Palatine’s Star Wants To Tell You Who She Is

Kaley Sierawski is very talented on the volleyball court, but she'd rather talk about what she wants when she's not playing.

Palatine outside hitter Kaley Sierawski is headed to Jacksonville State to play volleyball next fall. Story and Photos By: John Juettner Follow Us on Twitter: @OnTheBallMSL Follow John Juettner on Twitter: @johnjuettner       Kaley Sierawski would rather have you know about her personality and the things she likes to do than know about her abilities on the volleyball court.       At least that’s how Jacksonville State, located in Alabama, was able to get Sierawski to verbally commit to a volleyball scholarship.       When Sierawski, a senior and Palatine’s outside hitter, went to visit the coaching staff at Jacksonville, volleyball didn’t even come up.       “They didn’t ask me about school or volleyball once,” Sierawski said. “They asked…

Former Palatine star hits it big with Bandits, future plans

Nicole Pauly is striving to become an educator while playing professional softball.

Nicole Pauly played softball at Palatine and then Northwestern. She nows plays for the Chicago Bandits. Photos provided by Nicole Pauly Story By: Alex Mayster       Most kids look forward to the month of June.       As school winds down, the weather heats up and summer vacation kicks into gear. While many children look forward to hours upon hours of fun in the sun, growing Palatine legend Nicole Pauly always chose to stay indoors come early June.       For an aspiring athlete such as herself, Pauly cherished the chance to watch some of the country’s top collegiate softball players compete in the College World Series.       At the age of 18, she became one of them.  …

A question and answer with Chad Bobbit

Palatine's Male Athlete of the Year reminisces on his high school years and talks about his future.

Chad Bobbit, left, accepts his Male Athlete of the Year award from Palatine athletic director Jerry Dobbs. Photo By: Cassie Rogala Question and Answer conducted by Alex Mayster       OnTheBallmag.com recently had the chance to catch up with Palatine’s Male Athlete of the Year, Chad Bobbit. The senior was a three-sport athlete at Palatine, collecting nine varsity letters along the way. Bobbit had a strong senior year, playing both defensive end (the MSL West Defensive Player of the Year) and fullback on the football team, serving as a forward on the basketball team and throwing shot put on for the track and field squad. OnTheBallmag.com was able to ask Bobbit some questions about his past, present and future:       OTB: So…

A long-time Palatine Pirate

For nearly 40 years, Pat Leafe Burke has been working with Palatine athletes in one capacity or another.

In addition to working with the poms, cheerleading and flags teams at Palatine, Pat Leafe Burke also introduced the Adventure Education program to the physical education department when she was a P.E. teacher at the high school. Story and Photo By: Alex Mayster       Pat Leafe Burke coincidentally ended up in the town of Palatine after the high school agreed to hire both her and her husband, John.       That was in the Fall of 1970.       Burke was hired as a physical education teacher and was eventually head of the high school’s spirit program, which consisted of pom-pons, cheerleading and flags.       Nearly 40 years – and nine state championships – later, Burke remains at the…

Buffalo Grove proves to be too much for Palatine

The Bison utilized their depth and skill to defeat the Pirates in the sectional semifinals.

Lukas Karch (5) and Buffalo Grove are moving on to the sectional finals. Story and Photos By: John Juettner       Buffalo Grove’s boys’ volleyball team has a lot of talent and a lot of depth. The Bison are tall, athletic, skilled and quite dangerous when they are playing well.       And Friday night against Palatine in the Class 4A boys’ volleyball sectional semifinal on the Pirates’ home court, Buffalo Grove was playing about as good as a team can en route to a 25-19, 25-14 victory.       “If we’re passing the ball, we’re unbeatable. Period,” Buffalo Grove coach Matt Aiello said. “That sounds like an arrogant comment. But when we’re passing the ball, no one can stop our offense.…

Palatine defeats Prospect for regional championship

The Pirates stage a late comeback in game one for a 25-23 win, then take game two 25-18.

