Oak Lawn Spartan Athletes Recognized At Winter Sports Awards

OAK LAWN, IL—The Oak Lawn Community High School boys bowling team rolled through a historic season as the team won the South Suburban Conference Red championship, the Illinois High School Association Regional championship and qualified for the IHSA State Finals. Charlie Dell, the team’s Most Valuable Player, finished tenth in the state and was an All-State bowler. Head coach Kevin Walery was named as the SSC Coach of the Year as well.

Dell and Peter Garcia were all regional bowlers, and Justin Canvin, Dell, and Garcia were all-conference selections, finishing first, second, and third. The team’s Sportsmanship Award winners were David Bush and Vinnie McBrien.

Here’s a look at the other winter sports awards.

The boys basketball team won its fifth-straight SSC Red title. The team’s MVP Jack Dempsey was SSC Red Player of the Year and made all-conference along with fellow team MVP Marc Harvey and Omar Saleh. John Olejniczak was the Sportsmanship Award winner.

In girls basketball, Bianca Fleitas was the team’s MVP, and Sara Abdelrahman and Briany Lara were the Sportsmanship Award winners. Fleitas and Olivia Perry were all-conference selections.

In girls bowling, Luna Garcia was the team MVP and qualified for the IHSA Sectional. Briana Potempa was the Sportsmanship Award recipient.

In competitive cheerleading, Savannah Hartmann was the team MVP, and Bridget Berkery was the Sportsmanship Award winner. Suriyah McGowan and Remington Hussein were all-conference cheerleaders.

In competitive dance, Alyssa Paplawskas was the team MVP and made all-conference along with teammate Amelia Burrow. Rose Tellez was the Sportsmanship Award winner.

In boys swimming, the team MVP was Kacper Liszka and Angel Lopex won the Sportsmanship Award. Jacob Herpich finished first in diving at the SSC Red meet and was an all-conference diver.

In boys wrestling, Khalid Eid was the team’s MVP, won conference at 144 pounds, and qualified for the IHSA Sectional at 144 pounds. Faris Elayyan was the Sportsmanship Award winner.

In girls wrestling, Journey Jackson was the team’s MVP, and she won conference at 130 pounds, won the IHSA Sectional at 130, and qualified for the IHSA State Finals at 130. Elizabeth Bisonaya finished first in the SSC Red at 100 pounds and qualified for the IHSA Sectional at 100. Eliana Caudillo finished second in conference at 115 pounds, and Bianca Ocampo took second in conference at 190. Priscilla Ruiz qualified for the IHSA Sectional at 145 pound, and Allison Nava was the Sportsmanship Award winner.

~ Contributed by Brian Frangella, OLCHS Feature Writer