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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Centennial boys’ soccer player Lucas Pianfetti, right, is this week’s Male News-Gazette High School Athlete of the Week.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Congrats to Lucas Pianfetti of the Centennial boys’ soccer team and Macy Cappa of the Champaign Central girls’ swimming and diving team. The pair is the latest News-Gazette High School Athletes of the Week. Read more about the duo in Monday’s News-Gazette.
➜ 2. It’s a good weekend to be a runner in the area. The UI Golf Course in Savoy will host the 18-team Big Ten Championships on Friday, while three IHSA sectional meets on Saturday feature boys’ and girls’ runners competing from 41 area teams.
➜ 3. And it’s a good weekend if you’re Parkland graduate Kevin Kiermaier. The 34-year-old outfielder won his first World Series title late Wednesday night when the Dodgers beat the Yankees 7-6.
Illinois forward Will Riley, left, is on the Karl Malone Award watch list to start the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season.
Numbers game: 2
Illinois basketball players who landed on preseason watch lists Thursday for top power forwards in the country. Will Riley is one of 20 men’s college players on the Karl Malone Award watch list, while Kendall Bostic is also one of 20 women’s college players on the Katrina McClain Award watch list. Riley is a five-star recruit waiting to play his first Illini game, while Bostic is a fifth-year senior who has 1,001 career points and 1,058 career rebounds.
llinois quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) celebrates during the football game between Illinois and Michigan at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, October 19, 2024
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Minnesota at Illinois football. Well before the 11 a.m. kickoff on Saturday, an Army cadet will rapel from the Memorial Stadium colonnades to ground lvel and deliver a game ball at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, part of Military Appreciation Day.
➜ 2. Eastern Illinois at Illinois men’s basketball. A third straight season opener for the Illini against the Panthers, who are 0-8 all-time against Illinois heading into Monday’s 7 p.m. tip at State Farm Center.
➜ 3. Lewis at Illinois women’s basketball. The first chance for the public to see the Illini is at 6 p.m. Friday at State Farm Center. The lone exhibition game for Illinois comes against a Division II team from Romeoville who went 23-9 last season.
Andy Wagner and the Sullivan girls’ golf team he coaches won a Class 1A regional title earlier this fall.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Sullivan boys’ and girls’ golf coach Andy Wagner:
âžœ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Illini. I’m a huge St. Louis Blues fan as well.
âžœ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Erik Spoelstra, Mike Tomlin and Brad Underwood.
âžœ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … paper towels and toilet paper are to roll over the top and not pull from underneath. It just drives me crazy. When it comes to coaching, a player saying ‘I know.’ If you know, then why are we talking about it again?