The Pirates display their regional championship plaque after defeating Prospect. Story and Photos By: John Juettner       It’s tough to stage a late comeback in a volleyball game. With rally scoring, any mistake means a point for the opposition.       When trailing 22-18, as Palatine was to Prospect in the first game of the teams’ regional final match at Highland Park on Wednesday, it meant mistakes couldn’t be made.       The Pirates did just that, scoring seven of the next eight points for a 25-23 game one victory. Palatine then won game two 25-18 to capture the regional championship and move on to the sectional semifinals, which will be played at Palatine.       “That was huge,” Palatine…

Palatine advances to regional semifinals with 5-3 win over Wheeling

Luschen comes through with clutch hit for Pirates

Palatine’s Mike Luschen was 2-for-4 and drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the sixth inning. Story and Photos By: John Juettner        What seemed like a sure thing suddenly wasn’t for Palatine in Monday’s boys’ baseball IHSA regional quarterfinal against visiting Wheeling.       It was the top of the sixth inning, the Pirates had just plated their third run of the game in the bottom half of the fifth, Wheeling had not scored a run, and Palatine starter Tommy Galvan had allowed just one Wildcat hit.       In what seemed like a blink of the eye, Wheeling rattled off three hits and capitalized on a Palatine error to tie the score at three.      …

Many MSL participants qualify for state at the Palatine sectional

Palatine’s Alec Bollman wanted to make sure he had company at next week’s IHSA 3A state track finals in Charleston. So he looked back to see where teammate Tim Johnson was at in the final meters of the 1,600 run. “I knew I had it won, so I looked back in the final 50 meters,” Bollman said. “I gave Tim a little wave and he picked it up.” Bollman was easily able to win the event while Johnson held off Libertyville’s Mitch Neubaur for second place. Bollman’s first place finish and Johnson’s second place finish helped power the Pirates to 56 points and fourth place in the sectional. Bollman also anchored the Palatine’s 4 x 800 relay team. Bollman, along with Tim Meincke, Ryan McGough…

Hard work turns Palatine’s Ruth Allen into a standout runner

From a very humble beginning, Ruth Allen has become one of the state's best 800-meter runners

Palatine’s Ruth Allen is one of the premier 800-meter runners in Illinois. Photo By: Cassie Rogala Story By: John Juettner       One of the best runners in Illinois was almost never a runner at all.       Palatine senior Ruth Allen might not even be running for the Pirates if it weren’t for a friend in junior high school.       On the first day of class, a friend asked Allen if she would like to join her at cross-country practice that afternoon. Allen’s reply was, “Sure. I’m not doing anything.”       “I didn’t even know what cross-country meant,” Allen said. “I thought it was something like lacrosse or field hockey. But then I go to practice and find…

Brottman outduels Roto for 2-0 Vikings win

Game also serves as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness

Senior pitcher Lena Brottman throws a pitch for Fremd against Palatine. Story and Photos By: John Juettner       You don’t even have to be watching the game to know Lena Brottman is pitching for the Fremd softball team.       You just have to listen.       You will hear a very distinctive THWACK! roughly every minute she is on the mound.       It’s the sound of leather smacking against an object. More specifically, it’s the sound of Brottman’s mitt slapping her left thigh as she completes her motion.       “It is just habit,” Brottman said of that part of her motion. “It is part of the windup and how I get momentum started. I’ve always just…

Palatine’s win prevents Fremd from clinching

The MSL West baseball title is still up for grabs after the 6-0 Pirates win

Winning pitcher Byron Skinner fires a pitch against a Fremd batter. Story and Photos By: Charlie Burroughs       It was the third inning Wednesday afternoon that Palatine pitcher Byron Skinner knew his defense had his back.       A ground ball was mishandled by Pirate sophomore shortstop Joe Campe allowing the Fremd base runner on base with no outs. Later, with runners on the corners Skinner struck out a batter and then forced a fly ball to end the inning.       “When Joe Campe made that mistake he said ‘hit me, get me another ball,’” said Skinner after the 6-0 complete game victory over Mid-Suburban League West first place Vikings. “That’s great to hear when you’re a pitcher; you don’t…

Pape backs Hoffman to 8-0 win over Palatine

Hawks get great play from their goalie and a combined five goals from Divizio and Gliniewicz

Hoffman midfielder Mike Currie (12) readies for play against Palatine midfielder Austin Marrison (16). Story and Photos By: John Juettner       Very, very early in Friday’s boys’ lacrosse game between Hoffman Estates and Palatine, it looked like the Pirates were set for a dominant night.       After gaining the initial possession, Palatine maintained control of the ball for what seemed like half of the first period.       During that stretch Hoffman junior goalie Jonathan Pape made some big saves, and he didn’t let up for the rest of the night. Pape backed the Hawks to an 8-0 win against the visiting Pirates.       “I just came out and tried to stop them all,” Pape said. “That’s all…

