By RAND y WHALEN For the Bugle
Benet wins Class 4A state basketball title
By RAND y WHALEN
After waiting 50 years, for this opportunity, the Benet boys basketball team had to wait another .3 tenths of a second to complete its journey.
That short span seemed like an eternity. But then the ball was tipped away, the buzzer sounded, and the Redwings could finally pile on each other as state champions.
Benet built a big lead in the second half and hung on at the end to beat Warren 55-54 in a thrilling Class 4A title game on Saturday, March 15 at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
With their 12th win in a row, the Redwings were able to accomplish what some of their other teams had come so close to accomplishing: win a state championship.
“I’m very proud of these guys, they put in a lot of work,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said of his team. “I’ve been on the other side of these. So I’m very proud of our
For the Bugle News from Plainfield
Joliet
Joliet West math team sends 3 finalists to state
The Joliet West Math Team is proud to announce that three of its talented members have qualified for the upcoming State Math Competition, which will be held on April 26th at Illinois State University. Following a strong performance at the regional competition on Saturday, February 22nd, at Joliet Junior College, the team’s finalists are now ready to represent Joliet West on the state stage.
The students who qualified for state are:
Cathryn Governale – 4th place in Algebra 1
Zeb Zamoras – 1st place in Geometry
Noah Tarver – 4th place in Algebra 2
“We are so proud of Cathryn, Zeb, and Noah for their hard work and exceptional performance in the regional competition,” said
Danielle Perez, Faculty Sponsor and Head Coach of the Joliet West Math Team. “These students have shown incredible mathematical ability and determination, and we are confident they will do an outstanding job at the state competition.”
In addition to the state qualifiers, the Joliet West Math Team had other strong performances, with the Algebra 1 team (Cathryn Governale, Erik Gomez, Hailey Smidl, Corinne Monaco, Mayah Tyler) and the Geometry team (Zeb Zamoras, Ronak Verma, Kendall Stroud, Julia Shutts-Fruit, Mariana Lopez, Alexa Magana) each placing 3rd in their respective events at regionals.
“We had an incredible showing at this year’s regional competition, and it’s exciting to see how much our team has grown,” said
Jaime Spradau, Assistant Coach. “We couldn’t be more excited for our state qualifiers, and we know they will represent Joliet West with pride. I’m also proud of all our students for their hard work,
especially those who came so close to qualifying.”
The Joliet West Math Team is looking forward to April’s state competition, where these three students will compete alongside
team and of everyone who put us in this position. We crossed the finish line.”
Yes, they did. But it wasn’t easy. Only four players scored for the Redwings, led by senior post player Daniel Pauliukonis, who scored 17 points and six rebounds. Junior Jayden Wright scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, senior Blake Fagbemi had 14 points and six assists, Colin Stack contributed nine points and seven rebounds, and fellow junior Michael Doyle also played all 32 minutes for Benet (33-5).
Javerion Banks scored a gamehigh 22 points for Warren (27-11). The senior, who missed six weeks with a bone cyst in his left hip, came off the bench and added five rebounds. Sophomore sensation Jaxson Davis had 17 points and eight assists, and senior post player Zach Ausburn contributed eight points and five rebounds for the Blue Devils (27-11).
The Redwings led 24-23 at halftime, by as many as 11 with 2:32 left in the third quarter, and led 52-43 with 4:06 to play after a Fagbemi layup. But Warren closed to within 54-52 with 55.4 seconds left on a Davis 3-pointer, and he converted his miss to draw the Blue Devils within 55-54 with 35 seconds left.
Then Fagbemi was called for a charge at the other end, setting up a final Warren possession. But Davis, who scored five points in the final minute, lost his footing as he drove left to the basket on his team’s last possession.
But the Blue Devils were granted a timeout. First, there was just 0.1 tenth of a second on the clock. But after a long discussion, 0.3 tenths of a second were put on the clock. With Warren inbounding on the baseline under the basket
But sophomore Edvardas Stasys, the only player who came in off the bench for the Redwings was able to block a Davis pass and time expired.
