Sunday Slam: Catching Up from the Holiday Hoops with All-Tournament Teams
Wheeling's 2023 Hall of Fame Class, Ex-Barrington Star Wrestler Shinhoster Makes Splash at Midlands, Big Tourneys for Elk Grove's Bartuch, Hersey's Menninga
We’re now more than a week into 2003 but how about one more look back at 2002 with some all-tournament teams from the most wonderful time of the year if you are a high school basketball fan in Illinois.
I was a big fan of the sports section agate (or scoreboard) pages growing up in newspapers. Boxscores, standings, league leaders, schedules - you name it and you could find it there. That included great high school information and regularly seeing a name like Voise Winters of Gage Park, who went on to star at Bradley and play briefly in the NBA, averaging a mind-boggling 40 points a game.
In an ode to the old agate pages, and because I think some of you may be interested, here are some of the boys and girls all-tournament teams I was able to locate via tournament websites or social media. If you are running a tournament my suggestion for next year and beyond is to make this info as accessible as possible.
Boys
Bloomington-Normal State Farm Holiday Classic
Small School
Cole Certa (Bloomington Central Catholic), Mason Funk (Normal U-High), Walt Hill Jr. (Rockford Lutheran), Ray Maurchie (Winnebago), Ty Pence (St. Joseph-Ogden), Jaxson Provost (Kankakee Bishop McNamara)
Large School
Kota Benson (Mesa, Arizona), Jake Hamilton (Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin), Zack Hawkinson (Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin), Ahmad Henderson (Brother Rice), Brayden Long (Bradley Bourbonnais), Meyoh Swansey (Romeoville)
Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic
Zach Chambers (Collinsville), Chase Cunningham (Decatur MacArthur), Matthew Hoarde (Rockford East), Jordan Lewis (Belleville Althoff), Bradley Longcor III (Quincy), Jordan Pickett (Belleville East), Azarion Richardson (Decatur MacArthur), Jake Wilkinson (Collinsville), Antwine Wilson (Belleville East), Drew Winslow (Troy Triad), Makhi Wright (Decatur MacArthur),
MVP - Jordan Pickett (Belleville East)
DeKalb Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic
Mekhi Doby (Rockford Guilford), Tyler Gabriel (Lincoln-Way West), Michael Lawrence (Geneva), Bristol Lewis (East Moline United), Noah Only (Huntley), Jimmy Rasmussen (Geneva), Sean Reynolds (DeKalb), Jaheim Savage (Phillips), Andrew Soenksen (Plainfield East), Qi’Andre Washington (Manley).
MVP - Jimmy Rasmussen (Geneva)
East Aurora Holiday Basketball Tournament
First Team
Anthony Birsa (Joliet Catholic), Jacob Bozeman (Downers Grove North), Ralph Clark (East Aurora), Ty Smith (Wheaton Academy), Ty Surin (Joliet Catholic)
Second Team
Jalen Bealer (East Aurora), Issaiah Jimenez (DRW Chicago Prep), Avery Rogoz (Plainfield Central), Bryce Sharp (IMSA), Mateo Young (Chicago Hope Academy)
MVP - Jack Stanton (Downers Grove North)
Elgin Holiday Tournament
Simereon Carter (Waukegan), Peyton Crims (Shepard), Joel Crowell (Chicago Christian), Keith Davis-Grove (Mather), Brett Gomez (Kennedy), Ben Grunloh (Aurora Central Catholic), Omari Gunn (Al Raby), Maddox Hollian (Elgin), Gavin “DJ” Jones (King), John Kurysz (Kennedy), Daniel Loza (Lake View), Jermell Lymon Jr. (Shepard), Trell McCord (Walther Christian), Ayden Russo (West Chicago), Chris Tacher (Elgin Academy)
Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic
