An LBC native, Mike Guardabascio has been covering Long Beach sports professionally for 13 years, with his work published in dozens of Southern California magazines and newspapers. He’s won numerous awards for his writing as well as the CIF Southern Section’s Champion For Character Award, and is the author of three books about Long Beach history.

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For those in attendance at Barrington for the IHSA boys and girls water polo sectional final doubleheaders Saturday at the BHS Natatorium, they saw a pair of comebacks by Fremd’s girls and Palatine’s boys to earn a rectangular-sized sectional championship plaque along with the accompanying golden ticket to next weekend’s state finals at Stevenson.

Fremd girls 8, Hersey 7:

Top-seeded Hersey and No. 2 Fremd’s matchup came down to the last two possessions of regulation. The Vikings had rallied from a three-goal deficit in the final 5:13 to close within a goal when their coach Theresa Knowles called timeout with 26 seconds remaining and her team trailing 7-6.

It was there that she spoke with her junior goalie Molly Boldt about the possibility of attempting a shot from her location on the playing surface to try and tie the game at 7. She had scored in a similar fashion in the Vikings’ sectional semifinal win over Prospect on Friday.

“I asked her what percentage (of) confidence she had in her shot. She said 90%. I said, good let’s do it,” Knowles said.

“My coach gave me the A-OK and I went from there,” Boldt said.

Upon resumption of the game, Boldt fired a cross-pool bullet that went into the Huskies goal and evened the contest at 7.

Fremd then took advantage of a Hersey turnover, and a pass from senior Kate Rothmeyer found junior Aubrey Schinkel who in turn found the net with four seconds remaining to take an 8-7 lead.

That lead held after an attempt by Hersey’s Andrea Teves at the horn bounced off the top of the crossbar for Fremd’s seventh sectional title.

The comeback sends the Vikings (22-7-2) to the round of eight for the first time since 2012 where it will face Naperville North at Stevenson in Thursday’s 5:45 p.m. quarterfinal.

Naperville North (26-6-1) defeated archrival Naperville Central (16-14) 12-1 at its own sectional final.

Knowles praised her squad’s composure and poise for making the comeback from a late 7-4 deficit.

“That’s experience and team knowledge of one another,” Knowles said. “I’m just so proud of these girls, I’m speechless.”

Despite being denied a fifth straight trip to quarterfinals, the Huskies (22-8-1) had a pair of outstanding performances starting with junior Melissa Loch’s 3 goals and an assist. Two of those goals featured Loch finding the net behind the back late in the first half followed by a flick of the wrist tally in the third quarter.

Senior netminder Coco Schultz (7 saves) helped ward off a 19-shot barrage the Vikings fired at the Hersey goal.

Palatine boys 15, Fremd 13:

As Joe Gryzbek’s Pirates trailed Fremd 10-6 after Amar Osman’s fourth goal of the game with 4:54 remaining in the third quarter, the no-quit attitude that he along with his coaching staff took effect.

Palatine slowly worked its way back to even by going on a 6-1 run that ended on a goal by junior Colten Hilgers with 4:50 left to put Palatine up for the first time, 12-11.

After both teams traded scores, a tally from Fremd’s Matthew Fennel knotted things up at 13 with 3:22 to play. Then sophomore Ethan Kain took over for Palatine.

The sophomore first took a feed from Hilgers 19 ticks later that he lit the lamp for his second score that put Palatine ahead to stay at 14-13.

Then with 50 seconds remaining he took a pass from senior Nick Jelonkiewicz and found the net for his third goal of the day and a 15-13 win that sends the Pirates (26-7) to Lincolnshire for a 5:45 p.m. quarterfinal Friday against Chicago Whitney Young.

The Dolphins (24-5) bested fellow CPS member school Lane Tech (26-5) in Saturday’s first Glenbrook South sectional final in Glenview.

It will be the Pirates’ first Elite Eight appearance since 2022 and seventh overall that they earned after having beaten the sectional hosts 12-11 in their morning semifinal.

“In every timeout, we spoke of how this was (still) our game,” Kain said. “We kept our heads up and pushed through it and won.”

Gryzbek spoke proudly of his squad’s effort.

“It’s just awesome to see these kids keep digging and then get enough things go our way and make it pay off at the end.”

Annual volleyball tournament raises money for organization aimed at supporting those after breast cancer diagnosis

Updated: 6:22 PM CDT May 17, 2025

Dozens of people played sand volleyball for a cause on Saturday.The annual Dig Deep 4 Pink sand volleyball fundraiser raised money for Project Pink’d, a local organization that assists people after a breast cancer diagnosis.”It sends a message to those that are fighting the fight, that you’ve got people out here that don’t have that don’t always necessarily have a dog in the race, but we’re here fighting for them. We’re here putting these events on. The people that are here playing are here playing for those that are at home, fighting that fight of breast cancer and just letting them know that they’ve got people behind them,” said Brandon “Brother B” Deyo, event coordinator for Pink Ribbon Rodeo.”The tournament on Saturday at Sinnott’s Sand Bar offered recreational and competitive divisions.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

It was Patriots Day at the pool at Libertyville Saturday.

Stevenson’s girls water polo team remained unbeaten by holding off a furious fourth quarter rally to beat Libertyville 8-6 to win the girls sectional title.

Right after, the Stevenson boys water polo team scored on its first three possessions and then never looked back as the Patriots, led by Armeet Gill’s triple hat trick, swam past Libertyville 16-10 to win the boys sectional title.

