South Suburban Wildcats of Lincoln-Way Eighth Grade Girls Basketball Team: Whiz Kids

Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout? Or did your local soccer team take the championship? They might be our next Patch Whiz Kid.

Each week, Mokena Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid.

Submit your nominations to caroline.evans@patch.com.

This week's Whiz Kids

Whiz Kid's Name: South Suburban Wildcats of Lincoln-Way Eighth Grade Team 

Whiz Kid's Age: Seventh and Eighth Grades

Whiz Kid's School: Mokena Junior High, Manhattan Junior High and Summit Hill Junior High

Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: This Wildcats eighth-grade team is made up of some the founding players of the organization who played as fourth graders back in March 2006: three dominant players from Manhattan, five starters from the Summit Hill eighth grade team who went downstate this past IESA season, two from Mokena Junior High who went downstate last year and a seventh-grader named McMahon looking to follow in her sisters’ footsteps at Lincoln-Way East. This team has improved every year leading to the current season in which these Wildcats have won four tournament championships, including one of the toughest of the season – the Midwest Invitational. The team still has more basketball to play this season, but they have accomplished a season's worth of success in just over two and a half months.

Whiz Kids' Key to Awesomeness (what made them successful?): The goal of any travel program is to have the players improve every year and prepare them for high school. That was the recipe to this Wildcats team’s success led by experienced and dedicated coaches. With a balanced attack that includes dominant post play, swarming defense, speed, excellent ball handling, and impressive outside shooting, these Wildcats have climbed to the top of the eighth grade basketball world for feeder programs. These girls are ready to take on the challenges of high school basketball next year at Lincoln-Way Central, East, North and West.  Watch for these girls to dominate the headlines for years to come: Claire McMahon, Annie Kroen, Amber Gaynor, Rachel Twohig, Kassidy Henry, Kylie Snyder, Valen Manns, Millie Savic, Kayla Horlacher, Megan Bajarunas and Alicia Hrvatin.