Carson Brownfield (Homewood-Flossmoor), Chase Collignon (Hinsdale Central), Emerson Eck (Hinsdale Central), Orlando James (Morgan Park), Quentin Jones (Marian Catholic), Mekhi Lowery (Oswego East), Ben Oosterbaan (Hinsdale Central), Bryce Shoto (Oswego East), Maurice Thomas (DePaul Prep), Christian Uremovich (Stevenson)
Justin Hardy MVP - Ben Oosterbaan (Hinsdale Central)
Jacobs Hinkle Holiday Classic
Bronson Bartuch (Elk Grove), Christian Bentancur (Marian Central), AJ Demirov (Crystal Lake South), Dennis Estepp (Grayslake Central), Jake Gibson (Grayslake Central), Randy Johnson (Rockford Jefferson), Cooper LePage (Crystal Lake South), Kelton McEwen (Bartlett), James Muse (Prairie Ridge), Donovan Nichols (Barrington), Nathan Scearce (Bartlett), Brett Schlicker (Jacobs), Dillon Schmidt (Barrington), Dylan Schmidt (Johnsburg), DJ Wallace (Hoffman Estates)
Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament
Aedan Campos (Rockford Boylan), Angelo Ciaravino (Mt. Carmel), DeAndre Craig (Mt. Carmel), Owen Freeman (Moline), Wes Gudeman (Morton), Brock Harding (Moline), Shaunassey Hatchett (Springfield Lanphier), Jaiquan Holman (Springfield Lanphier), Matthew Juergens (Pekin), Max Menninga (Hersey), Gus Rugaard (Morton), Jake Stewart (Washington).
Mr. Hustle - Brock Harding (Moline)
Jeff Stoner MVP - Owen Freeman (Moline)
Pontiac Holiday Tournament
First Team
Niko Abusara (Benet), Brayden Fagbemi (Benet), Jeremy Fears Jr. (Joliet West), Jake Fiegen (New Trier), Jalen Griffith (Simeon)
Second Team
Jeremiah Fears (Joliet West), Carlos Harris (Curie), Brady Kunka (Benet), Sam Lewis (Simeon), Miles Rubin (Simeon)
Honorable Mention
Kerr Bauman (Pontiac), Jeremy Harrington Jr. (Curie), Raeshom Harris (Bloom), Adam Labuda (Lockport), Christian Marshall (Oak Park-River Forest), Niko Newsome (Bloomington), Chikasi Ofoma (Curie), Joshua Pickett (West Aurora), Wesley Rubin (Simeon), Gerron Trapps (Peoria Manual)
AC Williamson Award - Jalen Griffith (Simeon)
Plano Christmas Classic
Christian Benning (Streator), Troyer Carlson (Kaneland), Eoin Dillon (Peoria Notre Dame), David Douglas Jr. (Yorkville Christian), Jonah Fairbank (Northridge Prep), Gevon Grant (Kaneland), Jake Johnson (Burlington Central), Cooper Koch (Peoria Notre Dame), Martin Ledbetter (Hinckley-Big Rock), Trevon Roots (Marmion), Drew Scharnowski (Burlington Central), Collin Wainscott (Marmion)
MVP - Drew Scharnowski (Burlington Central)
Proviso West Holiday Tournament
First Team
Aleks Alston (Kenwood), Darrin Ames (Kenwood), Nojus Indrusaitis (St. Rita), Daniel Johnson (Whitney Young), Morez Johnson (St. Rita),
Second Team
James Brown (St. Rita), Bryce Coleman (Proviso East), Dauntrel Dixon (Bogan), Rajan Roberts (Proviso West), Jevan Warren (Thornton Fractional North)
MVP - Daniel Johnson (Whitney Young)
Rich Township Big Dipper
Samar Bures (Rich Township), Gianni Cobb (Perspectives), Jakeem Cole (Perspectives), Caleb David (Francis Parker), Quentin Heady (Hillcrest), Richard Lindsey (De La Salle), Brandon Lowe Jr. (St. Francis de Sales), Vincent Rainey (Thornton), Jaedin Reyna (Hammond Ind. Bishop Noll), Ali Romello (Thornton Fractional South), Wade Sims (Thornridge), Bryce Tillery (Hillcrest), James White (Chicago Ag Sciences), Camron Willford (Hyde Park), Tyler Wooten (Thornwood)
Outstanding Coach Award - Don Houston (Hillcrest)
MVP - Quentin Heady (Hillcrest)
Wheeling Wildcat Hardwood Classic
Eli Aldana (St. Viator), Aidyn Boone (Libertyville), Will Buchert (Libertyville), Miles Cohan (Deerfield), Ryan Cohen (Glenbrook North), Josh Fridman (Glenbrook North), Yaris Irby (Niles North), Luke Kinkade (Neuqua Valley), Yann Kouotou (Notre Dame), Ryan Sammons (Fremd), Connor Woodin (Buffalo Grove)
