January 24th, 2022-
Girls Basketball:
1/17 @ Bishop McNamara: In game number three of their six-game road trip the Wheaton Academy girls basketball team made the long drive down to Kankakee to take on Bishop McNamara. Bishop Mac came out of the gates fast as they opened up an early 9 point advantage following the first quarter of play. WA would claw themselves back into the game as they held the Irish to just 4 second-quarter points. An evenly played third quarter saw WA take a 31-29 lead into the fourth and final quarter. Unfortunately, the girls ran out of steam late as Bishop Mac would pull away to a 38-31 victory. Olivia Rinde (9) and Jillian Paulson (8) combined for 17 of the Warrior's 31 points on the evening. The loss drops the girls to 9-6 on the season and 3-4 in conference play.
1/20 @ Westmont: The girl's basketball team took to the road on Thursday night when they continued MSC Conference play against Westmont. The girls were looking for their second win over Westmont this season as they defeated them 45-28 inside the Warrior Dome back on December 7th. WA took an early lead and never looked back in this one as they ran out to a 7 point first-quarter lead. It was a lead the girls wouldn't relinquish, as they kept their foot on the gas, and would go on to their biggest conference win of the season, 58-35. The Warriors forced 20 turnovers from Westmont and scored 24 points off those turnovers. The Sentinels had no answer for Wheaton Academy's Freshman Forward Abby Schroeder as she posted a game-high 19 points and 18 rebounds including 14 offensive rebounds. The win was the 10th of the season for the Warriors and brings them to 4-4 in conference play.
1/22 @ St. Francis: WA girls basketball took to the road for the fifth straight game when they made the short trip to conference rival St. Francis on Saturday night. The Spartans, one of the top teams in the conference (14-9), jumped out to a big 1st quarter lead that proved to be unrecoverable. WA would win the 2nd quarter but still entered the half trailing by 12. St. Francis wouldn't relent in the second half and would go on to win by a score of 52-30. Jillian Paulson was the only Warrior in double figures as she scored 11 points. The loss drops WA to 10-7 on the season and 4-5 in conference play. The girls will complete their six-game road trip on Tuesday night when they travel to Chicago Christian before returning home next Thursday against Bishop McNamara.
Boys Basketball:
1/18 @ Bishop McNamara: WA boys basketball took to the road for game one of a five-game road trip when they traveled to Bishop McNamara on Tuesday for an MSC Conference matchup. Despite the long bus ride, the Warriors came out firing as they jumped out to a big 21-8 lead after quarter number one. WA kept the pressure on the Irish as they extended their lead heading into the half, leading by a score of 41-19. WA's hot shooting night continued in the second half as they ran away to a big 71-55 victory. On the night WA shot 52% from the field including 50% from three. WA was led by Cole Andrews (24 points) and Sam Anderson (14 points) who combined for 38 of the Warrior's 71 total points. The win was number 11 on the year for the Warriors and brings their record to 11-7 and 4-2 in conference play.
1/21@ St. Francis: The boy's basketball team traveled to Wheaton on Friday night for a battle with rival St. Francis. The Spartans (14-6) jumped out to a big early lead in front of a packed crowd leading 17-8 after the first quarter of play. An evenly played second quarter saw St. Francis carry a 9 point lead into the half. The Warriors battled hard but ultimately couldn't close the gap, falling by a score of 58-45. Senior Cole Andrews led the way for the Warriors with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. The loss drops the Warriors to 11-8. They return to action Monday night for game 3 of 5 on their road trip when they take on, 15-2 and the 7th ranked team in Illinois, Rolling Meadows (according to MaxPreps).
Wrestling:
1/20 @ Chicago Hope Triangle: Wrestling traveled to downtown Chicago on Thursday for a midweek triangle with Chicago Hope Academy and Chicago Taft. Against Chicago Hope, it was a back and forth match with both schools winning several matches. WA got a few late pins from Peter Johanik and George Truitt to take the win 40-32. In the second match of the day, WA took on CPS Chicago Taft. Both schools got two pins each but it was Taft who picked up more points in the other matches and eventually got the win 39-27. WA got match pins from Caden Smith and Ethan Brunner. Splitting the matches see's the Warriors record improve to 10-5 on the season.
1/22 @ MSC Conference Tournament:
The Warriors placed fourth out of nine teams this weekend in a conference tournament that featured two top-ranked teams in the state (IC Catholic and Aurora Christian) and another powerhouse at the higher 2A division (Riverside Brookfield). The conference teams, combined, accounted for an astounding 29 state-ranked wrestlers, including three from Wheaton Academy: WIll Hupke, Hunter Kazmierczak, and Peter Johanik.
After losing 10-5 to 8th ranked Josh Vasquez from 2A Aurora Christian in the semis, Sophomore WIll Hupke fought back, pinning two opponents in the first period to take third in the tournament.
Senior Dan Kersey took fourth overall after dropping his third-place match 7-6 in a hard-fought battle against Juan Gonzalez from Riverside Brookfield.
Junior Will Anliker captured third place, who, like Hupke lost a semifinal match only to come back by pinning his way through the consolation bracket.
Freshman Caden Smith took second after a quick win in the semis but ultimately losing to #1 state-ranked Luke Christie of Bishop McNamara in the finals.
Senior Hunter Kazmierczak also finished second following an explosive win in the semis against an opponent from Riverside but dropped a match in the finals against top tanked Michael Calcagno of IC Prep.
Sophomore first-year wrestler Ethan Brunner took fourth place in a tough 195-pound bracket that featured 7th ranked Jaylan Lacy of Westmont.
Peter Johanik, at 220 lbs, faced the #1 ranked Jadon Mims of IC Prep, #3 ranked 2A wrestler and Team USA wrestler Nick Wenstrom from Aurora Christian and state-ranked Severin Votornjak from Westmont. Peter finished third after a loss to Mims in the semis but a commanding victory against Votornjak and Joe Midonna from Riverside.
Freshmen Jeremy Johanik, Luke Dorn and Sophomore Teddy Koskinas all placed in their respective brackets as well.
