Fom girls flag football debuting in the IHSA for the first time ever to a slew of orange filling the stadium on Friday nights, this year has been filled with sports highlights. Here are just a few of many notable teams.
Girls Volleyball: Volleyball continues to be one of the powerhouse sports at OPRF, with the girls going 21-17 and winning their regional tournament. For an update on the boys’ team, see Sports, page 9.
Girls Flag Football: The debut season of girls flag football will be ingrained in Illinois and OPRF history for years to come. As this was a bit of a “trial season” with official NFHS rules not being published, the players of OPRF had a great time both during the season and in their first postseason. The team went 3-11, winning a game in the postseason and almost defeating a one-seed in Lane Tech High School in the regional semifinals.
Boys Soccer: The soccer team came off one of the most historic seasons in the history of the program, and yet they still looked pretty good going 13-5-2. The soccer team was relatively young this season and is going to be one of the teams to watch and follow for the 2025-26 season.
Cross Country: The boys cross country team sent seven boys to state. The highest ranking of those boys was senior Liam O’Connor, who ran three miles in 14:25.20, making him ninth in the state.
Golf: Three boys golfers, Hugh Dwyer, Luke Roberts and Karsten Davis, went to the sectional tournament this year. They did not qualify for the state tournament, but they shot 79, 82, and 75, respectively, in the sectional.
Five girls golfers went to the state series, but the most impressive of the bunch was sophomore Nadia Vattana. Vattana sailed through the regional and sectional round of the state series.In total, she shot 166 and was tied for 55th in the state.
Wrestling: The boys wrestling team did incredibly well this year, going as far as the state quarterfinals, where they lost to Joliet Catholic Academy. Individually, MJ Rundell of the 106 lb. weight class won the individual state championship, Jamiel Castleberry took fifth place in the 120 lb weight class and Joseph Knackstedt took fourth place in the 138 lb. class.
On the girls side, Isabella Miller took third place in the Willowbrook regional in the 140 lb. weight class.
Swimming and Diving: On the boys side, there were two individual swimmers that qualified for state, seniors Will Keyes and Lucas Puntillo. Keyes participated in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle, swimming them in 1:41.60 and 0:46.42 respectively. Lucas Puntillo also qualified for state in the 100-yard butterfly. He received 35th, with a time of 0:52.52. OPRF also participated in the 200-yard freestyle relay, receiving 23rd in the state in 1:26.78.
Only one girl swimmer qualified for state this season. Hailey Boland participated in the 100-yard breaststroke and received 29th. Her time was 1:07.43.
Baseball: OPRF baseball has something to cheer about in nearly every game this season. From Brady Green hitting a walk-off double to left field to seal the deal against crosstown rivals Fenwick to Peter Farren being featured on MLB network for hitting a walk off grand slam against Downers Grove North, the team had an amazing season. The team is currently 19-8 and will be hosting IHSA regionals on May 28. For an update on softball, see Sports on page 9.
What a year for OPRF athletics, and it is not over yet. For all of the sports hosting a regional or sectional, show out for them. It really does not get much better than high school sports. While some of us may not see another athletic event here at OPRF for a while, it’s safe to say that the programs will continue to get better and build with age.
Until next year, it’s a great day to be a Huskie.
