Lincoln-Way West Preps

The SouthWest Suburban Conference was an intriguing follow last fall with Lockport taking down the Class 8A state championship and Sandburg surprising pretty much everyone.

The road map for football teams was laid out by the IHSA on Thursday. Here's a closer look at what lies ahead for Herald-News area squads.

Meet the 2022 Herald News All-Area softball team.

Meet the 2022 Herald News All-Area softball team.

Meet the 2022 Herald News All-Area baseball team.

A total of 28 area softball players earned some sort of All-State recognition from the the Illinois Coaches Association.

Lincoln-Way West slowed down Brother Rice's offensive attack a bit on Monday, but also couldn't get its own started and dropped a 5-1 decision to the Crusaders in the Crestwood Supersectional. The win sent Brother Rice to state.

Junior Reagan King pitched into the seventh inning Saturday to lead Lincoln-Way West to the program's first sectional title with a 5-3 win over top-seeded Lockport.

The Warriors scored in all but one inning during a 12-10 win over the Celtics

The Lincoln-Way West doubles squad of Jacob Sternin and Milan Miskovic were the lone area qualifiers to advance out of the first round of the IHSA Boys State Class 2A Tennis meet during Thursday’s opening round. Plus more postseason results in Thursday's roundup.

With an army of highly seeded qualifiers, Minooka should make a strong run at team hardware at the IHSA State Meet this weekend. But the Indians are far from the only potential success story the area might see.

Martin Kowalczyk had six kills and was a force on defense with six blocks to lift Lemont to a 25-21, 25-15 win over Richards on Tuesday at the Chicago Brooks Regional semifinal. Plus more postseason results in softball and girls soccer.

Lincoln-Way Central’s Marla Hayes turned in a strong performance in the preliminary round of the IHSA Girls State Track and Field Meet. Read Friday's roundup for results from state track along with postseason baseball, softball and girls soccer.

Tyler Colwell and Cael Hiser went 1-2 for Minooka in the 100- and 200-meter dashes Thursday to help the Indians capture the team title at the Class 3A Rock Island Sectional.

Lincoln-Way East won its third consecutive SWSC Blue Conference crown by rallying to defeat Homewood-Flossmoor, plus results in girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, boys track and field, boys volleyball and softball in Wednesday's roundup.