Sports
Middle School South Softball Team Wins It All
Lake Zurich Inferno cheerleading team the best out of 120; Ryan Faetz departs LZ lacrosse team as offensive leader.
Add Lake Zurich Middle School South to the list of this town's excellent softball teams. When they knocked off Barrington Prairie 10-1 a few weeks ago, they won the Suburban Middle School Conference championship. Eighth-grade pitcher Brittney Pettinger gave up just two hits for LZMSS in the decisive victory.
Congratulations to the entire team, which includes eighth-graders Rachel Dawson, Sam Frasier, Maggie Hilton, Courtney Russ and Allison Trybula. Seventh-graders on the team are Maddie Brinn, Sarah Gleich, Melissa Goldberg, Melissa Klein, Casey Rhew and Elizabeth Viken. The team’s sixth-graders include Amanda Guercio, Jessica Puccinelli and Sarah Schenker. Middle School South’s coach is Ryan Keegan.
Lake Zurich’s Elite Senior Level 4 Inferno competitive cheer team copped the prestigious National Champions title in Orlando, Fla. Winning the title was quite an accomplishment, as more than 120 teams competed in the two-day International All-Levels Championship. Coach Lianna DiMaso felt the fact that the team has been together for several years was a huge difference-maker.
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Lake Zurich’s Elite Senior Level 3 took fourth place and the Junior Level 1 team took second in their respective competitions. The cheer program is part of the Lake Zurich Flames Organization. Lake Zurich Elite levels start with minis (ages 5 and younger) and go all the way up to Level 5.
Lake Zurich High School senior Ryan Faetz will continue his lacrosse career next year on the club team at Southern Illinois. He scored 55 goals this spring for the Bears, and his top game was a six-goal performance against Grayslake Central in an 11-4 victory in the IHSLA State B quarterfinal game May 31.
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Faetz was designated the team’s dodger along with teammate Tom Logan at the outset of the season by first-year coach Kyle Dresser, who realized early on that these were his two players best-suited for that role.
The solid victory against the Grayslake Central Rams was the biggest win of the season for sixth-seeded Lake Zurich, which had lost in two previous contests against the Grayslake North Knights. Danny Bundra, Tyler Cohn, Justin Dwiel, Brandon Markert and Mike Shield all scored a goal apiece; Sean Learas had two assists and Logan had one. Goalie Markus Hofer was solid, stopping eight of 12 shots.
Unfortunately, aspirations for winning a Lacrosse Cup were dashed in the next game on June 2, when the Bears were soundly beaten 15-6 by Grayslake North in their semifinal contest. The Knights subsequently lost to Waubonsie Valley 15-9 in the title matchup. Lake Zurich finished the season with an impressive 15-9 record.
“That semifinals game is the farthest our team has ever gone,” said Faetz. “It was due to the determination of all the guys that played here for four years.” Besides his 55 goals, Faetz also had an impressive 18 assists.
Here are the Lake Zurich Baseball and Softball Association standings for the Majors 11 and Majors 12 teams as of last week:
Major 11
Wins
Losses
Ties
Points
Red Sox
7
3
0
14
Yankees
7
4
0
14
Rays
6
3
0
12
Athletics
6
5
0
12
White Sox
5
4
0
10
Twins
2
8
0
4
Indians
2
8
0
4
Major 12
Wins
Losses
Ties
Points
Phillies
10
3
0
20
Dodgers
8
5
0
16
Cardinals
7
5
0
14
Giants
7
5
0
14
Brewers
6
6
0
12
Cubs
5
8
0
10
Reds
4
7
0
8
Astros
2
10
0
4