Free Press Advocate

Prescott receives nod as ICE All-Conference

Published by admin on Tue, 03/29/2022 - 3:44pm

by shawn long
Sports writer
Senior Wildcat matman Jake Prescott has been selected All-Conference for the Illinois Central Eight Conference.
Prescott third in ICE
Prescott, who wrestled at 138 pounds, captured third in a tough class during the ICE tournament but fell out during wrestlebacks of the regional. Prescott finished with a 14-10 record as an honorable mention in the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association online rankings. Prescott finishes as a one-time state qualifier after qualifying for IWCOA state as a junior.
Shirey qualifies

‘Cats meet match in Morris, mercy rule victory over Joliet Central for their second win

Published by admin on Tue, 03/22/2022 - 5:18pm

by shawn long
Sports writer
The Wilmington softball team ran into a buzzsaw of a Morris team that cruised to a 15-4 win Monday evening.
Despite the loss, Abby Pitts continued her hit streak, going 3-for-3 with a home run, scored a run and drove in three runs to lead the ‘Cats. She is now 10-for-10 to begin the year with a home run, four doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs.
“I’m looking for more line drives now instead of more home runs,” said Pitts. “In the beginning of the season I was like ‘let’s crank the ball’ but then I’d hit a pop up.”

Wildcats outhit Pontiac, Morris to improve to 2-0

Published by admin on Tue, 03/22/2022 - 5:17pm

by shawn long
Sports writer
The Wilmington baseball team outslugged Morris in a 7-5 affair on Monday.
The ‘Cats trailed 3-0 in the fourth before firing back with four runs of their own to steal a 4-3 lead.
Cade McCubbin clubbed a towering home run to begin the fourth which made it 3-1.
Joe Pogliano singled and Nolan Rickmon walked. That set up Ryan Banas who drove Pogliano in on a ringing double to make it 3-2.
Lucas Rink had a big, 2-run double to bring home both Rickmon and Banas to give them a 4-3 lead.

When it comes to wrestling, champions are not born, they’re made young

Published by admin on Tue, 03/22/2022 - 5:11pm

by shawn long
Sports writer
With the Coal City Middle School wrestling team winning its second straight state championship, we asked how long will this last?
The answer looks like a long time, and don’t be surprised if Wilmington and Reed-Custer are close behind.
The Warriors won their first title in 2019 beating Taylor Ridge Rockridge before dominating Canton Ingersoll two weeks ago 316.50 to 99.

Wildcats up and running, girls 6th, boys 8th in RC Invite

Published by admin on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 4:16pm

On Saturday, the Wildcats boys and girls track teams participated in the Reed-Custer Indoor Invitational. The girls finished in 6th place and the boys finished in 8th place.
The girls had eight personal records (PR’s) while the boys had seven. Performances by the girls included:
Katelyn McCann - Sr - 60 - 8.20 - PR- 1ST, long jump - 16’10 - PR -1ST
Julia McCully - Jr - 60 - 9.23 - PR - 10th, 200 - 33.02 - 9th
Reese VanDuyne - Fr - long jump - 12’07 - PR - 8th, 200 - 33.82 - PR - 12th
Skylar Ortiz - Fr - 400 - 1:35.00 - PR - 14th

Lady ‘Cats shutout Grant Park in opener

Published by admin on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 4:15pm

Pitts drives in seven to
lead ‘Cats over Dragons
by shawn long
Sports writer
The Wilmington softball team left little doubt they were going to win during their home opener on Monday , shutting out Grant Park 15-0.
The ‘Cats were held scoreless in the first but scored every inning after that to get the win. Wilmington softball coach Jack Skole was happy with his players’ performance and happy that he got everybody in.

Experienced ‘Cats will rely on team chemistry, athleticism

Published by admin on Tue, 03/15/2022 - 4:14pm

by shawn long
Sports writer
A lot of the same personnel are back for the Wilmington softabll team and they’reready to put together another winning season.
Last year, the season was shortened to mostly conference teams and the ‘Cats finished 9-8 overall, 7-7 in the Illinois Central Eight Conference.

Lady ‘Cat kickers aiming for .500 mark or higher

Published by admin on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 5:04pm

by shawn long
Sports writer
The Wilmington soccer team didn’t finish the 2021 season how they wanted to with the talent they had.
The Lady ‘Cats started out well as they captured second place in the PepsiCo Tournament, earning a 3-0 shutout win over a Chicago team Mansueto. They went on to fall in four straight contests after before breaking that run with two straight wins. They were up and down the whole season, and finished 6-12, 5-9. They were sixth in the Illinois Central Eight Conference behind Herscher, Lisle, Peotone and Manteno.

Record-breaking ‘Cats back for more success in 2022 season

Published by admin on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 5:03pm

by shawn long
Sports writer
The Wildcat track team is back after a successful season a year ago. They broke records and had multiple athletes attend, and place in state track.
The ‘Cats were anchored last year by their female athletes who won the first seven track meets before falling to Streator. In the time, they broke three girls school records, three of which were broken by Chloe Proffitt.

Dooley to wrestle in IWCOA state tourney

Published by admin on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 5:02pm

by shawn long
Sports writer
Wilmington wrestler Landon Dooley has qualified for the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association fresh/soph state wrestling finals after placing third in the Coal City Sectional over the weekend.
Dooley (113) started at the bottom of the bracket with a pin over Joliet Central’s Isaiah Kan.
He then ran into the eventual champion from Lockport Liam Zimmerman, who worked a pin on Dooley in 3:30 to move on.