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HSicS Chris Juzwik Sports Editor You win some, you lose some wm^gigirjs escape with win over Round Lake Nothing more special than these Olympics Getting a break this weekend from the much too-steady diet of basketball, wrestling and various and sundry other common everyday occurrences, I attended the Olympics. Not the Olympics with Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton, not those at all. These Olympics were totally on the other end of the spectrum from those Olympics. And seeing as how they have the same name, the two couldn't be more distantly related. Saturday at North Jr. High in Crystal Lake, the Northern Il­ linois Special Recreation Association (N1SRA) hosted the Area 2. Run-Dribble-Shoot Competition, and I was most fortunate enough to have been able to spend two or so hours watching about 300 mentally handicapped athletes have fun. Sure, they all competed, and wanted to perform well, but for most, the key was to have fun. And that they did. THERE WAS ALWAYS a general idea permeating my mind regarding the concept, the handling and the carrying out of the various Special Olympics programs. I guess I never really thought much about them, but when I did, the visions were of the helping hands, time and patience donated by caring volunteers to help the games succeed. But, alas, there was a side I was ignoring, or rather being blind to, which is the reason there are Special Olympics in the first place. The athletes who compete. The athletes at Saturday's event were each assigned a guide, who would take them to the various stations and keep track of their points, earned by making baskets or dribbling effectively.' Upon each assignment, the guides had an immediate friend for life. Mentally handicapped people appear to be the most friendly and loving of any on earth. Another engrossing aspect of the event was the camaraderie. More than winning themselves, the athletes took more pleasure in watching their teammates do well, a facet of sports you don't always see BILL KALIHER, A recreation specialist for NISRA, organized the competition, which included athletes from Kane, Lake, Ken­ dall, McHenry and DuPage counties. "It's neat to see that kind of unity," Kaliher said. "They have friends like everyone else, and they just want to have fun. Today, they really have had fun." Kaliher said he had no problems finding volunteers. Crystal Lake Central basketball coach Arnie Kay sent most of his players in attendance, while various club and sororities also pledged time and-or money. "They (the mentally handicapped) have so much love they want to give to other people," Kaliher said. "They just love to see peo­ ple caring about them. If you meet them once, they'll remember you. They remember people who take time to care about them." THE GOLD MEDAL winners in each division from Saturday's competition will advance to state at Illinois State University in Normal March 15-16, but as Kaliher said, it was participating that meant the most. "It's fun work, it really is," he said. "They're fun people to be •round. It's really satisfying to watch them gain skills, be they social or athletic skills. Sometimes I get frustrated," Kaliher ad­ mitted, "but a little thing will keep me going." For instance? "My center on my basketball team, after 10 practices doesn't know he's supposed to be in the jump circle at the beginning of the game. He'll be guarding a guard, or just be where he's not suppos­ ed to be. But one time, he'll finally find it, and be in the right spot. That makes it worthwhile." That type of patience is hard to find, but all those who aided Kaliher in making Saturday a success all have that virtue -- in ex­ cess. ATTENDING A Special Olympics in one capacity or another should be required for every person during their lifetime. To miss out on such an opportunity is to miss out on how often we take sim­ ple things for granted. You can't help but walk away from a Special Olympics and feel a little special yourself. Never have so many smiles been engulfed by a gymnasium at one time. It wasn't just the athletes who were smiling. It was the volunteers. The NISRA and other assocation's staff members. The parents. And one enlightened sports columnist, who found out why they call these Olympics special. 's Vicki DuBeau the Skyhawks i posts up '38-35 win PtaMMto-Hmld photo by Chris Jutwft on Round Lake's Theresa Friday night By Chris Juzwik JOHNSBURG-So it wasn't the greatest performance ever. So the Johnsburg High girls' basketball team didn't set the Skyhawk gym on fire. So, the game-winning basket came on a simple inbounds play that should have been defend­ ed against. So what? With junior starter Bev Hiller sidelined with a knee injury, the lethargic Lady Skyhawks still managed to post a 38-35 win over Round Lake, and JHS appears to be in fairly good shape as the se­ cond half of the Northwest Subur­ ban Conference campaign gets underway. The win improved Johnsburg to 4-2 in the NWSC, two games behind league-leading Lake Zurich, and one game back of