MVP - Will Buchert (Libertyville)
York Jack Tosh Holiday Classic
Andrew Ayeni (St. Patrick), Richard Barron (St. Ignatius), Matas Castillo (Lemont), Cameron Christie (Rolling Meadows), Stefan Cicic (Riverside-Brookfield), Mekhi Cooper (Bolingbrook), Aries Hull (Bolingbrook), Jason Jakstys (Yorkville), Jackson Kotecki (St. Ignatius), AJ Levine (York), Connor May (Palatine), Mark Nikolich-Wilson (Rolling Meadows), Jackson Niego (Lyons), Hudson Parker (Wheaton North), Nik Polanowski (Lyons), Jacob Rice (St. Laurence), Graham Smith (Lyons), Tsvet Sotirov (Rolling Meadows), Nick Taylor (Glenbrook South), Luke Williams (Naperville North)
MVP - Cameron Christie (Rolling Meadows)
Girls
Bloomington-Normal State Farm Holiday Classic
Small Schools
Kaitlyn Coombes (Paris), Brilyn Lantz (Camp Point Central/Augusta Southeastern), Soraya Parker (Rockford Lutheran), Addison Pickens (Sherrard), Campbell Schrank (Winnebago), Cate Uhren (Bloomington Central Catholic)
Large Schools
Jazmyne Bynum (Hyde Park), Olivia Corson (Normal Community), Claire McDougall (Washington), Lexi Salazar (Plainfield North), Annie Wirth (Geneseo), Jordan Wood (Carmel Catholic)
Dundee-Crown Komaromy Classic
Gwen Adler (Barrington), Kate Arne (Stevenson), Katie Barker (Maine South), Sammi Campanelli (Huntley), Breacia Carter (Rockton Hononegah), Emma Clark (Rockton Hononegah), Grace Cord (Lake Park), Meegan Fahy (Maine South), Allie Heyer (Fenwick), Alyssa Hughes (St. Charles North), Trinity Jones (Naperville Central), Rachel Kaus (Lake Forest), Emory Klatt (Stevenson), Molly O’Riordan (Barrington), Jessie Ozzauoto (Huntley), Ally Pape (Maine South), Bella Ranallo (Lake Forest), Jaclyn Riedl (Maine West), Lia Sanders (Hampshire), Reagan Sipla (St. Charles North), Sophie Swanson (Barrington), Whitney Thompson (Hampshire), Callie Tumilty (Naperville Central), Raina Yang (South Elgin), Rachel Zacks (New Trier)
Montini Christmas Tournament
First Team
Shannon Blacher (Montini), Mariann Blass (York), Gracie Carstensen (Nazareth), Amalia Dray (Nazareth), Nora Ezike (Lyons)
Second Team
Shea Carver (Montini), Destiny Jackson (Whitney Young), Stella Sakalas (Nazareth), Kennedy Wanless (Lyons), Caitlin Washington (Neuqua Valley)
MVP - Skylar Jones (Whitney Young)
Morton College Christmas Tournament
First Team
Cassidy Arni (Geneva), Lenee Beaumont (Benet), Brooke Carlson (Batavia), Katy Eidle (Hersey), Maddy Fay (Fremd), Ella Todd (Fremd)
Second Team
Avery Cooper (Lake Zurich), Abby Drendel (Naperville North), Aubrey Galvan (Deerfield), Zuri Ransom (Evanston), Leah Palmer (Geneva)
MVP - Cassidy Arni (Geneva)
Wheaton North Bill Neibch Holiday Classic
Sara Abdul (Wheaton North), Jada Branch (Schaumburg), Gina Davorija (Glenbrook South), Madi Dolecki (Schaumburg), Maggie Fleming (Downers Grove North), Danyella Mporokoso (Waubonsie Valley), Khaliah Reed (Waubonsie Valley), Sidney Rogers (Glenbrook South), Anna Rosenberger (Glenbrook South), Sara Stout (Willowbrook), Aspen Weeks (West Aurora)
MVP - Sidney Rogers (Glenbrook South)
Five in Wheeling Hall of Fame Class of 2023
The Wheeling High School Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome Alison Coren, Jessie Morgenthal, Gada Qafisheh, Bill Schaeffer and Mike Zimmer as inductees in the Class of 2023. They will be honored at halftime of Friday’s 7:30 p.m. varsity boys basketball game vs. Rolling Meadows.
