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MCC spikers, harriers and linksters underway By Steve Peterson Plaindealer News Service CRYSTAL LAKE - McHenry County College's three fall sports teams are tired of waiting. So, this week, their seasons get into full swing. • Cross-country Coach Stan Locknar is hoping to send run­ ners to the nationals later this year for the second straight sea­ son. Nationals will be hosted by Harper College in Palatine Nov. 9. ".We'll have three quality run­ ners for the nationals," Locknar said. The Scots, though, do not have enough runners to qualify for team scores. MCC opened its 1985 campaign at a four-mile race hosted by Waubonsee Sept. 11. McHenry resident Wally Henshall finished fifth in the men's division. Crys­ tal Lake South grad Michelle Zimmerman was second in the women's division and Becky Spurr, another former Gator, was fourth on the three-mile course. "I'm happy with what we have, but I wish we had more," Locknar said of the small turnout. After competing in the first of three Skyway meets, MCC fin­ ished 14th at the Chief's Invita­ tional Sept. 14. The meet fea­ tured most of the junior colleges in Illinois, Locknar said. Henshall was 17th in the men's division with a 27:49 clocking. That race was highlighted by a course-record 26:10 over the five- mile course. Zimmerman placed sixth in the women's division registering a 21:54 over three miles. Zimmerman will be facing double duty as an MCC athlete this fall, as she Is also a member of the volleyball squad. The Scot runners are sched­ uled to compete in the Skyway meet at Oakton Friday and the Raiders' Invitational, hosted by Oakton Oct. 5. In golf, Coach Mike Capaccio is hoping his linksters will find individual improvement and team respectability this fall. "We'll try to improve as indi­ viduals and hope to get to respec- tablity as a team," the second- year golf coach said. . The Scots have one meet under their belts as a team, one hosted by Crystal Woods Sept. 17. MCC came in fifth in the six-team Sky­ way Conference meet. Oakton won the meet with a 316, the College of Lake County had 332, Waubonsee and Wright tied at 361 and MCC had a 388. Morton was far back in last with 499. Tom Smith had low honors for the hosts with an 88. McHenry's Rob Worzala carded a 92. Mary Wohnrade turned in an 100 while Mark Wohnrade had a 108. Both are Marian grads. The Scot linksters next com­ pete in a Skyway meet hosted by the College of Lake County at Floss Park in North Chicago Wednesday. MCC competes in two Skyway matches nexi week. Third-year volleyball Coach Doug Sijersen is hoping 1985 will see the magic that prevailed in 1983. Like the White Sox winning baseball's American League West that year, the Scots cleaned up on opponents. MCC finished with a best-ever record of 11-7 in dual matches, won the Skyway Conference title and the section­ al tournament, earning a berth in the regionals. Led by Skyway Conference Most Valuable Play­ er Holly Ryan of Marian Central, MCC placed four players on the All-Skyway Conference teams. Last year, like the White Sox's '84 season, would be one to for­ get. The Scots tied for last in the league. ---s-- . "We don't have a superstar like Holly, but this year's team is the most talented we've had. We should be solid all the way across. We should be better than .500," Sijersen said. The Scot spikers have a defi­ nite Crystal Lake flavor as all but one player spent their high school days at Central or South. Amy Erickson, Jamie Morrow and Bonnie Burwell are all Cen­ tral products. Ex-Gators include Michele and Rene Zimmerman. The lone non-Crystal Lake prod­ uct is Mildred Roby, who gradu­ ated from Dominician High in Milwaukee. The Scots already have some­ thing in common with the '83 team- lack of depth. MCC had six players two years ago, and the Scots again are forced to go three-on-three in preparing for Thursday's 5:15 p.m. home open­ er against Morton. "They'll get better the more they scrimmage," Sijersen said. Sijersen pointed to height and leadership as two of his team's strong points. "We've got a lot of leadership. We'll be one of the taller teams in the conference," Sijersen said. Burwell is MCC's tallest player at 6-1, followed by Burwell at 5- 11, Ruby and Rene Zimmerman at 5-9 and Michelle Zimmerman at 5-8. MCC