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History was made within the first second of the Chicago Hounds’ home opener.
It marked the 100th Major League Rugby game for Hounds hooker Dylan Fawsitt, who became the first player in league history to hit that plateau.
But Utah wasn’t interested in having the Chicago team or fans enjoying the moment as it quickly scored 14 points and held off a Hounds rally before winning 43-31 on Feb. 23 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.
Fawsitt, nicknamed “the Butcher,” scored a try for the Hounds (1-1-0) but it was not enough to hold off Utah (1-0-0).
“I feel very lucky being the first,” Fawsitt said on the Rugby Rundown podcast. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a goal to smash these records and do what I need to do.
“I feel very lucky to be a part of this league from the very start.”
The 34-year-old native of Wexford, Ireland, played for Rugby New York starting in 2018. He joined the Hounds in 2023 and tied the league high with 14 tries in 18 appearances. He’s been named all-pro in the league five times.
Morton salts away title
Morton College’s men’s basketball team won the Skyway Conference championship for the first time since 2019 after finishing the season with five straight league wins.
That included a 78-65 win at Prairie State on Feb. 22.
The Panthers (20-10, 12-2) tied Waubonsee for the title and head into the NJCAA Division II Region IV playoffs with some momentum.
The Panthers host Oakton (13-17) at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 in the playoff opener.
Dre Nobles of Chicago leads the team with a 17.5 scoring average and Adrian Anderson of Berwyn is next at 14.8. Nobles was named to the conference’s first team and Anderson to the second. Jon Rush was named coach of the year.
Swim titles at a premium
Sectional championships were hard to come by for area swimmers on Feb. 22.
At Lockport, Sandburg placed second with 254 points and the hosts won with a 272.
Sandburg’s 200-yard medley relay team of Johnny Howaniec, Gunner Hinger, Jack Urban and Luke Hosty won with a time of 1 minute, 40.65 seconds.
Stagg senior Ronald Latwis took first in diving with a 536.30.
Shepard freshman Alexander Muller qualified for the 50 and 100 freestyle events for athletes with disabilities.
At Lyons, the hosts finished second with 282 points behind defending state champion Hinsdale Central’s 349. There were no Lyons champs as Central won 11 of the 12 events and Hinsdale South won the other.
Good news, bad news for Stars
The Chicago Stars announced on Feb. 18 that Fox 32 will televise some of their matches, including the March 23 home opener against Houston.
The station will broadcast eight games in the 2025 season and some matches will be simulcast on Marquee.
But the team suffered some bad news when defender Natalia Kuikka suffered an ACL injury playing with her national team, Finland. According to a Stars news release, the ACL structure appeared to be intact.
Sports bits
Kennedy boys basketball player Joseph Dahl recently eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career in a 50-44 win over Muchin.
● Toby Hall has been named interim manager of the Windy City City Thunderbolts in the absence of Bobby Jenks, who is taking a leave of absence while battling cancer.
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