Omar Romo loves to play soccer and video games.

His two loves converge when he plays soccer video games.

The Crete-Monee senior won an IHSA esports state championship for the second year in a row when he claimed the EA Sports FC division on May 3 at Evergreen Park.

Yes, his soccer skills on the pitch help him behind the screen.

“You learn how to play the game correctly in real life and I take it to the (video) game,” Romo said. “I like to pass the ball a lot to open the field for the other players and I do that in the game, too.”

Romo was seeded 11th in the 16-player double-elimination tournament and won all four of his matches including the first two against the sixth and third seeds. He finished with a 4-2 win over Belleville East’s Adam Barry for the title.

Last year, Romo won the FIFA event and he said that this year featured a newer version of that game.

He said he hopes to compete in college in either soccer or esports. As a result of his back-to-back state championships, St. Xavier has taken an interest in him for esports.

The commitments

Spring is commitment time for prep athletes, and a number of local standouts have made college choices.

Manteno’s Cooper Monk is heading to Illinois State for football, Andrew Norred is heading to Kankakee Community College for baseball and cheerleader Amelia Belcher chose Oliver Nazarene.

Crete-Monee athletes committing are: tennis player Kaylee Mazur (Loras), esports player Chance Evans (St. Xavier), cheerleader Naomi Ramirez (Lewis), basketball player Morgan Johnson (Kankakee) and volleyball player Alexis Wieczorek (Ripon).

At Beecher, track athlete Collin Malecha is heading to St. Mary’s in Minnesota.

Know your assignments

Spring postseason assignments are out and things will be busy in May.

Beecher’s baseball team is hosting a 17-team sectional in Class 2A and will be in Sub-Sectional B with seven other teams including Peotone. Manteno is in Sub-Sectional A.

In Class 1A, Illinois Lutheran will be in Sub-Sectional B of the Harvest Christian Sectional.

In Class 3A, Crete-Monee is at the St. Laurence Sectional.

In softball, Beecher, Manteno and Peotone are in Sub-Sectional B of the Seneca Sectional and Beecher will host a regional.

In Class 3A, Crete-Monee in in Sub-Sectional A of the Ottawa Sectional.

In Class 1A, Illinois Lutheran is in Sub-Sectional A of the Serena Sectional.

In girls soccer, Beecher and Manteno are in Sub-Sectional B of the Class 1A Coal City Sectional. In Class 2A, Crete-Monee is at the Kankakee Sectional.

In boys tennis, Crete-Monee is at the Class 2A Lincoln-Way East Sectional.

In girls track, Beecher and Illinois Lutheran are at the Class 1A Seneca Sectional, Manteno and Peotone are in the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional and Crete-Monee is in the Class 3A Lockport Sectional.

In boys track, Beecher and Illinois Lutheran are at the Class 1A Seneca Sectional, Manteno and Peotone are in the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional and Crete-Monee is in the Class 3A Lockport Sectional.

Sports bits

Beecher’s softball team won its 24th straight River Valley Conference title with a 10-0 victory over Clifton Central on May 1. 

● Crete-Monee’s baseball team set a program record with 20 stolen bases in a 14-5 win over Eisenhower on May 1. Bren Milburn stole eight of them and earned the pitching win.

Related

By Miki Canak in Arts & Entertainment, Campus News, College Days, Sports, Student Life on May 5, 2025

Red Hawks complete final touches on cutting-edge arena as they gear up for their first competitive season

Andy Sotter, Ripon College’s first-ever Director of Esports, is excited to lead the college’s newest program.

“I was first introduced to Ripon when I was about eight months old in June of 1993, and I had a Ripon College sweatshirt when I was in second or third grade. I had no idea that the sweatshirt would represent a very important part of my life moving forward,” Sotter said. 

As part of Ripon College’s athletic department, he looks forward to building an inclusive and competitive culture for the esports team.

The Ripon College eSports arena will be located in the Nest in Bovay Hall, overlooking Hopp Stadium. Photo courtesy of Miki Canak.

The Red Hawks will play against teams in the Wisconsin Esports Conference, and eventually in the state championship for various titles in Rocket League, Overwatch, Smash Smash Bros. Ultimate, Valorant, Mario Kart, and Marvel Rivals. 

Sotter previously began a team with a group of students and coached League of Legends for high school students in Vail, Colorado. 

“That was my first experience, and I absolutely loved it. I am hoping we can get a League of Legends team here quickly because that is my specialty,” Sotter said.

Competitions for different games are held during separate seasons, so the team will be hosting tournaments from August to May in the on-campus esports arena housed in Bovay Hall, overlooking Hopp Stadium.

“To attract top players, we were able to get top-of-the-line equipment, like our Aurora R16 computers with 4080 graphics,” Sotter said. 

The arena holds 15 Alienware computers, multiple Nintendo Switches, Xboxes, and PlayStation 5s, and esports equipment is on lease, meaning freshmen who join the team will have updated equipment by their junior year. The team will have access to a locker room and a conference room.

