Boys Basketball

The Boys Basketball team finished with a 27-8 record, the winningest record in team history. They also advanced all the way to the Sectional Championship, the second best state tournament finish in school history. The team was led by its starters: seniors John Graham and Chase Bonder, and juniors Will Buchert, Jack Huber and Cole Bonder. The Wildcats placed second in conference, but went on to win the Regional Championship on their home floor against rival Warren. In the Sectional Semifinal, the Cats beat Stevenson in a back and forth thriller. Their season ultimately came up short in overtime against Barrington in the Sectional Championship. Chase Bonder led the team in points and rebounds and reached 1,000 career points during the playoff run. He was named All-Conference along with Huber and Graham. “We have a group of great competitors that I would go to war with any day,” Buchert said. “I think throughout the season, we’ve demonstrated that well by fighting back in any game. We had a will to never get blown out and always make it a close game.”

Dance

The dance team had an incredibly successful season. Led by senior captains Nadia Lausch, Ryan McGrory, Sarah Wolter and Molly Wallace, the Cats placed first in all but one of their regular season competitions. That success continued into the postseason, as they earned a second place finish at sectionals and placed sixth as a team at state. This was the second straight top 10 finish in the state for the LHS Dance Team. “We didn’t have any alternates so everyone was on the floor for every dance,” senior Jenna Ziemnisky said. “Everyone put everything into it and we had a really fun season.” 

Wrestling

The wrestling team had an abundance of success in the postseason. The Cats won the North Suburban Conference and beat rival powerhouse Stevenson in the process. They also qualified for Team State, and didn’t lose at that meet until they were matched up against Mount Carmel, the top team in the state. At the individual state competition, three different athletes placed top three in the state in their respective weight classes. Senior Caelan Riley earned third place in the 120 pound weight class, junior Austin Gomez finished third in 170, and senior Josh Knudten was the state champion in 182. “My favorite moment of the season was watching my team battle hard against Mount Carmel at team state,” Riley said. “We lost overall but we won six matches and it was a bittersweet ending to my high school career.” 

Girls Bowling

The girls bowling team was a perfect 16-0 this season. Led by captains senior Abby Kenzer and junior Mabelle Kosowski, the Cats used their undefeated regular season momentum to win the conference as a team and place four bowlers in the top 15 individually. Kosowski placed 7th,  Kenzer 10th, senior Quincy DeLude finished 11th, and senior Evelyn Tarman came in 13th. After placing 4th in Regionals and 3rd in Sectionals, the team made it to state for the first time in 8 years. As a team, the Cats placed 14th at the State Meet. The highest individual finish was Kosowski in 30th place. “I think we did really well this season,” said DeLude. “My favorite part of the season was the team. We all grew really close. State was also so much fun and the perfect way to end my last season.” 

Girls Basketball 

The girls basketball team finished 23-11 and advanced all the way to the Sectional Semifinal. Their starters were seniors Kristina Kotzan and Libby Ryan, junior Emily Fisher, and sophomores Kate Rule and Rachel Rule. According to Kotzan, Fisher played an all around role for the team, with many points, assists and rebounds. The Rule sisters and Ryan shot well from three point range, and Kotzan herself played most of her minutes in the post. Her favorite part of the season was the moment she believes her team meshed together to start the path to their playoff run: winning the Winter Classic tournament. “We kind of had a rough start because we only had six returning players from the previous season,” Kotzan said. “But after the Winter Classic win, we all got closer because it was a big victory. Everyone contributed greatly to the team.” 

Gymnastics

“I think we did an amazing job this season,” said senior captain Laura Gomez. “We had two state qualifiers and a vault state champion.” Gomez and fellow senior captain Emaline Frey led the girls gymnastics team to a fifth place finish in the conference and a third place finish at Regionals. At the Sectional Meet, junior Anna Becker and sophomore Ally Humbert qualified for state. Becker won all but one event at Sectionals and built up momentum into the State meet. There she placed fourth in the bars and was the state champion in the vault. 

Boys Bowling

The boys bowling team won Conference for the first time in school history. During the regular season, the Cats only lost a combined three matches in conference and non conference play. Senior Vaughn Kator led the team with an incredible average of 210. Senior Marc Moss described his favorite moment of the season: the Regional Meet. “We were in contention to win it all day and at the very end [senior] Joey Frega bowled to give us the victory over Grayslake Central by four pins,” Moss explained. “It was cool to get to help lead the team to our first regional victory ever by putting up a good score. We had such a great team effort and without all of us we wouldn’t have even come close to winning Regionals.” 

Cheer

“Making it to state really proves how well we competed this season,” said senior captain Carlos Cabrera. “I’m truly proud of the team and the work we put in.” The cheer team had a big change from previous seasons, switching to the Co-Ed division for competitions with the arrival of seniors Cabrera and Grady Georgia. However, they didn’t miss a beat, placing fourth in conference, fifth in sectionals, and 17th in state. Cabrera led the team along with fellow captains senior Isabel Furlong and junior Avery Litton. “I feel my team really put in the work this season,” Cabrera added. “We never stopped improving, constantly changing our routine as we continued to get better.” 

Boys Swim and Dive

The boys swim and dive team will return two non-senior state qualifiers for the 2022-2023 season. The athletes who competed at sectionals this season for the Cats were senior Colin Bath, juniors Ethan Paul and Matt Earley, sophomores Ed Steward, Sam Rasin and Erik Murphy, and freshmen Nick Ozimek and Sheyas Moorthy. Steward became a force to be reckoned with, placing 30th in State in the 100 fly and setting the school record for the event. Junior Ethan Paul also went to state for diving and placed 11th, after a successful season in which he won conference. Bath, the senior captain, believes the team “competed to our best ability. I’m excited to see how the team develops after I leave.”