A look back at some of Northwest Herald photojournalist Gregory Shaver's favorite pictures in the Northwest Herald from February 2025.

Crystal Lake South sophomore Annalee Aarseth took second in the 110-pound bracket at the IHSA girls state wrestling championships on Saturday in Bloomington, while Hampshire had three medalists to take second place in the team standings.

Marian Central regrouped from a tough loss Saturday morning to take third at the Class 1A dual team state tournament at in Bloomington, Ill. on Saturday night. The Hurricanes won back-to-back trophies for the first time in program history.

Burlington Central senior Jake Johnson never disappointed anyone in his four seasons of varsity basketball. The 6-foot-4 forward who plans to play Division II baseball at Missouri Southern State finished his career with multiple program records.

AJ Demirov scored 21 points, Nick Stowasser added 15 on five 3-pointers, and Crystal Lake South beat Cary-Grove 65-47 for the Class 3A Prairie Ridge Regional championship Friday night.

McHenry couldn't overcome Jaxson Davis' 23 points and Javerion Banks' nine fourth-quarter points in a 58-45 loss to Gurnee on Friday in the Class 4A McHenry Regional championship. The Warriors finish the season 26-7.

Hampshire's three state qualifiers – Amelia Nidelea-Polanin, Anneliese Tavira and Sam Diehl – each advanced to the semifinals in their state debuts Friday. Crystal Lake South's Annalee Aarseth and Huntley’s Aubrie Rohrbacher also moved on to the semifinals.

Hot shooting from junior guard Aubrina Adamik, who had a game-high 20 points and six 3-pointers, helped Huntley pull away from Libertyville 63-50 as the Red Raiders captured their first sectional championship since 2016.

A free throw with one second left by Madison Hoffmann proved to be the difference for Grayslake Central as it topped Cary-Grove 33-31 in the Class 3A North Chicago Sectional championship on Thursday.

Northern Illinois University held a press conference Thursday at the Convocation Center to announce that they will be joining the Horizon League starting with the fall 2026 season for most sports other than football.

The Illinois high school wrestling season will end this weekend in Bloomington when the boys dual team and girls individual state tournaments take place. Here are some of the most interesting storylines to watch this weekend.

McHenry's Caleb Jett hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points to lead the Warriors past Jacobs 46-39 on Wednesday in their Class 4A McHenry Regional semifinal.

Cary-Grove beat Burlington Central and Crystal Lake South topped Prairie Ridge to reach the Class 3A Prairie Ridge Regional championship game. Plus more boys basketball postseason results in Wednesday’s Northwest Herald sports roundup.

Cary-Grove defeated Wauconda 46-41 in a Class 3A North Chicago Sectional semifinal Tuesday.

Huntley's defense got one final stop against Lake Zurich, and the undefeated Red Raiders celebrated a 39-37 win in their Class 4A Huntley Sectional semifinal Tuesday. The Red Raiders advance to play Libertyville at 6 p.m. Thursday in the championship.