Girls Bowling: Eagles roll to own tournament crown

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Leyden sophomore Reba Hall had a team-best 639 series in the Eagles' win over Addison Trail Jan. 19. | Ryan Pagelow~Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 27, 2012 8:24AM

Leyden defeated Addison Trail Jan. 19 in a West Suburban Conference Gold Division girls bowling dual meet, 3,337-2,922, behind a meet-best 639 series by Reba Hall and 242 game by Ashley Kriston.

The four Leyden players competing in all three games were Hall (639), Kriston (613), Danielle Trevino (595) and Erika Pimentel (556). Contributing scores in two games each were Nicole Witczak (353), Nicole Pitsenbarger (310) and Jeanette Treto (271).

Leyden also won Saturday’s 6-by-6 Eagles Invite, which combined team scores from both varsity and junior varsity squads to determine final standings.

The 11,715 combined total for the Eagles was good enough for them to win the eight-team competition. York (10,702) was second, followed by Rolling Meadows (10,419), Fremd (9,748), Conant (9,046), Barrington (9,015), Willowbrook (8,949) and Downers Grove North (8,777).

Wrestling

Freshman Ryan Soch stepped up big for the Eagles Saturday, pinning opponents from Lemont and Glenbard West in his two matches at 106 pounds, as Leyden split competition against the nonconference opponents.

The meet at Lemont was scheduled as a quad, but turned into a three-team double-dual for each team when Bloom failed to show up.

The Eagles defeated Glenbard West, 33-31, and lost to Lemont, 40-23.

“Ryan really did a great job for us; to come up with two pins as a freshman is really something,” Leyden coach Jason Potter said. “Andy Cocozza (145 pounds) also wrestled well and won both of his matches.”

The Eagles forfeited matches at 195 and 220 pounds against both Lemont and Glenbard West, leaving Potter well-aware that his team was at a disadvantage.

“Because of the forfeits, we knew it was going to be tough, so we were looking for some strong individual performances,” Potter said. “We lost three matches in the third period at the buzzer against Glenbard West, but still were able to get a win there. John Dyer (182) had a big pin for us, too.”

Potter said other keys in the win over Glenbard West came in losses. Freshman Matt Wnek was able to fight off a takedown just before the buzzer went off to end his match at 103 pounds, and Nate Carasco was able to avoid being pinned against a very tough opponent at 126 pounds in the final match of competition.

“Those are things that don’t show up when you look at final results, but both of those guys were very important to us beating Glenbard West,” Potter said. “Matt not giving up any bonus points by avoid that takedown at the end was huge, and we needed Nate to not get pinned.”

Hockey

The Leyden hockey team traveled to Indianapolis over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend to compete in the annual Brickyard Spring Shoot Out for high school hockey.

The Eagles tied the first game 4-4 against the Jaguars, lost a close second game to the Rage, 6-5, and were shut out in their third game 7-0.

The Eagles returned home to a busy regular-season schedule with three games last week. They lost at home to Lyons Township, 8-3.

Single Leyden goals came from Tony Cruz, assisted by Kamil Purta and Anthony Castiglia; David Gonzales, unassisted; and Yuri Dmitruk, with an assist from Niko Quezada.

On Saturday, the Eagles lost to the Lemont Trojans, 7-1, with the lone goal coming from Robbie Boyte, assisted by Shawn Wurtz.

On Sunday the Eagles defeated Joliet Catholic, 3-2. Jordan Niedziela scored first for Leyden, assisted by Tony Cruz. The second goal came from Tony’s younger brother Jordan Cruz, unassisted. The winning goal was tallied by Anthony Lopez, assisted by the older Cruz brother.

Leyden’s overall record stands at 17-17-2, but with a league division record of 9-6-1. The Eagles are currently in second place of the varsity White Division in the Illinois Suburban Hockey League.

Girls basketball

Coach Michele Szatko was pleased with the performance of two sophomores Saturday, despite a 66-20 loss to Proviso East that left the Eagles still winless for the season.

Szatko said sophomores Silvia Vasquez, who hit a three-point basket to account for all of her points in the game, and Liz McCluskey, who scored four points, continued to show signs of improved play.

“Silvia is handling the ball better, and Liz did a nice job being physical,” Szatko said. “She didn’t back away from anyone, despite the fact that they had girls who were taller and able to jump over her.”

The Eagles are scheduled to return to action at 6 p.m. Friday when they host Addison Trail at East Leyden as part of a Pack the Place doubleheader. The Eagles host Hinsdale South at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at West Leyden.