Tony Baranek’s Daily Southtown top 10 girls sports stories of the year for 2022

As the popular phrase goes, “You can’t be everywhere.” And if I missed some big moments in Southland girls sports for 2022, I apologize.

But I did pack in a ton of lasting moments and memories.

Here are 10 of the Southland’s best/most interesting stories of the year in girls sports:

Team USA came up just short in its bid to repeat as Olympic women’s hockey champions. But Sandburg graduate Kendall Coyne Schofield and Mother McAuley graduate Abbey Murphy gave gold-medal efforts in Beijing, combining for three goals and four assists.

Evergreen Park senior volleyball player Emma Bik had one of the most unusual stories to tell after being offered a scholarship to Louisville at a club meet. What was so unusual? The scholarship was for rowing. We talked with Louisville coach Derek Copeland and Evergreen Park coach Casey O’Toole about the unique situation.

One of the coolest reunions of the volleyball season took place Oct. 11, when Mother McAuley junior Sam Falk and De La Salle junior Jennifer Falk met in a head-to-head matchup. Sam Falk and the Mighty Macs were victorious that day, going on to win the Class 4A state title. Jennifer Falk earned all-area honors.

Senior goalkeeper Maddie Drebing established herself as one of the Southland’s lacrosse greats when she led Marist to the Elite Eight. We talked shop about the sport with Drebing, teammate Maeve Kelly and coach Jose Colon and also Drebing’s ride to Division I Duke.

The two volleyball matches between top Southland rivals Marist and Mother McAuley had wildly different outcomes. On Sept. 22, Princeton recruit Kamryn Chaney and Elise Ward led the RedHawks to a 25-22, 25-19 sweep. In a sectional rematch, Ellie White dominated while John Carroll recruit Mary Kate Sheehan also came up big in a stunning 29-31, 25-12, 25-11 win for the Mighty Macs.

It started out pink as a tribute to her mother, a cancer survivor. But when freshman softball pitcher Melanie Andrysiak then colored her hair flaming red, the daughter of Oak Forest assistant coach Jeff Kelly said she looked like the Muppet character Elmo. It was only natural to start calling her “Melmo.” Our story buzzed on social media for weeks.

Mary Pat Connolly, the “mother” of Marist girls basketball, called it a career after 20 years and 454 victories. A former professional player for the Chicago Hustle, she’s in multiple halls of fame. Several of her former RedHawks players are coaches today, including her successor, Renee Chimino, assistant Kate Ferguson and Ag Science coach Maureen “Mo” Griffin.

Junior pitcher Sage Mardjetko went the entire season without allowing a home run for Lemont. She capped things off with a no-hitter against St. Ignatius in the Class 3A state championship game. She had a bevy of talented teammates, including batterymate Frankie Rita and slugger Raegan Duncan, but Mardjetko is rapidly asserting herself as a true Southland pitching legend.

This year is the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark education amendment that opened doors for females to play at the high school and college level. It was a privilege to write about an event at Wintrust Sports Complex that had DePaul women’s basketball coach Doug Bruno and former Marshall girls basketball coach Dorothy Gaters as guest speakers.

McAuley coach Jen DeJarld predicted this would be one of her best volleyball teams. She was right. Michigan recruit Ellie White was virtually unstoppable on offense. Northwestern-bound libero Gigi Navarette locked down the defense. Setters Tess Hayes and Olivia Klapp were a dynamic duo. In the end, the Mighty Macs won their 16th state championship.