The Huntley bowlers leaped in celebration when Nicholas Gaspari’s bowling ball knocked down all 10 pins for a memorable perfect game by someone who has bowled for just three years.

What was his approach as the ninth, then 10th, and finally 11th strike throws rolled the 60 feet and then were entered to the screen?

“I tried not to think about it,” Gaspari said of the feeling as 300 became a possibility.

“The growth of girls wrestling is amazing. There used to be just four girls on a team, and now, they have coaches dedicated only to girls teams,” Casey, a Red Raiders senior, said. Casey, a state qualifier last season, took home the best finish at fifth, at the Dan Gable Donnybrook Girls Tournament Dec. 2. She was 3-0 with all three wins by pin and to top it off, met the Olympic hero Gable.

“I worked on every small thing I was doing wrong – a lot of repetition,” Fishman said after a recent Red Raider dual win over Johnsburg.

Fishman has notched topped a 700 mark for a series against Harvard Nov. 27, but it came the same night as a near 300 perfect game, a 299, by the Hornets’ Gael Roman.

The Red Raiders beat Cary-Grove, 34-27, Nov. 28 then topped Hampshire, 43-42, as HHS’s league win streak reached 30 games. HHS stood at 4-2, 2-0 FVC.

Huntley’s defense and rebounding strengths set the pace against the Trojans.

“I thought our team played extremely hard in our win against Cary-Grove,” Red Raiders head coach Steve Raethz said. “We defended really well and that contributed to helping us win the game.”

“I was 11-or 12-years-old when I started bowling,” John DeBello said.

The youngster’s try at bowling has turned into a family effort that continues all these years later.

Grandfather John DeBello, 71, and his wife Mary both bowl competitively. Erica DeBello is the daughter of HHS coach Eric DeBello and mom Trish. They were all present to watch Erica bowl and cheer on the Red Raiders squad against Johnsburg at Huntley’s Bowl-Hi Lanes Nov.

Kosowski may now wear a whistle for drills as the new head girls wrestling coach for the Red Raiders. This is the first season of separate head coaches and teams for girls and boys wrestling. He is eager to get going and continue success of the girls squad.

Several Red Raiders wrestlers posted perfect 3-0 records at the season opening Palatine Fremd quad meet Nov. 21. Huntley downed Fremd 33-29, Grayslake Central 42-22 and Lake Zurich 60-12.

Recording 3-0 records were: senior Markos Mihalopoulos at 285 pounds; freshman Gavin Nischke at 132; senior Shane McGuine at 150; freshman Radic Dvorak at 157 and soph Cameron Abordo at 113.

The Red Raiders completed a 2-2 Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving tournament with a 60-22 thumping of South Elgin Nov. 21 following a 43-29 victory over St. Viator. They open the Fox Valley Conference slate at Cary-Grove (4-1 record) Nov. 28 to start defense of their FVC championship. HHS faces rival Hampshire (1-3) away Dec. 1.

Losses were to Boylan Catholic, 46-42 and Hononegah, 44-37.

Crosby began a celebration after the lay-up was good and then he got up, made a free throw that topped off a 55-48 victory. The Red Raiders had an outstanding opening week from start to finish at the Johnsburg Thanksgiving Tournament, with a 4-0 championship.

Crosby and Ethan Blackmore shared high scoring honors with 12 points each.

The Red Raiders topped Grant Nov. 20 in a non-alliance meet, 3,330 to 3,307 pins. Austin Tenglin led with a 638 series followed by Joseph Humphrey’s 602. Matthew Fishman contributed a 548; Landen Conforti a 542; Noah Waters a 508 and Matthew Hoglind had a 492.

Huntley beat Woodstock, 3,916 to 3,521 pins at Bowl-Hi Lanes Nov. 22.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Kalamatas said. “This job has a lot of non-basketball responsibilities to it, but I have a ton of support from our administration. That has really helped lighten the load on stuff that I have to get done on a daily basis. As far as the basketball side of things, I feel like I’m in a good rhythm now that the season has started.

Wojtas has continued to be a top notch punter at the College of DuPage, a junior college in Glen Ellyn. He averages 37.2 yards per kick after 24 punts.

“He’s done a great job for us,” COD Head Coach Matt Rahn said. “This is the deepest class of kickers we’ve ever had. Wojtas flat-out won the starting punter job.”

College of DuPage achieved a 10-1 regular season record with a 37-21 win over Georgia Military Nov.

Huntley won the first of three meetings and moved to 4-0 in duals with a 3,854 to 3,530 pins victory Nov. 15 at Hi-Bowl Lames. Juniors Austin Tenglin and Matthew Fishman topped 700 series, with scores of 730 and 708, respectively. Junior Joe Humphrey just missed 700 with a 699 score. Freshman Noah Waters contributed a 584 and junior Matthew Hoglind a 547 in the KRC/FVC dual.

The Red Raiders’ contest with Rockford Boylan went down to the wire, but the visiting Titans rallied for a 46-42 victory Nov. 14.

Sophomore Mia Garlin led the way for Huntley with 10 points, including two three-pointers, while forwards senior Yasmine Morsy and junior Paula Strzelecki tallied eight points each. Huntley led by eight points with five minutes left but led by 22 points by Lily Esparza, Boylan Catholic closed on a 14-2 run.

MCC players gained All-Region and All-Skyway Conference honors. Issy Nick, Valle Leggett, and Lilli Leggett were named to the first team All Region Team. Nick was picked for first team all conference and Valle Leggett and Alexis Schwartz were second team all conference.

Breunig reflected on his long dedication to the sport, which began as a youngster, in a recent survey.

Describe your years in youth soccer and club teams.

Breunig: “I started playing soccer when I was 5-years-old. I started out playing park district rec soccer, (where Gavin Eagan’s dad was my coach).

Huntley head girls basketball coach Steve Raethz is optimistic heading into the 2023-24 campaign with a mix of new and returning varsity players. The season opener is at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 against Boylan Catholic, part of the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving tournament.

Returning varsity players are junior guard Anna Campanelli; junior guard Ava McFadden; senior guard Cassidy Serpe and senior forward Isabella Boskey.

“We are very excited for the season to begin,” Raethz said.

Setter Laura Boberg selected University of Wisconsin-Platteville, while Morgan Jones opted for the University of Missouri;  Avery Gonzalez will attend University of Illinois-Springfield and Lizzy Williams will play volleyball at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis.

Jones, Watson and Williams were named to the All-Fox Valley Conference team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

From left to right: Alex Simios, baseball, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; Estela Tafur, cheerleading, Morehead State; Avery Gonzalez, volleyball, University of Illinois-Springfield; Morgan Jones, volleyball, University of Missouri; Lizzy Williams, volleyball, Carroll College; Laura Boberg, volleyball, University of Wisconsin, Platteville; Malachi Paplanus, baseball, Wright State University; Louis Siriano, baseball, McHenry County College and Kyle Larson, baseball, College of Lake County.

Zack Garifo, a wide receiver and safety, enjoyed his responsibility of leading the Red Raiders onto the field for warm-ups as he carried the “H” flag against Niles West for a Class 8A playoff game Oct. 27. The Red Raiders won 26-14 but lost in the second round to St. Ignatius College Prep, 35-23, on Nov. 3.

“The ‘H’ flag means a lot to us,” Garifo said.

Nitz finished 21st in Class 3A’s boys meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria, and with the top 25 and achieved All-State honors. Nitz, a junior competing at the IHSA State Meet for the third time, finished with a time of 14:42.48 on Nov. 4.

Nitz commented on his finish and experience at the state meet in general.