 2-2). He went 10-for-15 from the field to lead the team with 20 points. He also had eight rebounds, seven deflections, three assists and two steals.

James Karis helped out with 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five deflections, while Kellen Witherell added eights points and six rebounds. Brandon Bayzaee had eight points, three rebounds and three assists, while Sean Merrigan had six points and four deflections.

GBN sealed the win by scoring 23 points in the final frame.

Grayslake North 57, Glenbrook North 55

— The good news for Glenbrook North was Kellen Witherell’s 26 points.

The bad news for the Spartans (5-5, 1-2) was the fourth quarter. Host Grayslake North rallied in the final eight minutes, outscoring GBN 20-12, to pull out a 57-55 nonconference win on Dec. 22.

In addition to his 26 points, Witherell led the team with eight rebounds. The other stat leaders were James Karis  (10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), Brandon Bayzaee (9 points, 4 assists), Tommy Gertner (8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Luke Amen (5 assists).

Ridley College Tournament

— Lake Forest Academy went 2-2 in the Ridley College Tournament in Ontario, Canada on Dec. 16-18.

The Caxys opened the tourney with a 61-33 victory over GTA Prep Academy and then defeated Kings Christian College 67-44 behind a 25-point, 15-rebound effort by Chris Harris.

In Game Three of the tournament, LFA lost a heart-breaker to Dawson College 63-61. Matey Juric (20 points) and Harris (19 points) paced the team.

In the finale, the Caxys dropped a 62-48 decision to Dawson. Juric missed the game with an ankle injury.

Harris was named to the all-tournament team.

Horizon (Arizona) Tournament

— Some hot long-range shooting by Andrew Kirkpatrick helped New Trier to a third-place finish in a tourney in Arizona.

Kirkpatrick buried five three-pointers on his way to 21 points in NT’s 63-35 victory over Scottsdale Christian in the third-place game at Horizon High School on Dec. 17.

The Trevians (6-4, 2-1) also received solid efforts from Griff Ryan (10 points), Ciaran Brayboy (9 points) and Connor Boehm (8 points).

In earlier action at the tourney, NT defeated North Canyon 54-49 on Dec. 15. Then, the Trevians fell to LaJoya 68-53 in the second round on Dec. 16. Boehm (10 points) and Matt Samuelson (8 points) led the way in the win over North Canyon.

Deerfield 41, Lake Forest 38

— Lake Forest owned the second quarter. The visiting Scouts outscored Deerfield 16-5 in those eight minutes.

But Deerfield (5-3) regrouped just enough in the second half to pull out a 41-38 victory on Dec. 17.

The Scouts (3-6, 1-2) received a solid outing from Brian Stickler. The 6-foot-4 senior led the team in scoring (13 points), while adding four rebounds.

Jed Thomas also finished in double digits with 12 points to go along with three steals.

LF’s other stat leaders were Connor Hanekamp (5 points, 3 rebounds), Justin McMahon (4 points, 5 rebounds) and Reed Thomas (6 rebounds, 3 steals).

Loyola 68, Montini 17

— Kevin Cunningham tallied 17 points as Loyola cruised to an easy win over visiting Montini 68-17 on Dec. 16.

Matt Sechman had 12 points in the win. Vahle Kalayjian added nine points.

Ramar Evans finished the game with 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Ramblers improved to 5-4.

Glenbrook North 53, Maine West 37

— Kellen Witherell came up with 23 points and 17 rebounds to spark Glenbrook North to a 53-37 victory over Maine West on Dec. 16.

Tommy Gertner also had big outing: 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

James Karis had 11 points and five assists.

Glenbrook South 59, Niles West 55

— George Arvanitis paced the Glenbrook South offensive attack as the Titans topped visiting Niles West 59-55 on Dec. 15. The senior guard tossed in 19 points.

Teammate Chase Thomas added 13 points.

Loyola 53, St. Viator 38

— Loyola placed three players in double figures — Kevin Cunningham (14 points), Julian DeGuzman (10 points) and Jack Martinus (10 points) — in its home win over St. Viator 53-38 on Dec. 13.

Ramar Evans added 10 rebounds and four assists for the winners, who evened their record (4-4).

