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Sports

Chicago Heights-Trained Boxer Strives to Keep Olympic Goal Intact

Martez Jackson hopes to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London, but must first perform well at next week's National Championships in Colorado.

He started late. Now, he's rushing to make up for lost time.

Boxer Martez Jackson has high hopes of making it to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. But get this: The 27-year-old Georgia native didn’t pick up the sport until he was 24.

Jackson was looking for a place to train after moving to Aurora following college and chose the Chicago Heights Boxing Club and owner Pat Lewandowski. The 165-pound middleweight division boxer is 23-4 on the year and is one of 26 boxers competing for four spots at the Olympic Trials.

Find out what's happening in Chicago Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Starting today and running through Sunday, June 26, Jackson will be in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the National Championships. The Olympic Trials are July 31 through Aug. 6 in Mobile, Ala.

For more information on Jackson and his quest to become an Olympian, please check out this article: Jackson Hoping Long Road Pays Off.

Find out what's happening in Chicago Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Marian Catholic's Barlage Conquers Field at Glenwoodie

Marian Catholic golfer Samantha Barlage shot 86 to win the girls' 16-18 year-old division of the SouthtownStar Challenge Junior Golf Championship at Glenwoodie Golf Course in Glenwood.

Barlage beat Marist's Meg Maloney by eight strokes to win the division. To find out more about how Barlage won the Challenge, please click here: Barlage Spot-on in Winning Title.

Marian Catholic Softball Lands Three on 'Star' Team

Three Marian Catholic softball players recently were named to the Southtown Star All-Area Team. The trio consisted of Bri Clark, Becca Gray and Becca Stanton.

Clark hit .483 with eight home runs and 39 RBIs, Gray was a star on the mound and at the plate. She racked up 20 wins and 109 strikeouts. She also batted .450 and scored 40 runs. Stanton set the school single-season record for home runs with 12.

To read more about the Spartans on the all-area team and what their coach, Kerri Evans, had to say about them please click here: Southtown Star All-Area Team.

Two Marian Students Granted Evans Scholarships

Two Marian Catholic students have received Evans Scholarships and will the awards as they begin college this fall.  Nathaniel Bodnar from Highland, Ind., was one of the 210 selected for the scholarship. Bodnar caddies at Briar Ridge Country Club in Schererville, Ind. Yesenia Juarez from Tinley Park also was selected. She caddies at Beverly Country Club in Chicago.

 Evans Scholars are golf caddies selected based on the following four criteria:

They have a strong caddie record, good grades, need for financial assistance and outstanding character. Most scholarship recipients attend one of the 14 universities where the Foundation owns and operates a Scholarship House. The Evans Scholarship is valued at an estimated $70,000 over four years.

Recipients were chosen after individual candidate interviews at selection meetings held throughout the country by the Western Golf Association.

The Evans Scholarship Program has been administered by the WGA, headquartered in Golf, Ill., since 1930. It is among the nation’s largest privately funded scholarship programs.

Bodnar will be attending Purdue University in West Lafayette, while Juarez will be going to Northwestern.

Rick Central's New Football Coach an Old Hand

New Rich Central football coach Terrell Alexander will be entering his first season as a head coach. But Alexander, 1993 graduate of Rich East, has plenty of experience.

He spent the last 10 years as an assistant at H-F. Though he worked under four different head coaches in that span, Alexander feels that only makes him a stronger coach.

He will try to help the Olympians gain success as they only have qualified for the state playoffs once in the last eight years. To read more about the path Alexander took to ultimately take the helm at Rich Central, please click here: Rich Central Hires Alexander

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