Martinez, Mount Carmel take charge

It doesn't take long to notice that David Martinez has some serious skills when it comes to finding the back of the net.

Just keep an eye on the Mount Carmel forward once he touches the ball, and he's bound to impress.

Boys Soccer

Martinez certainly impressed Caravan fans Tuesday, registering both goals in a 2-0 Catholic League Blue victory over Brother Rice.

"Even fans who know absolutely nothing about soccer can sense that he's a great player," Mount Carmel coach Adrian Calleros said. "When someone who doesn't know the game can just tell that you're good, that's one of the best compliments that I think any player can have."

Martinez's effort marked the sixth time this season he has tallied twice in a game. He has 18 goals on the season.

Martinez was just happy to pocket a win over one of his team's biggest rivals.

"It's always big when we play Brother Rice," Martinez said. "I think we really seem to try a little harder when we play a Catholic League rival, not that we don't try hard against every team we play, but this game just brings out something extra for everyone on both teams.

"It's just big to beat Catholic League teams because it keeps us moving toward our goal of being Catholic League champions."

In addition to Martinez's exploits, the Caravan (13-6, 4-1) also put together a strong defensive effort, led by junior goalkeeper Justin Connors (5 saves).

Connors' biggest save came in the 75th minute, when he barely got his fingertips on a blistering shot by Patrick Cragg. The ball was deflected over the crossbar.

"We'd been having some problems in the back defensively lately," Martinez said. "But today they (the Caravan defense) really stepped up and got it done. It was just a good team win for us."

Martinez notched his first goal in the 17th minute, when he cut loose a long blast that found its way behind Brother Rice keeper Matt Gustafson.

The tally came just minutes after Martinez missed on a wide-open chance off a breakaway.

Down a goal early, Brother Rice coach Nick Markulin made a change between the pipes, bringing in Chris Vidos (4 saves), but the results would be the same. Martinez used a couple of quick moves to cut his way to the front of the goal in the 49th minute and beat Vidos with a short shot.

"The thing about David is that, yes, he scored two goals in a lot of games, but he's scored two goals in a lot of our biggest matches," Calleros said. "He's scored twice against St. Ignatius, Lyons Township and now Rice, so he plays big when we need him to."

The Crusaders had several opportunities to score in the second half, but were unable to find the back of the net. Brother Rice's best scoring chance came when Brendan Healy missed high on an angled shot in the 30th minute.

St. Laurence 10, Guerin Prep 1

Alex Hernandez scored three goals as St. Laurence (8-5-3, 3-1-1) coasted to the Catholic League White victory in Burbank. Bill Miller added two goals and three assists for the Vikings.

Lemont 5, Tinley Park 0

Goals by Kyle Spoo, Joe McGuire, Mark Jasso, Richard Waszak and Tim Farmer guided visiting Lemont (12-2-2, 7-1) to the South Suburban Blue victory.

Shepard 3, Oak Forest 1

Visiting Shepard (11-7, 4-4) triumphed in the South Suburban Blue behind goals from Nick Eyer, Yannick Kadia and J.D. Kman.

De La Salle 5, St. Francis de Sales 2

Victor Trujillo netted a pair of goals for visiting De La Salle (12-6, 3-1) in the Catholic League White. Scott Mestan, Adrian Guzman and Apolinar Martinez also tallied for the Meteors.

St. Rita 4, Gordon Tech 0

Kyle Donahue scored two goals for visiting St. Rita (7-6-3, 5-0-1), while Mike Vanderhan and Sebastian Sinta each scored a goal in the Catholic League White match. Also contributing for the Mustangs were Zach Bentley (2 assists) and goalkeeper Shane Conlon (7 saves), who earned his fifth shutout of the season.

Sandburg 1, Stagg 0

Jeff Grotz had the lone goal for visiting Sandburg (8-6, 4-3) in the SouthWest Suburban Blue match. Assisting Grotz was T.J. Tennison. Goalie Jake Kenny had four saves in recording his fourth shutout.

Private School League TournamentWestminster Christian 2Chicago Christian 1 (SO)

Matt Pausma scored a goal, assisted by Ryan Voss, to tie the game at 1 in regulation, but Chicago Christian (5-11-1) was on the short end, 5-4, in a penalty-kick shootout.