Libertyville 45, Lake Forest 40

— Justin McMahon dropped in 20 points to but wasn’t enough as Lake Forest lost a home game to Libertyville 45-40 on Dec. 13.

McMahon went 7-for-16 from the field, including 5-for-8 from three-point land. The point guard committed just one turnover.

The team’s other state leaders were Reed Thomas (7 points, 4 rebounds), Brian Stickler (6 rebounds, 3 assists) and Connor Hanekamp (4 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds).

With the loss, LF fell to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the North Suburban Conference.

Glenbrook North 65, Buffalo Grove 55

— Luke Amen led the way as Glenbrook North took down visiting Buffalo Grove 65-55 on Dec. 13.

The Spartans (4-4, 0-2) overcame a six-point first quarter deficit with a 27-point outburst in the second quarter.

Amen tallied a team-high 18 points. He also had three assists.

Brandon Bayzaee (15 points, 4 assists) and Kellen Witherell (12 points, 5 rebounds) were the team’s other top scorers.

James Karis had five assists. Sean Merrigan added four dimes.

BG is now 4-4 on the season.

Lake Forest 70, Warren 65 (3 OTs)

— Justin McMahon scored a career high 27 points as Lake Forest needed three overtimes to beat host Warren 70-65 on Dec. 10.

McMahon went 16-for-20 from the foul line. As a team, the Scouts (3-4, 1-1) made 31 of 37 foul shots.

Brian Stickler also came up big for Scouts, finishing with 18 points and seven rebounds.

McMahon hit a shot that would have won the game at the end of the first overtime, but it was waived off by the referees.

LF had a chance to win the game in the second overtime. But Warren’s Barak Diehl hit a desperation two-point heave to send the game to a third OT.

Juwan Perry and Jayson Dorsey each had 14 points for the Blue Devils (3-3, 0-2).

Glenbrook South 65, Foreman 55

— Matt Giannakopoulos came up huge again by scoring 25 points in Glenbrook South’s home win over Foreman 55-45 on Dec. 10.

With the win, the Titans improved their record to 5-4.

New Trier 57, Niles North 55

— Sparked by Ciaran Brayboy (14 points), Griff Ryan (13 points) and Aaron Peltz (11 points), New Trier remained unbeaten in the CSL South with a 57-55 victory at Niles North on Dec. 9.

The Trevians improved their overall record to 4-2.

DePaul College Prep 61, Loyola 60

— Despite having four players score in double figures, Loyola came up just short in a road game at DePaul College Prep 61-60 on Dec. 9.

Junior Kevin Cunningham led LA’s balanced attack with 14 points. Ramar Evans ended up with 13 points, while Matt Lynch and Jordan DeGuzman finished with 10 points each. Senior Kris Lampley added eight points.

With the loss, the Ramblers fell to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in league play. The team now has lost three games by two points or less, including two overtimes.

Maine South 63, Glenbrook South 40

— It was a rough one for Glenbrook South.

The Titans slipped to 0-2 in the CSL South and 3-5 overall with a 63-40 setback to host Maine South on Dec. 9.

GBS was led by senior standout Matt Giannakopoulos (17 points).

Highland Park 48, Glenbrook North 35

— Highland Park won its third straight game by downing host Glenbrook North 48-35 on Dec. 8.

The Giants are now 4-4 overall and 2-0 in the CSL North. They were led Ziv Tal (12 points, 3 assists, 2 steals), Daniel Michelon (11 points), Tyler Gussis (8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals), Kobe Mandell (5 points) and Noah Shutan (5 points, 5 assists).

GBN is now a game under .500 with a 3-4 mark. The Spartans have started 0-2 in league action.

Against the Giants, GBN had two players score in double digits: Nick Karis (13) and Kellen Witherell (12). Witherell, who was 3-for-5 from three-point range, also had eight rebounds. Karis had five rebounds and three steals.

Stevenson 50, Lake Forest 30

— Stevenson has it going — again.

The unbeaten Patriots (6-0) took care of visiting Lake Forest 50-30 in North Suburban Conference action on Dec. 6.

Brian Stickler had a solid game for the Scouts (2-4, 0-1). The senior forward tallied 13 points and six rebounds.