is facing a tough non- conference slate this year. Clin­ ton, Iowa comes to MCC as part of a triple-header Oct. 15. MCC also travels to Ogelsby, II. to f a c e I l l i n o i s V a l l e y a n d Kankakee. Thursday, September 26,1985 Plaindealer photo by Phil English Wright on a Wrampage J.R. Wright, above, and the McHenry cross-country squads, will take part in a double Fox Valley Conference dual meet at Dundee- Crown with Woodstock Thursday afternoon. The Warrior boys are 1-1 in the FVC. Rocket spikers hold off stubborn 'Skins By Plaindealer sports staff y HUNTLEY -- "It's never easy." Richmond-Burton volleyball coach Jan Welch has known that for some time, but Huntley's Redskins reinforced that belief Tuesday afternoon as the Rockets held off a stubborn Huntley squad. 15-7, 15-13 in a Big Eight Conference match. "They have a nice team. They have some very big girls," Welch said Marian spikers play 4terriblebut win after her team upped its BEC record to 6-1 and its overall mark to 8-1. "It was a tough match, but I think we were prepared for it. They had some good hitters. They just beat themselves." Huntley hit several spike attempts out of bounds, which gave Richmond the momentum needed to win this tough conference battle. After playing to a 7-all tie in game one, Shannon Bill served three straight points before R-B lost serve. Once the Rockets got the ball back, Cherie Mars peppered four aces out of five serves giving the Rockets the win. That momentum was short-circuited by Huntley in the early going of game two as the 'Skins jumped to a 4-1 lead. R-B battled to tie the score and eventually took the lead at 5-4. The Rockets return to their friendly confines Thursday when they host Harvard in a conference match-up. Chris iuzwik Plaindealer sports editor On Larry Holmes' class, the Warriors'troubles and those Skyhawk fans This, that and the other thing from the cluttered desk of your friendly neighborhood sports writer : • Whether or not Rocky Marciano could carry Larry Holmes' jock­ strap is insignificant. For sure, though, he wouldn't want to. Holmes' tirade after he lost his title to Michael Spinks didn't tarnish Marciano's name. It just reinforced what many people had always thought about Larry Holmes: that he's a stiff. He can apologize all he wants, but a lack of class speaks for itself. • Here's Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth trying to make baseball a nice place to work, and the players are giving him a hard time again. If you didn't have anything to worry about, wouldn't you subject to a test from your employer to prove it? When did baseball ever inflict hard times upon its players? The very, very least ballplayers should do is say, hey, we work for you, you can trust us. Give us the tests.' They owe the game and its storied past at least that much. • Expect the Cubs to undergo a major overhaul during the winter. Gary Mathews, Ron Cey, Bob Dernier and perhaps Leon Durham or Keith Moreland could be on their way out. • If you look outside and wonder if fall is really here or not, remember that the Bulls open training camp Friday, and the Black Hawks began their exhibition season Wednesday. Get out the boots and scarves. • Talk is cheap, but it appears Dwight Gooden is a favorite to win the National League's most valuable player honor. I don't think 1 can justify giving that award to a guy who plays twice a week, no matter how well he does. How about someone like the Cardinals' Willie McGee instead? • Does it make you shudder to think how tough the Bears would be if all 11 defensive starters were back from last year? And, the longer the season progresses, the less chance there is of holdouts Todd Bell and A1 Harris coming back to the flock? Bears' General Manager Jerry Vainisi is probablyv siting back* sipping his martini, and saying, "who needs 'em?