In Raethz’s first year as head coach, Huntley struggled to a 2-23 record.

But since then, pretty much all the Red Raiders have done is win.

Raethz won his 400th game last winter and entered the season with a 422-281 record in 24 years at Huntley, including seven Fox Valley Conference championships, 11 regional titles, three sectional titles and a Class 4A fourth-place state finish in 2013.

On Dec. 6, Raethz was announced as one of the newest members of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame for the Class of 2024. Other area coaches in the Class of 2024 included Milt Awe (Hampshire girls) and Corky Card (Prairie Ridge and McHenry boys).

Raethz never envisioned coaching for so long in one place. He said he felt lucky to get the varsity position in his first year at Huntley, where he continues to teach English. Raethz played at Hoffman Estates and was a three-year starter and two-year captain at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Huntley had its first winning season in 2002 (19-11) and took Hampshire to overtime in a Class A regional final. Hampshire went on to the state tournament. The next season, the Raiders won 20 games for the first time and claimed their first regional championship.

“When we first started out, there were a lot of growing pains,” Raethz said. “There had not been a winning season in our program’s history, but those days are never lost on me. I’m very appreciative of those groups of kids that we had very early on.

“Despite not winning early on, those team’s hard work and dedication to turning the program around helped lay the foundation for our future success.”

When we first started out, there were a lot of growing pains. There had not been a winning season in our program’s history, but those days are never lost on me.”

Steve Raethz, Huntley girls basketball coach

Raethz learned around Thanksgiving that he was one of the coaches selected for the Hall of Fame. He is quick to deflect credit to all his past and current coaches and players, which includes seven 1,000-point scorers and McHenry County’s all-time scoring leader (girls or boys) in Ali Andrews.

Clay Henricksen is in his seventh season as a varsity assistant and Sam Andrews, who played for Raethz and had 1,465 points during her career, is in her fifth. Michelle Russell and Nick Andrea have been long-time JV coaches.

“I’m honored to be selected into the IBCA Hall of Fame, but obviously earning the honor is not just a personal achievement,” Raethz said. “It speaks to the collective effort of so many individuals who have contributed to our program’s success over the years. I think the backbone of that has been an incredible group of players that I’ve had the opportunity to coach and build relationships with over the years.

“Additionally, I’m so fortunate to work alongside so many dedicated coaches that shared in and worked hard to foster the collective vision of our program.”

Northern Illinois Holiday Classic returns: The Northern Illinois Holiday Classic, hosted by McHenry and Richmond-Burton, starts Saturday with first-round games. This year, for the first time, the tournament will be a bracket-style event with the semifinal winners advancing to the final at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (at McHenry’s main campus).

Area teams participating are Crystal Lake Central, Marengo, McHenry, Woodstock North, Crystal Lake South, Richmond-Burton, Prairie Ridge, Marian Central and Johnsburg.

No champion was crowned last season with the weather canceling the last day. Prairie Ridge and Grayslake North would have met in the final. The Wolves technically are still the defending champions, winning the tournament for the first time in 2021.

Huntley’s FVC dominance continues: Entering Friday, Huntley remained the only undefeated team in the Fox Valley Conference following a 69-12 win against Crystal Lake South earlier in the week. The Raiders (7-2, 5-0) have now won 33 consecutive conference games, with their last loss coming to Prairie Ridge on Jan. 21, 2022.

Huntley went undefeated in the FVC last season, going 18-0 and winning its second consecutive conference title.

Over the past two seasons, only Hampshire and Cary-Grove have played the Raiders close. Huntley has won 20 of its past 23 FVC games by at least 13 points. Hampshire lost to Huntley 43-42 earlier this year.

Stinger brings it: McHenry has had a tough start to the season on offense, but not for a lack of effort. Junior guard Avery Stinger has stood out as one of the team’s top players and hardest workers this year, coach John Lunkenheimer said.

Stinger led the Warriors with 13 points in an FVC loss to Dundee-Crown on Tuesday, but was in foul trouble early. Her sister Peyton, who graduated last year and is on the track and field team at Illinois Wesleyan, was a similar all-out player.

“For a (5-foot-3) guard, she’s probably the best rebounder on the team,” Lunkenheimer said. “She brings a competitive juice that not everyone else has. She’s active on defense, she can handle the basketball, and she’s probably our best shooter.

