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Prep talk: Mira Costa is No. 1 in boys' volleyball, beach volleyball, girls' lacrosse

Prep talk: Mira Costa is No. 1 in boys' volleyball, beach volleyball, girls' lacrosse

Yahoo27-03-2025

Prep talk: Mira Costa is No. 1 in boys' volleyball, beach volleyball, girls' lacrosse
Mira Costa volleyball players, from left, Alex Heins, Mateo Fuerbringer, Justin Warner and Grayson Bradford celebrate during their victory over Loyola on Friday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
It could be ring season this spring for Mira Costa High teams.
According to the Southern Section power rankings, Mira Costa is the No. 1-ranked team in boys' volleyball, No. 1 in beach volleyball and No. 1 in girls' lacrosse. …
The Michelle Carew Classic in softball will be held April 2-5 in Orange County. Peralta Canyon Park, Yorba Regional Park and Canyon High will be the primary sites.
Norco leads the 32-team field. …
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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The best ever? Ohio State recruit Christian Teresi and Marist make case with state championship. ‘It's awesome.'
The best ever? Ohio State recruit Christian Teresi and Marist make case with state championship. ‘It's awesome.'

Chicago Tribune

time7 days ago

  • Chicago Tribune

The best ever? Ohio State recruit Christian Teresi and Marist make case with state championship. ‘It's awesome.'

Marist's Christian Teresi wasn't going to argue with his coach. Jordan Vidovic proclaimed that the RedHawks are the best team in Illinois to ever play the sport. After they won their second straight state title, the Ohio State-bound Teresi quickly agreed. 'Of course I want to stay humble,' Teresi said. 'But I'm going to agree with him 100% on that. We went to California and beat the No. 1 team in the nation (Mira Costa). 'I feel like that was a big accomplishment for an Illinois high school. And now we won the state championship again. It's awesome.' Teresi continued his role as an awesome do-it-all player Saturday. The senior setter/right-side hitter produced 14 kills on a .619 hitting percentage to lead Marist to a 25-20, 25-20 victory over Glenbard West in the boys volleyball state championship match at Hoffman Estates. While Teresi added 15 assist and seven digs for the RedHawks (40-2), MIT recruit Nathen Toth tallied 11 kills, Jacob Finley notched 18 assists and Rorey Donnelly delivered 11 digs. Charlie Clifford led the Hilltoppers (36-6) with eight kills in a match that featured 21 ties and four lead changes. But the several times Marist needed a big play, Teresi usually provided it. 'I was telling Jacob, our setter, to keep setting me because they were not stopping me at all,' Teresi said. 'I was just going on a roll and I wanted to keep getting set. 'These are the games where I really want to stand out. There are a lot of people watching. I know we played Glenbard twice during the season, but we knew coming into this game, this was going to be a brand-new team.' It's the second straight state title in boys volleyball, third overall for the boys and third straight for Vidovic, who won in 2024 with the boys in the spring and then the girls team in the fall. Earlier in the day, Marist beat Lane Tech 25-15, 25-19 in the semifinals. Toth totaled six kills and five aces to lead the RedHawks, while Teresi chipped in with four kills and eight assists. Finley recorded eight assists and Donnelly had seven digs against Lane (35-7). Marist then put an exclamation point on a season in which the RedHawks went 30-0 against Illinois teams and dropped just one set — Friday against Lake Park in the state quarterfinals. That had Vidovic excited about placing this team at the top of the state's history list. 'There is no doubt in my mind because we went out and did it,' he said. 'Everybody else is hypothetical and we went out and played the best of the best. We went toe-to-toe with the most stacked high school volleyball teams … probably ever. 'I've been around some great Illinois teams as a player, as a spectator, as a sibling, as a coach, and I've seen some phenomenal teams, but the way the game is played right now, the speed and the way the ball is travelling, there was nothing like that back then.' Teresi closed a four-year varsity career with one more big match under his belt as a goodbye. 'I've never seen a player as compete as Christian — not at all,' Toth said. 'He can do everything. He's super athletic. He's got a wicked arm swing. I really don't know what this kid can't do. 'I don't know how you can go up there on the block and stop him.' About the only thing Saturday night that could almost stop Teresi was a question about if this year's title felt better than a year ago. It was almost like asking a parent who the favorite child is. 'I don't know … I think this year was more exciting for our team,' Teresi said. 'Well, actually I think last year was more exciting because it was our first one. 'But this was better because of us winning last year.'

Defense delivers as Makayla Van Dinther pitches St. Charles East to shutout of South Elgin. ‘Stressful situations.'
Defense delivers as Makayla Van Dinther pitches St. Charles East to shutout of South Elgin. ‘Stressful situations.'

Chicago Tribune

time07-06-2025

  • Chicago Tribune

Defense delivers as Makayla Van Dinther pitches St. Charles East to shutout of South Elgin. ‘Stressful situations.'

