Maine South Roundup: April 4

Badminton: For coaches in all high school sports, early-season matches are as much about revealing character as building a solid record.

After Maine South’s badminton team fell 15-3 to Glenbrook South on March 22, the Hawks rebounded to win the Rolling Meadows Doubles Delight Invite for the second year in a row. Maine South beat out a field of eight teams, including Lake Forest, Rolling Meadows and Zion-Benton.

“The girls played very well; many were first-time partners and six are JV players,” Maine South coach Eve Muir-Wilson said. “All of them played at higher positions than their normal position in the line-up.”

The doubles teams of Rebecca Klages and Sharon Shim (5th position), and Ashley Kozubal Kaia Parenti (6th position) paced the Hawks with first-place finishes. Five of Maine South’s other doubles teams finished as runner-ups.

“I am very proud of how they played and that they accomplished their goal of bringing back the plaque,” Muir-Wilson said.

Softball: The Hawks were undeterred by the cold March weather, winning their first two games of the season. Lauren Thornhill pitched seven shutout innings in Maine South’s 4-0 victory over Larkin on March 17. Kaitlyn Mullarkey, who just finished leading Maine South to a third-place finish in the state basketball championships in March, provided all the offense the Hawks would need with an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Maine South followed their season opener up three days later with a 7-0 victory against Northside Prep. Carly Inman was the winning pitcher for the Hawks, striking out 10 batters and allowing only two hits in seven strong innings. The Hawks’ offense had nine hits for the game.

Boys Track and Field: Long distance phenom Dave Eckhart won an impressive double at the indoor CSL South Invitational track meet by taking 1st place in the 1-mile (4:28) and 2-mile (9:22.8) runs. Eckhart finished an astonishing 23 seconds ahead of the runner-up in the 2-mile run. The senior broke the school’s 2-mile outdoor and indoor marks with his performance at the CSL meet.

Michal Filipczak won the 888-yard run in 1.59.8 for Maine South, the only runner to break the 2-minute mark. Nick Wisniewski won the pole vault with a mark of 14-6.

Boys Volleyball: After a third-place state finish and a 41-1 record last season, Maine South knows it won’t surprise anyone this year. Despite losing five starters to graduation, Spencer Groessl and Scotty Adamcyk return for the Hawks.

ESPN Rise has ranked Maine South #14 in the nation to start the season, but the Hawks will be depending on a number of returning varsity players to quickly fill the positions vacated by last year’s starters.

Boys Water Polo: Maine South is off to a strong start, standing atop the CSL South division with a record of 10-2 (2-1 CSL South). The Hawks went 5-0 and took home the championship in the Maine East Invitational, defeating Maine East in its final game.

Boys Basketball: Forward Matt Palucki was named to the IBCA 3A/4A All-State Fourth Team this season. He was one of 12 CSL players to be named to an All-State team and the only one from Maine South.