BOYS GOLF

Class 3A Crete-Monee Regional

Medalist Ben Nichele shot an even-par 71 in lifting Marian Catholic (304) to the team title at Lincoln Oaks Golf Course in Crete. Homewood-Flossmoor (311) was second and Mount Carmel (324) third, both teams joining Marian Catholic in the sectional round.

Michael Fitzgerald of H-F was second with a 72, four strokes ahead of teammate Tim Weber. Marian Catholic golfers held the next three places as Ryan Maksimik carded a 77 and Frank Narcisi and Ryan Whitebloom both had 78s. Mount Carmel's Ryan Vrdolyak also finished with a 78.

Pat Riordan (81) and Grant Stoffle (83) rounded out the contributors for H-F, while Mount Carmel's consisted of Vrdolyak, Bobby Sloan (79), Dan Grolla (83) and Tim Carey (84).

Golfers qualifying for the sectional tournament on a individual level were T.F. South's Kyle Zegarac (81), Jason Camalick (83), Joe Ryan (83), Jack Garavaglia (84) and John Albanese (88), as well as De La Salle's Justin Cook (86).

T.F. South (331) was fourth in the team standings, followed by Crete-Monee (345), De La Salle (386), Bloom Township (420) and T.F. North (433).

Class 3A Lincoln-Way Central Regional

Brian Bullington of Lincoln-Way East was the medalist by virtue of his 70 at The Sanctuary Golf Course in New Lenox. His effort also propelled the Griffins to the team crown with a stroke total of 304. Sandburg (311) was second and Andrew (320) placed third.

Scott Shiple and Chris Holley added 77s for Lincoln-Way East and Tony Michuda tacked on an 80.

Brendan Pontow and Brendan Stanford both had 75s for Sandburg, which also received a 79 from Craig Austin and an 82 from Dan Allen.

Matt Mangin and Steve Wojcik each fired 79 for Andrew. Mike Mysker and Jeff Staley tacked on rounds of 80 and 82, respectively, for the Thunderbolts.

Dan Lagerstrom of Shepard headed the list of individual sectional qualifiers with a 73. Ryan Carney of Lincoln-Way Central had a 77 and Brother Rice's Frank Musso had a 79. Also advancing to the sectional on an individual basis were Marist's Ruben DeAvila (80), E.J. Ilagan (82) and Joe Henrici (82); Brother Rice's Steve Collins (81), Mark Bermele (81), Dustin Courtright (82), John Zawaski (82) and Kevin Ori (82); and Oak Forest's Tyler Triezenberg (82).

Brother Rice finished fourth in the team standings with a 323. Marist (328) was fifth, followed by Lincoln-Way Central (343), Oak Forest (350), Shepard (350), St. Rita (353) and Eisenhower (452).

Class 3A Lockport Regional

Lockport (324) edged Providence Catholic by 10 strokes in winning first place at Big Run Golf Club in Lockport. Minooka was third with a 345.

Ryan Frederick led the way for Lockport, garnering medalist accolades with a 76, three strokes better than teammate and runner-up Adam Saban. Providence's Will Schau finished third with an 80.

Aside from Frederick and Saban, Lockport's total included an 83 from Jake Kuper and an 86 from Jordan Christensen. Providence's output consisted of Schau, John Thomas (84), Jeremy Lackey (84) and Pete Korbakes (86).

Class 3A Stagg Regional

Stagg advanced to the sectional round after finishing third with a 345. Fenwick (326) was first and Whitney Young (339) second at Silver Lake Country Club's North Course in Orland Park.

Top individual honors went to Whitney Young's Bill Prosecky, who shot a 4-over 76.

Leading the way for Stagg was Matt Murphy, who shot an 82. Greg Seymour and Kris Friedlein both had 85s for the Chargers and Jason Fonte carded a 93.

Steve Crook of Richards paced the list of Southland golfers qualifying for the sectional on an individual basis; he fired an 86. Also moving on to the sectional were St. Laurence's Ben Savory (87), Oak Lawn's Randy Wrobel (90) and the St. Ignatius trio of Pete Besser (87), Michael Lanigan (89) and Phil Allen (90).

Class 2A Chicago Christian Regional

Chicago Christian had a four-person stroke total of 311 in capturing the team championship by five shots over Lemont. Yorkville (335) was third in the meet at Gleneagles Country Club in Lemont.

