SPORTS

DeKalb put the finishing touches on their 11th blowout victory of the season on Wednesday. Everything went their way against the Rochelle Hubs as the DeKalb Barbs made off with a 9-3 win. That result was just more of the same for these two, as DeKalb also won the last time the pair played back in May of 2023.

Northern Illinois has parted ways with head coach Christina Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe spent twelve years as the Huskies’ head coach, collecting a 287-324 overall record and a 132-145 mark in Mid-American Conference play. “I want to thank Coach Sutcliffe for her commitment to NIU and her leadership in creating connections...

The Bumper To Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series, AutoMeter Wisconsin wingLESS Sprints Series powered by Gandrud Performance Parts, and the 1175 Sports Park & Eatery IRA Lightning Sprints all competed this past weekend. Jake Neuman topped a very exciting night in front of a big crowd at the Sycamore Speedway...

The cancelation of Keep Illinois Beautiful's Mud Volleyball Tournament has participants disappointed and will hurt the fundraiser's budget.

NIU's Sean T. Frazier on N-I-L and the Transfer Portal and their impact on college athletics.

16 cars signed in to the 2024 season opener at Sycamore Speedway in support of the IRA Sprint Cars and the Badger Midgets. 2 rookies, Chad Stouthamer and Nate Kirchner made their series debut as they will battle for Rookie of the Year honors along a few others who weren’t in attendance for the season opener. Quick time was set by the #18 machine of Nick Petska who is returning full time in 2024 for Dream Chaser Racing. In heat race action, Petska was able to drive from 4th and capture Allstsar Performance Heat1 while Tim Brannam used the outside front row starting spot to secure the victory in Rod End Supply Heat #2. Brannam would pull the #3 pill for the feature, again giving him the outside front row starting spot and again was able to get to the point on the opening lap and then use the clean air to his advantage. The field would be bunched back up on lap 14 for a slowing Jeff Schmidt in the 6. The restart would see Brannam lead 2023 Rookie of the Year , Brian Strane Jr, Mark Heinert, Mike Neau, and Nick Petska back to the green. Strane was able to use the middle groove to get by Brannam after an intense 2 lap battle and assume the lead. On the next lap Neau slid Heinert for 3rd in 3 but struggled with traction exiting 4 and got out of shape entering 1 resulting in a “tommy tip over” and bringing out the red flag. Innocent bystander Jacob Irwin had nowhere to go and was collected in the accident. Both would retire from the event with 3 laps to go. Strane commanded the restart and took the white flag with Brannam and Heinert in tow but a spin in T4 would set up over-time and a GWC finish – extending the feature to 21 laps. In the end it was Strane holding on for the win with Brannam and Heinert rounding out the podium. Rookie contender Stouthamer would earn the Weld Racing Hard Charger going +6 in the feature. For 14 year old Strane, it was his first IRA Lightning Sprint victory and he leaves Sycamore as the IRA Lightning Sprints presented by 1175 Sports Park and Eatery point leader. The series takes a week off and then will be back in action for a Memorial Day weekend double header – again with the IRA Sprint Cars both nights on Saturday May 25th at Wilmot Raceway and then Sunday May 26th at 141 Speedway.

Belvidere North had already proven themselves in the regular season and they didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. Their defense stepped up to hand the Rochelle Hubs a 9-0 shutout on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for Belvidere North, who have now won 14 matchups by three goals or more so far this season.

Zarique Nutter, a four-star transfer out of Northern Illinois, has committed to Georgia State, he tells 247Sports. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound wing averaged 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists this season that chose to play for Jonas Hayes and the Panthers over other schools including Washington, Arkansas, UCF, San Diego State, Utah, Utah State and many others.

Anika Gupta and Lilianna Jasinska competed in the doubles portion of the IHSA state badminton tournament, May 10-11 at DeKalb. The OPRF duo lost their first-round match to Rachele Cameli and Maria Jiao of Hinsdale Central 21-9, 21-7. But they bounced back in the consolation bracket with a pair of victories: 25-23, 21-11 over Annika Biegel and Emily Dominiak of TF South, then 21-12, 21-16 over Sakthi Rajeshkumar and Charlotte Stapley of Downers Grove North.

Earlville and Indian Creek squared off in some playoff action on Tuesday, but Earlville had to settle for second. They fell 8-5 to the Indian Creek Timberwolves. Earlville has struggled against Indian Creek recently, as their match on Tuesday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup. For Indian Creek's part, Jeffrey...