Coren, Morgenthal and Qafisheh were Wheeling’s top three runners when it finished second in the 2001 Class AA state cross country meet in Peoria. Qafisheh ran second, Coren took fifth and Morgenthal was eighth. Coren also took fifth in 2003 and Morgenthal was a four-time all-state (top 25) finisher as she was 10th (2002), ninth (2003) and 11th (2004).
Qafisheh took fourth in the AA state track 3,200 meters in 2002 and Coren was eighth in the 3,200 in 2001 and 2002.
“Those three represent the traditions of the two programs,” retired Wheeling girls cross country and track coach Mark Saylor said in a Facebook post. “They contributed to the many victories, championships and records achieved while members of both teams.”
Zimmer was a three-sport standout in football, basketball and track. He was a Daily Herald All-Area football pick at safety and wide receiver who led the Wildcats to consecutive playoff appearances in 2007 and 2008 and a share of a Mid-Suburban East title in 2007. Zimmer went on to become a standout at Illinois State and spent time in NFL training camps.
Schaeffer was a president of the Wildcat Spur Club, the athletic booster organization for the school.
Shinhoster Showcases Skills at Midlands Wrestling
The holidays are also a big time for wrestling and Barrington’s Jaritt Shinhoster made a huge splash in the prestigious 58th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Tournament on Dec. 29-30 at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. Shinhoster, the defending NCAA Division III champion at 184 pounds for Wisconsin-Whitewater, went 4-1 against Division I competitors to finish in second place at 184.
Shinhoster, the No. 5 seed, lost 7-5 in the title bout to second-seed Reece Heller of Pitt. Shinhoster beat top-seeded Brian Soldano of Rutgers 7-0 in the semifinals and got his other three victories 6-0, 7-3 and by pin in 4:26.
Shinhoster is a two-time All-American and three-time NCAA Division III national qualifier for Whitewater. He finished third in Class 3A at 160 pounds in 2018 and fifth in 3A at 132 in 2017 for Barrington.
Elk Grove’s Bartuch Chases (And Makes?) History at Jacobs
Elk Grove senior guard Bronson Bartuch went into the final game of the Jacobs Hinkle Holiday Classic with an outside shot at breaking the tournament records for points scored and 3-pointers made. Bartuch needed 38 points to pass the 140 by Streamwood’s Kennon Cole in 2018 and 10 3s to pass the 25 by Barrington’s Pat Guido in 2006.
Some early foul trouble and a 68-44 victory over Streamwood that was never in doubt limited Bartuch’s minutes but he still had 20 points and hit three 3s to earn his all-tourney honors with 123 points (30.8 average) and 19 3s. But the records set by Cole and Guido came in the tournament’s 5-game format. Bartuch put up his numbers in 4 games in the tournament’s first year using a bracket format.
