Oak Lawn Community High School Spring Sports Awards

Despite the fact that the spring took a long time to actually get started weather-wise, the teams were heating it up on the fields and in the gymnasiums. There are plenty of accolades to go around.

The top athletic awards went to very deserving student-athletes as Eliana LaSpina won the Geri Vandekreke Most Valuable Female Athlete Award, and Bobby Kametas won the Bill Godby Most Valuable Male Athlete Award. 

Sophomore girls basketball coach Dana Annel won the Fred Parks Coach of the Year Award. John Glover, Jessica Cosenza and Connor Niemiec were Joe Pajac Scholarship winners, and Maggie Koll won the Tim Nickos Memorial Scholarship.

Team-wise, it all begins with the Baseball team and its South Suburban Conference Red championship. Along with the team title, several individuals shined as Kametas was named SSC Red Player of the Year and Team Most Valuable Player. 

Chris Rafacz earned the Sportsmanship Award. All-conference selections included Kametas, Marcin Krzysiak, Billy Thome, Matt Dunne and Rafacz. Mitch Swatek and Kevin Zurek were honorable mention all-conference choices. Lorenzo Gudino and Niemiec each earned college scholarships from the baseball program.

In Girls Badminton, LaSpina and the duo of Rachel Kestian and Tara Hill advanced to the Illinois High School Association State Finals. LaSpina was named Team MVP, and Claudia Maka earned the Sportsmanship Award. LaSpina finished her Oak Lawn career with one of the top 10 players’ records in school history.

In Girls Soccer, Marlene Martinez was awarded the Team MVP recognition, while Megan Pacetti got the Sportsmanship Award. Martinez and Pacetti were all-conference selections, and Juliet Torres was honorable mention. Martinez also earned recognition as an All-Sectional Honorable Mention.

In Girls Softball, Rachel Burba took home the MVP Award and Morgan Jozsa won the Sportsmanship Award. Burba and Reily McTeague were all-conference selections, while Aliya Murray was honorable mention. The Spartans also earned the Team Sportsmanship Award for the SSC Red. On the lower levels, the sophomore team brought home the SSC Red Championship with a record of 17-2.

In Boys Tennis, Rami Arabi was a conference champion in singles play. Martin Duran won the MVP Award, and Nick Garcia Lara won the Sportsmanship Award. Arabi was an IHSA state qualifier as well.

For the Fishing Club, Jon Metelski was the MVP, and Mike Sutko won the Sportsmanship Award. Alexis Kosek and Jamie Schuld earned Fishing Scholarships from the team.

In Boys Track, The Team MVP went to Nick Minnella, and the Sportsmanship Award went to John Beattie. James Lenihan won the conference championship in shot put.

In Girls Track, Bailey Kean won the conference title in Pole Vault, while Victoria Jones took the conference championship in the 100 and 200. Jones set a school record and the SSC Red Division record in the 100. Jones was named as the Team MVP, while Emma Roza won the Sportsmanship Award. On the Frosh/Soph level, Maliyah Brandon-Vann won a conference title in the 100, 200, and pole vault, setting an SSC Red record in both the 100 and 200. Bridget Ayres won the conference title in the Long and Triple Jump (both SSC Red records), and Alexandra Aguirre won the 1,600.

In Boys Volleyball, Marc Hansen won the Team MVP Award, and Sean Dunne and Sam Bernier shared the Sportsmanship Award. Hansen, Dunne and Bernier were all-conference selections as well.

 -Submitted by OLCHS