Top individual honors went to Lemont's Stan Wilczek, who carded a 2-over 72. Sam Bettinardi of Chicago Christian was second with a 75, while his teammates, Ryan Kamp and Jim Boie, both shot 77s. Mike Fardig (81) was the other contributor for Chicago Christian.

Sean Smith and Taylor Latz both added 81s for Lemont and Nick Cyr finished with an 82.

Class 2A Peotone Regional

Rich South (392) and Rich East (458) placed ninth and 10th, respectively, in the meet at Green Garden Country Club in Frankfort. Bishop McNamara won the team title with a 305, seven strokes better than runner-up Morris and third-place occupant Peotone.

Joliet Catholic Academy's Matt Adler was the medalist after shooting a 2-under 70.

Class 2A Nazareth Academy Regional

The Evergreen Park threesome of Tom Cronin (83), Dan Cronin (87) and Scott Telander (92) all advanced to the sectional tournament on an individual basis.

Nazareth Academy shot a 317 in capturing first place at The Links of Carillon in Plainfield. Latin (327) was second and Riverside-Brookfield (344) finished third.

Pat Mullaney of Nazareth Academy secured medalist honors after shooting a 4-over 76.

GIRLS TENNIS

Oak Forest 3, Bremen 2

Singles wins by Rebecca Mally (No. 1), Liz Stachnik (No. 2) and Alexis Kikoen (No. 3) propelled host Oak Forest (7-6, 3-2) to victory in the South Suburban Blue. Monika Rayner and Anne Hennessey added a win at No. 3 doubles for the Bengals.

Kari Koppers and Nora Nagle won at No. 1 doubles for Bremen (8-6, 2-3).

Rich South 4, Rich East 1

Rahshell Washington emerged victorious at top-seeded singles as Rich South (12-5, 7-0) stayed unbeaten in SICA play. Brittney Horton and Ashley Horton added a win at No. 2 doubles for the Stars.

Maria 3, St. Scholastica 2

Marie Randazzo at No. 2 singles was among the winners for host Maria (4-6, 2-4) in the GCAC dual.

Illiana Christian 3, Marian Catholic 2

Rajelin Escondo and Melinda Fried prevailed at No. 2 doubles for visiting Marian Catholic (7-8) in the nonconference meet. Kathleen Savage and Gabrielle Miller aided the cause for the Spartans by winning their match at No. 3 doubles.

Rich Central 4, T.F. North 1

Host Rich Central was a winner in the SICA dual as Kenna Delaney emerged victorious at No. 2 singles. Sherry Gunn and Ashley Varnado added a win at No. 1 doubles for the Olympians.

Stagg 4, Andrew 3

Singles wins by Jessica Wacnik (No. 1) and Melissa Kopinski (No. 2) guided Stagg to the SouthWest Suburban crossover victory in Tinley Park.

Shayne Binette and Brittany Madden won their match at top-seeded doubles for Andrew. Shannon Surdyk and Michelle Sivak added a win at No. 2 doubles for the Thunderbolts.

Lemont 5, Richards 0

Jessica Urban triumphed at No. 1 singles for host Lemont (13-5, 5-0) in the South Suburban crossover.

Lincoln-Way Central 7, Joliet Twp. 0

Carolyn Corradetti and Jasmine Ahmed won their match at top-seeded doubles for visiting Lincoln-Way Central in the SouthWest Suburban crossover. Emma Denny and Toni Puro triumphed at No. 2 doubles for the Knights, while Lea Caponigro and Leah Price emerged victorious at No. 3 doubles.

Crete-Monee 5, Thornwood co-op 0

Visiting Thornwood co-op was beaten in the SICA dual.

Hillcrest 3, Reavis 2

Alecia Jenkins prevailed at No. 2 singles for host Hillcrest (10-8 overall) in the South Suburban crossover. Also victorious was the Hawks' No. 3 doubles team of Shayla McCann and Regina Scruggs.

Lincoln-Way East 6Homewood-Floosmoor 0

Prevailing for Lincoln-Way East (18-2, 9-0) was Leah Pascarella (No. 1 singles) and the No. 1 doubles team of Michelle Perry and Liz Exo. Also victorious for the Griffins was the No. 2 doubles team of Danielle Emola and Allie Fish in the SouthWest Suburban Red dual.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Catholic League South Meet

St. Laurence's Chris Baetzel crossed the finish line first in 16:28 as the Vikings won the team title with 34 points. Brother Rice (44) was second, followed by St. Rita (71), Mount Carmel (101) and Providence Catholic (104).

