Remember When: Local Sports History on This Day, December 29

With so many historical events happening around the area during the last few days leading up to each New Year, I will be putting together an extended look back at those happenings over the next few days.

REMEMBER WHEN?

10 years ago

December 29, 2010

The Streator boys basketball team upset top-seeded St.Bede 76-68 in the semifinals of the Marseilles Holiday Tournament. The Bulldogs were led by 39 points [including 14-of-17 free throws], 11 rebounds, and four assists from J.J. Cravatta, with Brock Armstrong adding 13 points and three assists, and Wes Hall eight points.

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On the other side of the winner’s bracket at Marseilles, Woodland topped defending champion Indian Creek 50-44. Matt Hays [five rebounds] and Ryan Starkey paced the Warriors with 15 points apiece while Nate Roemer posted four points, five rebounds, and eight assists.

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In the consolation bracket at Marseilles, Marquette used 20 points from Kipp Caputo and a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double from Joey Ceja to defeat Amboy 56-45.

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Also in the Marseilles consolation bracket, Leland-Earlville ran past LaMoille-Ohio 76-53. Reed Goodbred led the Panthers with 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, with Dalton Heath posting 16 points and eight rebounds, Chris Collins 13 points, and four steals, and Tyler Becker 11 points.

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In the championship semifinals at the Plano Christmas Classic, Newark advanced to the title game with a 58-57 overtime win against Princeton. The Norsemen were led by 17 points each from Kyle Anderson [seven rebounds, four assists, three steals] and John Avery [eight rebounds], with Brett Anderson adding 14 points and a pair of blocked shots.

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In the consolation bracket semifinals at Plano, Seneca defeated the host Reapers 47-41. Conlan Callahan led the Fighting Irish with 18 points with Eric Adkins adding 12 points and a trio of assists.

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In the consolation bracket at Plano, Somonauk topped Hinckley-Big Rock 60-45. Jake Grenemeier registered 21 points and five assists for the Bobcats, with Jake Krischel adding 15 points and eight rebounds, and Cody Passero 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

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Also in the Plano consolation bracket, Sandwich defeated Forreston 43-32. The Indians were led by Justin Wegener [18 points, two steals] and Zane Thompson [14 points].

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The Flanagan-Cornell boys hoops squad slipped by Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 50-47 at the Prairie Central Hawks Classic in Fairbury. Alex Bullard led the Falcons with 19 points while Tanner Bertsche and Matt Harrison added nine points each.

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The Paw Paw boys basketball team finished up play at the KSB Sterling Newman Christmas Classic with a 59-57 triumph over Pearl City. Casey Marks led the Bulldogs with 22 points, including six 3s, while Ryan Moorehead and Brandon Safranek added 15 and 11 points respectively.

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At the St. Bede Lady Bruins Christmas Tournament, the Fieldcrest girls hoops team routed Henry-Senachwine 68-32. The Lady Knights were led by 26 points, including eight 3-pointers, from Megan Winkler, and eight points each from Katelyn Cook and Katie Rients.

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Also at St. Bede, Ashley Terry netted 22 points, including a half-dozen 3s, to led Seneca over Mendota 59-36. Vanessa Albarran added 14 points for the Lady Irish with Coley Baker chipping in 10 points.

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At the Lisle Cage Classic, Newark defeated Illiana Christian 45-42. Katie Larson’s 18 points paced the Lady Norsemen, while Kayla Milakis added 10 points and Lauren Tollefson seven points.

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15 years ago

December 29, 2005

The Marquette girls basketball team captured its fifth-consecutive title at the Amboy Christmas Tournament with a 51-42 victory over Plano. Meagan Nesti scored a game-high 19 points for the Lady Crusaders while Jaci Miller had 16 points and nine rebounds.

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In the first semifinal of the Plano Christmas Classic, Serena advanced to the title game with a 60-46 win over Genoa-Kingston. Cooper Westvig had 22 points for the Huskers with Connor Finley posting 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, and James DeBolt 11 points and nine rebounds.

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In the second semifinal at Plano, Seneca ranked No. 2 in the state, defeated Marquette 70-40. It was the third victory for the Fighting Irish over the Crusaders that season. Seneca was led by Garrett Callahan [15 points], Griffan Callahan [13 points] and Seth Hobbs [13 points], while Marquette was paced by Andrew Swords [11 points] and J.C. Thumm [nine points].

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In the consolation semifinals at Plano, Sandwich topped Indian Creek 70-61. The Indians’ Mike Meyer posted a monster game of 20 points and 19 rebounds, while Lance Futrell had 19 points and Travis Van Pelt 12 points. The Timberwolves received 21 points from Jacob Swanson and 20 points from Chris Tidwell.

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In the consolation bracket at Plano, Somonauk defeated Newark 51-48. The Bobcats were led by Scott Powers [15 points] and Michael Heiden [12], while the Norsemen’s Tom Belinski scored 12 points and Ivo Gentchev and Kyle Janssen 11 points each.