LF junior Mead Payne helped out with five points, three rebounds and three steals. Connor Hanekamp had four points and seven rebounds, while Reed Thomas had three steals.

Loyola 56, Providence St. Mel 40

** See Recap.

Glenbrook South 64, Prosser 51

— Matt Giannakopoulos is off to a terrific start.

The Glenbrook South senior guard has scored 23 or more points in three games this season.

Giannakopoulos poured in a season-high 29 points in GBS’s home win over Prosser 64-51 on Dec. 3.

The Titans, who improved to 3-4 overall, overcame an 18-point deficit.

Highland Park 41, Dundee-Crown 33

— Thano Fouras had it going in this game.

The Highland Park senior guard came up with one of his best varsity games ever, when he tallied 14 points and seven steals in his team’s road win at Dundee-Crown 41-33 on Dec. 3. Fouras made 4 of 8 field goals, while he went 6-for-7 at the stripe.

Junior Ziv Tal also finished in double figures (10 points) to go along with a team-best four rebounds.

Jack Zeidler added nine points and two steals, while Luke Zemelis had six points for the 4-3 Giants.

Western Reserve Academy Tournament

— Lake Forest Academy improved to 7-1 by claiming a pair of wins in the Western Reserve Academy Tournament on Dec. 2-3.

In the opening game against Kiski School, Chris Harris fired in 34 points to give LFA a 65-53 victory. Tyler Grumhaus had 12 points for the Caxys, while Austin Clamage added 10 points.

Then, LFA topped host the team 59-45 on Dec. 3. Harris led all scorers with 30 points

Deerfield 51, Glenbrook North 50

— Alex Casieri hit the game-winning shot with two seconds left to propel Deerfield to a 51-50 win over visiting Glenbrook North on Dec. 2.

Junior Kellen Witherell tallied 20 points and eight rebounds for Spartans (3-3, 0-1). Teammate Tommy Gertner also finished in double digits (10 points). He added six rebounds and two steals.

James Karis was the assist leader (4) for GBN. The other top rebounders were Sean Merrigan (5) and Brandon Bayzaee (4).

Casieri scored 20 points for the Warriors.

New Trier 60, Glenbrook South 52

— In a season-opening CSL South clash on Dec. 2, New Trier topped visiting Glenbrook South 60-52.

The Trevians (3-2, 1-0) were led in scoring by Aaron Peltz (16 points) and Ciaran Brayboy (15 points).

GBS’s Matt Giannakopoulos was the game’s top scorer with 24 points.

Highland Park 49, Vernon Hills 25

— Jack Zeidler pumped in 16 points to lead Highland Park to a decisive 49-25 victory over visiting Vernon Hills in opening round CSL North action on Dec. 2.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak.

Zeidler came up with an impressive all-around game. He made 5 of 8 field goals and 4 of 4 free throws. He also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

HP’s Daniel Michelon also finished in double figures (10 points), while Ziv Tal had eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Tyler Gussis was credited with three assists, while Noah Shutan had four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Notre Dame 44, Loyola 42 (OT)

— In a game played on the big court at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Loyola came up just short.

The Ramblers (2-3) fell 44-42 to Notre Dame in overtime on Dec. 2.

LA was led by Ramar Evans (12 points, 3 steals) and Matt Lynch (10 points, 8 rebounds).

Lake Forest Academy 63, Libertyville 57

— Austin Clamage hit a clutch three-pointer down the stretch as Lake Forest Academy rallied to beat host Libertyville 63-57 on Nov. 30.

The Caxys trailed most of the game before Clamage’s trey put them ahead.

Clamage ended up with 11 points, while LFA’s Chris Harris led all scorers with 32 points

Glenbrook North 68, Glenbrook South 60

— Hot foul shooting by James Karis helped to lift host Glenbrook North past district rival Glenbrook South 68-60.

Karis led all scorers with 27 points in the Nov. 29 showdown. The senior point guard was 14-for-18 from the stripe. He also had five steals, four rebounds and four assists.

Kellen Witherell and Tommy Gertner came up with 15 points apiece for the 3-2 Spartans. Gertner added five rebounds.

GBN’s leading rebounder was Brandon Bayzaee (6).

GBS’s top scorer was Matt Giannakopoulos (19 points).

