No one loses at Tri-Cities Classic
Fans raise approximately
$2,000 for recuperating teenager
By Chris Walker
ST CHARLES -- Neither Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles East or St. Charles North won during Tuesday’s Tri-Cities Classic games at St. Charles North, but they all helped making the night a winning occasion for Drew Hahn.
Drew, the 13-year-old son of Geneva baseball coach Matt Hahn, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, but was recently declared cancer free.
The eighth-grader at Kaneland Middle School was in attendance with his father at the event Tuesday. Approximately $2,000 had been raised by the time the second game, a 1-1 tie between Batavia and St. Charles, ended. In the earlier game, St. Charles East rallied for a 2-2 tie with Geneva.
“I hate that this happened to me, but I’m blessed that so many have helped out,” Drew said. “I’m very grateful they’ve helped me out as much as possible.”
Treatments ended in the summer for Drew.
“They ended at the end of July and now I’m just getting back to sports,” he said. “Basketball starts next weekend and my main goal is to be back for football season 100 percent for next year.”
While players from all four teams were playing to win, they also were able to recognize the generosity of the event.
“The Tri-Cites are close-knit and you could see tonight brought out the best in everyone,” St. Charles East’s Collin Sheehan said. “To see everyone fighting out on the field while fighting to help a 13-year-old kid says a lot.”
On a mild evening, the games were well attended, as noted by St. Charles North senior Chris Watson.
“There’s nothing better than playing in front of a big crowd against one of your local rivals,” he said. “We haven’t had a loss at our home field all season, and we kept that (Tuesday).”
Here come the kids
Geneva’s Sean Geismann and Josh Harstock are the only freshmen among the Tri-Cities teams who are listed on the varsity roster this fall, although each team has their share of sophomores.
It won’t be long before some of the upcoming talent becomes a part of these high school teams, and plenty of eighth-graders had the chance to compete in front of the crowd during halftime of both games.
Restarts are coming
While Batavia and St. Charles East have been the top two teams among the Tri-Cities area, don’t count out Geneva and St. Charles North from making nice runs in the postseason.
Both had to leave St. Charles with a lot of optimism after earning ties.
“I think tonight was a major step forward for us,” North Stars coach Eric Willson said. “If we continue to move forward in the next three games here, we think we can be a nice force at the Elk Grove Regional.”
Geneva has been inconsistent. They Vikings will show good things, as they did in beating West Chicago and hanging with Batavia, and then they’ll struggle as they did in ties to Wheaton Warrenville South and St. Francis.
“From day one we talked about where our ceiling was at and we talked about what we needed to do to get to that point,” Vikings coach Ryan Estabrook said. “We’ve been disappointed with some of the results, especially recently, but hopefully we’re now climbing in the right direction.”
Don’t get stung
It’ll be interesting to see how Batavia comes out against Hinsdale South on Thursday in the Waubonsie Valley Warrior Invite.
The Bulldogs have had huge games since last Saturday, tying Wheaton Academy on Saturday, beating Waubonsie Valley on Monday and then tying St. Charles North on Tuesday.
The Hornets finally picked up their first win of the season, beating Oswego 3-1 on Monday, but are still just 1-14-1 overall.
The “Man”ibog is back
St. Charles East welcomed back senior Zach Manibog on Tuesday night.
He had been sidelined with a hamstring injury that forced him to miss games against Wheaton Academy and St. Charles North.
“Warming up I felt good,” he said. “It’s tough to be out, but the guys played hard. I’m happy to be back though.”
Fans raise approximately
$2,000 for recuperating teenager
By Chris Walker
ST CHARLES -- Neither Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles East or St. Charles North won during Tuesday’s Tri-Cities Classic games at St. Charles North, but they all helped making the night a winning occasion for Drew Hahn.
Drew, the 13-year-old son of Geneva baseball coach Matt Hahn, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, but was recently declared cancer free.
The eighth-grader at Kaneland Middle School was in attendance with his father at the event Tuesday. Approximately $2,000 had been raised by the time the second game, a 1-1 tie between Batavia and St. Charles, ended. In the earlier game, St. Charles East rallied for a 2-2 tie with Geneva.
“I hate that this happened to me, but I’m blessed that so many have helped out,” Drew said. “I’m very grateful they’ve helped me out as much as possible.”
Treatments ended in the summer for Drew.
“They ended at the end of July and now I’m just getting back to sports,” he said. “Basketball starts next weekend and my main goal is to be back for football season 100 percent for next year.”
While players from all four teams were playing to win, they also were able to recognize the generosity of the event.
“The Tri-Cites are close-knit and you could see tonight brought out the best in everyone,” St. Charles East’s Collin Sheehan said. “To see everyone fighting out on the field while fighting to help a 13-year-old kid says a lot.”
On a mild evening, the games were well attended, as noted by St. Charles North senior Chris Watson.
“There’s nothing better than playing in front of a big crowd against one of your local rivals,” he said. “We haven’t had a loss at our home field all season, and we kept that (Tuesday).”
Here come the kids
Geneva’s Sean Geismann and Josh Harstock are the only freshmen among the Tri-Cities teams who are listed on the varsity roster this fall, although each team has their share of sophomores.
It won’t be long before some of the upcoming talent becomes a part of these high school teams, and plenty of eighth-graders had the chance to compete in front of the crowd during halftime of both games.
Restarts are coming
While Batavia and St. Charles East have been the top two teams among the Tri-Cities area, don’t count out Geneva and St. Charles North from making nice runs in the postseason.
Both had to leave St. Charles with a lot of optimism after earning ties.
“I think tonight was a major step forward for us,” North Stars coach Eric Willson said. “If we continue to move forward in the next three games here, we think we can be a nice force at the Elk Grove Regional.”
Geneva has been inconsistent. They Vikings will show good things, as they did in beating West Chicago and hanging with Batavia, and then they’ll struggle as they did in ties to Wheaton Warrenville South and St. Francis.
“From day one we talked about where our ceiling was at and we talked about what we needed to do to get to that point,” Vikings coach Ryan Estabrook said. “We’ve been disappointed with some of the results, especially recently, but hopefully we’re now climbing in the right direction.”
Don’t get stung
It’ll be interesting to see how Batavia comes out against Hinsdale South on Thursday in the Waubonsie Valley Warrior Invite.
The Bulldogs have had huge games since last Saturday, tying Wheaton Academy on Saturday, beating Waubonsie Valley on Monday and then tying St. Charles North on Tuesday.
The Hornets finally picked up their first win of the season, beating Oswego 3-1 on Monday, but are still just 1-14-1 overall.
The “Man”ibog is back
St. Charles East welcomed back senior Zach Manibog on Tuesday night.
He had been sidelined with a hamstring injury that forced him to miss games against Wheaton Academy and St. Charles North.
“Warming up I felt good,” he said. “It’s tough to be out, but the guys played hard. I’m happy to be back though.”