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Harlem winter sports teams win three of four opening contests
By Bob Balgemann
Reporter
Four of Harlem’s seven winter sports teams have opened their abbreviated seasons with victories.
The boys and girls varsity basketball teams traveled to Boylan Catholic and came home with a pair of wins.
The inexperienced Huskies with just no returning starters routed the Titans, 67-50. One of the returning seniors who did log considerable playing time in 2019-20, Dominic Dawsey, was first team, all-conference. He led the offense against Boylan with 17 points, while sophomore DeAndre Young added 15.
There are five other seniors on the roster, most of whom played last season, including Trenton Tucker, Gordon Landon, Cole Buelow, Adrian Shemshidini and Vincent Falcon. Young is the only sophomore. The rest are juniors: Tanner Sherbon, Lathan Lewis, Alexander Wilson, Logan Amdur and Nicholas Sheldon.
Next up for Harlem will be always tough Rockford Auburn tonight, on the road, followed by a home game against scrappy Belvidere North on Saturday. Then there will be another home bout, this one Tuesday against rugged rival Hononegah.
The Lady Huskies also traveled to Hononegah where they dismantled host Boylan, 52-32. They held the Lady Titans to under the 10-point plateau in each of the four quarters while romping ahead, 12-5, after the first period and 29-14 at intermission. It was 46-23, Harlem, after three quarters of play.
Leading the offense were three returning players. There was senior Ali MacGregor, a team captain last year, with 15 points and 11 rebounds; junior Julie Bailey with 12 points; and 6-foot-3-inch junior Mya Davidson with 10 rebounds five blocks.
The Lady Huskies finished the 2019-20 season in strong fashion, winning 11 of their last 13 games including a 69-61 win over Rockford Auburn. The Lady Knights wound up the NIC-10 champion with a 16-2 record. And guess who Harlem’s first opponent is during a week of games against tough opponents: Auburn, on the road tonight! Then come a pair of home games with always competitive Belvidere North Saturday night and rival Hononegah on Tuesday.
Split in bowling
Harlem split two season-opening bowling matches at Hononegah. The Huskies held a slim lead over the Indians going into the third game, but couldn’t hang on and Hononegah rallied to win, 3,917 to 3,813.
Leading Harlem was senior P.J. Mellies with a three-game 714 series.
The Huskies have two matches coming up, at Freeport on Friday and then at home on Tuesday, when Rockford East comes to town. Last year the Hononegah match ultimately determined the NIC-10 winner. Harlem won that skirmish and continued to finish 9-0, while the Indians wound up 8-1. Freeport finished 7-2, losing to both Harlem and Hononegah, so Friday’s match once again will be a big one for the Huskies.
Harlem’s girls also won the conference title last year, when they went a perfect 9-0. They opened with a more decisive 3,890-3,656 win over Hononegah on opening day. Senior Olivia Watton sparked the victory with a three-game series of 729, and concluded the third and final game with six consecutive strikes.
The Lady Huskies’ upcoming games start with a big one at Freeport, last year’s conference runner-up with an 8-1 record, on Friday. On Tuesday afternoon, they will have a home match against Rockford East, at Forest Hills Lanes.
Dance, swim
At this point Harlem’s Competitive Dance team has its only competition of the season on Sunday in suburban Lincolnshire, when it participates in the Stevenson High School Patriette Invite.
And the Huskies’ swimming and diving team will have its only home meet of the shortened season on Tueday, at 4:45 p.m. against Hononegah and Belvidere Co-op. They only have four meets this winter with the final one on the road March 2.