Buffalo Grove Tournament

— Glenbrook South finished 2-2 in the Buffalo Grove Thanksgiving Tournament.

Led by sophomores Jimmy McMahon (13 points) and Will King (12 points), they capped the four-game set with a 57-48 victory over Grayslake Central on Nov. 26.

GBS’s other win came in the opener against Christian Liberty 89-40 on Nov. 21. Matt Giannakopoulos paced the offensive outburst with 17 points and 11 rebounds. George Arvanitis had five assists.

In second-round action on Nov. 22, the Titans were defeated by Stevenson 81-53. Giannakopoulos had 23 points.

And, in a third-round game on Nov. 23, host Buffalo Grove topped GBS 64-50. McMahon finished with a team-high 13 points.

For his play, Giannakopoulos was named to the all-tournament team.

Mundelein Tournament

— Lake Forest Academy completed play in the Mundelein Tournament with a 3-1 record. The Caxys capped things off with a 74-34 victory over Elk Grove on Nov. 26. Chris Harris hit five three-pointers to finish with a game-high 22 points. Matey Juric had 16 points, while Ben Canady added 12 points.

The team also scored wins over the host Mustangs 62-45 in the opener on Nov. 21 and Warren 57-52 on Nov. 22. LFA’s lone setback came against Fremd 59-49 on Nov. 23.

LFA’s scoring leaders against Warren included Harris (22), Juric (15) and Austin Clamage (12).

In the loss to Fremd, the Caxys were led by Juric (14 points) and Harris (10 points).

Harris and Juric were named all-tournament.

Glenbrook North/St. Patrick Tournament

— The host Spartans finished 2-2 in the contest. They had wins over Hoffman Estates 62-58 and Hersey 70-61. They sustained losses to Niles West 52-47 and St. Patrick 53-46.

* See feature story on GBN’s Kellen Witherell.

St. Viator Tournament

— In a tough field at the St. Viator Thanksgiving Tournament, Highland Park wound up going 1-4.

The Giants lone victory was in the opener on Nov. 21, then they topped the host Lions 63-49. Daniel Michelon (15 points), Ziv Tal (14 points, 3 assists), Jack Zeidler (11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, steals), Tyler Gussis (9 points) and Noah Shutan (5 steals) led the way.

In the second round, HP fell to Conant 59-44 on Nov. 22. The stat leaders were Tal (9 points, 3 rebounds), Michelon (7 points) and Zeidler (5 points).

Evanston topped HP 58-44 in a third-round game on Nov. 23. Tal finished with 14 points and two blocks. Zeidler had 10 points and two assists.

Prospect defeated the Giants 56-49 on Nov. 25. Tal led the team with 15 points and three steals. Michelon came up with 13 points, including three three-pointers. Thano Fourlas had eight points. Shutan had three steals.

In the tourney finale, HP dropped a 44-39 decision to Libertyville on Nov. 26. Tal poured in 19 points in the loss, while he added six rebounds and three steals. Shutan had seven points and three steals.

New Trier/Loyola Academy Tournament

— After three tough losses, Lake Forest regrouped in the seventh-place game at the New Trier/Loyola Thanksgiving Tournament.

On Nov. 26, the Scouts got into the win column with a 57-45 victory over Mather. Justin McMahon, who was named to the all-tournament team, paced LF with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals. Connor Hanekamp had 13 points in the win, while Brian Stickler ended up with eight points and five rebounds. Reed Thomas contributed seven points and four rebounds.

In the opening round of the tourney on Nov. 21, the Scouts (1-2) came up short against U High 45-38. McMahon tallied 20 points, five rebounds and four steals. Stickler had nine points and nine rebounds.

On Nov. 22, Benet Academy downed LF 49-35. Stickler led the team with 12 points and four rebounds.

And on Nov. 23, the Scouts suffered a 39-35 setback to St. Ignatius. Hanekamp led the team with 16 points and four steals. Stickler had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Loyola took runner-up honors, while New Trier placed third in the eight-team Thanksgiving Tournament. Both teams finished with 2-2 records.

* See feature on New Trier’s Andrew Kirkpatrick.

