HUNTLEY – When most high schools measure their sports seasons, they ask: how competitive were our teams and individuals? And how many winning seasons did we have?
At Huntley High School this fall, the Red Raiders did very well. A solid majority of their teams compiled winning records; some of them extremely impressive. Numerous individual athletes won all-state, all-county, and all-conference awards; and a few teams and individuals set school, conference, and area records.
The Red Raiders fielded boys teams in football, soccer, cross country, and golf; and girls teams in swimming, golf, cross country, volleyball, and tennis this fall. Several teams fell just short of winning major IHSA post-season titles. Thanks to Michelle Jakubowski, Red Raider athletic director, for compiling this information.
For all of you sports fans out there that follow high school athletics, here are some team-by-team details at Huntley for Fall 2013. (Teams listed in no particular order):
Boys Cross Country – Keagan Smith was the fall season’s highest-achieving competitor, finishing in 16th place at the IHSA state final race in Peoria. He was named to all-McHenry County, all conference, all-regional, and all-sectional teams. Seth Conroy finished 10th in the county, 10th at conference, and 4th in the regional races. Mike Grocholski was 29th in the conference competition and was named all-conference. Coach was Matt Kaplan.
Boys Soccer — the Red Raiders are almost always one of the top contenders under coach Kris Grabner. This fall was no exception. The Raiders were 22-3-1, and 5-1 in the Fox Valley Conference’s Valley Division. Niko Mihalopoulos was selected to all-conference, all-state, and Pepsi Showdown all-tournament teams, Jakub Rys was named all conference and all sectional, and made the Chicago Sun-Times all-area first team. Eduardo Gonzalez, Austen Emery, Jack Bessey, and Angel Sanchez won all-conference honors. Showing future strength were a 15-2-5 record achieved by the JV team, and a 12-1-7 mark achieved by the frosh-soph group.
Girls Golf – Under coach Ann Christiansen, the Raider girls were 7-1 and second in the conference. They made it out to sectionals as a team for the second year in a row. Gillian Young and Zoe Dowell made all-conference.
Football – In coach John Hart’s second season, a young Raider team ended up 4-5, missing the state playoffs by one game. Showing impressive future possibilities were a 5-4 record compiled by the sophomore team, a perfect 8-0 season achieved by the Freshman A team, and a 5-1-1 mark achieved by the Frosh B team. All-conference selections were not announced at press time for this report.
Boys Golf – Under coach Jim Rolando, the boys accomplished their first-ever undefeated season, 10-0, in dual matchups. Trent Craig, Riley Wicks, Jake Grabner, Brad Spoeth, Tyler Ross, and Glenn Miller were named all conference. The Raiders placed second in the Fox Valley Conference tourney, third in the IHSA regional, and fourth in the IHSA sectional, very close to qualifying for the state finals. They set school records at the Rockford Boylan and Randall Oaks Invitationals, and at the Pinecrest course in Huntley. They were among the state’s top 16 teams in the postseason. The Raider JV boys golf team won the Boylan and Fox Valley Conference Invitationals, and Jake Grabner, Nick Fanselow, Danny Spoeth, and Jake Bowser won individual first places at separate invitationals.
Girls Cross Country – The Lady Raiders were 1-5 in dual conference competition under coach Brad Gallaugher. They achieved one runner-up, one top five, and three top-10 finishes in area competition. Kate Mitchell was all-county and all-conference and was seventh in the IHSA regional. Kelly Meehleib was also all-county and all conference and finished 12th out of 241 runners at one race and was third in the IHSA regional. Jerissa Chan was the frosh-soph champion at another invite. The JVers won one invitational team championship and were runner-ups at another invite. Kiera Daly, Macy Tramblay, Sarah Roberts, Jaycelin Chan, and Victoria Watkins won medals or were selected to all-county and all conference teams.
Girls Volleyball – The Red Raiders, under coach Karen Liss, were top contenders in the conference all-season and finished with an overall record of 24-14. They won a regional title and were second at their own invitational. The sophomore group was 17-18, and the freshman A team was 16-15-1 overall and 7-5 in the conference. The Frosh A team achieved four top-four finishes in tournaments. The Frosh B team finished at 8-5. All conference selections were not announced before this report.
Girls Tennis – Under coach Barry Wells, the Lady Raiders compiled an impressive 15-6 dual meet mark, won one tourney for the third straight year, and won their own quad. Doubles teams Pooja Patel and Venicia Alvarez, Katie Gallegos and Alicia Pietramale, and Nicolette Davila and Haley McCartney were named all-conference, and Tamara Funke and Jantzen Rosales were sectional champions and state qualifiers. The Raider frosh-soph team compiled a 16-7 season record and won the Huntley quad.
Girls Swimming – Under coach George Keenan, the Raider girls finished the regular season at 4-2 in dual meets, and in third place in the conference. They were in IHSA sectional competition and their season was not completed at press time for this report.