“We wanted to put our big lineup in there because we knew they had to throw toward the rim,” Heidkamp said of putting the 6-foot-7 inch Stasys in the game. “Honestly we didn’t defend it the way I wanted, but Ed made a great play.
“We wanted Colin (Stack) more toward the rim and protect the rim, we wanted Ed to make it hard to get the ball in. He did a great job.”
How did it feel to hang on at the end?
“It was the longest five minutes of my life,” Wright said. “They’re a great team.
“But this is one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt in my life. It was magical. It was everything you could ever dream of. It was an amazing feeling.”
The first quarter had a pair of ties and five lead changes. Benet scored the final six points on 3-pointers by Wright and Pauliukonis to take a 16-11 lead after the first quarter.
There was one tie and two lead changes in the second quarter. A layup by Fagbemi gave the Redwings the lead for good at 20-19 with 3:35 left in the second quarter. They led 24-23 at halftime and Warren never tied it or took the lead in
the second half.
It was the third time that the Blue Devils played for the state title and third second-place finish. They also lost 61-51 to St. Joseph in Class AA in 1999 and 48-39 to Simeon in Class 4A in 2011.
“Hats off to Benet,” Warren coach Zack Ryan said. “Both teams were great but they’re a dang good team. They deserved to win so congrats to them.”
It was a culmination of years of close calls for Benet. Former coach Bill Geist started that success with a regional title in 1974. He led the Redwings to a trio of state final appearances, a record 102 straight home wins, and 367 career victories in 18 seasons.
His 1979 team defeated defending Class AA state champion Lockport in the state quarterfinals before losing in double overtime to Quincy in the semifinals and then placing third in Class AA.
The Redwings have 27 regional, 11 sectional, and five state trophies since the 1973-74 season. Since Heidkamp came in for the 2008-09 season, he’s led them to 11 regional, six sectional, and now four state trophies.
His 2014 team lost 46-44 to Whitney Young, his 2016 squad fell 65-59 to Curie, and two years ago, the Redwings lost 59-42 to Moline. Those were all in the Class 4A state championship games.
Fagbemi’s older brother Brayden was the point guard for Benet’s 2023 runner-up team.
“Yeah, I’m happy that I was able to get one for (Brayden) and one for coach Heidkamp,” Fagbemi said. “I
know he wanted to get one for him, too. So yeah I feel like I redeemed him.”
Seven seniors graduate from this Redwing team. They are Tommy Bartenhagen, Brendan Beaumont, Jonathan Coleman, Fagbemi, William Heckman, Pauliukonis, and Kyle Pusatera and they will never
the best in the state. The entire team, coaches, and school community are cheering them on as they take the next step toward excellence.
forget this experience.
“This is a very special moment,” Pauliukonis said. “We came in here with a plan to win it all, and we had to play together the right way throughout the entire tournament.
“I’m just super proud of my team. It’s a very special way to end my high school career.”
‘BeNet’ FRoM PAGe 1
R e AL e S t A te
TAX DEED NO.: 2025TX000022
FILED: 2/20/2025
TAKE NOTICE
County of Will Date Premises Sold: December 5, 2022
Certificate No.: 21-00461
Sold for General Taxes of (Year): 2021 Sold for Special Assessment of (Municipality) and Special Assessment Number: N/A Warrant No.: N/A Installment No.: N/A
THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD FOR DELINQUENT TAXES
Property Located at: 986 Dogwood Court, Romeoville, IL 60446
Legal Description or Property Index No.: 1104-05-207-033-0000
This notice is to advise you that the above property has been sold for delinquent taxes and that the period of redemption from the sale will expire on August 6, 2025.
