LANSING, Ill. (April 29, 2024) – TF South seniors Emily Dominiak and Annika Biegel have been best friends pretty much their whole lives, and badminton doubles partners for years.
“Ever since we were in, like, fourth grade, we’ve been coming to open gyms and we’ve been playing together,” Dominiak said. “And we always played doubles together. We always played with the varsity team that was at South and we just kept getting better and better.”
They were JV doubles teammates as freshmen, but then Dominiak took a couple years off to play her other main sport, softball.
But this spring, she couldn’t resist a badminton reunion.
“I play softball outside of school,” she said. “So I was like, I want to come back because it’s fun. I love the vibes here. And so we decided, let’s keep playing because we have good chemistry.”
Biegel can attest to that.
“We’ve been best friends ever since preschool,” she said. “Our chemistry, it just comes from that. We can tell each other (anything), we can criticize each other. We’re comfortable with each other. We’ve really learned how to read each other as doubles partners.”
That connection has paid off for the Red Wolves, who won their 13th straight conference title last week at Argo. In competition on April 23 for singles and Thursday for doubles, TF South beat runner-up Reavis 52-45 for the South Suburban Conference crown.
The Red Wolves finished either first or second at every flight. They had singles titles from Biegel (No. 3), Dominiak (No. 4) and Rereloluwa Sonoiki (No. 8). Doubles champs were Biegel and Dominiak at No. 1, Samantha Vazquez and Glory Ike at No. 2, Deisy Salto and Azuri Akbar at No. 3, and Sonoiki and Kaylyn Imala at No. 5.
Runners-up in singles were Ike (No. 10, Vazquez (No. 2), Akbar (No. 5), Salto (No. 6), Hannah Fowler (No. 9) and Giana Murabito (No. 10). Murabito and Jessica Campuzano took second at No. 4 doubles.
It was a full-circle moment for Biegel.
“It means a lot because I have been playing for all four years,” she said. “So I was here for all four conferences. Being able to start with a conference win and end with a conference win — especially seeing our team … the seniors I’m graduating with grow as a team together, it means a lot to see the progress and how we’ve bonded as a team.”
Coach Dynecia Dixon feels the same way.
“I’m just really proud of the girls because they are the reason we keep winning,” she said. “They’ve worked so hard. They’re there every day, including Saturdays. This is what they do all day, every day. That’s all they’re thinking about. They come to my classroom, ask me questions constantly. This is what they want.”
South also won the 10-team Homewood-Flossmoor Invitational on April 23.
Dominiak and Sonoiki took first at No. 1 doubles, Akbar and Salto won at No. 2 doubles, and Sonoiki was the champ at No. 2 singles.
Elsewhere, Imala was second at No. 3 singles and Ike finished third at No. 1 singles.
Boys outdoor track
Karrel Harvest won the discus and finished second in the shot put in the Wanner Invitational Saturday at Prospect. He broke his own program record in the discus, throwing 176-10.
In other news, TF South will hold the dedication ceremony for the new Rich Dust Track at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, at the start of the South Suburban Blue Meet.
The track is named for the longtime TF South teacher, coach, school board member and community leader who died earlier this year.
Baseball
The Red Wolves (12-9, 7-3 South Suburban Blue) split four games last week, losing 7-3 and 21-12 to Lemont on April 23 and Wednesday respectively before blanking Shepard 10-0 on Thursday and beating Rich 16-5 on Saturday.
Drew Danehl pitched South’s third no-hitter of the month, blanking Shepard over five innings with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Leading the offense were Khanon Gresham (2-for-3, run, 2 RBI), Jack Starcevich (2-for-3, run, RBI), Moises Mata (3-for-3, run, 2 RBI), and Jake Stachelski (2-for-3, run, RBI).
Mata went 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs and four RBI vs. Rich. Also contributing were Gresham (2-for-3, 4 runs, 3 RBI), Starcevich (2-for-4, 2 runs, 4 RBI) and Chris Rodriguez (2-for-4, 2 RBI).