New Trier’s Nick Elias (top) battles Glenbrook South’s Ethan Bond in the 132-pound final at the Wheeling Regional. Elias won the bout 3-2. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER

If they weren’t two-point losses, they were one-point setbacks.

New Trier senior wrestler Nick Elias absorbed many of them at the beginning of the 2016-17 season.

“Slow start,” the Trevians’ 132-pound grappler recalled at the Class 3A Wheeling Regional on Feb. 4.

The regional final between Elias and Glenbrook South senior Ethan Bond was decided by one point.

Elias came out on top this time, a 3-2 victor. The result left Elias with a 31-13 record and Bond with a 30-8 mark. Both advanced to vie for state berths at this weekend’s Barrington Sectional (Feb. 10-11).

Elias — a 120-pound sectional qualifier a year ago — had downed Bond 4-0 in their previous clash this winter.

“I’m most comfortable when I’m on my feet,” said Elias, who owned a 2-1 lead heading into the second period. “I stayed with it. I held my position.”

Elias had won via fall and a 5-0 decision in the bouts before the regional final last weekend. Six of his teammates also qualified to the sectional, as New Trier (177 points) finished runner-up to Wheeling (259 points, thanks to efforts from 12 sectional qualifiers).

“My dad [Chuck] made me try wrestling in the sixth grade,” Elias said. “I’m glad he did. I grew to love the sport.”

Elias is looking at three Division III schools, including a pair in the wrestling hotbed state of Iowa.

“I’m fine with the cold,” a smiling Elias said following his championship match.

The competition between New Trier teammates Jake Lowell (15-3) and Patrick Ryan (35-5) heated up some at the regional last weekend. Lowell — dealing with a broken finger (football injury) on his right hand and a sprained left wrist — throws wrestlers around as a 195-pounder, while Ryan vanquishes most of his foes in the 138-pound class.

“The highlight of my day today was beating Patrick Ryan while warming up for one of my matches,” Lowell said after pinning Loyola Academy senior Andrew Gonzalez at 1:53 in the title bout at 195. “We like to go at it when there’s some downtime at meets. All we have to do is make eye contact.

“I’m now 4-1 against Patrick.”

Moments after Ryan received his championship medal for defeating Fremd senior Cole Riemer (36-4) 7-4 in the final at 138, he addressed his in-house encounters with Lowell.

“He told you he’s up 4-1?” a smiling Ryan asked. “Reverse that; I’m up 4-1.”

New Trier’s Trevians went 4-2 in regional finals at Wheeling. The program’s other champion was junior Jack Tangen (31-5) at 126 pounds. Tangen solved Wheeling Mason Skloot (33-11) 10-4 in their final.

Trevians freshman Michael Miralles (106 pounds) and junior Russell Sanchez (170) advanced to the sectional as runners-up, while NT senior Bruno Frost ended Buffalo Grove freshman Michael Goubine’s season with a pin (3:53) in the match for third place at 160.

Loyola Academy: Aidan McKeag is already a grizzled grappler — as a sophomore.

The Ramblers’ 126-pound entrant at last weekend’s Class 3A Wheeling Regional has been wrestling since the first grade. He received the first encouraging nudge from his father, Jim, a former wrestler at LA (mostly as a 145-pounder).

‘My dad was my coach in grammar school, and we have mats in our basement,” the son said after qualifying for this weekend’s Barrington Sectional (Feb. 10-11) by pinning Fremd freshman Jack Riemer at 1:50 in a match for third place. “What I love about wrestling is you get to use your mind, your body … everything. And it never gets old, because there’s always something new you have to face — opponents, different techniques, things like that.”

McKeag improved to 26-16 and became a two-time sectional qualifier last weekend. His other wins came against Hersey senior Julio Celya (fall, 3:07) and Buffalo Grove junior Paul Domian (fall, 2:43).

“I knew [his finals foe] was long and lanky,” said McKeag, who lost to an eventual champion at his first sectional meet last winter. “My strategy was to let him shoot and then take it from there.”

Loyola Academy’s other sectional qualifier was senior Andrew Gonzalez, a Skokie resident who fell (at 1:53) to New Trier senior Jake Lowell in the final at 195 pounds. They first collided on a wrestling mat when they were grade-school students.

