Sports
Niles West Sports Roundup: Jordan, Relays Shine At Track Championships
Baseball and softball ended their seasons with losses in the regional finals.
Niles West concluded its 2010-2011 athletic season this week. Here’s how the remaining spring sports played out.
Boys Track and Field: Junior Lavelle Jordan earned all-state honors by placing sixth in the 100-meter run (10.92 seconds). Jordan did not compete in the 200, his other event.
Niles West’s only other individual athlete competing at the state championships was junior Neal Omar, who was just .46 seconds off from qualifying for the finals of the 800. Omar ran 1:55.67, just short of his sectional time (1:55.19) and finished in 14th place.
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For the second year in a row, Niles West’s 4x100 relay and 4x200 earned all-state honors. Although they did not repeat as champions, the 4x100 relay placed second (42.03) and the 4x200 was eighth (1:28.85). Santiago Ochoa, Seve Loubriel and Lavelle Jordan ran in both relays while sophomore Jeremiah Jordan was the leadoff leg in the 4x200 and junior Mike Wright ran first in the 4x100 finals.
Softball: Niles West had a win for the ages in the regional semifinals against Maine South. Down 3-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, Niles West rallied for three runs – all scoring on wild pitches – and advanced to the regional final with a 4-3 victory over Maine South.
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Jennie Coursey reached on an error to start the inning and Sabrina Dimaria followed with a single. They moved up a base on a wild pitch and Coursey scored when Shelby Peters was walked with another wild pitch. Peters moved to second and Dimaria went to third on the play. Both runners came around to score on yet another wild pitch to the next batter.
Laurie DiJohn went 2-for-3 and Dimaria was 2-for-2 with an RBI in the win.
Niles West’s season came to an end in the regional final with a 10-0 loss to CSL South rival Glenbrook South. Joanna Lefevre had Niles West’s only hit on the day.
Baseball: In the end a familiar foe ended Niles West’s season. The Wolves (23-13), who lost to New Trier twice during the regular season, fell to the Trevians, 13-3 in the regional final on Tuesday.
New Trier pounded 15 hits against the Niles West pitching staff, scoring 13 runs in the six-inning mercy-rule victory.
The Wolves defeated Maine West, 4-0, in the regional semifinal to set up the championship game against New Trier. Kenny Blanchard pitched six scoreless innings, scattering six hits, to pace Niles West.
Niles West finished fifth in the CSL South with an 8-8 conference record.