In the first Lemont game, South’s top hitters were Gresham (2-for-3, 3 runs, 2 RBI), Tyler Earmsmuth (2-for-3, run, 2 RBI), and Starcevich (2-for-3, 3 RBI).
In the second Lemont game, Earmsmuth went 3-for-3 with a run and four RBI, Mata finished 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI, and Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
TF North
Softball
The Meteors (4-12, 1-9 South Suburban Blue) beat Hillcrest 14-2 on Wednesday as Christiana Spears was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
North fell 17-2 to Bremen on April 23. Mia Romo singled and drove in a run.
The Meteors were swept 15-0 and 12-0 by Oak Forest on April 22. Janiah Alphonse and Stephanie Montiel each went 1-for-2 in the opener.
Baseball
North (3-17, 0-10 South Suburban Blue) lost 16-1 to Argo on Thursday, 13-6 to Hammond Academy on Wednesday, and 17-0 and 10-0 to Oak Forest on Monday.
Pedro Medina was 1-for-3 with two RBI against Hammond Academy.
TF United
Boys volleyball
United fell 25-21, 25-17 to Joliet Central on Wednesday.
Yahir Silva had four digs for United.
Boys tennis
United lost 4-1 to Tinley Park on Wednesday, getting a win at No. 1 singles from Angel Urquizo.
United blanked Bremen 5-0 on April 23.
The only contested matches were at No. 1 and 2 doubles. Avery Flores and Gabe Morales won at No. 1 and Leandro Morales and Erick Acosta won at No. 2.
Picking up forfeit wins were Urquizo (No. 1 singles), Sijuade Bello (No. 2 singles) and the third doubles team of Alex Moreno and Aiden Kleidon.
United also won 5-0 over Rich on April 22.
Urquizo and Elijah Bellow won at No. 1 and 2 singles respectively. Gabe Morales and Flores won at No. 1 doubles, Acosta and Leandro Morales won at No. 2 doubles, and Moreno and Kleidon picked up a forfeit at No. 3 doubles.
Girls soccer
United lost 8-0 to Tinley Park on Thursday and 4-0 to Bremen on April 23.
Marian Catholic
Boys volleyball
The Spartans (18-5, 1-2 East Suburban Catholic) beat Carmel 21-25, 25-21, 25-15 on Thursday.
Justin McGary had 11 kills, 40 assists and six digs to lead Marian, while Bolu Osibogun added nine kills, seven digs, and two aces. Phoenix McGruder contributed 10 kills and five digs, while Ricky Gallegos had 17 digs.
Marian fell 27-25, 17-25, 25-18 to Benet on April 23.
McGary had 20 assists and three aces, Osibogun added seven kills and four digs, McGruder contributed eight kills and eight digs, and Gallegos chipped in with 10 digs.
Marian lost 25-22, 17-25, 25-17 to Homewood-Flossmoor on April 22.
Osibogun led the Spartans with 11 kills, seven digs and three aces, while Josh Noubaden had five kills and four digs.
Boys tennis
Marian swept the doubles en route to edging Providence 3-2 on Wednesday.
Earning wins for Marian were Chris Bonilla and Gavin Krueger at No. 1, Julian Brown and Diego Morales at No. 2, and Colin Cyzon and Patrick McDermott at No. 3.
Marian beat Kankakee 4-1 on April 2, giving coach Scott Bodnar his 400th career victory.
Jon Bolton (No. 1) and RJ Macasaet (No. 2) won in singles. Bonilla and Krueger won at No. 1 doubles, and Brown and Morales won at No. 2.
Illiana Christian
Baseball
The Vikings moved to 9-3 by going 2-2 last week. They split a two-game series with Griffith, winning 12-2 on April 22 and losing 8-7 on April 23, before beating Fort Wayne Dwenger 5-1 and losing 8-4 to Mishawaka Marian on Saturday.
Isaac VanderWoude (3-for-3, 4 runs, 2 RBI) and Tyler Balkema (3-for-3, 3 runs, 3 RBI) had big days in the first Griffith game. Gavin Meyer was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs in the second Griffith game.
