Monday, Feb. 11, 2019

Chess Team Places Third at State Tournament

Stevenson placed third among 128 schools at the 45th annual Illinois High School Association state chess tournament Saturday in Peoria. This was the second straight third-place finish for SHS, which earned its eighth state trophy.

Whitney Young, last year’s state runner-up, won the team championship and captured all seven of its matches. Barrington was second and Stevenson third. Both schools claimed six of their seven matches, but BHS had more tiebreaker points, 116.5-105.

SHS gave Whitney Young its toughest match, falling by a 35-33 score in Saturday’s semifinals. Coach Vincent Springer’s squad rebounded to roll past Fremd, 54.5-13.5, for third place. His team opened the tournament Friday with wins over University High in Normal (68-0), Plainfield South (59-9), Dunlap (62-6) and Neuqua Valley (35.5-32.5), then sidelined Glenbrook North in the opening match on Saturday (52.5-15.5).

Twelve Patriots contributed to the team’s success, with six going unbeaten. Sophomore Ricky Wang went undefeated on Board 1, with two victories and five draws. Also undefeated were the Wallach brothers, Adam and David. Adam, a junior was 5-0-1 on Boards 3 and 4, while David, a sophomore, went 4-0 on Boards 6-8. Senior Shashank Bala had two wins and a draw on Boards 7 and 8, sophomore Ryan Yao went 2-0 on Board 8, and senior Kavin Lavari had a win and two draws on Boards 7 and 8.

Senior Jack Xiao went 6-1 on Boards 4 and 5, freshman Ashley Yan was 5-1 on Boards 5 and 6, senior Alex Presman went 4-1 on Boards 5-7, freshman Fred Yuan was 4-1-1 on Board 3, and senior Miranda Liu went 4-3 on Board 2.

Peer Helpers Plans Mental Health Awareness Week Activities

Stevenson’s Peer Helpers student group is celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week with several activities planned today through Friday. Group members started by writing positive body and self-image messages on every bathroom mirror in the school. The messages will remain up all week.

On Wednesday, Peer Helpers will hold “mental health cookie decorating” in the College Career Center during all three lunch periods. The first 75 students who visit each period can decorate a cookie to reflect past or current mental health struggles, then will be invited to break the cookie as a sign of “breaking through” the struggles, as well as the stigmas around mental health.

On Friday, Peer Helpers will distribute 1,000 pins emblazoned with semicolons to students as they arrive at school. The semicolon is a reference to Project Semicolon, a national suicide prevention program. The semicolon represents a life that could have been ended by suicide, but chose to continue. Each pin will have an explanation of the semicolon.

Orchestra Chamber Concert Tuesday Night

The Orchestra Chamber Concert takes place at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Recital Hall portion of the Performing Arts Center. Admission is free.

String Parents Breakfast Fundraiser Thursday

The String Parents Association is holding a Valentine’s Day breakfast fundraiser from 6:30-10:30 a.m. Thursday, a late arrival day, at Strawberry Field Pancakes and Café, 410 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Lincolnshire. Mention Stevenson when ordering, and a portion of the sale will go to the school’s strings program.

Table Tennis Team Sweeps Meet

The SHS table tennis team swept a triangular meet at Evanston Township High School on Thursday. Stevenson defeated ETHS, 8-1, and Hinsdale Central, 9-0. Winners included senior Michael Hu, juniors Andrew Lukz, Paul Park, Sam Wang and Eric Wu, and sophomore Nikhith Rao. The Patriots return to action Tuesday at Maine East.

Color Guard Teams Win Honors in Naperville

Stevenson traveled to Naperville Central High School on Sunday for the Midwest Color Guard Circuit Competition. The varsity placed second in the Scholastic A Division, while the junior varsity earned first place in Scholastic Regional A.

PATRIOT SPORTS

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Sunday’s Varsity Results

Boys Ice Hockey

Stevenson at Scholastic Hockey League Playoffs: The Patriots upset Glenbrook North, 2-0, in the first game of their best-of-three series at Northbrook Sports Center. Junior goalie Jeremy Riback made 29 saves for his third shutout of the season for sixth-seeded SHS, which will play host to the third-seeded Spartans for Game 2 at 7:10 p.m. Thursday at Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove. Senior Zach Wesley opened the scoring at the 6:12 mark of the first period, hitting the back of the net off an assist from junior Brett Stokes. Senior Seth Cohen added an insurance goal with 10 minutes remaining in the third period, assisted by classmate Adam Offenbach. The Patriots had lost their three previous meetings with GBN this season, including a pair of matchups in January. – Boxscore

