May 21, 2025
Sports - Kane County
Sports

Sports Neighbors: Maple Park bike ride to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

By KANE COUNTY

The 10U Orange Whips team of the Kaneland Youth Softball Little League recently concluded a 20-0 season capped with a championship game victory in South Elgin on June 27. Players on the team were: Lauren Andrews, Dinaella Brandonisio, Francesca Brandonisio, Samantha Dennis, Sammy Dunne, Abby Grams, Rachel Hukle,Molly Nemechek,Mia Pernice and Greta Raitt. The team was coached by Roy Dennis and Grant Raitt. (Photo provided)

Registration open for
memorial scholarship run

ST. CHARLES – The Cameron Pepera Memorial Scholarship Foundation will host a 5K and 1-mile color fun run and walk at the Fox Mill Community Center in St. Charles on Sept. 10.

The cost to participate is $40 for the 5K and $25 for the color run. The 5K starts at 8 a.m., and the 1-mile color fun run starts at 9:30 a.m. Visit www.signmeup.com to register. For more information, visit foxmill5k.com.

This year’s race will honor Cameron Pepera, a Fox Mill resident who died suddenly from epilepsy on Sept. 2, 2015. All proceeds will benefit The Cameron Pepera Memorial Foundation, whose goal is to provide educational programs and support for Thompson Middle School students.

All 5K runners and spectators are asked to wear Cameron’s favorite color, red, in his honor.

Grace Drake, Kyle McNeil earn academic honors

WHITEWATER, Wis. – Kyle McNeil, a Geneva High School graduate, and Grace Drake, a Kaneland High School graduate from Elburn, were recently named to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honor roll for the 2015-16 school year.

Drake, who was a freshman on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s women’s cross country team, was one of 367 UWW student-athletes to make the honor roll. To be eligible for the honor, student-athletes must have carried at least a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Nearly 50 percent of the WIAC’s 5,000 student-athletes achieved honor roll status.

McNeil, a junior thrower for the men’s track and field team, was one of 14 Warhawks acknowledged by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as a 2016 NCAA Division III All-Academic selection.

To qualify, student-athletes must have maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher and must have either competed in an NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championship or finished the regular season ranked in the national top 35 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 25 in a relay event.

We Fight for Bubba 5K
to battle breast cancer

WASCO – Jason Cellini, owner of the Wasco Old Towne Pub & Eatery, announced an expanded lineup for the third annual We Fight for Bubba 5K, a benefit to battle breast cancer.

The race, set for 9 a.m. Aug. 13, will begin and finish at Old Towne Pub at 40W290 LaFox Road, St. Charles. Participants should arrive by 8:30 a.m.

There will be a silent auction and raffle Aug. 12 with proceeds benefiting Mason Ward, a young Mill Creek boy fighting diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Notre Dame football head coach Brian Kelly and his wife, Paqui, a two-time breast cancer survivor, have made it their mission to support community, education and health initiatives across the country and globally. Donations raised from the 5K will fund breast cancer research and education. At the conclusion of the race, Paqui Kelly will speak about her battles with breast cancer and their foundation’s work.

For information, visit wefightforbubba.com.

Horizon League honor roll includes Alexis Roach

ELBURN – Alexis Roach, a Kaneland High School graduate and sophomore on Youngstown State’s softball team in the spring, was recently named to the Horizon League academic honor roll.

To be considered for the honor roll, Horizon League student-athletes had to have a GPA of at least 3.20 on a 4.0 scale, have completed three semesters or four quarters as a full-time student at the same school and have participated in one of 19 sports offered by the 10 Horizon League member institutions.

Links for Living Waters charity golf tourney set

GENEVA – Fox Valley Presbyterian Church will hosts its fourth annual Links for Living Waters charity golf tournament and dinner starting at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 26 at Mill Creek Golf Club in Geneva.

Event day registration will start at 11:30 a.m., with a shotgun start at 12:45 p.m., and dinner, awards live music and prize drawings beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The cost is $100 per golfer and includes 18 holes, cart, lunch ticket and dinner. Register a foursome and receive a $25 discount. Dinner-only reservations are $50 a person.

Proceeds from the tournament will help Fox Valley Presbyterian Church supply water purification systems and leadership training for local villagers in Guatemala.

For information or to sign up, visit livingwatersfvpres.org.

Wrestling camp starting Aug. 8 at learning center

PINGREE GROVE – Cambridge Lakes Charter School will host a youth wrestling camp at the Cambridge Lakes Learning Center from Aug. 8 to Aug. 19.

The camp is for kids entering kindergarten through eighth grade.

Harper College wrestler Ian Mullen will help guide the athletes through the camp.

The cost is $75 a wrestler, and each day of camp will be broken into two sessions: Beginners will train from 4 to 5 p.m. each day and advanced wrestlers from 5 to 6 p.m.

For more information, call Sean Mullen, CLCS director of school’s out sports activities, at 847-464-4500.

Kunert moves into top 10 of auto racing series

BATAVIA – Batavia teen Austin Kunert picked up a fifth-place finish July 23 in the Pic A Part 100 Champion Racing Association-JEGS.com race in Anderson Speedway in Anderson, Ind.Kunert earned the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race award, and his finish in the race vaulted him to eighth place in the CRA-JEGS.com All-Stars Tour driver standings with 323 points.

Wasco Diamonds
win USSSA national title

WASCO – The Wasco Diamonds girls fastpitch softball 13U team won the U.S. Specialty Sports Association Open Division National Championship. The Diamonds won eight straight games to clinch the title July 18 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Some of the standout performances came from Sam Keller who batted .591 in the tournament. Mady Johnson (three home runs) and Lily Bakulski (home run in the championship game) also provided some pop in the lineup.

In the eight games, the Diamonds’ pitching was stellar. Sydney Eby posted a 3-0 record, Abby Smith went 3-0, Rylee Levine was 1-0 and Jaylee Pfau also was 1-0 in the tournament. Eby pitched in the championship game and gave up one run as she earned herself the Most Valuable Pitcher award for the tournament. Johnson was named tournament MVP.

The team is coached by head coach Jordan Smith and assistant coach Jake Morrow.