Harlem swimmer takes first at State meet

By Alex Gary

REPORTER

Harlem Senior Zoe Shields joined a pretty short list this past Saturday when she took first place in the 50-year freestyle in the NIC-10 championship meet.

Shields became just the third girls swimmer in Harlem history to win an individual NIC-10 title. She joins Arica Woolbright, who won the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke in 2008, and Rachel Gander, who won the 100 backstroke in 2017.
Shields also took second place in the 100-yard butterfly and swam a leg on the third-place 200 freestyle relay. Shields’ strong meet carried Harlem to sixth place in the conference.
Shields is hoping to make more school history. Harlem has never had a girls swimmer make it to a state final. Her last shot to accomplish that begins in the IHSA sectionals on Nov. 4.

Cross Country teams advance

Both the boys and girls cross country teams advanced as teams out of the Hampshire regional this past weekend.
The boys took fifth overall out of 11 teams. Leo Ramos was the top finisher at 17th, Owen Recoy was 21st, Parker Lipinski 22nd and Dylan Malmgren came in 23rd.
The girls also finished fifth. Sophomore Trinity Schindler led the way by finishing 22nd, Hailey Bilodeau was 24th and Claire Johnson 28th.
The sectionals take place on Oct. 28.

Soccer season ends against Round Lake

Harlem’s boys soccer season ended with a 5-1 loss to Round Lake in the IHSA regionals. Sora Anucauskas scored the only Harlem goal off a pass from Stevan Ljubicic.
Harlem ended the season on a three-game losing streak, a somewhat sour note to a season of progress. The program won just four games in 2022, but this year’s Huskies went 9-10-4 with 31 goals. Ljubicic and Anucauskus carried the offense, scoring 12 goals each. Ljubicic added nine assists and Anucauskus had three.

Kyle Peek did most of the work in net, recording 87 saves and even adding one assist.
The Huskies graduate 11 seniors, but Ljubicic will be back along with three others who scored goals this season.
Flag football season ends going 1-1 in tournament
Harlem’s first flag football season came to an end Saturday. The Huskies shut out Lanark Eastland, 18-0, at Clarence Hicks Memorial Park but then lost to Rockford Auburn, 12-8, in the season-ending tournament.
Flag football may become an official IHSA sport in 2024. At least 10 percent of IHSA schools need to be participating for it to qualify. That’s about 80 teams.