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Baranek: Like father, like son? It’s a smooth Shafer

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:17:52 -0500

Kids these days. It used to be they drove go-karts until they were 18, then worked their way up the division ladder at the local speedway. Now, we’re seeing more and more of them jumping behind the wheel of a late-model by the time they’re barely out of eighth grade. Some are doing better than others. Paul Shafer Jr. might be at the head of the class. Shafer, who finished third in 2012 in his late-model rookie campaign at Illiana Speedway behind Eddie Hoffman and D.J. Weltmeyer, is in a tight three-way battle for first this season with John Nutley …

Baranek: Brittany Gardner’s achievements just keep growing

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:23:23 -0500

When it comes to playing “Can you top this” with an athletic career, few Southland females can run with Brittany Gardner. The Orland Park native went from being a brilliant high school pitcher who led Sandburg to a Class 4A state title in 2010, to a “Newcomer of the Year” as a freshman at Loyola University, to a single-season record setter and “Pitcher of the Year” as a sophomore, to a career record-setter as a junior. She already has her sights set on a new goal for next season. “Loyola has never gone to (NCAA) regionals,” Gardner said. “It’s going …

Baranek: Kelly takes time to stop and smell the roses

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:12:36 -0500

Pat Kelly sure is enjoying this temporary retirement thing. “I feel great. I have a lot less stress, and a good girlfriend. That sure helps a lot,” the four-time late-model champion said, laughing. The 44-year-old Coal City native isn’t defending his 2012 title at Grundy County Speedway. Instead, he’s building a new late-model for his son, Nathan, who is stepping up to the top division after winning it all last season in the street stock class. This would have been Kelly’s 20th season of racing. Over the years, he has been one of the area’s toughest drivers to beat, especially …

Baranek: Like mother, like daughter? Well, almost

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:34:12 -0500

Sandburg senior Carly Katalinic has followed in her mother Cheryl’s footsteps in being a tremendous high school multi-sport athlete. She hasn’t, however, followed in her cleats. Cheryl, then named O’Dekirk, played volleyball, basketball and softball at Oak Forest from 1980-84. She played softball so well that she got a full ride to DePaul. She played so well at DePaul that earlier this year she was inducted into the DePaul Softball Hall of Fame. Carly has been a two-sport athlete at Sandburg, playing soccer and basketball. She played soccer and basketball so well that she will play one or both at …

Auto Racing: Double-duty Danta eyeing twice the success

Fri, 10 May 2013 02:13:34 -0500

With sponsorship money to run a full season in his No. 51 car at Illiana Speedway and another being built for him to drive at Grundy County Speedway, the full late-model potential of Anthony Danta finally may be realized in 2013. The 26-year-old Orland Park native has gotten off to a strong start at Illiana, finishing fifth on opening night and almost pulling off a last-lap pass Saturday of winner Mark Ross Jr. Soon he’ll be making his season debut at Grundy, driving a late-model owned and built by former area track champion Terry Laxton. The busy schedule is a …

Baranek: Stanton has made her mark at Marian

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:50:50 -0500

Being a record-setter often brings star recognition. Marian Catholic’s all-time home run leader Becca Stanton found that out during the first days of practice before the 2013 softball season. “When the freshmen came in they were like, ‘Oh, my gosh. You’re Becca Stanton!’ ” she said, smiling. “It was a little intimidating, but it’s also pretty cool knowing that people look up to me, that people know my name.” Opposing pitchers have known her name only too well for the past couple of seasons, and have spent a lot of time looking over their shoulders at the rockets that have …

Auto Racing: Female drivers making inroads at Grundy County, Illiana speedways

Fri, 03 May 2013 02:10:22 -0500

It may be a while, if ever, when Danica Patrick wins a NASCAR race. But it’s a sure bet female drivers are going to be carrying checkered flags at our local asphalt ovals in 2013. One, in fact, already has, with Melissa Wilson capturing the first pure stocks heat race on opening night at Illiana Speedway. Bobbie Jean Wall, meanwhile, was in front and looking strong in Saturday’s turbo stox main at Illiana when rookie driver Michael Gerike slowly, inexplicably, pulled his laps-down car from the infield onto the track right in front of her and the rest of the …

Baranek: Rich Bickle to drive in late-model class at Grundy County Speedway

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:44:31 -0500

Get your motor runnin’, because it’s time to head out on the highway for the start of the 2013 campaign at both of our area asphalt short tracks. Friday night (first race 8 p.m.), the three-eighths-mile Grundy County Speedway will conduct its 43rd season opener, while at 7 p.m. Saturday the half-mile Illiana Speedway celebrates its 66th birthday. The biggest news, drivers-wise, is that Wisconsin short-track stalwart and former NASCAR competitor Rich Bickle will be competing full-time in the late-model class at Grundy. Bickle, 51, is driving for Tony and Tammy Phillips, who owned the No. 16 car Pat Kelly …

Baranek: Beecher softball player Savannah Soppet a hidden gem

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:16:08 -0500

Beecher senior Savannah Soppet just loves to surprise people with her multiple softball abilities as a pitcher, shortstop, third baseman and hitter. “Beecher is a really small school compared to Sandburg, where they expect that out of their players,” she said. “They don’t expect it from here — which is a good thing.” There is one thing some opposing teams do expect, however. And it’s a worry. “Because I’m a lefty, when I come to the plate they expect me to slap or bunt,” she said. “They say, ‘Come in, come in.’ And coach is like, ‘No, she’s not going …