Tanner Post struck out eight in six innings vs. Dwenger, allowing four hits, four walks and no earned runs. Balkema was 2-for-2 with a walk, a run and an RBI. Luke Smith drove in two runs and VanderWoude went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.
Jake Scott finished 2-for-3 with an RBI against Marian, while Balkema was 2-for-4 with a run.
Softball
Mikayla Derks pitched a no-hitter as the Vikings edged Carroll 2-1 in eight innings on Saturday at the LaPorte Tournament. She struck out 11, did not allow an earned run and delivered the game-winning RBI single in the eighth inning.
Libby Kreykes was 2-for-3, Lydia VanderWoude went 2-for-4 and Maya Wondaal hit an RBI double.
In the second game of the day, Illiana (10-2) fell 3-1 to host LaPorte. VanderWoude singled, stole a base and scored the Vikings’ only run. Kreykes added a double.
Illiana edged Munster 3-2 on Thursday on a walk-off suicide squeeze.
Derks pitched a six-hitter with seven strikeouts, while VanderWoude had a single, double and triple in four at-bats. Cayden Petersen doubled and drove in two runs.
The Vikings beat Griffith 4-3 on April 23 as Avery Martin drove in two runs. Petersen drove in a run and pitched the first five innings, allowing three hits and one earned run. Derks worked the final two innings.
Illiana blanked Griffith 10-0 on April 22 as Derks struck out 10 and allowed two hits over five innings.
Lauren Sherwood was 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI for the Vikings, Kreykes went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI, and Mya VanderWoude homered.
Girls tennis
Illiana beat Andrean 4-1 on Thursday, getting singles wins from Gianna Vukas (No. 1), Avery Olthof (No. 2) and Sienna Eenigenburg (No. 3) along with a victory at No. 2 doubles.
Illiana shut out Griffith 5-0 on April 22, winning every match 6-0, 6-0.
Vukas and Olthof won at No. 1 and 2 singles. Doubles winners were Morgan Smith and Sophie Plank at No. 1 and Aubrey Van Beek and Anya Lindenmulder at No. 2.
Honors
Two Calumet City coaches were among the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Junior High Boys Coach of the Year winners.
Schrum’s Bryesha Blair won in the District 8 Class 7AAA division and Schrum’s Cornelius Deere won for District 8 Class 8AAA.
South Suburban College
Men’s basketball
Sophomore Jemel Jones added yet another postseason honor, winning National Association of Basketball Coaches National Player of the Year for all two-year colleges, encompassing all NJCAA divisions and the California and Northwest associations.
Jones averaged 33.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 steals for the NJCAA Division II runners-up.
Also, SSC’s John Pigatti was one of two coaches recognized as IBCA NJCAA Division II Coach of the Year.
Baseball
The Bulldogs (23-25) beat Lake County 10-6 on Sunday.
Mason Dunlop drove in three runs and Shane Jones had two RBI, while Illiana Christian grad Adam Walters and Nathanial Macnamara each had two hits. Caden Podgorski (TF South) threw a scoreless inning.
South Suburban split with Bryant & Stratton on Saturday, losing 10-4 and winning 11-0.
Macnamara homered twice and drove in four runs on the day, Jones also homered twice, Jayden Cummings had three hits, Tyler Stewart homered and Alberto Lamas allowed no earned runs over five innings.
SSC beat Waubonsee 17-7 on Thursday. Jason Ballard had two hits and five RBI, while Christian Holmes had two hits and three RBI. Cummings and Macnamara each had two hits and two RBI.
South Suburban fell 3-1 to Olive-Harvey on Wednesday and 13-1 to DuPage on April 22.
Related
- Athlete spotlights of the week: TF South’s Karrel Harvest, Emily Dominiak, and Annika Biegel (April 23, 2024)
- Red Wolves track wins big in first meet at new TF South facility – photos and other local scores (April 22, 2024)
