RayJ Dennis just kept on working. It’s what he does. Even while the coronavirus pandemic put the men’s basketball season on hold in the spring, the Oswego East graduate shook things off…

Things didn’t go exactly according to plan this season for Batavia’s Jalen Buckley, but they worked out pretty well in the end for the all-purpose tour de force. So well that the senior…

Touch ’em all, Lori Trippi-Payne. I’m not talking about bases, although Trippi-Payne has been a big hitter at Batavia. She has come to the end of the line in a 34-year teaching career a…

Hang on to your hats and welcome to the Don Beebe era. Three days before Aurora University’s football team opened its season Saturday at home against No. 25 St. Norbert, first-year Spartan co…

It has been a while, but here we go again. West Aurora’s Kelvin Balfour was preparing for his turn on the stepladder to help cut down the net celebrating another regional championship Friday …

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE Orlando Garcia School: East Aurora. Year: Senior. Position: Athlete/quarterback. Accolades: All-conference. Key stats: Completed 84 of 160 passes for 1,148 yards, 10 TDs; 147 car…

Geneva softball coach Greg Dierks didn’t know who was more excited when he heard former Viking Katie Keller was on the short list for a national award. “I was blown away,” Dierks …

It must be the DNA. Kyle Oroni may have been born to play football at Batavia. The youngest of four brothers to play for coach Dennis Piron since 2011, Oroni, however, has carved his own niche, on …

Moshe Rogers will never forget, and neither should we. Rogers, a senior and three-sport standout at West Aurora, never had the chance to meet his namesake, derived from the biblical Hebrew for Mose…

For Batavia senior Ryan Ingold, the road less traveled has its benefits. And he hopes to take full advantage this summer when he gets to Champaign. Ingold signed Wednesday to become a preferred wal…

My story didn’t surprise West Aurora athletic director Jason Buckley. Several weeks ago while preparing a column updating the school’s stadium renovation project that has been years in …

That didn’t take long. In one season, Waubonsee Community College point guard D.J. Ellis has gone from an unknown, home-schooled freshman to team leader. And he could be one and done, moving …

It pays to be prepared and ready. Tommy Koth was both throughout his career at North Central. It helped the West Aurora graduate be Johnny-on-the-spot when the Cardinals (23-6) needed him most in t…

Maybe it was all part of God’s plan for him. My guess is Jacolby Maxwell, a young man with deep-rooted faith, would tell you that’s true. I would be hard-pressed to argue with him. As h…

For a football coach, naming a new quarterback can be as nerve-wracking an experience as a dad handing the keys to the car to his teenage son for the first time. That’s not the case this seas…

Why not me? Pace Temple understands playing professional football is a long shot, but well worth a try. I wouldn’t count him out. Temple, a senior wide receiver from Geneva, completed his col…

Abbey Kuhn knows all too well about near misses in the pole vault, her specialty in track and field. The West Aurora junior qualified for state each of the past two years and was three inches short…

Beware the Foxes, especially that defense. Senior safety Cale Reeder summed it up succinctly Friday after 12th-seeded Yorkville opened the Class 7A playoffs by pitching its third shutout of the sea…

It would have been a stretch to expect a replay, even for a player as talented as Batavia’s Quinn Urwiler. The linebacker/running back put up impressive numbers on both sides of the ball duri…

When it comes to work ethic, RayJ Dennis has it covered like no other player ever coached by Oswego East’s Ryan Velasquez. “What makes him special is he’s relentless at getting be…

She’s beyond pinching herself to believe it’s true, but Grace Loberg still marvels at the attention the Wisconsin women’s volleyball team receives. Have they reached full-fledged,…

Off the track, West Aurora’s Dajour Miles and Neuqua Valley’s MiKenna Robinson are good friends. The two seniors were even club teammates during the summer in junior high. “We go …

Jeff Mayes loves to play the game. That’s why the senior shortstop chose baseball over football for college. A member of coach Adam Stevens’ first recruiting class at Aurora University,…

Steven Frank had next. That’s what many of us thought. And why not? The likable Frank was a strong-armed quarterback who looked like a can’t-miss prospect in 2016 when he graduated from…

Good call, Northern Illinois coaching staff. The reigning Mid-American Conference champion Huskies and new football coach Thomas Hammock brought West Aurora junior Matt Johnson in for a visit last …

Lean on me. Art Taylor is a 5-foot-6, 150-pound running back — apparently the 5-8 listing in your program is a typo, wink wink — but there’s only a small chance he gets lost in a …

It’s not always as easy as it looks. Dajour Miles can attest to that. The West Aurora senior was so good, setting the bar so high and so soon in her sprint career, it had to be difficult main…

It took some time, but Josh Costello has found his niche as a senior on the end of Batavia’s defensive line. That was apparent Saturday as the seventh-seeded Bulldogs built a 49-8 rout of 26t…

When telling Jack Hugunin’s story, it’s safe to say this Oswego senior didn’t fall far from the tree. “It’s a football family,” Jack Hugunin said of his lineage.…

