Altenburg, Reed, Niemiec at Head of All-Conference List

For Oak Lawn High School, which competes in the South Suburban Conference, the boys basketball team sent two players to the all-conference team. Seniors and joined the team, while seniors Callen Moore and Anthony Johnson were named to the honorable mention team.

The Oak Lawn girls basketball team sent three players to the all-conference team, seniors Kim Braasch, Kelly Foley and , who also was named Patch’s Top Winter Sports Athlete, while senior Nicole Paplauski was named to the honorable mention team.

* For the Oak Lawn wrestling team, 215-pounder Ryan Glab was an all-conference performer, while the boys bowling team sent Ryan Campin and Ken VandeWerken and the girls bowling team sent Brittany LaRusso.

* For Richards High School, senior Dominique Gaddis of the boys basketball team was the South Suburban Conference Red Player of the Year, while Brianna LeBeau, Hannah Jenkins, Raneisha Hill and Rachel Garner were all named to the all-conference team for girls basketball. LeBeau earned all-conference honors for the second year in a row. She was named the SSC Red girls basketball Player of the Year in 2009.

* The Oak Lawn girls soccer team opened up action with a 5-2 loss to Chicago Christian on Thursday. Coach Karyn Horn said getting everyone back healthy will be a key for the season.

Senior defender Bridget Niemiec (who is also a basketball player) is out with a back injury, while senior forward Michaela Sheeran played for the first time on Thursday against Chicago Christian because she has been sick.

According to Horn, the Spartans should be fine offensively, but will need their players to step up on defense for a successful year. In goal, senior Lissette Magana will take over.

“We had a goalie who didn’t return this year,” Horn said. “And this is (Magana’s) first game in three years playing goalie (on Thursday). She’s got her work cut out for her, but she did a really good job in the second half."

* Former Richards boys basketball player Carl Richard made an appearance in the NCAA Division I National Tournament. Richard, a junior at Indiana State, was an integral part of the Sycamores' that won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Indiana State played Syracuse Friday night in Cleveland in the tournament’s second round.

* Former Richards boys basketball standout Shaun Pratl is leaving the Eastern Illinois University basketball team, according to the Chicago Breaking Sports.

* On Tuesday, the Richards boys water polo team fell to Stagg. Here’s the story from the Chicago Sun-Times.