L-W East Senior is State Wrestling Champ 2 Years Running

Kyle Langenderfer won the state championship for the second time on Feb. 16.

Lincoln-Way East High School senior Kyle Langenderfer took the Class 3A 152-pound class state wrestling championship on Feb. 16, according to the Chicago Tribune. This is his second year in a row receiving the state title. Langenderfer, who will wrestle at the University of Illinois next year, won all of his 42 matches this season. In order to take the title, Langenderfer defeated Brian Murphy, of Glenbard North High School, 6-5. “Brian is a phenomenal wrestler,” Langenderfer told the Chicago Tribune. “It was fun to compete against him. It was a battle of titans in a way. I tried not to get flustered, even when I got taken down for the first time this season. I gritted it out.” To read more about Langenderfer’s big win, visit the Chicago …

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UPDATE: Sandburg's Brandon Torres is Patch MVP

Sandburg's Brandon Torres outpolled 11 others in voting for Southland Patch's MVP, Jan. 7-13. He is now eligible for Patch Athlete of the Month honors.

Your Patch is a place to celebrate local high school athletes. Show your support for these prep sports MVPs—each of whom is Athlete of the Week in his or her local Patch—by cheering them on in the comments thread, sharing your own photos with the Patch community and voting in the poll. Do you think we're missing someone? Tell us in the comments and share his or her photo to the gallery above. (It's easy. Just click the Upload Photos and Videos link — learn more here.) Read more about this week's MVPs in the photo gallery, and show your support for them by: There is one more way for you to become a more interactive fan: Sign up to become a Patch sports blogger. (Learn more about blogging on Patch here).

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Goran Krnjaic

9:45 am on Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Si!   more ›

Signing Day: L-W East Sends 4 to Collegiate Ranks

Three-time IHSA state wrestling medal winner and 2011-12 state champ Kyle Langenderfer headed a class of four Lincoln-Way East recruits announcing their college plans on signing day.

Lincoln-Way East's Kyle Langenderfer turned his thoughts away from football for a moment. He signed a national letter of intent Wednesday to wrestle next season at the University of Illinois. Langenderfer was one of four Lincoln-Way East student-athletes honored during a ceremony in the Griffins Liar. All four announced their college plans, their coaches, closest friends and family members on hand to cheer them on. Jorgi Calombaris (softball) will attend Valparaiso. Matt Stoner (golf) will attend Lewis and Dana Van Dyck (vollyeball) will attend Tusculum. Langenderfer, a two-sport standout, plays linebacker for the Lincoln-Way East football team that takes on Benet Academy at 6 p.m. Saturday in Lisle in the Class 7A semifinals. He placed …

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The Sports Report

L-W East Football Little Guy Langenderfer Making All the Big Hits

Lincoln-Way East senior Kyle Langenderfer is an undersized football linebacker and state champion wrestler. He is also a leader of a Griffin team that is 4-0 heading into Friday night's showdown at Sandburg.

At one point in the fourth quarter of Lincoln-Way East’s 35-20 football victory over Homewood-Flossmoor, Griffin linebacker Kyle Langenderfer cut down Viking back Taje Smith just before he squirted loose in the middle of the field. Smith picked himself up and patted Langenderfer on the top of his helmet, then returned to the H-F huddle. One little guy was showing another a bit of respect. Smith, a 5-foot-7, 160-pound speedster, scored two second-half touchdowns for the Vikings. Langenderfer enjoyed the last laugh, though. He is a 5-8, 150-pound package of what making the most of  the least is all about, a football hitting machine and IHSA state champion wrestler. Langenderfer, a senior linebacker and football co-captain for East, was in on…

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UPDATE: And the Winner in Voting for Patch Athlete of the Week is ...

Oak Forest's Courtney Kachlik busted loose in a career-high scoring performance in the championship game of the Evergreen Park Class 3A Regional. Then, she outpolled five others in voting for Patch Athlete of the Week honors.

Oak Forest's Courtney Kachlik outpolled five others in voting for Patch's Athlete of the Week, Feb. 12-18. Now, she is eligible for February Patch Athlete of the Month recognition. The candidates: Jubril Adekoya, junior, center/forward, boys basketball, Andrew. Adekoya delivered two more double-doubles as the T-Bolts notched victories No. 20 and 21 and became the winningest Andrew boys basketball team since 1989-90. Adekoya had 18 points and 16 rebounds in a 53-43 victory over Sandburg. Then, he followed up with 19 points and nine rebounds in a 58-31 victory over Thornridge. Mark Duda, sophomore, wrestling, Marist. Duda won 3-of-4 matches and placed second in the 113-pound weight class in the Class 3A state tournament at Assembly Hall in …

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Ron Kremer

9:46 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012

Back in the day, I was a high school swimmer. Never as fast as Matt, though. I'm expecting him to end his Sandburg career with a big splash at the state meet.   more ›

UPDATE: The Winner in Patch Athlete of the Week Voting is ...