Mount Carmel's Ryan Slager (16:48) was second and St. Laurence's Mike Carlson (16:56) finished third.

Rich East triangular

Rich East recorded a score of 29 in besting SICA South foes Crete-Monee (40) and T.F. South (56).

Crete-Monee's Joshua Martin captured top individual honors, winning the 2.92-mile race in 16 minutes, 28 seconds. T.F. South's Cody Fitzen (16:37) was second and Rich East's Dominique Miller (17:24) finished third.

Reavis triangular

Oak Forest finished first in the South Suburban meet with 30 points, followed by Reavis (32) and Richards (65).

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

East Suburban Catholic ConferenceRegular-Season Meet

Benet Academy totaled 15 points in winning the team title at Chicago's Schiller Woods. Carmel (92) was second, Marist (93) third and Marian Catholic (129) fourth among the 10 competing squads.

The top runner for Marian Catholic was Danielle Smith, who finished 14th after completing the 3-mile race in 20:15.

Rich East triangular

Alexandra Rodas of Crete-Monee crossed the finish line first, completing the 2.92-mile course in 20:27. Rich East's Jazzmen Allen (21:28) was second, Crete-Monee's Paige Hemeck (22:12) finished third and T.F. South's Jasmine Mangrum (22:23) placed fourth.

Crete-Monee was the team champion, posting a score of 27, while Rich East and T.F. South both totaled 51 points in the SICA South competition.

Reavis triangular

No individual results were made available for the South Suburban meet. Top team honors went to Oak Forest, which posted a score of 19. Reavis (44) was second and Richards (70) finished third.

Shepard triangular

First-place finisher Amanda Marek of Oak Lawn ran the 3-mile race in 18 minutes, 28 seconds, followed by JeBasia Turner (22:39) of Shepard and Eisenhower's Marylyn Hall (22:40).

Oak Lawn earned the team title with 30 points, followed by South Suburban foes Eisenhower (43) and Shepard (57).

GIRLS SWIMMING

Oak Forest 113, Bremen 67

Anna Howley placed first in three events for host Oak Forest in the South Suburban Blue. Howley posted the fastest times in the 100-yard freestyle (1 minute, 5.11 seconds) and 200-yard freestyle (2 minutes, 24.03 seconds) in addition to swimming on the Bengals' winning foursome in the 200 medley relay (2:15.55). Malina Gutierrez added a victory in the 50 free (31.43 seconds) for Oak Forest.

Among the winners for Bremen were Cassie Joe Miller in the 100 backstroke (1:12.27) and Katie Keeton in the 500 free (6:36.13).

Evergreen Park 103Reavis 77

Brooke Telander prevailed in the 50 free (25.68) and 100 backstroke (1:06.03) for host Evergreen Park in the South Suburban Red. Telander also competed on the Mustangs' winning groups in the 200 medley relay (2:08.15) and 400 free relay (4:07.26).

T.F. South 48, Plainfield co-op 46

T.F. South (2-2) recorded the nonconference victory in Lansing as Amanda Maricich prevailed in the 100 free (57.15) and Emily VanderWoude emerged victorious in the 200 individual medley (2:32.73). The two also swam on the Rebels' winning teams in the 200 free relay (1:52.24) and 200 medley relay (2:05.42).

St. Ignatius 96, Mother McAuley 87

Chloe Ott won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 18.45 seconds, as well as the 100-yard breaststroke (1:10.97), for visiting St. Ignatius in the Metro Catholic Aquatics Conference dual.

Richards 87Eisenhower 79

In the South Suburban Red, Sam Craig was victorious in the 50 free (34.0 seconds) for Richards (4-2), while teammate Hilary Wind triumphed in the 200 free (2:26.50). Prevailing in the 100 butterfly for the Bulldogs was Stephanie Grant (1:37.12).

Lemont 107Tinley Park 73

Visiting Lemont triumphed in the South Suburban Blue.

Contributing: Correspondents Josh Krockeyand Tracy Helmus.