Pils commits to basketball at Augustana
Libertyville senior Griffin Pils, who scored 40 points in an overtime win over Carmel last winter, hopes to be scoring more points in college.
The multisport standout has decided to continue his basketball career with coach Grey Giovanine’s Augustana Vikings.
Pils has won six varsity letters in three sports at Libertyville.
A three-year letter winner in basketball, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard was the Wildcats captain and MVP for coach Scott Bogumil this season.
The all-area selection was an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A/4A special mention all-stater who averaged 17 points, 6.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2 steals a game and shot .862 from the free throw line for Libertyville this season.
Pils lettered as a sophomore and junior in soccer and had 3 goals and 3 assists for Libertyville’s Class 3A state runner-up club as a junior. One of his goals came in the team’s 3-2, double-overtime state final loss to Rockford Boylan.
He also lettered in tennis as a sophomore, taking fourth place at sectionals and finishing in the top 48 at state.
He’s a three-year honor roll member at Libertyville and is active with Athletes Committed to Excellence. He was also an attendee of the NSC Athletic Leadership Conference.
Augustana is 201-69 (. 744) in the last 13 seasons under Giovanine, including five College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season championships and three conference tournament titles.
Football
Senior guard Joe Pawlak (Grayslake) has gained membership in the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame’s Hampshire Honor Society for 2012.
He was honored by the NFF for his excellence in the classroom.
Pawlak has maintained a 3.325 GPA in sociology/criminology.
Pawlak started every game for the Huskies over the last three years for a total of 41 career starts in 49 games played at NIU.
Pawlak was a member of the Huskies’ offensive unit that broke 12 single-season school records and ranked in the top five in the conference in eight different statistical categories in 2011.
The offensive line allowed 12 sacks in 14 games, ranking tenth in the country for fewest sacks allowed.
Kessel Heat
Summer AAU Tryouts for the Kessel Heat are June 13 to Aug. 3 at the Libertyville Sports Complex from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays at Falcon Park Recreation Center (Palatine) from June 12 to Aug. 3.
Other summer camps are offered. Check out the website http://www.kesselstraining.com./
There are no cuts for the tryouts.
Softball
Schaumburg third baseman Courtney Raschk has committed to play for the first softball team at Roosevelt University.
“I am very excited for Courtney and her future adventure of playing for the first team at Roosevelt University,” said Saxons coach Ellen Stoddard. “I believe Courtney will be a tremendous asset to the team with her great attitude, fast hands and love for the game.” Raschk is hitting .364 and is tied for team lead with 9 stolen bases. “I feel that Courtney is not only an amazing person with a big heart, but she truly loves the game of softball,” Stoddard added.
Raschk plans to study elementary education and is excited to play for coach Amanda Scott, a four-time All-American pitcher for Fresno State.
Scott earned a spot on the U.S. National Team from 1997-2000. She won gold at the 1998 World Championships and was an alternate on the gold medal winning 2000 U.S. Olympic Team.
“I’ve always wanted to play college softball,” Raschk said. “And they have a good education program there.
“Coach Scott is so sweet and I’m really excited to be playing for her.”
Hall of famer Gresens
Longtime Hersey softball assistant Carol (Moran) Gresens was inducted into the Resurrection High School Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 1967.
Gresens was an accomplished volleyball and basketball player at the Chicago catholic school that did not have a softball team when she graduated.
Gresens will retire from her job on the security staff at Hersey this year. She coached freshmen and junior varsity softball for 10 years. Her children, Amy and David, are Hersey graduates. Amy played on an IHSA Elite Eight volleyball qualifier for coach Nancy Lill.
Women’s volleyball
Wisconsin-Milwaukee feshman Kayla Price (Fremd) was one of the two “Newcomers of the Year” for the school’s Golden Panther Awards.
Last fall, Price was named the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association Midwest region Freshman of the Year and Horizon League Volleyball “Newcomer of the Year”.
Women’s golf
Iowa sophomore Karly Grouwinkel (Prospect) competed in the Women’s Big Ten Meet at Indiana’s golf course. “It has always been my goal to play in the Big Ten Meet and to do that as a sophomore really feels great,” said Grouwinkel, who played at Prospect for Jim Hamman, coach of the 2012 Class AA state champs.
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