Looks like he made it. Senior cornerback Keion Adams enters uncharted waters as Aurora University prepares for a first-round game in the NCAA Division III playoffs, but the Larkin graduate is enjoy…

The pieces could be in place for a successful season at West Aurora. Senior Riley Mont believes that to be true, but the returning all-state guard knows it will be a matter of time before everythin…

Never let it be said that Kaneland senior Mason Kottmeyer failed to do his homework. The 6-foot-6 Kottmeyer, a promising right-handed pitcher, signed last week as a preferred walk-on with Michigan …

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s not always true, but it does seem to apply to Weston Kramer, a junior defensive tackle for the Northern Illinois football team. Tha…

The hits went viral for Oswego East. Senior speedster Kaili Chval started it from the top of the order, beating out an infield single to open the game. The Wolves proceeded to produce 19 more hits …

With iffy weather always a factor in the spring, teams from Illinois will go to great lengths to play games early in the season. “That’s the big thing, getting games in,” Kaneland…

The spring weather may have finally turned for the better, but senior first baseman Addison Koth has been on fire all season for Bartlett. The NCAA Division II Maryville recruit, who has been hitti…

Watch out world, West Aurora weightlifter Will Easley has taken his act international at age 17. Easley was the third-youngest competitor Monday in his 89-kilogram — 195.8 pounds — weig…

He’s in is 19th season as a head coach at the varsity level and Batavia’s Jim Nazos has seen a lot in basketball. He hasn’t seen it all, however. That fact was hammered home to hi…

When his doctor said he might be able to return from a nasty elbow injury in eight to 10 weeks, Aurora University senior Max Vickers thought eight was enough. Turns out, Vickers was right on target…

Lance Robinson is not shy about taking on a challenge. Robinson, who surprisingly stepped down down last March after three seasons as Aurora University’s coach , has been hired to coach the m…

Improvise and adapt? It’s nothing new for A.J. Gill and the Aurora University baseball team. The Spartans have proven resilient the past two seasons, winning their conference tournament to qu…

After having a day to remember, Geneva senior Rocco DiLeonardi decided to make a week of it. And the best might still be yet to come, although it’s hard to top a touchdown. Last Sunday, the 6…

Gavin Zimbelman continues to turn heads, ringing up numbers like the scoreboard on a pinball machine with the penalizing tilt disabled. There seems to be no stopping Aurora University’s quart…

Sometimes, things don’t work out as planned when it comes to our career paths. And that’s not always a bad thing. Such was the case for Aurora Central Catholic’s Tom Babyar, who 1…

First Team Offense Caleb Beebe School: Aurora Christian. Year: Senior. Position: Wide receiver/linebacker. Accolades: All-conference. Named to Class 1A all-state team. Considering preferred walk-on…

Your time will come. Halfway through his first varsity season in 2018, as a member of a crowded backfield at West Aurora, Isaiah Lowry often heard that message. The junior running back took it to h…

Sarah Meadows didn’t have to ponder the question. What led the Geneva coach to promote Blackmore — the 2019-20 Beacon-News Girls Basketball Player of the Year — to the varsity as …

FIRST TEAM Lindsay Blackmore School: Geneva. Year: Senior. Height: 6-0. Position: Guard/forward. Accolades: Class 4A second team all-state by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Assocation and 4A honor…

There’s no doubt Dana Wagner was qualified when she was hired as athletics manager at Waubonsee Community College in October. Removing the “interim” tag that was in her job descri…

Normal never felt better. Oswego senior Connor Robinson and Yorkville sophomore Madi Beetham can attest to that. The two teens met at center court in Oswego four years ago when they served as honor…

Sammy Jimenez, the Upstate Eight Conference’s reigning player of the year, was the subject. South Elgin coach Brad Reynard almost sounded like he was embarrassed. Reynard’s admission? H…

Do you know me? For most opponents, the answer to that question concerning Bartlett’s Addison Koth is “all too well.” Koth, a junior pitcher and first baseman, is a very good powe…

In the beginning, Mary Lou Kunold was there. And she still is. Rosary’s athletic director has been a constant for 46 years on the west side of Aurora. Kunold is a pioneer. She’s seen it…

A special season could be shaping up for unbeaten Indian Creek, but don’t expect Cooper Larsen to get ahead of himself. Not after what happened last season. A third-year varsity starter avera…

This girl is on fire. And she has their backs. Riley Mont’s softball teammates at West Aurora knew what they were missing last season when the silky-smooth fielding shortstop was sidelined wh…

A 2020 football season that figures to be full of promise for Aurora University and second-year coach Don Beebe remains in question. “We’re hoping to know more this week,” Beebe s…

In this case, the customer was definitely right. Chris Toth, an All-American offensive tackle, can now smile at the memory. Sometimes, it’s funny how things work out. And sometimes, it makes …

It’s safe to say Batavia safety Sam Barus has some serious hops to go along with his football chops. Video posted on Twitter by his coach, Dennis Piron, proves the point, showing the senior s…

The improvement in Jared Crutcher’s game at both ends of the floor for West Aurora this season wasn’t just noticeable. It was downright eye-catching. “I had a college coach tell m…