Check out the SPC Report every week right here on the Nest!

Check out the Rooster and Big Tone every week right here on the Nest!

This week we have a special two part SPC Report covering the IHSA state bowling finals 5th place finisher Romeoville and an interview with head coach Tony Talley in part 1 and our basketball report in part 2...enjoy!

Part two of the SPC Report

Losing can be a traumatic experience. Several minutes after walking off the mat Friday night, Joliet Catholic Academy’s Anthony McInerney demonstrated the proper perspective.

The sophomore 195-pounder lost a tough title match, 19-4 by technical fall in 5:25, to Marist’s Josh Pruitt at the East Suburban Catholic Conference Wrestling Championships. And as McInerney stepped onto the medal stand, the encased second-place silver reward in his right hand, he wasn’t very happy.

But he wasn’t vanquished, either.

“He’s ranked in the state for Class 3A and he has a lot more experience than I have,” McInerney said of Pruitt, slotted 10th in 3A by Illinois Matmen. “We’ve been going up against state-ranked guys from 2A and 3A schools the past couple of weeks, and I don’t think I’m going to face anybody as good as I have.”

What JCA has as an advantage as the calendar flips from January to February: being moved down to Class 1A for the state tournament. It meant the ESCC Championships were more of a training ground than a battleground as McInerney and senior 182-pounder Nick Collofello each took second place.

This week Rooster tackles a new Illinois Senate Bill 2550, which was filed by 53rd District Senator Shane Cultra (R) on January 11 that is opposed by the IHSA on Cheap Seats.

The three-time defending IHSA Medium Division State Champion Lemont High School cheerleading squad will have a chance for a fourth consecutive crown. The Indians finished second in the Medium Division at the IHSA Joliet Central Sectional on Saturday, January 28, to earn their seventh IHSA State Finals berth in as many seasons. Lemont, which has posted a top-three finish in each of its six state finals appearances - including IHSA Medium Division State Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011 - will compete in the 2012 IHSA Cheerleading State Finals, which will be held at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, Ill., on Friday, February 3, and Saturday, February 4.

After finishing third in the 2006 IHSA State Finals, Lemont was the state runner-up in both 2007 and 2008 before breaking through to win consecutive titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Lemont’s cheerleading squad is the only program in school history to win a team state championship.

The preliminary rounds for both the Small and Medium Divisions will begin at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, with entries from the two divisions alternating. The finals for the Medium Division will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with the awards ceremony scheduled to follow at 1:15 p.m.

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has come out in strong opposition of Illinois Senate Bill 2550 and is urging its member schools and the communities they reside in to speak out against this potentially dangerous legislation.

Senate Bill 2550, which was filed by 53rd District Senator Shane Cultra (R) on January 11, would allow for a local school board to provide a waiver for a student-athlete to participate in a high school football contest, even if that the student-athlete has failed to meet the IHSA mandated 12 practices prior to the first contest due to involvement in military training. Football is the only IHSA sport that has a minimum number of practices required before game participation.

“This is very dangerous and counterproductive legislation,” said IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman. “First and foremost, this is an issue of student health and safety, not an issue of patriotism. We all applaud and support young people who choose to serve our country. However, deferring this decision to a school board, which, generally speaking, has no medical training, is irresponsible at best. While students who receive military training will have some level of conditioning, they are not in football playing condition as defined by medical professionals. Our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee has consistently maintained that all students need to have 12 days of football practice prior to participating in an interscholastic football game.”

Special SPC report with Plainfield Central Bowling team