Mike Sandrolini

Mike Sandrolini has been published in the Elmhurst Independent, Voyager Media, the Daily Herald, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Bear Report. His stories and columns have been recognized for editorial excellence at regional, state and national newspaper contests over the years. He also has co-authored two books: "Bear With Me: A Family History of George Halas and the Chicago Bears" and "All the Good in Sports." His father, Raymond, is a native of Gaggio Montano, a small village around 30 miles southwest of Bologna.

Retired basketball coach Tony Lavorato Sr.

The old idiom, “Like father, like son,” certainly applies to longtime former high school basketball coach Tony Lavorato, Sr., and his two sons: Tony Jr. and Tim. Lavorato Sr., who coached a combined 29 seasons at two Illinois high schools — Hinsdale South and downstate Princeton — and was later inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has watched his sons become successful prep hoops coaches themselves. Tony Jr., featured recently in Fra Noi, completed his 10th year at Maine South in Park Ridge last March. He’s guided the Hawks to regional championships each of the past …

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Soccer standout Mike Mascitti

The “student” portion of student-athlete often is glanced over, with the emphasis being placed on “athlete.” But that’s not the case with red-shirt junior midfielder/defender Mike Mascitti of Northern Illinois University. Being a student is front and center — It has to be. “The reason I’m here is to do well in school,” says Mascitti, a Downers Grove native who starred at Downers South High School. “I always have school No. 1 on my mind each day. If it were soccer first and academics second, soccer would get in the way and I wouldn’t do well in the classroom.” The …

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Softball ace Shannon Caliri

Taking her game to the next level seems to come naturally for Shannon Caliri. Caliri, a right-handed batter, became a left-handed slap hitter around the age of 12 with the help of her coaches on the Wasco Diamonds’ travel team (based in Elburn) in order to fully utilize her speed. (Slap hitters are good at aiming the ball to a specific spot in the field where an opponents’ defense is weakest.) Caliri spent most of last spring pitching for St. Charles North High School’s junior varsity team, where she compiled a 14-2 record. But towards the end of the 2011 …

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Standout defensive end Mike Ippolito

Last season, he was an honorable mention all-state defensive end for Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville who could be counted on to make big plays for the Warriors — be it a quarterback sack, throwing an opposing ball carrier for a loss in the backfield, or making a key tackle. Fast-forward to 2012, and the three-year prep starter has been assigned to the scout team at Northern Illinois University. Ippolito, Neuqua Valley’s all-time leader in sacks, won’t see any playing time for the Huskies because he’s been red-shirted — meaning the NIU coaching staff decided prior to the start …

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Standout quarterback Quinn Baker

EDITOR’S NOTE: Quinn’s accomplishments were brought to Fra Noi’s attention by his uncle, DuPage County businessman Jerry Marchese. We misidentified Jerry as Quinn’s grandfather in the magazine teaser, and we’d like to apologize for that error. Jerry informs us that his grandsons, Matteo and Danato DiMarco, are also standout athletes. We’ll be profiling them, as well as Quinn’s brother, Hayden, in future issues. The triple-option offense isn’t the prototypical football offense where a team runs a specific play that’s decided in the huddle. Plenty of responsibility falls on the shoulders of the quarterback, who must be able to read defenses …

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Triple-sport phenom Joseph Martucci IV

Fans and followers of high school sports in the Chicago area — particularly those who root for York High School (Elmhurst) and the West Suburban Conference — may want to keep an eye out for Joseph Martucci IV. A freshman at the school, Joey Martucci is coming up through the ranks in not one, but three sports. Last fall, Martucci went out for football for the first time at the urging of friends who were on the team. At 6-foot, 185 pounds, he clearly possesses the size to line up on the gridiron, and as it turned out, also had …

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Volleyball advocate Peter Ferreri

Peter Ferreri does a little bit of everything in the world of broadcasting. He often works a seven-day week, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. On weekends, you can usually find him at wedding receptions as a master of ceremonies, and later in the evening spinning dance tunes–all part of his duties as a DJ …which, he adds, is a job that’s much more difficult than it looks. Or he’ll likely be out and about in the Chicago area doing remote DJ work for promotional events at Radio Disney Chicago 1300 AM. But his 9-to-5 job, if there …

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Volleyball standout Lauren Carlini

If there’s a high school volleyball-related accolade or award that Lauren Carlini hasn’t received during her brilliant four-year varsity career at West Aurora High School, then that accolade or award hasn’t yet been devised. Carlini’s achievements are too long to list here, so we’ll give you a few of her top ones: * AVCA Under Armour First Team all-American team member * Four-time AAU all-American * 2011 Junior Olympic volleyball team member. * Illinois all-star team member * Two-time Aurora Beacon-News Athlete of the Year (2011 and 2012) * Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year (2012) But in December, Carlini …

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Wrestler Sal Annoreno

Very few individuals ever have a city or village issue a proclamation in his or her honor, yet Sal Annoreno experienced that before his 18th birthday. Bartlett Village President Michael Airdo proclaimed March 6, 2012, Sal Annoreno Day in the village after Annoreno had won the 132-pound state championship at the IHSA individual wrestling meet a few weeks earlier. Annoreno’s title-winning performance marked the first time in Bartlett High School history that a wrestler had ever won a state crown. He also is only the fourth grappler to ever win a title from Elgin School District U46–the largest school district …

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