York Sports Roundup: Boys and Girls Basketball, Swimming, Cheerleading, Wrestling and Bowling

York High School Week in Review: Dec. 5-10

Boys Basketball
(Contributed by David Kleinschmidt, Assistant Varsity Coach)

The first home games of the season were Friday, Dec. 16, vs Conference rival Lyons Township. The freshmen won a squeaker 53-52, and the varsity team also beat the Lions, 65-56.

The varsity traveled to Proviso West Dec. 9. The Dukes trailed all game, fighting until the very end before falling 64-58.  David Cohn and Mike Despinich lead the dukes with 26 and 12 points, respectively.  The sophomore team was behind all game to the Panthers before taking the lead the last 20 seconds and holding on to victory. 

They also had a Monday night battle with Glenbard East, in which the Dukes hit a shot with 10 seconds left to seal the game. 

The sophomore and freshman teams continue to impress and improve every week.

Congratulations go out to varsity senior Matt DiFrancesca on being named November Athlete of the Month, and to coach Tom Kleinschmidt for being named November Coach of the Month.

Girls Basketball
(Contributed by Ken Dowdy, Assistant Varsity Coach)

Dec. 6—The Dukes traveled to Rolling Meadows and suffered a cold shooting night, dropping a 65-37 loss to the Mustangs. Megan Holmes led the Dukes with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, Anna Bell Lansdowne chipped in 7 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, while Hailey Park added 3 points and 4 rebounds.  Alex Harrell led York with 6 rebounds while adding 2 points, and Tawny Tucci contributed 4 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 block.

Dec. 10—The Dukes of York opened the second half of a tight game with a 22-10 run as they defeated rival Hinsdale Central 72-51 to improve to 3-0 in the West Suburban Silver and 7-2 on the season. Anna Bell Lansdowne had a career-high 23 points to go along with 5 assists and 2 steals, while Megan Holmes added 13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist.  Alex Harrell ruled the boards, corralling 12 rebounds while adding 3 points, 1 assist and 1 block. Jessica Bianchi was stellar off the bench with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, while Hailey Park added 6 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in the victory.

Dec. 13— The Dukes beat Proviso West 35-32. The team is competing in the Naperville North/Benet Academy Christmas Tourney Dec. 15-17.

Girls Bowling
(Contributed by Kelly Cassidy, Head Varsity Coach)

The girls bowling team traveled to Rich East Dec. 3, where they earned fifth- and eighth-place finishes on junior varsity and varsity, respectively. Morgan Pruitt earned individual honors for her fourth-place overall finish. 

On Dec. 6, the Dukes faced Leyden at home.  Both teams struggled to find the pocket in the first game, but Leyden had a stunner 1,176 second game and emerged victorious. Our JV squad beat Leyden 2,455-2,239. 

Cheerleading
(Contributed by Dena Poulos, Head Varsity Coach)

The York Cheerleaders did a fantastic job at their first competition of the 2011-12 season. Varsity took second place and JV took fifth place at the Bolingbrook Invitational Dec. 11. We look forward to our next competition at Lake Zurich High School Jan. 8. 

Boys Swimming
(Contributed by Mark Laurich, Head Varsity Coach)

The swimming Dukes defeated the Glenbard West Co-op team Dec. 8 100–81. Since the GW team did not have a frosh-soph level, the lower level recorded a forfeit victory. Leading the way for the varsity were Alex Waldherr (first in the 100 butterfly, second in the 200 IM), Nick Barabolak (second in the 50 free and 100 free), Colin Belfiore (second in the 200 free), Pat McKenna (second in the 100 back), and Ziggy Matsas (second in the 100 breaststroke).

On Dec. 10, the swimmers and divers competed at the West Chicago Relays. The Dukes placed fifth out of 12 teams. The diving medley team of Dan Funk, Tyler Krawzyck and Bailey Waldherr recorded a third-place finish. Swimmers John Arcaro, Scott Doberstein, Colin Belfiore and Nick Barabolak led the swimmers with their fourth-place finish in the 800 relay.

The swimming Dukes met Downers Grove North at home Dec. 16 and are hosting the fifth annual York Invitational Saturday, Dec. 17.

Wrestling
(Contributed by Terry Clarke, Head Varsity Coach)

Dec. 9: York defeated Proviso West on all four levels.

Dec. 10: Varsity finished second at the 15-team Prospect Tournament. Brandon Kupczyk was champion. Troy Valdez, Sergio Lopez and Noah Fleckenstein finished second, and Frank Connell, Ryan Bowman, Manny Vazquez and Joe Giordano finished third.

Sophomores finished second at the eight-team Wheaton North Invite. Jeff Hain and Marquis Washington were champions.