Willowbrook student-athletes represent Warrior Pride during fall sports season

Pictured is Willowbrook Athletic Director Bob Daly.

It was a tremendous fall sports season at Willowbrook, and our student-athletes certainly continued the Warrior Pride that is Willowbrook Athletics!

Below is a recap with highlights.

Girls Tennis
The Girls Tennis Varsity Team finished the season with a 7-7 dual-meet record and was led by senior captains Catherine Storck, Millie Zachariah and Hailey Vogt. Highlights of the season included a 3rd-place finish at the District 88 Invitational and Zachariah and Vogt being named as All-Conference players. Academic All-Conference members were seniors Zachariah, Vogt, Storck, Mariyyah Khan, Maria Alcala, Danielle Celio and Lili Greiwe.

Boys Cross-Country
The Willowbrook distance runners continued to build all season long for the most important races in October and finished 5th in Conference. Junior Matt Caron was an All-Conference medalist and qualified for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Sectional Meet. Academic All-Conference runners were seniors Peter Friguletto, Alec Gruchalski, Michael Isaacson and Omer Mirza.

Girls Cross-Country
The team had an exciting season, with great individual performances. Seven of the team’s seniors are graduating, and they all possess character qualities that are encouraging and have left a positive impression on their teammates. Junior Victoria Palma was an All-Conference medalist, and she and freshman Daylee Braden qualified for the IHSA Sectionals. Palma was an IHSA State-Qualifier as well. Academic All-Conference athletes were seniors Briana Jones, Evelyn Yao, Lydia Bauernfreund, Kaylynn Kattiyaman, Angela Klingelhoffer, Jennifer Williams and Catherine Pegler.

Boys Golf
The Boys Varsity Golf Team finished its season with a 7-5 dual-meet record. The team continued to grow throughout the year, and the boys fired their season-best round at the IHSA Regional Meet with a score of 324. Juniors Taylor Sarovich and Joseph Guthrie Jr. qualified for the IHSA Sectionals as well. All-Conference medalists were Sarovich and senior Henry Martens. Academic All-Conference golfers were seniors Martens, Tim Keefe and John Morser.

Girls Golf
The Girls Golf Team was led by senior captain and MVP Sophia Parrillo. Every golfer on the team achieved personal best scores by the end of the season. Academic All-Conference golfers were seniors Parrillo, Arielle Alibudbud, Sarah Cismesia and Leah Gensel.

AT/WB Girls Swimming
The team had another rock solid season and finished 4th in Conference. All-Conference medalists were junior Anna Christiansen, senior Grace Roucka, junior Gabriella Panegasser, Addison Trail freshman Nell Pawlowski, junior Elissa Haake, Addison Trail senior Michelle Ramirez and Addison Trail freshman Nancy Obrzut. Senior Estefani Karasek earned Academic All- Conference honors. Haake also qualified for the IHSA Girls Swimming & Diving State Meet for the third consecutive year. This year, she competed in the 100-Yard Freestyle and the 200-Yard Freestyle.

Girls Volleyball
The Girls Volleyball Team was led by captains sophomore Payton Ceh, senior Marissa Marcello and senior Kathleen Smith. The team finished in 4th place in Conference. All-Conference players were Ceh and senior Taylor Balsitis. Academic All-Conference honorees were seniors Balsitis, Smith and Jessica Ragucci. Balsitis also was selected to the Illinois High School Girls All-Star Volleyball Game and Senior Showcase.

Boys Soccer
The Boys Varsity Soccer Team was led by senior captains Patrick Florey, Tomas Hernandez and Miguel Correa. The boys finished 7-11 overall, but once healthy, they finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak, with a great win on Senior Night over Downers Grove South. All-Conference players were Hernandez and senior Efren Gomez. Academic All-Conference members were seniors Hernandez, Correra, Florey, Taha Akhtar, Steven Cerda-Sanchez, Mohamed Eldeen, Mitchell Jones, Milos Popratnjak, Thomas Schueler and Ismael Roman. Hernandez also was named as an All-Sectional player, and Correa was named as an All-Sectional Honorable Mention.

Football
The Varsity Football Team had a historic year. The team claimed its first outright Conference title since 1982 and its first West Suburban Gold title. The team finished 8-1 in the regular season and advanced to the Quarterfinals of the IHSA Playoffs for the second consecutive year. There were many accolades for the players and coaches as a result of this great team effort. All-Conference athletes were senior Kevon Dobbins, senior Nicolas Sabatino, senior Jacob Entwistle, junior Scott Tumilty, sophomore Samuel Tumilty, senior Brandon Loth, senior John Taylor, senior Christian Washington, junior Matt Knudtson, senior Jack Jessen and senior Edgar Quintas. Academic All-Conference athletes were seniors Sabatino, Taylor, Jessen, Loth, Sikander Zafar, Chase Cavanaugh, Justice Thomas Ceh, Tyler Guerrero, Liam Dilger, Sean Olson and Betty-Ann Garrett. Other Conference honors were:

  • West Suburban Conference Gold Division MVP – Jessen
  • West Suburban Conference Gold Division Kicker of the Year – Garrett
  • West Suburban Conference Gold Division Offensive Lineman of the Year – Quintas
  • West Suburban Conference Gold Division Special Teams Player of the Year – senior Martique Barksdale

Eight team members also earned Daily Herald All-Area honors: Dobbins, Jessen, Loth, Scott Tumilty, Entwistle, Sabatino, Taylor and Quintas. Jessen was named as the 2017 Daily Herald DuPage County Red Grange Football Captain, which means he was selected as captain of the Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area Football Team. All-State honors went to Jessen, Scott Tumilty and Dobbins. Academic All-State honors were earned by Loth, Sam Tumilty, Knudtson, Scott Tumilty, Jessen and Sabatino.

Other football awards:

  • Garrett was named as the Wintrust Athlete of the Week for Oct. 13 by Wintrust and NBC Sports Chicago.
  • Head Coach Nick Hildreth was named as the Papa John’s Bears High School “Coach of the Week” for Week 9 of the IHSA football season.

* Willowbrook is part of the West Suburban Conference Gold Division.

We look forward to more athletic successes during the winter and spring seasons. Go, Warriors!