& • The new television season is just reinforcing the fact that sports are among the few things you can watch on the tube without feeling insulted. • It's depressing to look at my list of Fox Valley Conference standings and see the name 'McHenry' at the bottom of the league in four separate sports. On the other hand, it's splendid to know that the other three fall events at McHenry swimming, cross-country and tennis -- are doing quite well, thanks. • The school spirit at Johnsburg will really never cease to amaze me. No matter the event, the place, the weather, the opponent or the final score, Johnsburg supporters are always ready with a verbal pat on the back or three. That's fantastic. • A big FVC football matchup this Friday night when Crystal Lake South plays at Crystal Lake Central. As if it wasn't enough these two were crosstown rivals, the Gators and Tigers are tied for the conference lead at 2-0. Common opponents? Just McHenry. South by 41, Central by 32. Should be a ballgame. • The Northwest Suburban Conference has a couple of rather mean­ ingful games this weekend also. Friday night, Marengo is at'Marian Central, while Saturday, Round Lake plays at Johnsburg. Marian and Round Lake are tied for the league lead at 2-0, while Marengo and Johnsburg are right behind at 1-1. These two games should go a long way in deciding a conference champ. • In case you were wondering, we received a press release recently that said the Illinois-licensed preserves allow for the hunting of a host of animals, including pheasant, bobwhite quail and chukar partridge. Question: What is a chukar partridge and why would anyone want to kill one? • Is there a right way to end these types of columns? By Plaindealer sports staff WAUCONDA - After talking to Tom Faber, you weren't really sure if Marian Central's volleyball team had won or lost. "We played terrible," Faber said. "We played poorly all three games. I'm not at all happy with the way we played." Sports Sked Thursday: Cross-Country: Johnsburg at Lake Zurich; McHenry at Dun­ dee-Crown w/ Woodstock, 4:30 p.m. Volleyball: CL South at McHen­ ry; Johnsburg at Wauconda, 4:30 p.m. Golf: CL Central at McHenry, 4:30 p.m. Soccer: Waukegan West at Mc­ Henry, 4:30p.m. Saturday: Football: Round Lake at Johns­ burg, 1 p.m.; McHenry at Elgin St. Edward. 2 p.m. Cross-Country: McHenry (boys) at Palatine Invitational, 10 a.m.; Johnsburg at CL Invitational. 9 a.m. Tennis: McHenry Invitational, 9 a.m.; Johnsburg at Batavia Quad, 9 a.m. Golf: McHenry at Lake Forest Invitational, 10:30 a.m. Monday: Tennis: Marengo at Johnsburg; CL South at McHenry, 4:30 p.m. Golf: CL South at McHenry, 4:30 p.m. But the sign of a good team, it is said, is the ability to win when it doesn't play at top form. Marian Central did just that Tues­ day afternoon. The Hurricanes rallied from a first-game loss and rebounded to de­ feat Wauconda's Bulldogs, 12-15, 15- 10, 18-16 in a Northwest Suburban Conference match. The victory lifts MC's record to 4-3 in the NWSC and 4-4 overall. After "playing bad the whole first game," the 'Canes came back in the second game to even the match and carried momentum into the rubber game. In that contest, the Hurricanes jumped to a 5-0 advantage, but let that lead slip away. They recovered in time, however, to knot the score at 12. The scoring went back and forth until it was tied for the last time at 16. Julie Callahan gave Marin a 17-16 edge with a spike, and a Wauconda error ended the marathon in MC's favor. Faber said the serving of Cathy Mass was the only bright spot, as she scored a couple of aces in the key third game. "She was more con­ sistent serving-wise than the oth­ ers." Faber noted. But the Hurricane coach was not about to take away from what his team has accomplished thus far this year. "Up until tonight, we have been playing very good volleyball." he said. "We've beaten a couple of teams -- it has taken three games -- but we've done it. They're getting the team concept idea of things. They're playing more as a team." The Hurricanes return to action Thursday when they host Grayslake in another conference battle. McHenry's Hoffman receives honor McHenry High swimmihg coach Mike Shanahan presents sophomore Tracey Hoffman with two honors she received for her participation in the YMCA Nationals this past summer. Hoffman, swimming for the Camp Duncan YMCA, swam in two separate events in the 13-14 girls age division at the Nationals, held in Orlando, Fla. She finished 24th in the nation in the 200 free­ style, with a time of 2:00.29, while taking 21st in the 50 freestyle, with a 25.69 clocking. Hoffman is presently swimming for Shanahan's War­ riors, who improved their record to 3-1 with a trouncing of Streamwood Tuesday afternoon at West Campus. Plaindealer photo by Chris Juzwik /