Since players so rarely score 40 or more points in a basketball game, it is hard to figure out the best way to tally that many points in a high school contest. Twenty in the first half and 20 in the second half would be the most balanced approach. Libertyville High School senior Griffin Pils did not score a single point for 15 minutes of Saturday's game against Carmel. The Wildcats had to go to overtime to trip the Corsairs 83-77. When the first half expired, Pils was up to 5 points. That is because he drained two free throws and hit a 3-pointer with two seconds to play. "In the first half, I…

Libertyville High School freshman Matt Harrington gets it. He understands how cool it is to be a freshman swimming on a varsity team. "It seems kind of surreal,'' Harrington said. "When I tell people I'm on varsity as a freshman the expressions on their faces are priceless." Libertyville swimming got a boost when the Harrington family moved to Libertyville from Wisconsin. Harrington moved here in the fifth grade. "It was really hard to move,'' Harrington said. "I went from a school that had 50 kids a grade to 150 a grade. It was a big culture shock." He's adjusted quite well. And now he's a …

Everybody knew that Libertyville High School girls basketball was never going to be the same. That incredible season last year could not be repeated, because the seniors took off. How could coach Kathie Swanson and her staff rebuild overnight and put out a winning season again? Last Thursday night in Gurnee, the Wildcats moved to 13-4 on the season with a 45-36 win over Warren. It’s called a program. A program does not allow for losing seasons. Great players might come and go, but a system that preaches defense and good teamwork goes on. "I loved last year’s team,” said Libertyville senior …

A call has to be made to the Guinness Book of World Records. What are the chances of scoring exactly 27 points three times in an eight-day span? You might think Libertyville High School senior Ellis Matthews might score 25 one day and 16 the next. But the record clearly shows he scored 27 points against Wheeling on Dec. 22. That 62-58 win over the Wildcats opened the Wheeling Hardwood Classic. Wait there is more. On Dec. 29, Libertyville lost to Naperville Central 65-49. That club won the Wheeling Classic. Matthews tallied exactly 27 points in that loss. One day later on Dec. 30, Libertyville…

Simply, it’s best to keep this sophomore in the water. Here are some examples from the life of Libertyville High School swimmer Alex Snarski. “I tried lacrosse and karate,” Snarski said. “My mom forced me to do that. In baseball, I didn’t get a single hit. I’m just not good on land.” Not good on land? Who is not good on land? Don’t worry there is a place where Snarski can escape and succeed in sports. He just happens to be very good in the water. “My main goal to place in the top 12,” Snarski said. That means he has his sights on the state swim meet in February in Evanston. Snarski’s …

This Libertyville High School boys bowling team might bear watching this winter. First Jack Baumruk had a good start. Then Max Schmidt set a school record for his 280 game. Now Jake Thompson is making news. This Libertyville athlete of the week has joined Schmidt in the school record books; he recorded games of 246, 242 and 215 last week, adding up to 703. The junior is the first Libertyville bowler to record a 700 series. “It’s been mostly coaching and practice,” Thompson said. “That 703 is good but I can do better.” Thompson is well aware he’s not the only talented bowler on this squad. “We…

Libertyville High School senior wrestler Pat Fitzgerald has seen professional wrestling on television but when his dad approached him about wrestling in sixth grade, young Fitzgerald wasn't all that interested. "I thought it was that WWE stuff,'' Fitzgerald said. It could be that he just couldn't see himself getting hit over the head with a chair and tossed into the third row of the stands. "It turns out it wasn't that kind of wrestling,'' he said. It's the final season of high school wrestling for Fitzgerald and it seems clear he's ready for a big finish. He's not shy about his goals. He …

Here's what Libertyville High School bowler Max Schmidt's scorecard looked like last Thursday at Lakeside Lanes. Strike, spare, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike. And by the time the eighth and ninth consecutive strikes went up on the board, Schmidt's legs began to shake. That's because everyone in the building was watching his every move. Schmidt's 280 game is a school record and he is convinced that the one strike he missed should have been a gone down as well. “It came in the pocket a little too heavy,'' Schmidt said. “But it should have been a …

Libertyville High School athletic director Briant Kelly chooses athletes of the week for his high school. Last week, he saluted Libertyville boys bowler Jack Baumruk. It seems Baumruk has figured out this winter sport. His scores of 658 against Lake Zurich and 675 against Vernon Hills were a big improvement on his scores from the last year. About 50 pins better that is. Of course last year, Baumruk was a freshman on the varsity. Now he's an experienced sophomore leading the Wildcats. These Wildcats fell to Lake Zurich to open the campaign but gave Vernon Hills all they could handle in a 5-4 …

By all accounts it was a splendid winter for the Libertyville High School sports teams. But it's time to pick one MVP from each of these teams. Of course that's not an easy task but someone has to do it. Girls Basketball: No doubt these girls are disappointed they didn't go further. But well down the road they can tell their children that they beat the state's second-best team, Zion-Benton, three times this season. This team's MVP is naturally Savannah Trees. The team's top scorer had another terrific campaign for this team that won a school record 29 games. Boys Basketball: Obviously this …