‘He’s beaten me multiple times,” said Gonzalez (27-9), who was only one win away from qualifying to the state meet last February. “He’s very good on top, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

“I have to focus on my bottom work [before the sectional] and then be sure to score first.”

Gonzalez is looking at five colleges, with hopes of studying international business and law.

“I like history and English,” he said.

But he’d love to ace a few tests, should things go well for him at Barrington, on the campus of the University of Illinois — site of the state wrestling meet next weekend.

New Trier’s Patrick Ryan breaks down Fremd’s Cole Riemer in the 138-pound title bout at the Wheeling Regional. He won 7-4. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER

Jake Lowell of the Trevians (top) takes control of Loyola’s Andrew Gonzalez in the 195-pound title match. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER

Brandon Bayzaee of the Spartans drives to the basket during earlier action this winter. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN TRAUTMANN

Brandon Bayzaee likes to watch his father go ’round and ’round.

Aram Bayzaee likes to watch his son run up and down.

The son is a competitive hoopster.

The dad is a competitive cyclist.

“My dad is a sprinter,” says Brandon, a senior guard for the Glenbrook North boys basketball team. “Quick bursts. I like to see him race. I like to see him work out on his bike at the Northbrook Velodrome.

“He once took second at nationals [Masters Division, for cyclists 40 and older],” Brandon Bayzaee adds.

The 6-foot, 170-pound Brandon tried his hand at spinning on Feb. 3 — without a bike. A second-year varsity member, he spun in a couple of clutch fourth-quarter shots in a 51-48 loss to visiting Maine West. His three-pointer knotted matters at 42-42 midway through the frame, and his field goal with 33 seconds left gave the hosts a 48-46 lead.

“When his feet are set before his shot, Brandon is a very good shooter,” Spartans coach Dave Weber says of the varsity’s most accurate three-pointer shooter (22 for 51, 43 percent). “He’s also a good penetrator. Can beat guys off the dribble.

“He’s stronger, physically, this year, more confident,” the coach adds.

Bayzaee’s point total (7 points) in last weekend’s Central Suburban League North setback was a tad a higher than his average (5.6 points per game) for a 10-12 club (3-5 in the CSL North). After playing in 20 of the Spartans’ 22 games, Bayzaee — still dealing with a sprained left thumb, sustained during a game in December — ranked third in steals (22), fourth in assists (30) and fourth in rebounds (52) among teammates.

“I’m attacking the basket more than I did last year,” says Bayzaee, who also finished with two steals and three deflections against Maine West’s Warriors last weekend. “And my defense … I’m trying to do what I can to start our offense from that end of the court.

“Last year I worked hard, tried to motivate the seniors, help them, push them. I wanted them to be the best they could be. I also did what I could to motivate our seniors from the bench.”

Bayzaee says he has been playing basketball forever, or since “the first grade.” The arena where he first developed his game was the gym at Westmoor Elementary School in Northbrook. It was there where he and his father — an Evanston Township High School graduate, after first attending Niles North High School for a couple of years — would drill, drill, drill.

During the summers, Bayzaee has served as a park district instructor for young hoopsters. Weber has seen that side of Bayzaee. His starting guard is a hit — no, a swish — with the impressionable set.

“Great with kids, and he’s very likable,” Weber says. “He’s a cool kid, calm and nice and easy-going.”

Few things are as rewarding to Bayzaee as the opportunity to impart his love for the game to attentive players about half his size.

“It’s fun to see kids play basketball,” says Bayzaee, a Key Club board member and a Young Life leader at the school. “It’s fun to teach them a sport they could eventually fall in love with and play throughout their high school years.”

The number of colleges he is considering is three: Marquette, Dayton and Nebraska. Bayzaee hopes to attend a home Marquette men’s basketball game before the madness emerges in March.

It’s a doable trip, only 69 miles away.

That very well might be the equivalent of a certain father’s workout at a certain velodrome.