Stagg's Brett Kaiser made 9-of-10 free throws and scored 21 points in the Chargers' 59-52 victory over Oak Lawn. He captured the lion's share of fan votes, too, in polling for Patch Athlete of the Week honors.

Stagg boys basketball standout Brett Kaiser outpolled five others in voting for Patch Athlete of the Week, Jan. 15-21. He is now eligible for January Patch Athlete of the Month recognition. The candidates were:   Donnie Bell, junior, wrestling, Homewood-Flossmoor. Bell won 2-of-3 matches and placed second in the 195-pound weight class at the Southwest Suburban Conference tournament. Included was a 2-1 overtime decision over Thornton’s Josh Dixon. Bell pushed his record to 32-4. Brett Kaiser, senior, guard, boys basketball, Stagg. Kaiser was Klutch in the Chargers’ 59-52 victory over Oak Lawn. He made 9-of-10 free throws and scored 21 points. Kyle Langenderfer, junior, wrestling, Lincoln-Way East. Langenderfer swept four matches and won the…

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Wrestling: Sandburg Rules Roost at Southwest Suburban Conference Tournament

Sandburg had four individual champions and 13 placewinners en route to winning the unofficial title in the Southwest Suburban Conference wrestling tournament Saturday at Joliet Central.

Hot Read: Sandburg crowned four individual champions and had 13 placewinners to claim the unofficial title in the Southwest Suburban Conference wrestling meet on Saturday at Joliet Central. The Eagles’ Ricky Robertson, rated No. 1 at 170 pounds by Illinois Best Weekly, topped Thornton’s Domonique Bryant 10-1. The win pushed Robertson’s record to 37-0. Unofficial Team Standings: 1. Sandburg 347.5, 2. Lincoln-Way Central 263, 3. Lockport 212, 4. Joliet West 169, 5. Lincoln-Way East 167, 6. Homewood-Flossmoor 165.5, 7. Bradley-Bourbonnais 133, 8. Thornton 132, 9. Andrew 127, 10. Joliet Central 125, 11. Lincoln-Way West 120, 12. Bolingbrook 105, 13. Stagg 70.5, 14. Thornwood 66, 15. Lincoln-Way North 61, 16. Thornridge 9. Note: Official …

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L-W East Football's Offensive Juggernaut Ready for Takeoff

Led by quarterback Blake Winkler, running back Tyler Starke and wide receiver J.J. Robertson, the Griffins should have defensive coordinators reaching for antacids all fall.

Coach: Rob Zvonar, 12th season. Last year: 9-2 overall, 7-0 in the Southwest Suburban Blue. Opener: Aug. 26 vs. Edwardsville at Illinois State University, Normal, 6 p.m. Outlook: The Griffins have been consistently good and with plenty of talent returning, especially at the skill positions, and a solid mix of talent filling in holes created by graduation, they should again be a force in the difficult Southwest Suburban Blue. Although the conference has been tough, the Griffins have won or shared titles in six of the past nine seasons. Quarterback Blake Winkler (21 TD passes in 2010) gives the team a tremendous scoring weapon against any opponent. Backs: You couldn’t have asked for more from Winkler last fall. As a junior, he threw for just…

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Phoenix Boys Water Polo Squad Intent on Rising Again

Team is coming together despite the loss of several key players from last season.

Lincoln-Way North’s boys water polo team dropped a tough 13-11 decision to Lincoln-Way Central on Wednesday and then had a difficult time against DeSmet Jesuit of St. Louis on Thursday, falling 17-5. "(Central) was a real close game," Phoenix coach Pat Shaughnessy said. "We have a lot of new guys playing who are making a lot of little mistakes, but I'm happy with how they've played." The Phoenix have only a couple of returning players this year, but they’ve managed to post a 2-2 record early on. "I'm very happy with where we're at with what we lost from last year," Shaughnessy said. The team will face a couple of difficult matchups next week, against Homewood-Flossmoor and Sandburg. Lincoln-Way East overpowered Lincoln-Way North in a …

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Wrestling: Langenderfer Makes History for Lincoln-Way East

Griffins' sophomore becomes school's first state wrestling medal winner. Sandburg's Lopez earns second state medal after placing second in heavyweight class on Saturday.

CHAMPAIGN–Lincoln-Way East sophomore Kyle Langenderfer etched his name in the school record book by becoming the Griffins’ first state medal winner in wrestling Saturday night in Assembly Hall on the University of Illinois campus. Langenderfer advanced to the Class 3A championship match at 135 pounds, but suffered a 3-2 loss to Providence Catholic senior Mike Togher (44-5). Langenderfer (40-2) took a 2-0 lead on Togher, but failed to hold it. “I knew he was a defensive wrestler,” Langenderfer said. “I got the two early and I should have worked through that. Instead, I kind of sat on it and I couldn’t push through from there.” Sandburg senior Chris Lopez became the Eagles' second two-time heavyweight medal winner by taking second place …

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