There were 32 boys and 35 girls named to the Illinois Water Polo all-sectional team in 2025, with a number of repeat selections along the way.

Here’s a look at the 2025 all-sectional selections from the Journal-area:

Girls Water Polo:

Barrington Sectional:

First Team:

Reese Winegar (Sr.), Fremd

Elly Jo Fay (Sr.), Fremd

Caterina Gaido (Jr.), Fremd

Melissa Loch (Jr.), Hersey

Coco Schultz (Sr.), Hersey

Sasha Martschenko (Sr.), Prospect

Nora Bestor (Sr.), Conant

Second Team: 

Molly Boldt (Jr.), Fremd

Emily Steinberg (Jr.), Hersey

Katelyn Royal (So.), Prospect

Brooke Broz (So.), Conant

Vivian Myers (So.), Palatine

Honorable Mention:

Aubrey Schinkel (Jr.), Fremd

Andrea Teves (Sr.), Hersey

Julia Rarau (Sr.), Prospect

Kaya Rudzinski (Jr.), Conant

Nora Montgomery (Jr.), Rolling Meadows

Sectional Coach of the Year: Fremd’s Theresa Knowles

Notes: Knowles was selected as a sectional Coach of the Year last season as well. Also repeating as all-sectional selections on the player’s side were Loch (1st team in 2024), Fay (1st team), Martschenko (1st team), Schultz (2nd team), Winegar (2nd team), Steinberg (honorable mention), Rarau (honorable mention) and Montgomery (honorable mention). Winegar was an honorable mention selection in 2023 as a sophomore and Fay was also a second team selection in 2023. Hersey’s Loch was a second team selection in 2023 as a freshman, making her a perfect 3-for-3 in her career as an all-sectional selection. Prospect’s Matschenko was an honorable mention selection in 2023 as well.

Glenbrook South Sectional:

First Team:

Lauren Capper (Jr.), Maine West

Kristyna Kubisova (Sr.), Maine South

Second Team: 

Maya Biela (Sr.), Maine West

Roxanne Lazanyi (Sr.), Maine East

Nikki Kirov (Sr.), Niles West

Maeve Przekota (Jr.), Maine South

Seira Honda (Sr.), Glenbrook South

Honorable Mention:

Nicole Kaner (So.), Maine West

Maria Korovilas (Jr.), Maine South

Sectional Coach of the Year: Evanston’s Maggie Hatcher

Notes: Capper (1st team in 2024), Przekota (2nd team), Biela (honorable mention) and Lazanyi (honorable mention) were also all-sectional selections in 2024. Hatcher was also a sectional Coach of the Year selection last year. Capper was also an honorable mention all-sectional selection along with Lazanyi in 2023. Capper was the only freshman selected in the 2023 GBS sectional. Biela was a second team selection for Maine West as well in 2023 as a sophomore.

Libertyville Sectional:

First Team:

Olivia Spieth (Jr.), Stevenson

Elsa Kusevskis (Jr.), Stevenson

Victoria Duncan (Sr.), Stevenson

Second Team: 

Jillian Carlson (Sr.), Stevenson

Jenny Dawson (Sr.), Wheeling

Honorable Mention:

Caroline Bichkoff (So.), Stevenson

Annie Flershem (Sr.), Buffalo Grove

Sectional Coach of the Year: Libertyville’s Tracy Balla

Notes: Spieth (1st team all-sectional in 2024) is one of three repeat all-sectional selections from last year. Kusevskis (honorable mention) and Dawson (honorable mention) were also recognized last year.

York Sectional:

Second Team: 

Anastasija Jevtic (Jr.), Elk Grove

Emily Diaz (Sr.), Leyden

Sectional Coach of the Year: York’s Mark Giuliani

Note: Diaz and Jevtic also earned second team all-sectional honors in 2024.

Boys Water Polo:

Barrington Sectional:

First Team:

Nick Maslowski (Sr.), Palatine

Brodie Piecuch (Sr.), Palatine

Hubert Roszkowski (Sr.), Palatine

Tyler Franke (Sr.), Fremd

Amar Osman (Fr.), Fremd

Second Team: 

Colten Hilgers (Jr.), Palatine

Roman Fisher (Sr.), Fremd

Daniel Thielen (Sr.), Hersey

Victor Kozlowski (Jr.), Conant

Honorable Mention:

Tyler Schiavone (Sr.), Palatine

Finley Winegar (So.), Fremd

Caleb Bertermann (Sr.), Rolling Meadows

Sectional Coach of the Year: Schaumburg’s Tyler Clark

Notes: Clark repeated as sectional Coach of the Year for the Saxons. The repeating all-sectional player selections from the Journal-area include Franke (1st team in 2024), Piecuch (1st team), Fisher (2nd team), Bertermann (2nd team) and Thielen (honorable mention). Hersey’s Tyler Steinberg was selected to the all-sectional team in 2023 and 2024, but didn’t make the team in 2025.

