GabriellaTowns (6) and the Oak Park-River Forest Huskies finished fifth at last weekend's Autumnfest tournament hosted by Glenbard East. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorOK, who is the No. 1 team in Class 4A this week?Right now, it’s Benet Academy (again).Why?Mathematics. It’s as simple as A beats B, B beats C, C beats A. Benet is 1-1 against Marist (splitting two matches) and 1-0 against Mother McAuley. Meanwhile, Mother McAuley is 0-1 against Benet Academy and 1-1 vs. Marist, and Marist is 2-2 with a win an...

Sophomore Laney Snow (18) and Normal University HIgh were scheduled to visit Normal West on Monday as part of the Bloomington/Normal Intercity Tournament. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorLeave it to the IHSA.What’s their latest outrage?How about assigning defending Class 2A champion Genoa-Kingston, last year’s runner-up IC Catholic Prep and No. 3-ranked Timothy Christian to the same sectional? We suspect that’s one way to placate certain members of their constituency.Not that those teams will get any sym...

Junior libero Mari Rodriguez and the undefeated Huntley Red Raiders host Barrington on Wednesday in a remacth of last year's supersectional meeting at Dundee-Crown. (Photo by Dave Ruggles). By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com Editor“Well, at least we haven’t been sent to the ‘sectional of death.’”That’s how one suburban Chicago coach reacted to the release of the regional, sectional and supersectional sites by the IHSA last Friday. Similar sentiments are likely being felt by coaches throughout Illinois regardless of their team’s class, ...

Mother McAuley defeated Notre Dame Academy (Louisville, Kentucky) on Saturday to win its second consecutive ASICS Challenge championship. By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorIt’s the same old story – B beats A, C beats B, A beats B.Can anyone hold down the top spot in the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com Girls High School Class 4A rankings?We could find out this week when Marist, which beat Mother McAuley to open the door for Benet Academy to assume the top spot after the Redwings beat Marist in the finals of the Wheaton Classi...

Five-foot-7 junior defensive specialist Sarah Jensen (Barrington) and her teammates won SPVB 18 Red's third consecutive national championship in the 18 Club division at the 50th annual AAU Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando, Florida. (File photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe dust has barely settled on the 2023 girls’ club season and tryouts for upcoming season have already begun.Although Illinois produced no national championships in the Open divisions at the USAV tournament in Chicago or...

Mother McAuley and Benet Academy could be headed toward another IHSA Class 4A championship match clash, or will the folks downstate pair the two big-school powerhouses in a supersectional smashup like they did in 2014? Stay tuned. (Photos by Dave Ruggles) Notice: You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, re-post, or use the content of the Site for public or commercial purposes, including the text, images, audio, and video, without Illprepvb.com, LLC’s written permission.By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorLet the (guessing) games be...

Glenbard West junior outside hitter Casey Maas (1) was named to the six-man all-tournament team at Glenbrook North last weekend. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThe end is nigh.For some, it cannot come soon enough. For others, it’s only the beginning of a journey they will hope will consummate with a visit to Hoffman Estates on June 2-3.These are the last Illinois’ boys high school rankings of the regular season. As such, we’ve expanded the rankings to 25 (actually 27, including ties) teams. How it all shake...

Back on top. Benet Acadmey's loss to Marist last week and Marist's loss to Mother McAuley at the ASICS Challenge put the Mighty Macs back on top the Michio Chicago VBA/Illprepvb.com rGirls High School Rankings. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorSports Performance owner/director Troy Gilb, who coached in Nebraska for several years, has a novel idea.Why not follow the Nebraska model when conducting the IHSA tournament?Nebraska, which has six classes, divides the state into six sections. Each section winner ...

Junior Addie Brookbank (5) and Barrington will try to improve to 12-1 when they visit Mid-Suburban West rival Fremd on Tuesday. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorThree weeks in the books and we still have more questions than answers.This week's Wheaton Classic may answer a few of those questions in Class 4A, or it could leave us with a preponderance of riddles much like the Lincoln and Effingham tournaments did last weekend.Meanwhile, while some schools already know if they are hosting regionals, we are lookin...

Glenbard West's Adam Graham is one of several juniors who will return in 2024 bidding to earn the Toppers' second three-peat since 2015-17. (Photo by Dave Ruggles) By Phil BrozynskiIllprepvb.com EditorI feel the need … the need, to seed.For the second time in two years, arguably the two best teams in the Illinois met prior to the IHSA tournament championship game.Last year, Barrington (36-3), led by Player of the Year Jack O’Riordan (Ohio State), lost a tough three-setter to eventual IHSA champion Glenbard West in the sectional champio...