The amount to redeem is subject to increase at 6 month intervals from the date of sale and may be further increased if the purchaser at the tax sale or his or her assignee pays any subsequently accruing taxes or special assessments to redeem the property from subsequent forfeitures or tax sales. Check with the County Clerk as to the exact amount you owe before redeeming.
This notice is also to advise you that a petition has been filed for a tax deed which will transfer title and the right to possession of this property if redemption is not made on or before August 6, 2025.
This matter is set for hearing in the Will County Courthouse in 100 West Jefferson Street, Joliet, IL 60432, Room 905, on August 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
You may be present at this hearing, but your right to redeem will already have expired at that time. YOU ARE URGED TO REDEEM IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT LOSS OF PROPERTY
Redemption can be made at any time on or before August 6, 2025 by applying to the County Clerk of Will County, Illinois at the Office of the County Clerk in Joliet, Illinois.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE COUNTY CLERK
302 North Chicago St. Joliet, IL 60432 815-740-4615
Myriad Capital Purchaser or Assignee February 25, 2025
Genaro Vargas Sebastiana Sanchez Occupant Sebastian Vargas Jorge Vargas PNC Bank, National Association as Successor to Midamerica Bank, fsb PNC Bank, National Association as Successor to Midamerica Bank, fsb Charles B. Pelkie Jr., County Clerk of Will County, Illinois Claimants, Judgment Creditors, and Decree Creditors, if any of the above described as “Unknown Owners” “Unknown owners or parties interested in said land or lots” 8146-950921
Published 3/5/2025, 3/12/2025, 3/19/2025
TAX DEED NO.: 2025TX000020
FILED: 2/20/2025
TAKE NOTICE
County of Will
Date Premises Sold: December 5, 2022
Certificate No.: 21-00182
Sold for General Taxes of (Year): 2021
Sold for Special Assessment of (Municipality) and Special Assessment Number: N/A
Warrant No.: N/A Installment No.: N/A
THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD FOR DELINQUENT TAXES
Property Located at: 417 Greentree Lane, Bolingbrook, IL 60440
Legal Description or Property Index No.: 1202-14-102-022-0000
This notice is to advise you that the above property has been sold for delinquent taxes and that the period of redemption from the sale will expire on August 6, 2025.
The amount to redeem is subject to increase at 6 month intervals from the date of sale and may be further increased if the purchaser at the tax sale or his or her assignee pays any subsequently accruing taxes or special assessments to redeem the property from subsequent forfeitures or tax sales. Check with the County Clerk as to the exact amount you owe before redeeming.
This notice is also to advise you that a petition has been filed for a tax deed which will transfer title and the right to possession of this property if redemption is not made on or before August 6, 2025.
This matter is set for hearing in the Will County Courthouse in 100 West Jefferson Street, Joliet, IL 60432, Room 905, on August 21, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
You may be present at this hearing, but your right to redeem will already have expired at that time.
YOU ARE URGED TO REDEEM IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT LOSS OF PROPERTY
Redemption can be made at any time on or before August 6, 2025 by applying to the County Clerk of Will County, Illinois at the Office of the County Clerk in Joliet, Illinois.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE COUNTY CLERK
302 North Chicago St. Joliet, IL 60432
815-740-4615
Myriad Capital Purchaser or Assignee
February 25, 2025
Delfino Martinez Lino
Natalia Martinez Reyes
Natalia Martinez Reyes
Delfino Martinez Lino
Occupant
Kirah Foley
Martha Escobedo
Monica Escobedo
Daniel Martinez
State of Illinois Department of Revenue
State of Illinois Department of Revenue
Attorney General for State of Illinois Department of Revenue
Capital One N.A. Blitt and Gaines, P.C., as Attorneys in 2023AR001373
Charles B. Pelkie Jr., County Clerk of Will County, Illinois Claimants, Judgment Creditors, and Decree Creditors, if any of the above described as “Unknown Owners” “Unknown owners or parties interested in said land or lots”
8147-950918
Published 3/6/2025, 3/13/2025, 3/20/2025