Glenbrook South Sectional:

First Team:

Ben Przekota (Sr.), Maine South

Kevin O’Connor (Sr.), Glenbrook South

Second Team: 

Alex Verdet (Sr.), Prospect

Adrian Vucic (Sr.), Niles West

Nick Garate (Sr.), Glenbrook South

Milo Ford (Sr.), Loyola Academy

Charles McCauley (Fr.), Maine South

Honorable Mention:

Luke Stojiljkovic (Sr.), Maine West

Miron Denisenko (Sr.), Maine East

Filip Ristic (So.), Maine South

Jaydan Oh (Jr.), Glenbrook South

Sectional Coach of the Year: New Trier’s David Rafferty-Flatter 

Notes: Rafferty-Flatter was also the sectional Coach of the Year in 2024. There were 12 Journal-area players selected to the all-sectional team in 2024 and three of them repeated in 2025: Przekota (2nd team in 2024), O’Connor (2nd team) and Ford (honorable mention). Przekota was also an honorable mention all-sectional selection in 2023.

Libertyville Sectional:

First Team:

Anthony Cardone (So.), Stevenson

Armeet Gill (Jr.), Stevenson

Kenny Weisner (Jr.), Stevenson

Tamazi Sanadiradze (Jr.), Buffalo Grove

Second Team: 

Matt Woods (Jr.), Stevenson

Ben Inglis (So.), Buffalo Grove

Honorable Mention:

Ben Tosyali (So.), Stevenson

Joe Buttitta (So.), Buffalo Grove

Sectional Coach of the Year: Buffalo Grove’s Tom Cooney

Notes: Armeet Gill repeated as a first team all-sectional selection (2024, 2025), while Weisner jumped from an honorable mention last year to first team this year. Buffalo Grove had one all-sectional selection in 2024, but increased to three this year.

York Sectional:

Honorable Mention:

Kacper Piekutowski (Jr.), Leyden

Sectional Coach of the Year: Fenwick’s Beto Garcia

Note: Piekutowski was a second team all-sectional selection in 2024.

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GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Golden Grizzlies showed their ability not only on the track, but also in the classroom this past season as the College Sports Communicators unveiled their 2025 Track and Cross Country Academic All-District Teams.

The 2024 Academic All-District® teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the track and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes soccer honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

Eight Golden Grizzlies were named as honorees this past season. For the men, Michael Hancock, Anthony Hancock, and Simon Griemert were all honored. For the women, Grace Nolan, Ashley Quinn, Erin Hegarty, Jamie Giese, and Ke’Vina Finch were all selected.

See the full list of nationwide honorees HERE.

Less than a decade after Hibbett Sports launched its first ecommerce website and successfully used that site to drive in-store traffic and loyalty program sign-ups, the retail chain is launching a new website and mobile app to boost sales of products for kids.

The new Hibbett Kids site at KidsHibbett.com spotlights new releases from major brands. Those include Nike, Crocs and Adidas, featuring apparel, footwear and sports gear for children. The site, which includes Hibbett Rewards integration, customer service chat and buy now, pay later options with Klarna, marks a major digital launch for Hibbett after it was acquired by JD Sports in 2024.

JD Sports is No. 22 in the Europe Database, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest online retailers in the region. Hibbett is No. 294 in the Top 2000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. There, it falls under the Sporting Goods category. Digital Commerce 360 projects Hibbett’s total online sales in 2025 will reach $314.04 million

Hibbett Sports web sales by year

Why Hibbett Sports is launching a website for kids’ products

“We’re expanding our digital footprint to better serve today’s busy families and offering a more convenient, seamless, curated shopping experience from the nursery years through the teen stage,” said Bill Quinn, chief information officer at Hibbett. “We’ve built a thriving and successful kids business and in our next phase with Hibbett Kids, we will continue to engage with parents and caregivers in a more personalized way.”

The site features footwear and apparel for ages 13 and under, according to Hibbett. The company framed its approach to the site as prioritizing families. In addition, it noted the retailer focused on efficiency and search options that would be quick and easy. Its search results can be filtered by numerous options. Among those are new arrivals, gender, size, color, brand, price, clothing or shoe type and trend.

Its mobile app is available on both Android and iOS devices.

Hibbett’s role at JD Sports

“The Hibbett acquisition enhances our presence within North America and aligns with our objective of strengthening our existing community businesses — Shoe Palace on the West Coast and DTLR on the East Coast — with a highly complementary footprint, giving the Group access to hundreds of underserved communities across the U.S.,” wrote Andrew Higginson, chair at JD Sports, in a June 2025 letter to investors.

Meanwhile, in a review of the company’s fiscal year that ended on Feb. 1, 2025, Régis Schultz, the CEO at JD Sports, wrote that its North America revenue increased 27% year over year to $5.8 billion (£4,2 million). That period included six months of Hibbett ownership.

“While our roots are in the U.K., and our head office remains in Bury [England] where the company was founded, this acquisition makes the U.S. our largest market by revenue,” Higginson stated.

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