UPDATE: Sandburg's Rachel Ruzevich is Patch MVP

Sandburg's Rachel Ruzevich outpolled seven others in voting for Southland Patch's MVP, Dec. 17-23. She 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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Joe

7:30 am on Saturday, December 29, 2012

Ron, did you know Rachel is the first Sandburg basketball player to receive a full college basketball scholarship in over 5 years. Rachel signed her letter of intent to play at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. Rachel will be playing for Coach Cari Lohr.   more ›

The Sports Report

The Takeaway: Andrew, L-W West and Sandburg Bowlers Knock Down More Than Pins at Girls State Tourney

Participation in a lifetime sport prepares girls bowling standouts to take the next step on their life journey. Bringing home hardware from the IHSA state tournament—gravy.

Listen to their voices. “It was a great tournament for me,” Lincoln-Way West’s Morgan Flaherty said after she captured individual medalist honors at the IHSA girls bowling state tournament. Her comments first appeared in an article by Dennis Nelson of the Sun-Times News Group along with those of some other newly crowned champs. “Today is one of the best days of my entire life,” Andrew’s Ashley Stefanski said after the T-Bolts captured their first girls bowling state title on Saturday at Cherry Bowl in Rockford. “We didn’t expect this at all,” Andrew coach Julie DeChene said. And did you catch what Sandburg coach Joe Geiger had to say after the Eagles’ Nicole Powell placed second? “She had ice running through her veins,” Geiger said. You …

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Ron Kremer

1:38 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012

My pleasure, Scott. The girls deserve to be recognized for their great accomplishments.   more ›

Girls Bowling: Stefanski Leads Andrew to State Championship

Senior Ashley Stefanski turned in a top-five finish and led Andrew to the IHSA girls bowling state championship on Saturday at Cherry Bowl in Rockford. The T-Bolts won the boys bowling state title last week.

Tinley Park. Andrew. The town and the school are taking on new identities today as the high school bowling capital of Illinois. Senior Ashley Stefanski averaged 221.3 for 12 games over two days of competition and led Andrew to the IHSA girls bowling state championship on Saturday at Cherry Bowl in Rockford. The title for Andrew was its second in two weeks. The Thunderbolts won the boys state championship last weekend at St. Clair Bowl in O'Fallon. Stefanski finished with a pinfall total of 2,656 and topped an Andrew girls team that averaged 205.8 for 60 games. The T-Bolts also picked up contributions from Nicole Zopf (2,561), Cassie Boat (2,506), Jenny Hallas (2,271), Stephanie Garuckas (1,985) and Ashley Sparrey (370). And every pin …

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