Baranek: Baseball umpire John Tumpane remembers his roots

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:36:01 -0500

He isn’t there very often from February through October, but to Evergreen Park native, 2001 St. Laurence graduate and current minor and major league umpire John Tumpane there still is no place like home. He still dates the Queen of Peace girl (Jennifer Cerny) he did in high school. In fact, they just got engaged. He hasn’t forgotten those who helped him on the path that at age 29 has him working in MLB ballparks across the nation, enforcing the rules for some of the best baseball players in the world. Perhaps most important to the area kids who are …

Baranek: No quit in Kaitlyn Ray

Thu, 09 May 2013 06:08:25 -0500

For Kaitlyn Ray, it almost was like a regularly scheduled fire drill. Injure her knee, go see the doctor, get the surgery and dive into rehab. Only this time, the fourth painful time, the drill was a little different. This time there was an option laid out for the former Lincoln-Way West and current University of St. Francis women’s basketball player. “When I met with the doctor,” Ray said, “he asked me, ‘Do you want to get it fixed?’ “I said, ‘Of course, I want to get it fixed. Why?’ “Then he said, “Well, you don’t have to get it …

Baranek: Lincoln-Way East’s Jenny VanGeertry rides fast track to success

Mon, 06 May 2013 06:09:49 -0500

If Jenny VanGeertry turns into the power-hitting team leader Lincoln-Way East softball coach Elizabeth Pawlicki predicts she will, there will be plenty of great tales to tell about the Griffins sophomore over this spring and the two to follow. But I’ve got one about her today that has a pretty good chance to stay at the top of the list. It goes back to the 2012 season, and it’s about the craziest beginning to a high school career you could possibly imagine. It started in the preseason with a kid who, after eight years of playing organized ball, had some …

Baranek: Replacing Emily Naegele and Brianna LeBeau a double dilemma

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:34:53 -0500

It’s a pretty good bet that no two Southland softball players over the past four years made those watching say “Wow!” more often than Brianna LeBeau and Emily Naegele. LeBeau, the last of three sisters who helped define Richards softball for almost a decade, had a career 73-20 pitching record, with a 0.93 ERA. She also hit .517, with 179 RBI. In 2012, she was the SouthtownStar Player of the Year. Naegele splashed onto the scene as a freshman in 2009 as the starting catcher for Oak Forest’s Class 3A state championship team. She went on to be the SouthtownStar …

Baranek: In compliance with Title IX, Homewood-Flossmoor upgrading softball facility

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:19:13 -0500

Homewood-Flossmoor softball is moving into the 21st century. Some might question why it’s going to be 14 years late in coming. But there are a lot more positives to dwell on as we update a story that first broke in the SouthtownStar in July. Jodi Bryant, director of human resources and Title IX coordinator at H-F, revealed details Thursday of improvements planned for the softball field in light of a Title IX complaint alleging that the facility was not up to the standards of the school’s baseball diamond. According to Bryant, after the 2013 softball season workers will install bleacher …

Baranek: Chris Karamesines dragging into ‘golden’ age

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:09:05 -0500

Every year, as the drag racing season turns to winter, Chris Karamesines and his wife, Sandy, sit down on the couch in their Hometown home, and she pops the question. It’s always the same question. A short one. “Well ... what do you think?” Chris Karamesines never has to think long. “He’ll always say, ‘Well ... I don’t want to hang around with the old geezers,’ ” Sandy said. This gentleman rather would start his engine. It’s been 61 years since Karamesines fired up his 1936 Ford Phaeton and won his first drag race in 1952. He’s 81 now — …

Baranek: For Jasper Williams, everything’s in Bloom

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:34:22 -0500

Bloom coach Jasper Williams might be retiring, but he certainly isn’t tiring. Williams was Leonard Bernstein at his best conducting the Blazing Trojans during their 52-41 victory over Stagg in Thursday’s Class 4A Thornton Sectional semifinal. On his feet, always. Arms and hands always doing … something. He had the final word to Johnny Griffin during a last-minute first-quarter stall that ended with Griffin converting an alley-oop pass from Zerell Jackson into a slam dunk. “Well, he was a little intense there,” Williams said of Griffin. “He was rushing everything. I just wanted him to slow down.” He worked the …

Baranek: Megan Walsh sparkles as Marian Catholic’s ‘bigger sister’

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 06:24:50 -0500

As the bus pulled away from Marian Catholic on Thursday morning, one of the most gratified people on board for the trip to this weekend’s Class 4A finals at Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena had to be Spartans senior Megan Walsh. It just doesn’t get any better for a girls high school basketball player than going to state and having a chance to reap the biggest reward, especially after three years of trying. “It feels great,” Walsh said in a phone conversation as the school bus made its way toward I-55. “I do kind of feel old, but my hard …

Baranek: Girls hoops season offers surprises

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 06:25:25 -0500

Taking time for a look back before we move ahead with the last teams standing on the final week of the girls basketball season: Let’s start with the surprises. The early season upsets that seem to be a yearly event began with Rich South dethroning Hillcrest as the Galaxy champion for the first time in eight years. But that was nothing, really, compared with Crete-Monee’s start. The Warriors, under new coach but former player and assistant Christina Cobbins, exploded out of the gates at 11-0. Beating Andrew on Dec. 4 most definitely got my attention, and it was cool giving …