Eddie Carifio

Sycamore senior pitcher Bella Jacobs and senior catcher Kairi Lantz were named 3A first-teamers by the ICA earlier this week. The Spartans and Kaneland each had three representatives on the 3A team, while DeKalb and Genoa-Kingston also had all-state representation.

First camp done. Players impressed. Rob Stover's debut as Sycamore football coach shows continuity with Joe Ryan's winning culture. Running back Vasilios Arhos: "I love the program he's got going."

Grace Brunscheen is ready for her junior year. The Kaneland star averaged 10.7 points a game last season and is working to expand her post game this summer. "Mentality and mental health is super-important," she said.

At 5-10, Emma Craig is undersized for her position. But the DeKalb sophomore isn't backing down. She's using summer league to build strength and confidence against bigger competition. "This team really pushes me to be my best," she said.

Will Rosenow doesn't know if he'll play football or throw shot put in college. But at Sycamore, he's figured out each sport make him better at the other.

Krista Cobb wasn't going to let one bad throw out of 25,000 ruin her joy. The Sycamore senior rebounded from a rough showing at the Interstate 8 meet, took third at state and was named the Daily Chronicle 2026 Girls Track Athlete of the Year.

In the biggest game in school history, the Geneva baseball team went small to get things started in an 11-7 win over Rockford Boylan on Saturday in the Class 3A Sycamore Sectional championship game. Josh Frieders was 3 for 3 and scored in both the third and fourth innings.

The NIU baseball team's run in the NCAA Tournament ended Sunday with a pair of losses, closing out the team's historic run. Gavin Baldwin homered twice and Carter Cox turned in a gutsy pitching performance on short rest.

Nathan Larson struck out 12 and kept DeKalb off the scoreboard until the seventh inning, powering Huntley's 4-1 win in the Class 4A DeKalb Regional championship game.

The NIU baseball team remained undefeated in the postseason, beating Coastal Carolina 12-10 on Friday night in the first game of the Tallahassee Regional, its first NCAA tournament win in program history.

Kaneland's 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams took second in both races to reach Saturday's finals at the Class 2A state finals, Drake Gay qualified in the 3A long jump, and more.

Parker Murry and Marshall Ledbetter were among the Indian Creek and Hinckley-Big Rock track athletes to make Saturday's finals, Sycamore upset St. Francis to reach a baseball regional final and more in the roundup.

Hunter Kriese flirted with a no-hitter Thursday as No. 5 DeKalb blanked No. 4 Harlem 7-0 in a Class 4A regional semifinal. The senior struck out seven. Now the Barbs face a Huntley team Saturday that's knocked them out the last two years.

From struggling pitcher to ace. Max Vaisvila's turnaround mirrors NIU baseball's stunning rise: 35 wins this year, MAC Tournament champs, and headed to the College World Series for the first time in 54 years.

A pioneer of the modern passing game, Northern Illinois University Athletics Hall of Famer George Bork died at 84. A two-sport standout at NIU, he was the first Huskie inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.