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At the Lisle Cage Classic, the Newark girls hoops team defeated Mt. Assisi 53-43. Laura Johnson led the Lady Norsemen with 14 points, while Ali Hoskins had eight points, and Sam Akre seven points, nine blocked shots, eight rebounds, five steals, and four assists.

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At the St. Bede Lady Bruins Christmas Tournament, Seneca ran past Putnam County 52-21. Abbey Musser had 16 points for the Lady Irish with Jalea Berg adding eight points.

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20 years ago

December 29, 2000

The Sandwich wrestling team improved to 15-0 overall and 8-0 in the Interstate Eight Conference with a 79-0 win over Dwight and a 78-0 victory over Somonauk. Mike Olson [112 pounds], Dan Christensen [140] and Scott Byram [215] each won two bouts for the Indians, while single triumphs were earned by Kiel Pennington [160], Matt Christensen [125], Brandon Dobnick [130], Austin Duy [152], and Chris Quinn {Heavyweight].

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25 years ago

December 29, 1995

The Woodland boys hoops club topped Alwood 76-65 at the Princeville Holiday Tournament. Eric Gwaltney posted 24 points for the Warriors with Tim Hjerpe adding 16 points and six rebounds.

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At the Plano Christmas Classic, Marquette defeated Newark 66-58 in overtime. The Crusaders were led by Jim Meredith’s 16 points and six rebounds, with Ted Hughes and John Nelson posting 14 points each. The Norsemen’s Scott Sittler and Matt Estensen netted 15 points apiece.

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30 years ago

December 29, 1990

In the third-place game of the Plano Christmas Classic, Marquette topped Coal City 68-56. Brian Price had 17 points, including five 3s, for the Crusaders with Brian Condon adding 14 points and Miguel Gonzalo 12 points.

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40 years ago

December 29, 1980

In the semifinals of the Woodford County Invitational, Minonk-Dana-Rutland advanced past top-seeded Clinton 61-54. Rodney Hock led MDR with 15 points with Randy Butera and Dave Cornell chipping in 12 points each.

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At the Lemont Holiday Tournament, Marquette claimed the Class A championship of the event with a 70-56 win over Clifton Central. Jim McGrath had 29 points and seven rebounds for the Cru, while Don Wisniewski popped in 21 points.

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45 years ago

December 29, 1975

At the Marquette Holiday Tournament, Seneca — led by 35 points and 13 rebounds from Jack Kaufmann — defeated Tonica 63-53.

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In the third-place game at the Plano Christmas Classic, Serena earned a 70-52 victory over Mazon. Junior Keigley had 26 points for the Huskers with Bruce Erickson adding 15 points and Matt Crackel 12 points.

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55 years ago

December 29, 1965

In the championship game of the Plano Christmas Classic, Newark defeated Hinckley-Big Rock 64-50. Sheldon Thompson posted 24 points for the Norsemen with Eldon Anderson adding 15 points.

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In the semifinals of the Malta Holiday Tournament, Somonauk ran by Franklin Center 78-59. The Bobcats were led by Joe Niles [21 points], Dan Hill [19 points], Allen Hubbard [19 points], and Doug Stahl [12 points].

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At the Marquette Holiday Tournament, Serena topped Seneca 65-64. The Huskers were paced by Denny Johnson’s 18 points while Ron Rabe had 16 points and Wayne Westvig 14 points. The Fighting Irish were led by Michael Ugolini’s 24 points while Dave Ulis chipped in 16 points.

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Also at Marquette, Paw Paw defeated the host Crusaders 68-59. Chuck Torman poured in 27 points for the Bulldogs with teammate Ron Kern adding 15 points. The Crusaders received 21 points from Bob Stoudt, and 10 points each from Bill Anderson and Terry Bauman.

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60 years ago

December 29, 1960

The Flanagan boys hoops team topped Trinity of Bloomington 68-61 in the semifinals of the Toluca Holiday Tournament. The Falcons were paced by Harold Frobish [20 points], Jim Roeschley [15 points], Howie Zimmerman [14 points], and Jerry Zehr [13 points].

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In the consolation championship game at the Marquette Holiday Tournament, Seneca defeated Woodland 57-52. The Fighting Irish were led by 15 points from Jim Mitchell, 13 points from Joe Billy, and 10 points each from Ed Kaufmann and Moe Wheeler. The Warriors received 24 points from Jack Leonard, nine points from Russ Noble, and eight points each from Dick Holland and Terry Zeilman.

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In the consolation semifinals of the Hiawatha Holiday Tournament at Kirkland, Paw Paw topped Plano 65-56. The Bulldogs’ Gene Kehm led all scorers with 33 points, while Allan Etzbach and Ron Manahan added 11 and 10 points respectively.

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65 years ago

December 29, 1955

The Streator boys basketball team won the consolation title at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament with a 50-37 triumph over New Trier. The Bulldogs were paced by Stan O’Kraski [16 points] and Dan Kerestes [14 points].

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70 years ago

December 29, 1950

The Minonk boys hoops squad — behind 29 points from Duane Woltzen — won the championship of its own holiday tournament with a 77-49 drubbing of El Paso.