“Ripon College is committed to supporting esports as the program continues to evolve, and we want to ensure the technology grows with our students,” Sotter said. 

The team is set to begin with about 30 students and is actively recruiting current students interested in esports. 

“Ripon has a substantial gaming culture, and if anyone is looking for a team that wants to compete, I encourage them to reach out to me,” Sotter said.

Students interested in competing can reach Sotter by email: [email protected]

GREENWOOD, S.C. – For the first time since 2016 and just the fourth time in program history, the Lander baseball team will play for the Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship. The Bearcats secured their spot in the PBC Championship Series with an 8-2 win over Georgia College & State University on Sunday afternoon at Dolny Stadium.

Lander (40-13) will now await the winner of the Dahlonega Bracket, where top-seeded North Georgia forced a deciding game with a 7-5 win over No. 4 seed Columbus State. If Columbus State wins Monday’s “if necessary” game, the Bearcats will host the championship series at Dolny Stadium. If North Georgia prevails, Lander will travel to Dahlonega.

The win marked the Bearcats’ 40th of the season—only the third time in program history they’ve reached that milestone. The last time was in 2016, when Lander finished 44-16 en route to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship in Cary, North Carolina.

Lander jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning behind RBI singles from Connor Droze and Garrett Chun. Chun also started a highlight-reel 8-6-3 double play that ended the top half of the frame.

Georgia College (28-24) responded with runs in the first and second innings to tie the game, but Lander starter Luke Johnson worked out of several jams. The junior right-hander stranded five runners across 5.1 innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits while striking out four. He improved to 7-1 on the season.

The Bearcats took control in the fifth inning. After drawing three straight walks, Lander broke the tie with a two-run single by Zach Cowart, whose grounder took a bad hop over the first baseman’s shoulder. Taichi Nakao followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2, and a wild pitch later allowed Cowart to score for a 6-2 advantage.

Johnson recorded two outs in the sixth before giving way to Kurt Rogers, who stranded two runners with a strikeout to end the inning.

In the seventh, Evan Wickeri led off with his seventh hit of the weekend, and Grant Sherrod crushed a two-run homer—his 10th of the season and first since March 25—to right-center to blow the game open at 8-2. 

Richie Cortese and Tyler Bowen combined to retire the final six batters, needing just seven total pitches between them to seal the win and send the Bearcats to the PBC title series.

Columbus State and North Georgia will meet Monday, May 5, at 1 p.m. at Bob Stein Stadium to determine who advances. The best-of-three PBC Championship Series is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, with times to be announced.

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Congratulations to the LAHS Secret City Esports team who placed second in the Class 4A Team State Championship. Courtesy/LAPS

Splatoon competitors N. Stringfellow, Virgil Szinger, Miles Iverson (Captain), Zane Kretz, Kaden Colson, Alice Thieme, Maira Finn and Quinbee Sintay (not pictured) placed 1st. Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS News:

Congratulations to the Los Alamos High School Secret City Esports team took 2nd place overall in the Class 4A Team State Championship. The Rocket League, Splatoon and Mario Kart teams took first place, white Heathstone garnered a second-place finish.

Street Fighter and Smash Bros both placed fourth. The team was recently ranked the number three program in the United States by USA Today. This is the second year in a row making the top 25. Last year, they came in third overall at the state finals.

Esports became a New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) sanctioned activity in 2019. That year, teams from Los Alamos placed 2nd at the state competition. In 2021, they were named 4A state champions.

“Our students did an amazing job at the state competition,” LAHS teacher and Esports sponsor Libbi Lovejoy said. “Everyone contributed to the success of our program.”

Tony Sims is the head coach for Secret City Esports. Additional coaching staff members are Blake Hovde, Splatoon; Jacob McRoberts, Street Fighter 6; Colin Kruse and Magenta Bronson, Smash Bros.; Krispy Pantanilla and Mike Dolejsi, Mario Kart; and Donald Poston, League of Legends. Sims and McRoberts coach Rocket League. Sims also coaches Madden and Hearthstone.

Mario Kart team members CJ Smith, Joe Dale, Fortis Brown, Penny Doebling (Captain), Miles Iverson, Philip Smith, Jay Doebling and Sirena Quezada earned a first-place spot at the state competition. Courtesy/LAHS

Rocket League competitors Eric Mecham, Max Cannon, Henry Stidham (Captain), Darius Patton, and Freddy Broyles sport first place medals. Courtesy/LAPS

Representing the Hearthstone team are Jacob Castro, Ruben Diaz-Jimenez, Luke Patterson (Captain), Neal Sanders and Ralston Hoffer. They finished in second place. Courtesy/LAPS

Earning a fourth-place finish were Smash Bros: competitors Marshall Brunette, Semih Zeytun, Zane Kretz (Captain), Jasmine Heft, Kaden Colson, and Avery Conn. Courtesy/LAPS

Street Fighter team members Trent Ogas, Jacob Castro (Captain), Ruben Diaz-Jimenez, Lucas Price and Tony Mishler also garnered a fourth-place finish. Courtesy/LAPS

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