Catch her if you can, but it isn't easy. Makayla Van Dinther may not be an intimidating physical presence in the circle for St. Charles East, but the junior right-hander has been pure magic during an impressive postseason run. it has the surprising Saints one win away from the state finals and a trip to Peoria. 'I knew we were going to be a tough out,' St. Charles East coach Jarod Gutesha said. 'With 15 losses, everybody is ranked above us, but I knew our lineup was going to be tough. 'With our schedule, we've experienced disappointment with a stretch of one and two-run losses, but you learn from those disappointments.' Van Dinther proved that point again Friday in the Class 4A Palatine Fremd Sectional championship game, completing a six-hit shutout for the Saints in a 5-0 victory over South Elgin. The fifth-seeded Storm (29-5) appeared to have her on the ropes multiple times, but she escaped trouble that included back-to-back bases-loaded jams in the third and fourth innings. Van Dinther (13-9) struck out five and walked just one in winning for the third time in four playoff games to go with a save for the sixth-seeded Saints (23-15), who will play at 6 p.m. Monday in the Barrington Supersectional against the host Fillies (33-3-1), a 2-0 winner over Huntley. Afterward, Van Dinther passed some of that credit to junior catcher Hayden Sujack. 'Those jams were stressful situations,' Van Dinther said. 'But my catcher and I talked, and we located some counts because it was a tight strike zone. I just trusted my defense.' Senior third baseman Holly Smith provided some stellar defense in the third inning, charging a grounder on the line, scooping the ball up and flipping it to Sujack out of her glove all in one motion for the third out on a force play at the plate. And second baseman Alyse Price almost saw it coming. 'Makayla threw a great pitch,' Smith said. 'It was a weak contact. It might have rolled foul, but I was ahead of the runner so I tried the glove flip and Hayden made a nice stretch. 'It's funny. Alyse Price and I were just talking about glove flipping before the game and it comes up. First time I've ever used it at third base.' Van Dinther, who bailed herself out the next inning by retiring a batter on a comeback grounder with the bases loaded and two out, appreciated the Smith-Sujack connection. 'Amazing play,' said Van Dinther, who also praised a catch by senior left fielder Eden Corcoran. 'That kind of saved my butt there. We played good all-around. Our outfield did a great job. 'Eden made an amazing catch to save another run that was great to see.' Van Dinther ended up stranding nine runners. South Elgin's defensive struggles made it tough on Loyola-bound senior left-hander Anna Kiel, who started in the circle for a second straight day but was lifted after three innings trailing 2-0. Sparked by Sujack's double, St. Charles East took advantage of three errors to score twice in the first inning. The Storm made seven errors, allowing the Saints to add a run in the sixth and two in the seventh. Junior right fielder Lexi Majkszak added two hits and two RBIs for St. Charles East, while sophomore center fielder Morgan Beers went 4-for-4. 'Definitely my first four-hit game,' Beers said. 'We had to get the job done, and as long as I had good energy, I was really confident at the plate.' At the same time, Gutesha has faith in Beers. 'She puts the bat on the ball consistently and she's got wheels,' he said. 'Speed don't slump.' Beers drove in the fourth run and also scored the fifth to support Van Dinther. 'Even when she was in those jams, she was still throwing well,' Gutesha said of Van Dinther. 'She was still hitting her spots, and it wasn't like they were barreling it up and hitting gaps, gaps, gaps. 'She was doing her thing.'

‘He's just different': KU freshman Darryn Peterson already has teammate's attention
‘He's just different': KU freshman Darryn Peterson already has teammate's attention

Yahoo

time05-06-2025

  • Yahoo

‘He's just different': KU freshman Darryn Peterson already has teammate's attention

Prolific Prep guard Darryn Peterson (24) dribbles the ball as he sets up a move in the second half of the Grind Session High School Basketball World Championships against DME Academy at Coffin Sports Complex on Saturday, March 22, 2025 in Lawrence, Kansas. Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson hasn't been in Lawrence long, but he's already had a memorable first practice. His current favorite teammate is newcomer and Loyola-Chicago transfer Jayden Dawson. 'Me and Jayden Dawson were killing it yesterday in the three-on-three and four-on-four,' Peterson said. Advertisement The former five-star recruit, nicknamed 'Bucket Jones' by his father, Darryl, has already made quite an impression on his teammates and coach Bill Self. Self called Peterson a 'generational talent' Monday. Dawson didn't quite say that, but the word generational was also thrown around. 'He's just different,' Dawson told The Star about Peterson. 'He's just one of those generational athletes that you don't really come across. It's just special. You can just see it based on his talent alone. This summer alone, he's going to grow so much. Just the talent alone — not too many players you can see that's as good as him.' Dawson has NBA dreams; it's one of the reasons why he picked the Jayhawks. Peterson will certainly command plenty of NBA attention as a contender for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Advertisement 'DP being the projected number one pick, that's just going to put eyes on me,' Dawson said. 'Bringing NBA scouts and NBA GMs every day for practices and games is exactly what I need for me to get where I want to get to.' That synergy between Dawson and Peterson will be pivotal for the Jayhawks. Dawson is the only player currently on KU's roster who shot above 35% from 3 last season. He averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game last season for the Ramblers. Dawson will compete for one of the starting roles alongside Peterson. 'It felt good just being able to be on his side, being his teammate, watching what he can do, which is crazy,' Dawson said. ' I think we complement each other's game really, really well. Being able to shoot the ball as well as we can, I think it just opens up the floor for us so much. Advertisement 'We already have that connection a little bit finding each other. I think it's going to be really special.' Finding the right running mates alongside Peterson has been work in progress for Self and his staff. Multiple players who were linked to KU through the transfer portal told The Star that Peterson recruited them, and Self discussed their fit alongside Peterson. Dawson was no different. He's known about the former five-star recruit for a while. Dawson recalled seeing the battles between Peterson and BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa at the high school level. Peterson and Dybantsa were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the class of 2025 by 247Sports. Dawson also got to see a young Peterson firsthand at a basketball camp and came away impressed with his ability to get buckets. Advertisement As for what KU fans and his teammates can expect from Dawson? 'I'm just going to be that guy that's going to do whatever is asked of him,' Dawson said. 'If I gotta dive on a loose ball, I'll dive on it. If I (have) to hit an open 3 and sit in the corner (I'll do it.) If I (have) to guard the best player, I'll do whatever is asked of me. 'Knowing I'm that vet – I'm one of the vets on the team — I'll do whatever is asked of me.'

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