Sophomore Jacob Gramer qualified for the state meet in two individual events and helped a relay team to state as the DeKalb-Sycamore co-op swim team won the team title Saturday at the Byron Sectional.
The Barbs compiled 232 points to narrowly beat Hononegah’s 228 points. Belvidere North was third with 160 points.
Congratulations DeKalb Swim Team Sectional Champions!!!! OneBarb!!@1BarbAthletics @DeKalb428DHS @JHorne_DHS428 pic.twitter.com/YMZIOxKWTI
— Melinda Cattell (@APCattell) February 19, 2022
Gramer won the 50-yard freestyle in 20.22 seconds and finished third in the 100 freestyle in 46.61 seconds. Gramer’s times in both events set team records.
Gramer teamed up with junior Noah Johnson, sophomore Max Palacios and senior Jared VanderSchee to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:27.29, a pool and sectional record.
VanderSchee also qualified for state in the 50 freestyle with a fourth-place finish in 21.76 seconds.
Boys Basketball
Indian Creek 41, Amboy 26: At Shabbona, the Timberwolves won their Class 1A Indian Creek Regional quarterfinal against visiting Amboy behind 20 points from Grant Schlorff. Jeffrey Probst scored 10.
Indian Creek will play Somonauk in a regional semifinal at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Hinckley-Big Rock 72, Alden-Hebron 34: At Hinckley, the Royals cruised to a win in a Class 1A Alden-Hebron Regional quarterfinal.
Hinkley-Big Rock will play Durand in a regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
South Beloit 72, Hiawatha 35: At South Beloit, the Hawks finished their season with a loss in a Class 1A Alden-Hebron Regional quarterfinal.
Genoa-Kingston 54, Sandwich 52: At Genoa, the Cogs (22-9) tied the school record for most wins in a season – set back in 1956 – with a victory over Sandwich in a Class 2A Aurora Christian Regional quarterfinal.
Colin Nesler led G-K with 14 points. Jake Oates, Josh Oates and Alec Golembiewski each added 11.
The Cogs will face Rockford Christian in a regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Girls Bowling
IHSA State Tournament: At the Cherry Bowl in Rockford, Sycamore junior Brandi Stover rolled three-game series of 553 and 557 to finish in 54th place overall with a two-day total of 2,225. Vandalia’s Madison Ferguson won the individual state title with a two-day total of 2,842.
Women’s Basketball
NIU 73, Western Michigan 55: At DeKalb, the Huskies earned a Mid-American Conference win at the Convocation Center behind a double-double from A’Jah Davis.
Davis scored 18 points and brought down 10 rebounds to go along with four assists. Jayden Marable added 16 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Janae Poison had 11 points.
With the victory, NIU coach Lisa Carlsen became the third coach in the history of the NIU women’s basketball program to win 100 games.
“When you do this for a long time, numbers are bound to happen,” Carlsen said following Saturday’s win. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at NIU. I’ve had some great people on staff and have been blessed with a lot of great players. Getting up to do this on a day-to-day basis is what I love to do. This team makes it really fun to come to work and hopefully we can continue to win ballgames.”
The Huskies (11-13, 8-8) are back in action at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Eastern Michigan in DeKalb.
Men’s Basketball
Miami (Ohio) 78, NIU 75: At DeKalb, Miami’s Precious Ayah hit two free throws with four seconds remaining and Kaleb Thornton’s desperation 3-pointer was off the mark in a MAC loss at the Convocation Center for the Huskies.
NIU (8-17, 5-10) had five players in double digits, led by Adong Makoui with 14 points and eight rebounds. Trendon Hankerson (4 steals) and Keshawn Williams each had 13 points.
Chinedu Kingsley Okanu and Darweshi Hunter each scored 10 points, while Thornton had nine points, eight assists and four rebounds.