New principal leads renewed dedication toward Senn athletics
By Mark Singer In the final practice before the end of his team’s season, Terrell Walsh pleaded with the players to leave everything on the court the following day. On March 1, the Senn Bulldogs boys basketball team was set to play in the school’s first regional semifinals in nine years. Senn isn’t known for […]
Chasing Nojel
By Julia Cardi When the final afternoon bell rang in Evanston Township High School at 3:35, a rush of teenagers and their cacophony of end-of-day chatter flooded the hallways. The open space adjacent to the school’s various athletic facilities clogged with kids heading to practices; in the locker rooms, they traded Timberland boots and jeans […]
Notre Dame ends Evanston’s bid for state basketball title
By Julia Cardi Trying not to cry, Nojel Eastern contorted his face after he missed his second-to-last free throw. With the top-seeded Evanston Wildkits trailing the fourth-seeded Notre Dame Dons by nine points late in the final quarter, the junior point guard knew his team wouldn’t go to the state championship. The Wildkits fell in […]
Evanston shortens road to championship with win over Glenbrook South
By Julia Cardi Three-nineteen-sixteen. The Evanston boys basketball team used the three numbers as its battle cry through strenuous conditioning sessions this past offseason, and the Wildkits put 3-19-16 in group text messages and chanted the sequence after practices and games. March 19, 2016 is the date of this year’s state championship. “We have that […]
Evanston coach keeps his eyes on the real prize
Q&A: Wildkits basketball coach Mike Ellis By Julia Cardi Twice in the past decade, Mike Ellis coached teams at Richwoods High School in Peoria to within three points of winning state championships. Now he’s four games away from the title with the Evanston Wildkits. But he’s not asking his players to bring home the trophy for his sake. […]
Young and hungry: Wildkits freshmen fight to find their way on varsity
By Julia Cardi After a signal from coach Mike Ellis, Jaheim Holden hopped from the bench with a grin, shed his warmup T-shirt, and knelt on the sideline, poised to run onto the court. His teammates Lance Jones and Ryan Bost joined him, and for four minutes and 21 seconds of play, the three freshmen […]
Wildkits honor fallen teammate on Senior Night
by Julia Cardi Tiffany Rice cherishes the smallest details about her son, Dajae Coleman. She remembers how his impressions of Stewie Griffin from “Family Guy” would bring her to laughter no matter her mood. “That’s what made him Dae,” said Rice, laughing again at the memory. “He had this good sense of humor that he […]
Elyjah Williams: Broken foot, unbroken spirit
By Julia Cardi Elyjah Williams pushes himself up from his perch in a wheeled office chair on the court sideline and limps to the basketball net a few yards off, away from his teammates running drills on the opposite end of the floor. He starts shooting free throws and lay-ups. The boot on his right […]