The Stevenson girls team will be seeking their third consecutive title at the state finals which begin next Thursday at Stevenson. The Patriots (33-0) will meet Evanston, who Stevenson beat in last year’s title game, in the quarterfinals at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Stevenson was without top goal scorer Olivia Speth, who was in California at the U.S. National team tryout. Girls head coach Jeff Wimer knew about the tryout months ago and has been planning accordingly.

“They stepped up, and that is without Olivia (Speth),” Wimer said. “I told our girls that they are a team. And it is a lot more than one player, it is all of you. We have been playing in situations without Olivia this season and they were ready for it.”

The Patriots showed how prepared they were when Dhanani Seneviratne scored twice for a 2-0 lead early in the second period. Libertyville’s Maya Anderson tallied and Jillian Carlson followed up with a goal for Stevenson as the Patriots let 3-1 at the half.

Carlson and teammate Caroline Bichkoff scored within 25 seconds of each other in the final minute of the third period. That, along with sterling goalkeeping by Elsa Kusevskis, gave Stevenson what appeared to be an insurmountable 5-1 lead.

Libertyville (22-4), which had lost 5-4 earlier this season to Stevenson, had other ideas as the final period was all gas and no brakes.

Kaitlyn Galloway and Anderson each scored in the opening minute of the final quarter to cut the lead to 5-3. Stevenson came back to score on Arohi Mathur’s tally, but Libertyville answered again on another goal by Galloway to make it 6-4.

After a goal by Bichkoff, Libertyville’s Ciara Simpson scored a pair of the goals within 20 seconds of each other. The second was a penalty shot with 1:30 to play and suddenly the Wildcats trailed by just one at 7-6.

Stevenson got some breathing room when Raina Dastagir scored at 1:06 to make it 8-6. Libertyville had a chance to get closer, but Kusevskis turned away a penalty shot with 37.8 seconds left to preserve the win.

“I was really proud of my play, especially in the first half,” said Kusevskis, who had 15 saves, 6 steals and an assist.

“My team did really well. I was happy with my blocks and I saved a 5-meter (penalty shot) and that was nice.”

Carlson, who also had 6 steals and an assist to go with her goal, said that it was a complete team effort in the victory.

“We could not have done this without playing as a team,” Carlson said. “Together we played not as individuals and our offense was looking to score.”

Libertyville coach Tracy Balla said that her team never quit.

“This is a team that has dug deep all season never given up,” Balla said. “They communicate so well. And they play their best when they feel pressure and they felt the pressure today.”

Boys final: The Stevenson boys team had very little drama in their convincing victory. The Patriots tallied on four of their first five possessions on their way to an 8-1 lead. Gill had four of his career-high 9 goals during that span.

“I was just in the flow and excited to play,” said Gill, who is a junior and moved from attack to center.

“This is a testament to the work I have put in this season. I played out of position because on an injury. So I had to step up and fill a role.”

The Patriots, who finished second in the state the past two seasons, advance to the state finals for the fifth consecutive year. The Patriots (22-10) will play York in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday.

“We are still a young team,” Stevenson coach Sean Wimer said. “But we are also an explosive team. When we are focused and ready to go, the sky is the limit. Armeet (Gill) was really fun to watch.”

Kenny Weisner and Wes Linnenburger each scored twice for the Patriots. Adesh Arvind, Levi Schnulle and Hudson Swanson also scored for Stevenson.

Ted Stouffer and Will Kopecky each scored goals for Libertyville (17-11). Nate Stouffer added a pair of goals.

“We knew that Stevenson is a talented team and they play a fast-paced game,” Libertyville coach Kara Glerman said. “I am proud of the way we played in the second half. I thought we played a pretty even game there.”

The Naperville North boys water polo sectional hits the final four as Waubonsie Valley takes on Naperville Central. These two teams split in their respective matchups this season, but this one is for a trip to the sectional final. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

The Redhawks start the game strong as James Behrend fires in a shot to put his squad up 2-0 early on.

Ben Meier puts on an early show on his birthday

The Warriors regroup with Ben Meier, who hits the right corner to even the game at 2-2.

Meier is not done yet because he wants another goal. Adam Matusiak finds him, and he connects on the long-distance shot, giving the Warriors a 3-2 lead.

The Meier show is on full display during the first. This penalty shot caps off a 6-0 run as Waubonsie opens up a 6-2 advantage.

Central stops the run in the second quarter when Behrend gets his name called once again with a catch-and-shoot goal.

The Warriors adjust on defense, and goalie Lukas Adeli jumps into position to make the save. Waubonsie holds an 8-5 lead at the break.

Waubonsie picks it back up in the second half with Youseff El Touny showing the skipper for a 9-5 lead.

Dawid Kowalewicz, step right up. Daniel Niv lobs the ball over, and Kowalewicz shoots a laser-like shot for the goal.

Redhawks cut into the deficit

Redhawks are down but won’t give up. Weston Schmitt finds the open target to keep his birds within striking distance.

Moments later, Elliot Skly tallies another goal, but Naperville Central still has work to do, trailing 13-7.

Waubonsie Valley boys water polo moves on to first ever sectional final

However, this game belongs to the Warriors as El Touny throws in the dagger goal, and for the first time in program history, Waubonsie Valley is moving to the boys water polo sectional final, where they’ll face top-seeded Naperville North. The Redhawks end the final season of legendary head coach Bill Salentine’s career with a 21-9 record.

For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.