The skeptics will always wonder: How did Libertyville's girls basketball team win back to back NSC Lake Division championships? What about those winning streaks of 15 games last season and that record-breaking 29 game streak this season? All told it was a 54-7 mark in two seasons. After a 6-4 start to the 2009-10 season, the Wildcats stormed to a 48-3 mark. How? Why? Much has been made of this team that did not produce one Division I basketball player. Some of the highlights included four consecutive wins over rival Stevenson. Patriots club has two players headed off to play Division I …

As the winter season closes, it's time to salute a few successful athletes from Libertyville High School, and prepare to see how far the unbeaten girls hoops team can go from here. Luke Miller's senior season of wrestling netted 36 victories. Maybe more importantly, there is that fifth-place medal for him and his team to feel good about. Wrestling completed this weekend in Champaign and Miller (215) was the school's top finisher. In bout 414 of state wrestling, Miller secured fifth place in the state while stopping Shaquille McMurtry of Lockport 8-3.  In match 273, Miller beat Greg Cameron of…

There are only 30-match winners heading to state. And that makes sense as the best wrestlers make it to Assembly Hall in Champaign. So without further ado, here are those Libertyville High School wrestlers heading to state next weekend. The most successful Wildcat on Saturday was 36-match winner Luke Gaeth (130). He placed second at the Barrington Sectional and will lead the Wildcats to state. He'll have some company. Kevin Tavakoli, wrestling at 145, took fourth place, and this senior will take a 35-13 record to state. At 215, another senior, Luke Miller, placed second. His mark is 32-10. …

The one program that seems to dominate year in and year out is the one with the kids you don't want to mess with. Some of them may be on the small side but again it's not wise to make them angry. Congratulations are out for the Libertyville boys wrestling team. Another conference title was clinched on Saturday. That follows a 6-0 mark in the regular season. Now it wasn't easy for the Wildcats up at Lakes High School, both Warren and Stevenson have potent squads. But aided by a pair of champions, the Wildcats prevailed with 186 points. Those two champions also did not have free rides on the …

From the no surprise column comes the Libertyville girls basketball team. The Wildcats clinched the North Suburban Conference's Lake Division on Saturday. Even without star defensive ace Kaca Savatic (knee), the Wildcats (22-0) beat Warren 38-26 on Saturday. So far the team has had two wins each over Stevenson, Warren and Lake Zurich. They beat Zion-Benton three times, once during the Mundelein Holiday Tournament and twice during conference play. That's very impressive. "We are doing a good job of executing on defense and sticking to the game plan,'' said Libertyville girls coach Kathie …

What are the chances one team can beat a Tom Dineen coached girls basketball team four times in a row? That answer will be on tap Thursday night in Lincolnshire. No doubt Stevenson coach Dineen will be watching films of the Libertyville girls team all week long. And since he's retired from teaching, he'll have most of the day to do just that. Coach Kathie Swanson's Wildcats beat Stevenson twice last year and added another victory on Nov. 30 with a score of 44-37. There are really no secrets here. Kaca Savatic will bring her super defensive skills up against Stevenson's explosive Michelle O'…

When it comes time for New Year's resolutions at Libertyville High School, of course one of those resolutions is to get leading scorer Ryan Barth back on the court to help out the boys basketball team. Did his ankle miseries hurt the Wildcats team since he fell out of the lineup earlier in December? Of course they did. And probably not where you might think they would. In Barth's absence, the Wildcats (7-6) found plenty of points. While finishing in fourth place at the Wheeling Wildcat Hardwood Classic, Libertyville hit for at least 60 points in every game. Officially, there was that 60-29 …

Is it girls basketball in general or just Libertyville? But scores like that haven't been seen in these parts in some time.  67-7? That was the score the unbeaten Libertyville girls basketball team defeated Belvidere with last week. Mind you, this is varsity basketball. And it wasn't like the Wildcats (13-0) were trying to run up the score. "Yes, we beat them by 60,'' said Libertyville girls basketball coach Kathie Swanson.  "I know that sounds pretty bad. We played our starters for about 1 1/2 quarters and allowed our bench to play most of the game. We played straight up man to man defense …

It seems early in the bowling season but a new record is already in the books. It came Tuesday when the Wildcats headed to Morton Grove. Markus Truskowski fired a 660. Nathan Horwitz checked in  with a 640 series. Libertyville rolled a 3,124 to beat home team New Trier by 435 pins. That mark is a new school record. Also helping the cause were Jake Thompson (618), Jack Baumruk (615) and Zach Jarecki (591) Truskowski paces the Wildcats with a 200 average. Thompson is just two pins back with a 198 average. Baumruk, a freshman, has a 180 average. Horwitz is a senior but in his first year on the …

Basketball fans who had tickets to the two battles between Stevenson High School and Libertyville High School last season got their money's worth and more. Both girls basketball games came down to the final seconds.  In the opener in Lincolnshire, Libertyville senior Katelynn Jennings hit a runner in the lane to provide the winning points. The rematch in Libertyville last winter had much the same magic. This time it was Kaca Savatic's shot from the corner that beat Stevenson at the buzzer. What a exciting season the Wildcats had last year. In winning 25 games, Libertyville shocked many of the…