Andrew Starks Hits Grand Slam

Andrew Starks of Plainfield North High School's baseball team hit a seventh inning grand slam to tie their game against Oswego High School. His exceptional performance allowed the team to achieve an eight to seven win over Southwest Prairie Conference opponent Oswego High School.

Congratulations, Andrew Starks, on your magnificent performance!

St. Mary Immaculate Eighth Grade Girls Basketball Team Wins Southwest Conference Championship

St. Mary Immaculate Eighth Grade Girls Basketball Team Wins Southwest Conference Championship!

With an overall record of 34-3 and a conference record of 14-0, the eighth grade girls Spartan basketball team completed their season by clinching the Southwest Conference Championship.

Congratulations to Players:

Alexis Antonopuolis
Lauren Bender
Monica Dubiel
Meggie Fahrner
Kelly Feigh
Mallory Goulding
Jill Hickey
Lauren Houbolt
Kimberly Kitchell
Kirstin Marczewski
Heleana Rosenmayer

Congratulations to Coaches:

Tom Bender
Jim Feigh
Neal Houbolt
Glenn Kitchell

All Kinds of Heroes

We all have sports figures we’ve come to admire in our lives. Throughout the sporting world there are all kinds of heroes...from little kids to old men and women. All of us have recognized the accomplishments of a favorite athlete. Maybe it’s someone like Michael Jordon, Tom Brady or Brett Favre. Maybe, it’s Jeff Gordon, Tiger Woods or Roger Clemons. Or it might simply be our best friend or teammate who bowled a 300 game, pitched a no hitter or hit a grand slam.

This article is not about a person who hit a grand slam or pitched a no hitter. She didn’t score the winning basket at the buzzer to win the game or pull off hockey’s hat trick. She didn’t bowl a 300 game or break 100 yards in football.

This article is about Jeanine Sheridan. After a lengthy battle with cancer, Jeanine passed away on January 20th, 2008. I think I met her two times while she worked at Eich’s Sporting Goods. She was a beautiful girl with a beautiful smile. Her outward appearance never gave an indication of her severe illness. I think I found out about her illness shortly before her last round of chemotherapy.

While I didn’t know her personally, it didn’t take long to realize how much influence she had on others. One needs only to read the comments on Legacy.com or the article in The herald News to gain insight into the beautiful person she had become. She evidently loved sports. Not only did she work for Eich’s, but her other job had her working at Sports Clips. She surrounded herself with her sports families.

Throughout her illness, she never complained about her pain or suffering. Despite her challenges, she seemed able to help others with their emotional needs. She “protected” her friends from her own suffering.

When we think about athletes, we think about their daily preparations to do battle on the playing field. Jeanine Sheridan had a different battle. She had a daily battle with a quiet, yet monstrous killer. Despite all the treatments, setbacks and remissions, she somehow managed the courage to get out of bed every day and face the day’s challenges. She faced those challenges with honor, dignity, a sense of humor and her innate ability to hide her battle from the unsuspecting. If those actions don’t qualify as truly heroic, I don’t know what would.

Jeanine's motto was "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

So today, I must move all of my former heroes down a notch. I have a new hero at the top of my list. Jeanine may have lost the final battle, but she won all the previous battles in her life. She is an inspiration to us all and I hope her legacy will live on in the hearts of everyone she touched. God Bless You, Jeanine and thank you for enlightening us.

http://jeaninesheridan.org

Plainfield North High School - Debra Belobraydich Bowls Record 697 Series

Plainfield North's Debra Belobraydich bowled a record breaking 697 Series and helped the Plainfield North Tigers win their first tournament title.

Conratulations Debra Belobraydich!

Plainfield South High School - John Kontos Bowls Perfect 300 Game

Plainfield South's John Kontos bowled a perfect 300 game in the Southwest Prairie Conference on January 12th, 2008! John averaged 220 for six games and put together a series of 1341.

Congratulations to John Kontos!

Plainfield North's Patryk Bec Bowls 300 Game

In only the third time in District 202 history, Plainfield North's Patryk Bec bowled a 300 game to help the Tigers to a 3,159 - 3,012 victory over Plainfield South.

To top his perfect game, Patryk finished the series at 778. This was the second highest score in District 202 history.

Congratulations to Patryk for his awesome accomplishment.

Plainfield Junior Cats Win National Championship

Congratulations to the Plainfield Junior Cats Heavyweight Football Team on winning the 2007 National Youth Football Championship.

Teams travelled from across the country to compete in the championship series held in Daytona Beach Florida over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Here are the heavyweight results:

Division 13 - Heavyweight

National Champions - Plainfield Junior Cats
Runner-up - Westlake Bulldogs
3rd Place - Mathews-Dickey Bulldogs

Thank you to all the players for your hard work and effort this season while representing the town of Plainfield Illinois!