Wauconda. The Skyhawks are 10-3 overall. Round Lake fell to 2-3 in the league. "We're better than we showed," admitted JHS coach Nancy Fahey. "We've played better. I wasn't real pleased with the game." JHS LED BY a moderately comfortable 25-21 margin after three quarters, but Round Lake, led by the penetrating of Kathy Godan and the inside play of 6-1 center Theresa. Bentz, rallied to take the lead at 26-25 with 7:14 left in the game. The Panthers opened the gap to 30-27 on a Bentz basket with 5:12 left, and when Bentz rebounded her own miss and scored with 2:20 to play, Round Lake found itself on the right end of a 33-29 score. But JHS fought valiantly back. Laura Oeffling rebounded a Vicki DuBeau miss in the middlfe of the lane, and banked in the short shot, getting fouled by Johnna Steger in the process. Oeffling's free throw was good, and suddenly JHS trail­ ed by just 33-32, with 1:36 left. Steger corralled a pass from Bentz on the fast break and scored to put Round Lake ahead 35-32. Round Lake called time with 1:11 left, after which the Skyhawks scored the first of two key hoops, both of which came off the same play. OEFFLING, triggering from under the JHS basket, hit DuBeau for an easy layup, cutting the RLHS lead to 35-34. Oeffling came up with a steal on the ensuing possession, but DuBeau's subse­ quent shot banked too hard. Round Lake's Doreen Goodwin and Johnsburg's Sheri Scavo tied one another up with 43 seconds in the game. Scavo won the jump ball, and Fahey called time to set up the hoop which would put JHS in "the lead. Unfortunately, it didn't happen according to plan. But, as they did in everything else they tried Friday night, the Skyhawks landed feet first. ~"It was my mistake," Fahey said, "I thought it was our ball on the side. But when we got the ball underneath, they knew what to do." And a baffled Round Lake didn't. SCAVO HIT a wide-open DuBeau underneath for an easy bucket and a 36-35 Johnsburg lead with 20 seconds to go. "Our kids knew what to do, it's not something I had to call," Fahey said. "It's a simple play, they just didn't set up to stop it." Goodwin missed a baseline' jumper with nine seconds left, and in the scramble, Scavo and Steger each had a piece of the ball, caus­ ing a jump situation. Scavo tipped the ball to Cris May, who breezed in for the layup at the buzzer to provide the final margin. Johnsburg led 12-6 after the first period, and 16-12 at halftime. "We've won our share of close games this year," said Fahey. "A lot of teams will be after us in the second round." GIRLS--Page 17 Last-second shot misses, Johnsburg boys fall 47-46 By Barb Ansell rtytttMlwHanldVOTtcwHter JOHNSBURG - There were just nine seconds left in the game, and the Johnsburg Skyhawks boys' basketball team was just one basket away from claiming a hard-fought win over Round Lake. Everything was there. The shot, the shooter, everything -- except the basket. The Skyhawks had called time out to set up the potential game- winning shot with nine ticks left. Sophomore guard Frank HuSak got the ball and fired from the right of the free throw line. The shot missed, and JHS missed out on what would have been a minor upset, as the Skyhawks fell to 2-5 in the Northwest Suburban Con- FrnkHisak ference, 6-10 overall. Round Lake is 4-3,9-7. "We had planned to get the ball somewhere else, but that's not what happened," said Johnsburg coach Ben Beck, whose team dropped its seventh game in its lasteight outings. ALTrtoUGH THE victory slipped through the Skyhawks' collective fingers, Johnsburg can take solace in the fact that it played with determination and in­ tensity, which won the praise of Beck. "I'm extremely proud of the team and the job they did," said Beck. "They played well and didn't lose their composure against one of the better con­ ference teams." During the first half, Johnsburg fell behind the visiting Panthers, but the Skyhawks managed to - f . . keep within striking distance. With less than two minutes to A play in the first quarter, JHS trail­ ed 13-7. But working their offense to. perfection, the hosts clawed their way to within two, 15-13, at the quarter. Round Lake center Greg Kreitner paved the way for his team, scoring^ five points via the offensive glass. Johnsburg missed several op­ portunities in the second quarter. Tim Shine was denied a basket when he was called for traveling, and the Skyhawks muffed various scoring chances, yet trailed just BOYS--Page 17 Area Special Olympians . compete in Crystal Lake About 900 entrants from local Illinois Special Olympic teams par­ ticipated in the Area Run-Dribble-Shoot Competition at Crystal Lake's North Junior High Saturday. The event was sponsored by the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association. Left, one player appears a bit Shocked by the height of the basket, while another prepares to shoot a free throw. Volunteers from across the county donated their' time and patience, and the participants accepted both willingly. Plalndealer-Herald photos by Chris Juzwik PMW IS - PLAI1NPKAI.KB-HKH AI I). WKDMCSDAl. JAM AH1 30.19S5 Sports