Former players laud retiring Glenbrook South coach, Prospect grad Weissenstein

The 1979 Prospect High School graduate was following in some big footsteps when he took over the Glenbrook South girls basketball program 21 years ago.

Steve Weissenstein replaced hall of fame Titans coach Howard Romanek.

So how did he fare?

Weissenstein made it back-to-back Titan coaches in the hall fame, being inducted in 2015.

He is retiring after this school year and last Saturday, when his team played Hersey, several former Titans showed up to honor him.

One of them was 2009 graduate Erin Cepa, now teaching health and physical education at Gemini Junior High in Niles.

"He is just a standout guy," said Cepa, now an assistant coach for Stevenson's girls program. "He always wanted to get to know his players as people first more than athletes. He has your back for anything."

The person who made the biggest impact on Weissenstein's venture into education and coaching was his freshman coact at Prospect, Ron Ashley, who went on to become the Knights' varsity coach.

"It has been almost 40 years since I played for coach Ashley, but his signature is still on the teams I coach and classes I teach," said Weissenstein the year he was inducted into the IBCA hall of fame.

And now Weissenstein has put his signature on Glenbrook South, both as a business teacher (Glenbrook South's 2009 Teacher of the Year) and basketball coach.

He began this season with 415 wins in charge of the girls program, including a sectional championship in 2004.

"I graduated 10 years ago and I know I can always go to him for advice, a reference letter or whatever," added Cepa, who went on to play at Lakeland University. "He just really got to know his players before he coached us and I think that really helped because we got to have a really good relationship with him."

"He's just a great guy and I hope one day I can be half the coach he is."

Prospect coach Marie Miller taught at Glenbrook South for one year in the family consumer science department and got to know Weissenstein.

"He's just a hall of fame teacher and person," said Miller, who when she was a sophomore center at Prospect faced Weissenstein's Titans in a sectional. "He does this thing every year where he wrote a personal letter to all his seniors and he sends it to them. He's wonderful."

Coincidentally, in his final regular-season game against a Mid-Suburban League team, he faced another hall of famer in Hersey's Mary Fendley.

"Steve is a total pro," Fendley said. "He exudes passion for the game. His great successes are a testament to his excellence in coaching. It has been a privilege to coach against him over the years."

Women's track

Marquette senior Catherine Sherwood (Prospect) was named the Big East Female Field Athlete of the Week.

Sherwood was outstanding in her two jump events at the John Tierney Classic in Milwaukee.

She took first place in the long jump (5.68 meters, 18 feet, 7.75 inches) and third place in the triple jump (11.23 meters, 36-10.25).

Her distance in the long jump was a personal-best and the eighth-best jump in Marquette history. Her performance proved crucial in the Golden Eagles' 10-point dual victory over crosstown foe Milwaukee.

Don't forget ...

This Saturday, there will be a recognition day for the annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day at the Forest View Educational Center from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Prospect girls athletic director Rebecca Schilz and Elk Grove girls AD Jackie Randall have invited District 214 athletes and parents to a Sports Summit with keynote speakers Mary Wise (University of Florida head volleyball coach) and Raquel Prewitt-White (University of Chicago Professor and psychologist).

Speakers on the panel include Kiley Walsh (Prospect), Diamond Boyd (Elk Grove), Amanda Brown (Northwestern University, Athletic Department, Assistant Director of Career Enhancement and Employer Relations), Laura Joya (Wheeling), Natalie Curtis (Hersey), Jackie Kemph (Rolling Meadows) and Lindsey Hamma (Buffalo Grove).

All current District 214 female student-athletes and coaches are invited to attend. You can reach out to moderators Jackie Randall, jacquelyn.randall@D214.org, or Rebecca Schilz, rebecca.schilz@d214.org, with questions.

RSVP to the event here: http://bit.ly/D214womeninsports

Women's basketball

Northwestern junior Bryana Hopkins (Fremd) led Northwestern with a career-high 6 assists when the Wildcats posted a 72-46 win over visiting Wisconsin.

• Facing a box-and-one defense the entire game, Duke redshirt junior Haley Gorecki (Fremd) finished with 14 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and 4 rebounds while playing 33 minutes in a 66-52 victory over Wake Forest.

• Alabama-Biringham senior Deanna Kuzmanic (Wheeling) had 15 points, going 7-for-8 at the free throw line and collecting 5 rebounds in a 70-60 victory over visiting North Texas. The Blazers are 18-2 and 6-1.

• Carthage junior forward Maggie Berigan (Hersey) had a season-high 4 blocks in a 67-59 victory over Elmhurst. It was the Lady Reds' eighth straight win as they improved to 14-5 and 8-2 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin.

Women's swimming

University of Findlay (Ohio) sophomore Sarah Miles won a pair of individual events during a three-team meet at Tiffin University where Findlay defeated the host school and Ursuline College.

Miles, who is transitioning to a distance swimmer, took first place in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:20.92. It was the first time in her competitive career that she swam the 1,000. Later, she won the 200-yard backstroke in 2:13.95. Miles also was part of a second-place foursome in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Football

Augustana released its final stats from last fall and junior Bobby Jarosz (Prospect) rushed for 353 yards and a team-high 8 touchdowns on 61 carries.

Men's volleyball

Lewis University redshirt sophomore middle blocker TJ Murray (Barrington) had 11 kills to help pace the No. 9 ranked Flyers (5-3) in a five-set loss at No. 10 California -Santa Barbara.

Men's swimming

Lewis senior Colin Williams (Elk Grove) placed second at 22.13 in the 50 freestyle when the 25th-ranked Flyers defeated visiting Lincoln College. The Flyers won all 12 events in the dual meet.

• Email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com