“So overall, she’s probably our best player across the board. But that toughness, you can’t teach that. She just has it.”

The Red Raiders held a one-point lead entering the fourth and simply took over.

Huntley was dominant on both ends of the floor, having its most productive offensive quarter and holding Central to 1-of-11 shooting.

Anna Campanelli, Cassidy Serpe and Paula Strzelecki had seven points apiece in the final quarter, and the Raiders pulled away for a 56-36 win in their FVC game. With the victory, Huntley (8-2, 6-0 FVC) remains undefeated in conference play and secured their 34th consecutive FVC win.

Huntley led Central 33-32 after three quarters and outscored Central 23-4 the rest of the way.

“We talked at the end of the third that we weren’t going to keep trading buckets with them,” said Campanelli, who led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting. “We needed to start getting defensive stops, and that would obviously lead to offense.

“We just had a lot of people step up, hitting big shots and dealing with [Central’s] pressure. It took everyone.”

In the fourth, Huntley allowed only a 3 from freshman Audrey LaFleur and a free throw from senior Emma Payton.

Payton, a 6-foot forward, led the Rockets with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Huntley coach Steve Raethz had Serpe, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, match up against Payton in the fourth quarter.

“[Serpe] stepped up and did a nice job in the fourth quarter with guarding Payton. She did a really nice job of kind of limiting her touches,” Raethz said. “[Payton] was really good for them for long stretches of that game. She was tough to guard.

“It was a great job by all of our kids. It showed a lot of mental toughness when some things didn’t go well for us. We bounced back and had a great fourth quarter.”

Serpe was second in scoring for the Raiders with 14 points and made two 3s. She has enjoyed more minutes this season as a starter after Huntley graduated eight.

Serpe said the new role has taken some getting used to.

“At the beginning, I was really stressed,” Serpe said. “I was scared to be on the court, but I have great teammates that helped me gain that confidence. Now I really enjoy being on the court.”

Campanelli has seen Serpe become a more impactful player for the Raiders.

“Guarding [Central’s] best player and being able to shut her down really helped us with our lead in the fourth,” Campanelli said. “I’m just really proud of how far she’s come with her confidence offensively and defensively.”

Strzelecki added 12 points and eight rebounds for Huntley, while Alyssa Borzych and CeCe Romano each had four.

Charles finished with nine points and three 3s for Central (5-5, 4-2), Emersyn Fry scored six points on two 3s, and LaFleur had five points.

Huntley scored the game’s first nine points and led 18-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Central, which never led, outscored the Raiders 15-8 in the second quarter to cut the lead to 26-21 at halftime.

Rockets coach Mike Carani felt his team ran out of energy.

“I felt like our girls were in the groove, they knew what to look for and what to attack,” Carani said. “I think they just ran out of gas. I felt good about where we were. It just kind of got away from us. ... We tried to match up on [Campanelli] with different girls to try and slow her down. I felt like we were effective at times. But she’s a great player and found ways to create and still get her points.”

Gonnella called a timeout, challenged his team to fix things defensively, and the Chargers responded in a big way.

Dundee-Crown did not allow any more points for the next eight minutes and 17 seconds, while its offense, led by 6-foot-1 forward Monica Sierzputowski, found its groove against McHenry.

Sierzputowski ended her strong night with 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks, and D-C went on to beat McHenry 47-22 in their Fox Valley Conference game on Tuesday.

It was the third-highest scoring game of the season for the Chargers (2-7, 2-3 FVC), who had failed to reach 40 points in their three previous games (all losses).

Gonnella felt it was the Chargers’ effort on defense that helped turn things around.

“Just our focus and our intensity had to change,” Gonnella said. “When we do little things, we play well. Getting down on defense, getting low, moving our feet rather than reaching. Just the little things.”

Sierzputowski made five straight buckets in the first quarter and had 14 points by halftime with the Chargers up 27-8. Two free throws from Holly Waters with 5:53 remaining in the second quarter ended the long dry spell for the Warriors on offense.

Sierzputowski said the Chargers needed to refocus after giving up five quick points.

“Our game plan was to come out and be intense with everything,” Sierzputowski said. “Man up and just stop them from doing everything. Be intense on defense, prioritize defense and the offense would come.”

Sierzputowski, who will play next year at Oakton College in Des Plaines, looked unstoppable for big stretches Tuesday.