Saturday’s Varsity Results

Wrestling

Stevenson at IHSA Class 3A Barrington Individual Sectional: A trio of Patriots qualified for the state finals, which begin Thursday afternoon at the University of Illinois. Senior Tommy Frezza (36-4) earned his third straight trip downstate by placing third at 120 pounds. He finished sixth in the state last year. Senior Max Gomez (37-8) rallied from a second-round loss Friday to finish third at 195 pounds, and will make his second straight trip to state. The third qualifier was freshman Cole Rhemrev (34-11), who placed fourth at 106 and became the first ninth-grader in SHS program history to reach state. – Daily Herald

Boys Swimming and Diving

Stevenson hosted North Suburban Conference Championships: The Patriots put on a dominating performance en route to their fifth consecutive league title, winning all 12 events and breaking four conference records. SHS posted a team score of 446 in the Patriot Aquatic Center, more than double that of runner-up Mundelein (213). Stevenson broke the 200-yard freestyle relay record it set last season by 2.5 seconds, with seniors Richard Lee, Joseph Song, Topher Stensby and Max Ryaguzov clocking in at 1:24.40. Richard and Joseph also were part of the record-setting 200 medley relay (1:35.09) with junior Jack Zhang and freshman Joshua Song, Joseph’s brother. Topher and Jack swam in Stevenson’s third record-setting relay, the 400 free (3:10.78) with junior Jake Kim and senior Nathan Gates. The fourth record came courtesy of junior Ari Zaritsky in the 100 breaststroke (58.16). Topher also won the two events in which he is the reigning state champion, the 50 free (20.75) and 100 free (46.71), while Jack claimed the 200 IM (1:56.72) and Max mastered the 100 backstroke (53.58). Freshman Jack White took top honors in the 1-meter diving competition (376.70), senior Ethan Ross touched first in the 200 free (1:43.30), senior Beno Maya won the 100 butterfly (52.93), and sophomore Foster Swanson captured the 500 free (4:47.50). Stevenson also won the junior varsity NSC championship, in similar fashion to the varsity. A report will be posted in Tuesday’s Digest. – Official Results | Daily Digest

Boys Basketball

Stevenson 47, Highland Park 17: At the Fremd Horseshoe Shootout, 10 Patriots scored, led by junior RJ Holmes, who had 11 points and five rebounds. SHS (21-3) led 13-6 after the first quarter, extended its advantage to 28-13 at halftime, then held the Giants (10-14) to two points in each of the final two quarters. Junior Matt Ambrose recorded eight points and three rebounds while classmate John Ittounas added seven points and three assists for Stevenson, which visits Waukegan Tuesday in a first-place North Suburban Conference showdown. The Patriots are 10-1 in the NSC and the Bulldogs are 9-1. – Daily Herald

Friday’s Varsity Results

Boys Basketball

Stevenson 60, Mundelein 49: Matthew Ambrose scored a game-high 26 points as the Patriots (20-3, 10-1) pulled away from the Mustangs (15-9, 4-6) in the Sports Center on Senior Night and Hoops for Heroes Night. The junior nailed six of his 10 3-point attempts as SHS reached the 20-victory mark for the third time in the last four seasons, and the ninth time in head coach Pat Ambrose’s 20-year tenure. The win also kept Stevenson in the hunt for its seventh consecutive North Suburban Conference championship with three league games remaining. Matthew, who also had five rebounds on the night, scored the team’s last eight points of the second quarter as SHS rallied to take a 28-24 halftime lead, and never trailed again. Senior Luke Chieng added 17 points, five assists and four rebounds. – NFHS Network Replay | Daily Herald

STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Set Sail for the Senior Class Party

The Class of 2019 is invited to “come sail away” with classmates on Lake Michigan aboard The Odyssey during the Senior Class Party on Thursday, May 23. After graduation practice wraps up, hop on a bus and head to Navy Pier for a two-hour cruise that features incredible skyline views, a full lunch buffet, desserts, unlimited soft drinks, DJ entertainment and more. Register now through the Online Superstore. The cost goes up March 1.

CLUB NEWS

The next meeting of FIRE (Fostering Intercultural Respect and Empowerment) will take place at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday in Room 2600. All are welcome to attend.

ATHLETICS

The boys lacrosse team will hold an informational meeting for athletes and parents at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Room 1204. Come and meet the new head coach! If you cannot attend, please contact Coach Hake at thake@d125.org.

ILLINOIS EDUCATION HEADLINES

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District 220 may develop outdoor classroom in Barrington

Warren Township officials won’t release bus accident video

NATIONAL EDUCATION HEADLINES

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