Notable: Spartans senior guard James Karis scored a team-high 14 points and finished with eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in the 51-48 home loss to Maine West on Feb. 3. Classmate Tommy Gertner, a 6-foot forward, added 10 points and 10 rebounds on St. Norbert’s Night. Glenbrook North tallied only 14 points in the first half but outscored the visitors 34-29 in the second half. North held a 48-46 lead with 33 ticks left in the fourth quarter, before Maine West regained the lead on a three-pointer only seven seconds later. Following a Glenbrook North timeout with six seconds remaining, the Spartans worked the ball down low. Karis elevated to attempt a short bank shot but was called for an offensive foul. Maine West (5-3 in the CSL North) then made two free throws with two seconds left. “We fought back, got the play we wanted in the end,” Spartans coach Dave Weber said. “Tough way to lose.” Glenbrook North junior reserve forward Nick Sardarov scored eight points — all after halftime — to go with five rebounds. Junior guard-forward Sean Merrigan contributed seven points and three steals. … Glenbrook North’s leading scorer, through Feb. 3, was junior forward Kellen Witherell (13.6 points per game), followed by Karis (12.1) and Gertner (9.1), who paces the team in rebounds (113, 5.4 per game). Witherell (106 rebounds in 19 games) ranks first among Spartans in boards per game (5.6)

Glenbrook South senior Ben Schonken takes on New Trier freshman Matt McKenna in the third-place match at 120 pounds. He advanced to the Barrington Sectional with a 7-3 victory. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER

After concluding his football season last fall as a 255-pound offensive lineman, Glenbrook South senior Alex Balabanos sought to wrestle at 220 pounds this winter.

His diet, more or less, in between seasons: lots of water, not much food.

The Titan slimmed down to make weight, but something mounted — his number of losses at 220 — too quickly in the early going.

A decision then was made to let Balabanos grapple against competitors in the 285-pound class for the rest of the season.

“I didn’t expect to win that many matches [against bigger foes],” Balabanos admitted at the Class 3A Wheeling Regional on Feb. 4.

But he won three of four matches at the regional, good enough for third place and a berth in this weekend’s Barrington Sectional (Feb. 10-11). Now a 239-pounder going against, on average, 265-pounders, Balabanos (28-10) topped Palatine High School senior Sammy Cercas 4-0 in the bout for third place.

It was a win-or-turn-in-your-singlet clash.

“I’m going to go with the flow, work on my cardio,” Balabanos said of his pre-sectional preparation. “I’ll do a lot of live wrestling. Live wrestling blows out your lungs.”

For Balabanos, one of the perks of battling in a heavier weight class has been the resumption of visits to his favorite restaurant: Buffalo Joe’s in Evanston.

“That place has the best chicken wings,” he said after his final victory last weekend.

Four other Titans advanced in the state series, including senior Ethan Bond (second place, 132 pounds). Bond (30-18) lost 3-2 to New Trier senior Nick Elias (31-13) in a finals faceoff. Senior Ben Schonken (22-18) defeated New Trier freshman Matt McKenna 7-3 in the match for third place at 120 pounds; Titans senior Daniel Pravich (32-7) pinned New Trier junior Bayne Kiser at 0:44 in the third-place bout at 152; and senior Branko Andelkovic (28-10) clinched a sectional berth when he pinned Wheeling junior Freddy McCload at 2:00 in the contest for third place at 195.

Glenbrook South finished fifth (86 points) at the nine-team regional.

Glenbrook North: Brandon Friedman loves Chicago.

It’s one of the reasons the Glenbrook North senior wrestler is interested in attending DePaul University.

“Fulton Market is where you’ll find great restaurants, great places for concerts,” Friedman said at last weekend’s Class 3A Wheeling Regional.

A super venue for wrestling this weekend: Barrington High School, where Friedman (220 pounds) and three of his teammates will vie for state berths at a sectional meet on Feb. 10-11. Friedman earned his berth when he recorded a pin, at 1:47, against Fremd senior Connor McMillin in the match for third place at Wheeling on Feb. 4.

“Caught him on top,” said Friedman (25-9), now a two-time sectional qualifier.

Teammate Cam Casey, meanwhile, proved a win-loss record can be deceiving. The sophomore improved to 15-16 en route to his third-place showing at 182 pounds. Each of the regional’s other 41 sectional qualifiers owns a record better than .500.

Two of Casey’s three victories last weekend came via pin.

“To advance — that was the goal today,” said Casey, also a football player and the older brother of Aidan, an eighth-grader and a football player/wrestler.

