DeKalb, Sycamore dance teams qualify for state: Daily Chronicle sports roundup for Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024

Competitive dance

Jacobs Sectional: At Algonquin, Sycamore took third in Class 1A while DeKalb was second in Class 2A on Saturday with both earning trips to the state meet.

DeKalb finished with a score of 85.23, less than a point behind Grant’s winning 86.07. The Barbs were almost two points ahead of Harlem’s 83.57.

Sycamore finished with 78.33 points, just 0.14 behind second-place St. Viator and almost 10 points behind champ Chicago Mount Carmel. Sycamore finished 2.1 points ahead of fourth-place IC Catholic.

The state finals are Friday and Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Fieldcrest Sectional: At Minonk, Hinckley-Big Rock took seventh in Class 1A, just missing out on a top-six finish and trip to state.

The Royals finished with a score of 75.5, just behind sixth-place Rockridge’s 76.07. Morris won with an 87.

Boys bowling

Jefferson Sectional: At Rockford, the season ended for a trio of local bowlers.

DeKalb senior Talen Tate rolled a 1,084 series. He had a high game of 223 but did not advance to next week’s state tournament. The final automatic individual qualifying spot went to Auburn’s Tyler Zomok, who rolled a 1,270. There is the potential a 1,251 will qualify for state depending on how Tuesday’s Carterville Sectional plays out.

Kaneland senior Jack Bingley posted a 1,076 with a high game of 216. Sycamore sophomore Logan Jones had a high game of 213 as part of his 1,033 series.

Women’s basketball

NIU 70, Central Michigan 57: At DeKalb, freshman Brooke Blumenfeld had 18 points in her first career start, while Brooke Stonebreaker added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Huskies in a Mid-American Conference win.

“I think we’ve seen that Brooke is a good offensive player, and she’s put in a lot of work up to get to this point,” NIU coach Lisa Carlsen said. “I’m not surprised by her production. All the other facets of her game will continue to grow as she gets more and more minutes.”

Grace Hunter added 11 points for NIU (9-8, 3-3 MAC). Central Michigan (2-15, 1-5) led by as much as 33-24 in the first half and was up 35-28 at the break. The lead grew to eight, but NIU needed only 2:34 to roll off an 11-0 run, taking a 43-40 lead. The Chippewas scored the next seven but didn’t score in the final 4:20 of the third quarter as the Huskies took control, going up 53-47 into the fourth.

“We had contributions from a lot of different players today, which is what we need to be successful,” Carlsen said. “Every night is a battle in the MAC, and on any given night you need different people to step up.

“I was proud of a lot of people in white jerseys today, as well as our response in the second half.”

Boys basketball

DeKalb 61, Rockford Auburn 52: At DeKalb, Sean Reynolds had 23 points, while Justin O’Neal added nine points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Sycamore 68, Elgin 55: At Sycamore, Ben Larry had 15 points and six rebounds in the win.

Isaiah Feuerbach added 11 points, and Jakob Shipley had 10 for the Spartans (10-11).

Indian Creek 65, Westminster Christian 37: At Elgin, Jeffrey Probst led the way with 15 points for the Timberwolves (15-6) in a victory. Jakob McNally and Logan Schrader each scored 11.

Pearl City 47, Hinckley-Big Rock 42: At Pearl City, Martin Ledbetter had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Royals (11-9) in the loss.

Landon Roop added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Girls wrestling

Harvard tournament: At Harvard, DeKalb’s Reese Zimmer (115 pounds) and Aarianna Bloyd (235) each took first, with Alex Gregorio-Perez finishing in a three-way tie for first at 110.

Lana Zimmerman was second at 130, and Molly Kraft was second at 190. Vianney Pacheco Galindo was third at 100, and RaeAnne Sciabaras was third at 125. Anaya Aguilar-DeCleene was fourth at 120.

Boys wrestling

Kaneland triangular: The host Knights picked up a pair of wins, beating Sandwich and Freeport.

Against Sandwich, the Knights won 38-34. Angelina Gochis, Kamron Scholl, Alex Gochis, Apollo Gochis, Rogan O’Neil, Levi Herst and Alex Harris picked up wins.

The Knights also beat the Pretzels 47-29. Angelina Gochis, Scholl, Alex Gochis, John Havron, Will Lindgren, Caden Vanik, Apollo Gochis and O’Neil picked up victories.