Conant wins MSL boys’ gymnastics title

Cougars hold off Fremd and Palatine

The Conant Cougars won the Mid-Suburban League boys’ gymnastics championship thanks to a great group effort.            It may have not been Conant’s best performance all year. Still the Cougars managed to pull away from the field at the Mid Suburban League boys’ gymnastic conference meet Friday at Fremd.       Conant cruised to the title with a score of 155.95. Fremd was second with 148.75 points, Palatine third with 148.00, Elk Grove was fourth with 138.75 and Buffalo Grove was fifth with a 136.45.       Conant was able to claim the title thanks to the work of all-arounders Anthony Crivolio, Steve Rink and Joey Mauk. The three combined for 155.20.       “They did another nice…

Conant bounces back with a complete win

Cougars too much for Palatine in 4-1 win

Conant defender Hailey Andress (in white) clears the ball away from Palatine midfielder Samantha Reynolds. Story and Photo By: Charlie Burroughs       Behind quick sophomore forward Courtney Raetzman’s feet the Conant girls’ soccer team shot down the Palatine Pirates Monday night, 4-1.       After the contest both squads felt like the game was closer than the result indicated. The Conant offense was able to put 14 more shots on goal than Palatine. In the second half Palatine was only able to get within striking distance once.       “I told them the goal was to shut them out in the second half,” said Conant coach Jason Franco. “We haven’t had too many lately, early in the year we had a…

Pirates defeat Mustangs 8-2

Palatine utilizes instinctive base running and a great pitching performance to defeat Rolling Meadows

Palatine’s Sam Salomone digs in to hit with Rolling Meadows’ Natalie Cannizzo catching. Story and Photos By: John Juettner       Capitalizing on the mistakes of an opponent is always an important key to victory.       Forcing your opponent to make a play helps too.       Palatine was able to do both of those things on the base paths in its 8-2 victory over visiting Rolling Meadows on Monday.       The Pirates were routinely aggressive, trying to take the extra base whenever possible. Palatine coach Jeff Manz said he doesn’t think his team has great speed from the top of his lineup to the bottom, but his players run hard and consistently hustle.       “We always…

Four in a row for Fremd

The Vikings are MSL champs in badminton again

Anita Liu and Fremd are the MSL champions in badminton. Story and Photos By: John Juettner       It’s been quite a run for Fremd in badminton, and the Vikings success continued Saturday at Elk Grove.       For the fourth consecutive year, Fremd is the Mid-Suburban League champion in the sport. The Vikings scored 68 points for the meet, beating out Buffalo Grove (63), Hersey (42), Palatine (36), and Prospect (35.5).       The Vikings trailed Buffalo Grove by two points heading into Saturday’s action. The doubles portion of the meet was completed on Friday, and the Bison took three of the five doubles championships. For an early 23-21 meet lead       “We were down, but we had a…

Palatine tops Wheeling 8-3

Miramontes, Bobbit lead way for Pirates

Alex Miramontes earned the victory against Wheeling. Story and Photo By: John Juettner       Wheeling was the team with the momentum in its favor.       The Wildcats had just scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game against visiting Palatine at three.       The Pirates were able to respond, though, scoring two runs in the top of the fourth and three more in the top of the fifth to break Monday’s Mid-Suburban League crossover game open, and go on to an 8-3 road win.       “We knew they were going to do everything they could to hang with us,” Palatine coach Paul Bello said. “They’re a scrappy team. They’re just a…

Five of a kind

Palatine's five seniors are the ideal examples for a program

Photo By: Cassie Rogala From Left: Meaghan Deegan, Melissa Serio, Heather Zimmerman, Kelli Burke, and Chrissy Roto Story By: John Juettner     Communication, teamwork, and an understanding of what everyone is supposed to do are things that have come very easy to the Palatine girls softball team this year.     And positive results on the field for the Pirates are a product of that.     Palatine’s softball team is a tight group because it is largely intact from last season. Of the 12 players on the roster, 10 were on the 2009 team.     The returning group is led by five seniors whom coach Jeff Manz says are so experienced and familiar with the Palatine softball program they are like extra…

Vikings Make Pirates Walk the Plank

Fremd jumped out to a 14-point lead at halftime in its Mid-Suburban West showdown with Palatine on Tuesday, and never let up en route to a 55-31 victory over the visiting Pirates. The Vikings had tremendous balance in their scoring, which is always difficult to defend. Senior guard Taylor Glassmann, who has been so consistent for the Vikings all season, led Fremd with a game-high 13 points – including sinking two 3-pointers. Junior guard Bridget Kubis chipped in 12 points while freshman guard Ashley McConnell scored 11. Sophomore forward Jessi Wiedemann also had a nice offensive game, scoring 8 points for Fremd. The Vikings outscored Palatine 10-2 in the second quarter to really break the game open open. Fremd outscored the Pirates in each quarter.…