“My brother is strong,” he added, “and I’m teaching him what I like to do in wrestling — double legs, being aggressive.”

Spartans senior Jacob Weingardt (27-10) also kept his season alive last weekend, finishing runner-up at 285 pounds. Freshman teammate Kazden Orshoski (17-15) secured North’s first sectional berth of the weekend when he pinned Hersey freshman Zac Joyce (21-9) at 3:29 in the match for third place at 106 pounds.

Glenbrook North finished sixth (83.5 points) at the regional.

Loyola Academy: Aidan McKeag is already a grizzled grappler — as a sophomore.

The Ramblers’ 126-pound entrant at last weekend’s Class 3A Wheeling Regional has been wrestling since the first grade. He received the first encouraging nudge from his father, Jim, a former wrestler at LA (mostly as a 145-pounder).

‘My dad was my coach in grammar school, and we have mats in our basement,” the son said after qualifying for this weekend’s Barrington Sectional (Feb. 10-11) by pinning Fremd freshman Jack Riemer at 1:50 in a match for third place. “What I love about wrestling is you get to use your mind, your body … everything. And it never gets old, because there’s always something new you have to face — opponents, different techniques, things like that.”

McKeag improved to 26-16 and became a two-time sectional qualifier last weekend. His other wins came against Hersey senior Julio Celya (fall, 3:07) and Buffalo Grove junior Paul Domian (fall, 2:43).

“I knew [his finals foe] was long and lanky,” said McKeag, who lost to an eventual champion at his first sectional meet last winter. “My strategy was to let him shoot and then take it from there.”

Loyola Academy’s other sectional qualifier was senior Andrew Gonzalez, a Skokie resident who fell (at 1:53) to New Trier senior Jake Lowell in the final at 195 pounds. They first collided on a wrestling mat when they were grade-school students.

‘He’s beaten me multiple times,” said Gonzalez (27-9), who was only one win away from qualifying to the state meet last February. “He’s very good on top, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

“I have to focus on my bottom work [before the sectional] and then be sure to score first.”

Gonzalez is looking at five colleges, with hopes of studying international business and law.

“I like history and English,” he said.

But he’d love to ace a few tests, should things go well for him at Barrington, on the campus of the University of Illinois — site of the state wrestling meet next weekend.

GBS’s Ethan Bond (facing) battles New Trier’s Nick Elias in 132-pound title bout at the Wheeling Regional. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER

GBN’s Jacob Weingardt took second in the heavyweight division at the Wheeling Regional. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER

HIGHWOOD – To support arts, music and culture, Celebrate Highwood is hosting its next philanthropic fundraiser, Jazzed Up Dining & Classical Cocktails, on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m., to benefit Midwest Young Artists Conservatory (MYAC), the Midwest’s most comprehensive youth music school and ensemble program.

In addition to live jazz, classical and big band musical performances by MYAC students throughout the evening, guests will enjoy appetizers, dinner and dessert from the North Shore’s finest restaurants, as well as an open bar and a silent auction. Guests will also have the unique opportunity to tour MYAC’s rehearsal facility at 878 Lyster Road in Highwood, a beautifully transformed army stockade building at Fort Sheridan, to learn about history of the building and explore the old prison cells from 1890.

“Celebrate Highwood is looking forward to promoting the arts and bringing people together through our mission of raising funds for worthy non-profit organizations with an extensive lineup of family friendly festivals and events throughout the year,” says Eric Falberg, City of Highwood Alderman.

Tickets to Jazzed Up Dining & Classical Cocktails are $75 per person and can be purchased online at www.celebratehighwood.com. This event is made possible by the generous donations from local restaurants and sponsorship from Julius Meinl, M. Brad Slavin – Farmers Insurance and Van Gogh Vodka.

Submitted by Celebrate Highwood
Formerly, a collaboration between the City of Highwood and the Highwood Chamber of Commerce, the newly established 501(c)(3) Celebrate Highwood produces events that cater to the wants and needs of the citizens, businesses and visitors of Highwood. This will be achieved through inter-organizational collaboration, sharing resources and promoting the City in a positive light. For more information on all of Highwood’s festivals, please visit www.CelebrateHighwood.com, www.facebook.com/celebratehighwood, or call 847-432-6000.