When Jared Madden first started track practice last winter, he was hesitant to compete in the hurdle events.
FREEPORT – Amanda Cook did all she could to give the Sycamore girls soccer team a chance.
Mike Mercado trembled with nervousness in the batter’s box.
SYCAMORE – The way Sycamore softball coach Jill Carpenter puts it, when a team gets out of a jam, there can be a big uplift in their dugout.
1 (2) Kaneland
(13-3, 5-1 N. Illinois Big 12 East): With only one conference loss, the Knights hold the lead in the NI Big 12 East.
2 (1) DeKalb
(14-4, 4-2 NI Big 12 East): A walk-off win Tuesday against Morris kept the Barbs in the conference race.
3 (3) Genoa-Kingston
(12-4, 3-3 Big Northern East): G-K pitcher Danielle Engel threw her best game as a Cog in a win Wednedsay over Hampshire, coach Mike Lauer said.
4 (4) Sycamore
(9-12, 3-5 NI Big 12 East): Spartans could play spoiler during the second half of the conference season.
5 (5) Hiawatha
(9-5, 9-4 Little Ten Conference): The Hawks earned the top seed in the Class 1A Durand Regional.
6 (6) Indian Creek
(3-13, 3-11 LTC): Timberwolves are the No. 4 seed in the Class 1A Ashton-Franklin Center Regional.
1 (1) DeKalb
(10-1-2, 7-0-1 NI Big 12 East): The Barbs were victorious against Sycamore, and they will try to take the NI Big 12 East title from the Spartans with a win Thursday.
2 (4) Kaneland
(8-4-2, 5-1-1 NI Big 12 East): Strong defense in front of the best goalkeeper in the area make the Knights a tough team to beat.
3 (3) Sycamore
(7-9-1, 6-1-1 NI Big 12 East): Spartans have a tough slate this week with two games against Kaneland and one against DeKalb.
4 (5) Hinckley-Big Rock
(10-6-2): H-BR beat Indian Creek to win the second game of the Route 30 derby.
5 (2) Indian Creek
(8-3-4): Timberwolves will see what it is like to be postseason favorites when they kick off regional.
6 (7) Hiawatha
(6-2-1): Hawks closed out the season on a five-game winning streak.
7 (6) Genoa-Kingston
(7-11, 5-6 BNC East): Cogs will have a tough opponent in Hiawatha, but could sneak out a regional title
» Prep Buzz
DeKalb's Matt Kulma competes for fourth consecutive year.
