Illinois knows how to fish.
The nation‘s only state high school championship in bass fishing attracted a record 216 teams in its second year of existence. Fifty-seven boats of teams, representing schools from rural areas of the state to the urban (three schools from Chicago), will hit the waters of Carlyle Lake on Friday and Saturday in the state finals.
There will be a new state champion. Defending state champ Frankfort placed seventh in its regional at Lake Egypt, not good enough to qualify for the state finals.
Four schools qualified two boats for the finals: Rockford Christian (Rockford), Minooka, Athens and Woodlawn.
Carlyle, located in southern Illinois, has jumped on board as a second-year host to the fishing tournament. The city is hosting the Bass Celebration this weekend, an event that includes vendors, boat displays and a kids fishing derby. The lake is 26,000 acres with 2,360 pounds of fish per acre.
Storylines around Chicagoland:
* The week was a memorable one for the softball coaches at Elk Grove (Elk Grove Village) and Richards (Oak Lawn). Ken Grams of Elk Grove became the second 700-game winner in Illinois history when the Grenadiers (23-2) pounded Maine South 12-0 and hit two home runs, increasing their season total to a school-record 25. Grams, 65, has coached at Elk Grove for 30 years. “You look back and think it is a lot of years and a lot of seasons. We’ve had wonderful players here and haven’t had any down time,“ Grams told the Chicago Sun-Times. Richards coach Julie Folliard claimed her 500th career win in a 7-0 victory over Evergreen Park.
* Chicago Catholic League Blue power St. Rita (Chicago), runner-up in the Class 4A baseball tournament, has been selected as a No. 1 sectional seed in the 2010 tournament, along with Naperville Central, Stevenson and Maine South, among others. Defending 4A champion New Trier is No. 5 in the Niles West Sectional and defending 3A champion Joliet Catholic was also seed No. 5, in the 3A sectional it is hosting. Class 3A top seeds include Richards, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, Glenbard South and Chicago Harlan.
* Major League Baseball scouts attending a game Tuesday at Plainfield North were treated to a pitching gem. While the scouts were on hand to watch Minooka’s Mike Foltynewicz, Plainfield North (Plainfield) pitcher Sean Renzi struck out 13 and allowed just two hits in a 1-0 win over Minooka. Foltynewicz (7-1) was certainly dominant enough, striking out nine and allowed just three hits while throwing 93 miles-per-hour fastballs. “All the pressure was on (Foltynewicz). All I had to do was throw strikes and get the job done for the team,” Renzi told the Chicago Sun-Times.
* New Trier (Winnetka) emerged from the Naperville Invitational as a state contender in girls soccer after defeating Barrington in the title game in a 4-2 shootout. Christy Patterson scored twice for New Trier (17-1), once in regulation and once in the shootout. The Chicago area is loaded with girls soccer powers, including Sandburg (15-1-1), which knocked off defending state champion Hinsdale Central and Waubonsie Valley when it was unbeaten. New Trier is a top seed in a Class 3A regional that it is hosting, beginning May 14.
* Does winning a state championship lead to a college basketball coaching job? For Chicago Simeon (Chicago) boys basketball coach Robert Smith, it just might. Chicago State, a Division I school in the Great West Conference, is interested in Smith as a candidate for its men’s basketball head coach position, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and Tribune. “They called and asked me to submit a resume. I think it’s a good idea for me to go through the process of interviewing for a college job.” Smith has coached Simeon to three state championships in five years, including 2010 when Simeon finished 25-9.
3 big performances
* Aaliyah Brown, a freshman at Lincoln-Way East (Frankfort), won the 100-meter final in 11.45 seconds, one of the top times in the nation this year, and also won the 200 and anchored Lincoln-Way East’s winning 800 relay team in the SouthWest Suburban Blue track and field championships. Lincoln-Way East finished third to Homewood-Flossmoor and Bolingbrook in the team competition. Brown’s time in the 100 was just four-hundredths of a second from the state record.
* East (Belleville, Ill.) track star Darnell Stevenson won the 100- (10.7 seconds) and 200-meter (21.7) runs, and was a part of the 400 and long jump relays, and was named winner of the most outstanding performer at the 78th annual Palatine Relays.
* Lockport’s Jessica Rourke had two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run single off Sandburg ace softball pitcher Brittany Gardner, helping the Porters to an 8-7 win Thursday over Sandburg. The Eagles (27-2) lost in Illinois for the first time this year.
On deck:
* Providence at St. Rita baseball, 11 a.m. Saturday: It’s a showdown in the Catholic League Blue title race. Providence (21-6, 13-1) took over first place in the Catholic Blue with an 11-8 win over St. Rita on Tuesday and then knocked off Catholic White leader St. Laurence 5-2 on Thursday. St. Rita was runner-up in Class 4A last year.
Paul Bowker, a sports journalist for 25 years who has worked at newspapers nationwide, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.
