LANSING, Ill. (December 23, 2023) – Basketball is a big part of Denise Van Ryn’s life, but it’s not the only part.
The second-year Illiana Christian girls coach believes it’s important for her players to have positive experiences beyond the court.
That led to the Vikings’ recent day of service with a local nonprofit, Faith in Action. On Dec. 7, Illiana players helped prepare for three coat drives serving Roseland and other Chicago neighborhoods by sorting clothing and loading a trailer. They also helped clean out Faith in Action’s upstairs storage room in preparation for its move to Chicago Heights.
“I just wanted to come up with a serve for the team to do,” Van Ryn said. “Get us out of the gym and bond as a team, for kids to understand there’s more going on in this world.”
Van Ryn connected with Faith in Action through Rich Van Til, who told her about upcoming opportunities to volunteer. She was glad to provide the help.
“It’s amazing how quickly the work moves with masses of kids,” Van Ryn said. “The laughter and the fun and the joy of it, ‘Look how cool this coat is.'”
Having the Roseland connection resonated with Van Ryn, who has family ties to the South Side neighborhood.
She also believes the work helped broaden her players’ horizons.
“The kids’ eyes are really opened,” Van Ryn said. “I think it’s good to serve, to do it as a team. … It puts a lot into perspective other than the battle for playing time.
“It’s amazing how good you feel after you serve. Everybody leaves, they’re upbeat, they’re positive and refreshed.”
Seeing her players embrace the spirit of the holiday season was a perfect gift for Van Ryn.
“They’re sponges,” she said. “Their hearts do open up. It ended up being a really great thing.”
It won’t be a one-off, either.
“It’ll continue to stay on our team’s schedule as long as I’m there,” Van Ryn said.
The Vikings (6-8, 3-1 Greater South Shore) wrapped up the 2023 portion of their schedule with a 54-45 win over Boone Grove on Monday.
Abbie Ritzema led Illiana with 22 points and Avery Olthof scored 11.
Boys wrestling
Carson Ulrich and Gage Bambic each went 5-0 at the Munster Super Dual on Dec. 16, while Joshua Rozendal finished 3-2.
TF South
Boys basketball
The Red Wolves lost 63-59 to visiting Stagg on Monday.
Rashad Peeples led South (4-6) with 17 points, while Eion Ikner and Cedric Tientcheu each scored 10.
South beat the hosts 40-31 at the Crete-Monee Shootout on Dec. 16 as Tientcheu scored 11, Alex Lesure had nine points, and Peeples scored seven.
The Red Wolves lost 68-29 to Chicagoland top 25-ranked Downers Grove North on Dec. 13.
Girls basketball
The Red Wolves beat Thornwood 49-35 at the Oak Lawn Holiday Classic on Dec. 16 as all-tourney pick Rayvan Rush had 20 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Gigi Dillon just missed a double-double for South (8-6) with 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Jaiden Thompson had five assists.
South cruised past Highland 43-29 on Nov. 14 as Rush (17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 assists), Dillon (7 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) and Thompson (9 points, 7 rebounds) led the way.
Girls bowling
The Red Wolves improved to 7-0 with a 1,526-1,347 win over Oak Lawn on Tuesday.
High games for South were posted by Trinity Kimmons (198), Khia Wilson (195) and Dazani Holmes (182). Holmes had the high series of 333, followed by Wilson (318) and Kimmons (314).
South finished runner-up at the Bremen Holiday Tournament on Dec. 16 with a three-game pinfall of 2,246, 87 behind first-place Evergreen Park in the 14-team field.
The Red Wolves beat Hillcrest 1,710-1,223 on Dec. 14 as Kimmons led the way with a 247-192-439 series. Holmes was next at 163-177-340 as seven different South bowlers saw action in the dual.
Boys bowling
South lost 2,124-2,105 to Oak Lawn on Tuesday despite a high game of 269 by Karter Thomas.
TF North
Boys bowling
North lost 1,952-1,713 to Lemont on Dec. 14.
Caden McLucas had a 208-228-436 series to lead the Meteors and Angel Olaguez added a 148-199-347 series.
Girls bowling
The Meteors lost 1,522-1,153 to Bremen on Tuesday and finished seventh in the 14-team Bremen Holiday Tournament on Dec. 16 with a three-game total of 1,789.
North lost 1,509-1,123 to Lemont on Dec. 13.
Marian Catholic
Football
Senior defensive back Austin Alexander made his college decision official by signing a national letter of intent to attend Kansas during a ceremony Wednesday at the school.
Alexander earned multiple all-conference honors for the Spartans and led them to a CCL/ESCC Red title this past fall along with the program’s first postseason win in years.
Boys basketball
Jonah Weathers had a double-double of 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Spartans beat Ag. Science 64-52 on Sunday in the Prairie State Shootout.
James Bullock had 13 points and seven rebounds for Marian (7-4), while Delan Davis added 10 points and five assists. Also contributing were Zack Sharkey with eight points, Terrell Morton with seven rebounds, and Tyler Jolly with four assists.
Girls basketball
The host Spartans beat Providence 55-32 on Dec. 15 to finish third in their own eight-team Christmas Classic.
All-tourney pick Madison Davis led Marian (9-3) with 18 points, Alainna Poisson scored 13, and LaParis Poe added 12 points.
In pool play on Dec. 13, Marian beat Fenwick 42-35 as Poisson scored 16 points, Davis had 15 and Poe added eight.
South Suburban College
Men’s Basketball
Bulldogs coach John Pigatti reached a major milestone in Wednesday’s 99-88 victory over St. Clair County (Mich.).
Pigatti is now 500-92, a .845 winning percentage, in his 18th season at South Suburban.
Sophomore guard Jemel Jones led the Bulldogs (11-1) with 39 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Freshman forward Quentin Heady added 21 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Julius Byrd contributed 15 points and seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs won a battle of nationally ranked NJCAA Division II teams on Dec. 16, beating Henry Ford (Mich.) 86-75.
Jones scored 36 points to lead SSC, sophomore forward Lequan Washington added 18 points, and sophomore forward/center Tremear Fraley grabbed 13 rebounds.
Related
- Athlete spotlights of the week: TF South’s Karter Thomas, and TF North’s Precious Agwu (December 20, 2023)
- Marian’s Jonah Weathers near ends of basketball career before pursuing collegiate baseball – local scores (December 14, 2023)