Maybe it was just a coincidence with the switch from a pool-play format but there were numerous fantastic finishes from Game 1 to 32. The first two games of the tourney came down to shots at the buzzer as Hoffman Estates beat Marian Central and Prairie Ridge beat South Elgin. The semifinals were intense with Grayslake Central’s 4-overtime win over unbeaten Barrington and Crystal Lake South edging Hoffman. And the championship game didn’t disappoint as Grayslake Central built a big early lead and held off a furious second-half rally by Crystal Lake South.
Menninga, Hersey Make Impact at Pekin
Hersey has gone to the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament for 36 years and Max Menninga became only the seventh player in program history to make the all-tournament team of the prestigious event that started in 1965.
Menninga averaged 12.5 points a game to lead Hersey to a third-place finish that was its best in tournament history. High-scoring guard Dave Gilbreth (1979-80) was the school’s first all-tourney pick and he was followed by Thomas Rodgers (1993), Ryan Kelly (1999), Sean Dwyer (2005), Luke Fabrizius (2006-07) and Demitriy Velikov (2008). Hersey coach Austin Scott also made all-tournament in 2005 at Lake Zurich.
The Pekin all-tournament team has featured NBA players such as Andre Iguodala (Springfield Lanphier, 2000-01), Kevin Gamble (Lanphier, 1982), Ed Horton (Lanphier, 1983-84), Eric Anderson (St. Francis de Sales, 1985-87), Acie Earl (Moline, 1987), Doug Lee (Washington, 1979-81) and Alec Peters (Washington, 2011-12). Tim Hulett (Lanphier, 1977) had a 12-year Major League Baseball career with the White Sox, Orioles and Cardinals.
Iowa’s Van Ness Declares for NFL Draft
Barrington’s Lukas Van Ness didn’t start a game during his two seasons as a defensive lineman at Iowa. But the 6-foot-5, 275-pound redshirt sophomore’s ability to get stops in the backfield and the possibilities of what he could do at the next level led to his decision to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft on Tuesday via Twitter.
“My time at Iowa has been very special and I will always be a Hawkeye,” Van Ness said on Twitter. “It was not an easy decision to leave the University of Iowa with remaining eligibility. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to play in the NFL and with that being said I will forego my senior year and declare for the 2023 NFL Draft. I still plan to complete my degree and represent the Hawkeye family in everything I do.”
Van Ness had 13½ sacks and 19½ tackles for loss with the Hawkeyes while playing both inside and outside on the defensive line. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay recently projected Van Ness as a first-round pick, according to the newsletter Hawkeye Insider. He finished his college career with a bang with 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble in a 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.
In 2019 in his senior year at Barrington, Van Ness was a Champaign News-Gazette All-State and Daily Herald All-Area selection and the Mid-Suburban West co-Defensive Player of the Year.
Record-Tying Finish for Palczewski at Illinois
Illinois offensive tackle and Prospect grad Alex Palczewski concluded his college career by tying a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) record for most career starts with 65 in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Palczewski tied Appalachian State’s Thomas Hennigan (2017-21) and set the Big Ten record for career starts in the 19-10 loss to Mississippi State.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Palczewski entered the bowl game with 668 pass-block snaps without allowing a sack, according to Pro Football Focus. Illinois finished 8-5 under second-year head coach Bret Bielema with all of the losses coming by one score.
“I'm just proud of how these guys fought,” Palczewski said on the Illinois website. “Throughout six years, there's always a point of the season where something happens. In seasons past, we've kind of reacted differently, but the way that this team has responded, it's truly been something special.
“Just the brotherhood of guys just not settling for average, and always pushing each other is probably the biggest thing, and just the friendships and the people and the bonds that we have it's truly something special."
Palczewski was a Sporting News first-team All-American and became the first offensive tackle in modern Illinois football history to achieve that designation. He was also named second team All-American by three organizations and third team All-American by two.
Max Update
Los Angeles Lakers rookie Max Christie matched his rookie bests with 8 points on 3-for-5 shooting and 3 assists in 16 minutes in a victory Friday over Atlanta. Christie also had 2 points in 24 minutes Saturday in victory over Sacramento. The former Rolling Meadows star is averaging 3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 22 games.