What Are Deerfield’s Top 10 Sports Stories of 2012?

Many stories involve local achievements, college commitments.

Sports in the Deerfield area kept residents captivated this year, and Deerfield Patch has been there to cover it all. Here we recap the top 10 sports-related stories of the year. Get local news in a daily email from Patch. It's like getting a free newspaper. Learn more. Patch has listed the most read stories and columns on the subject of sports, though there were many. The links for the top 10, listed in order, are as follows: 1. 52 Deerfield Runners Finish Chicago Marathon Deerfield runners Nate McPherson and Scott Friedlander were among the top 1,000 finishers in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. In all, 52 people from the Village finished the race, according to the official marathon website. 2. Calistri, Jones Ink College …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

London Olympics 2012 from a Teen

Watching the Olympic games at age 18 changes previous perspectives

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately watching TV, and for once, my mom isn’t yelling at me. In fact, she’s sitting right next to me, enjoying the competition of the 2012 Olympic Games. This opportunity comes along once every four years, but being a couch potato this year has become much more meaningful than in the past. Now that I’m 18, I’ve grown to appreciate the Olympics much more than when I was merely 14, 10 or 6.  While watching the athletes compete in different sports, I am now able to recognize the amount of talent these competitors possess. In 2008, when the games were in Beijing, I watched the Olympics simply to cheer on the U.S. athletes.  This year, I have much more of an interest in watching specific events and have more …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

Schwartz Falters in Olympic Preliminaries

Lake Forest High School graduate finishes 18th among 40 competitors in Olympic pole vault.

Lake Forest’s Jillian Schwartz failed in her attempt to qualify for the finals of the pole vault at the London Olympics Saturday. Schwartz, who was competing for the Israeli team thanks to her dual citizenship, missed three times at the 4.50 meter mark and was eliminated. She finished 18th overall of the 40 competitors but needed to be in the top 12 to advance to Sunday’s finals. Earlier: North Suburban Olympian's Journey Twists and Turns Schwartz, who graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1997, got off to a good start. She easily eclipsed the bar at the starting height of 4.10 meters (13.45 feet). Schwartz then struggled at the next mark of 4.25 meters (13.94 feet). The 32-year old failed on her first two attempts there, but then …

• Photos (1)

Schwartz Vaults in Olympics Saturday

Lake Forest High School graduate tries to win medal for Israel.

How to Watch Jillian Schwartz Vault in the 2012 Olympics

See Lake Forest High School graduate Jillian Schwartz's schedule and how to see her on TV.

Lake Forest’s Jillian Schwartz will be competing for the Israeli team in the 2012 London Olympics in track and field. Schwartz, who competed for the United States in the pole vault in 2004, will have her competition begin August 4, with the finals August 6. On August 4, Schwartz will compete in the preliminary round with competition beginning at 10:20 a.m. London time or 4:20 a.m. here. Schwartz will have a preliminary jump and then will attempt to successfully complete the next qualifying height. She will continue at each height, unless she misses three times at a height and then is eliminated. Should Schwartz be one of the top 12 competitors during the qualifying round, she will move into the finals on August 6 at 7 p.m. in London time …

• Photos (1)

Olympic Journey Gives Schwartz Second Home

Jillian Schwartz's trip to compete in Israel brings the former Lake Forest High School athlete a cultural realization.

Jillian Schwartz’s return to the Olympic Games Friday as a member of the Israeli team after competing for the United States in 2004 is a highlight of an unlikely journey. The 1997 Lake Forest High School alumna focused on being a professional athlete when she graduated from Duke University in 2001 knowing the Olympics was a part of that career. When she finished fourth in the 2008 U.S. trials barely missing a trip to Beijing, it was time to reflect. Earlier: North Suburban Olympian’s Journey Twists and Turns “I took five months off (after the 2008 trials) but I knew that wasn’t the end,” Schwartz said. “I still wanted to be out there competing.” As she returned to pole vaulting, she got an invitation that changed the course of her life. “…

• Photos (1)

North Suburban Olympian’s Journey Twists and Turns

For Lake Forest’s Jillian Schwartz, the London Olympics are her second, this time as an Israeli.

The 1997 Lake Forest High School Yearbook named Jillian Schwartz most likely to go to the Olympics. The editors of that publication were accurate prognosticators about this Wall of Fame Scout but few could have forecasted the 15-year journey that took her from the North Shore to her second Olympiad opening Friday in London. She first competed in Athens in 2004. The former two-sport—gymnastics and track—all state Lake Forest athlete chose track at Duke University and became a pole vaulter, a sport barred to women until 2000 so she could not have done that in high school. Schwartz competed in the 2004 Olympics as an American and returns to the games eight years later as a dual citizen of the United States and Israel, competing for the …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (2)