“There’s games where she knows she can score and she’ll go right at the basket,” Gonnella said. “Teams obviously focus on her. She’s got a strong enough basketball IQ to move the ball around and get it to the other post or guards. She’s a very smart basketball player.”

Junior guard Charlotte Stewart was second on the Chargers with 11 points and knocked down three straight 3s between the second and third quarters.

Stewart said Sierzputowski could have much bigger nights offensively, but she’s always looking to get others involved.

“Monica is so good she could score 40 a game if she wanted to, but she’s just so unselfish of a player,” Stewart said. “She’s so great at kicking out the ball and being a team player.”

Stewart’s second of back-to-back 3-pointers at the start of the third quarter gave D-C a 35-12 lead. Gonnella was thrilled to see Stewart have no hesitations shooting after a couple of off-games.

“I was maybe afraid of getting blocked, maybe just afraid I’d miss, I don’t know,” Stewart said. “Once I hit a shot tonight, I was like, ‘Oh, I guess this cold streak is over.’ I felt kind of unstoppable for awhile. I had to calm myself down and start to look for who is open again.”

Also for D-C, senior point guard Theriz Mercado and senior forward Mikayla Saas both tossed in seven points.

McHenry was led by junior guard Avery Stinger, who had a team-high 13 points and six rebounds. Lucy Jones added five points and a 3.

McHenry (1-8, 0-5) has struggled to get its offense on track early on. Its highest point total in nine games is 35.

“The challenge for us is to score,” McHenry coach John Lunkenheimer said. “I feel like if we don’t score early, they feel it. A five-point (deficit) feels like 20. We said at the beginning of today’s game, ‘Control your attitude and control your effort.’ And I thought they did great. They played hard the whole time, even when people got into foul trouble.”

Dundee-Crown has two more games before the start of the Charger-Komaromy Holiday Classic on Dec. 26.

Stewart was happy with her team’s effort Tuesday.

“We just realized we had to work hard if we wanted to win this game,” Stewart said. “No matter who we’re playing, we always have to play our game and be at our best.”

School: McHenry, so.

Sport: Girls wrestling

Why she was selected: Corona won the 145-pound championship at the 29-team Waukegan Tournament to help lead the Warriors to their first team title in program history. Corona pinned Harvard’s Ithandehui Rosas in 11 seconds to win the title bout.

Corona was joined by teammate Sophia Brown (235 pounds) to win an individual title. Addison Hodges (115) and Bri Duran (120) took third, and Madalynn Sima (170) was fourth.

For her performance, Corona was selected as the Northwest Herald Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Here is her Q&A with sports writer Alex Kantecki:

Congrats to MWC alum and MCHS 145lb sophomore, @Natalie_Corona1 on winning a loaded 145lb bracket that featured multiple state qualifiers and the #1 ranked wrestler in the state! Keep working hard! Proud of you! #mchenrytough pic.twitter.com/CD2MTPRhcQ

— McHenry Wrestling Club (@MchWrestleClub) December 3, 2023

How did you get your start in wrestling?

Corona: I began wrestling in sixth grade with my friend Mady. I’d always wanted to try a high-contact sport, so I took the opportunity to sign up. When I told my parents, they were skeptical but supportive. As soon as I walked into the wrestling room, the middle school head coach, Sean Mullen, welcomed me. Since then, he has helped me work hard to improve my wrestling skills.

How did it feel to win the Waukegan Tournament?

Corona: It felt great to start the season with a few wins and even better to win the tournament with both coach Mullen and Coach Buss in my corner, who greatly helped me throughout my wrestling career. It was very rewarding to see the team take home first place after all the hard work we put in. The support in our corner really motivated us to give our all on the mat.

What is the best part about being on the McHenry girls wrestling team?

Corona: The best part is the support and relationships we’ve built. It’s great being the biggest and loudest team.

What is one thing people don’t know about wrestling?

Corona: Wrestling is a very demanding sport, physically and mentally, but it’s a sport like no other and really builds individuals to be their best selves.

What’s your favorite TV show?

Corona: “Criminal Minds.”

What would be your dream job?

Corona: Definitely something in sports medicine.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Corona: Hawaii.

Do you have any superstitions before a match?

Corona: I’m not a very superstitious person. I just always prefer to keep my music playing in my ears until it’s my turn to wrestle.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

Corona: The goal is to place high on the podium at state in February and to maintain and improve my wrestling throughout the season.