St. Charles North hosting its second Lift-A-Thon

It was obvious on the football field last fall that St. Charles North was big and strong.

The hallmark was a stout defense that led both divisions of the Upstate Eight Conference in scoring defense until the North Stars met steamroller Cary-Grove in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.

Guys like defensive end Jordan Bergren and linebacker Carson Schmitt, basically physical prototypes at each of their positions, were flat-out hard to handle. Senior defensive lineman Dalton Young came out of nowhere to make 80 tackles and earn Daily Herald All-Area.

St. Charles North football coach Rob Pomazak believes there was a direct correlation between the strength and conditioning program's inaugural Lift-A-Thon last winter and the team's first playoff appearance in five years.

"I definitely believe that last year's Lift-A-Thon contributed to the success of our football program, in that it changed the face of our strength and conditioning room and they were able to train with the most state-of-the-art equipment," he said.

This item, then - about St. Charles North's second Lift-A-Thon on from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. Jan. 31 - obviously is North Stars-centric, and not exclusive to the football program. Those on that bandwagon might want to enlist in the effort.

Last year's event drew about 100 athletes and raised just under $1,200 dollars through donations and pledges. That was sufficient to purchase eight power racks and established an, ahem, benchmark.

"The goal for this year is to raise at least $10,000 and with that money we'll be putting that directly into a new set of custom dumbbells," said Pomazak, head varsity football coach, wellness instructor in the school's physical education department and its strength and conditioning coordinator.

The weight room, Pomazak said, doesn't have a "built-in" budget, hence the one allowable fundraiser per year, Lift-A-Thon. In addition to corporate sponsorships, which already have signed on to provide food, drinks and a dumbbell rack, individual athletes are asked to seek donations be it a flat amount or a "per-pound pledge" based on how much they can lift in squat, bench and power clean.

To get involved the best bet is to reach Pomazak at robert.pomazak@d303.org.

He said athletes representing up to eight different sports will participate. Last year no girls were involved; this year Pomazak said a couple softball and soccer players have signed up. You've got to start somewhere.

Parents and students are invited to come watch. Last year Bergren set school records in power clean and squat - 285 and 505 pounds, respectively - and offensive lineman Kevin Bagrowski set a bench-press record of 320 pounds.

By the pound those numbers went a fair way toward purchasing those eight new power racks.

"It's a good-sized room," Pomazak said, "and what's important is what you fill it with."

A good Tuesday for St. Charles East

On Tuesday former St. Charles East and Marquette soccer goalie Charlie Lyon was selected in the fourth round, 75th overall, by the Seattle Sounders in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

Lyon proved his quality on and off the pitch. He recorded 8 straight shutouts from Sept. 5-Oct. 11, setting a Marquette record for the most consecutive goal-free minutes by a keeper.

A biomedical science major, Lyon earned Capitol One First-Team Academic All-America honors. The prior year he was named Big East 2013-14 men's scholar-athlete of the year.

Also on Tuesday, Saints senior offensive lineman Brennan Bosch committed to Butler University, a Football Championship Subdivision program.

The 6-foot-1, 270-pounder also had interest from Dayton, Grand Valley State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State-Mankato.

"I really like all of the players on the team," said Bosch, whose older brother, former St. Francis lineman Kyle, transferred to West Virginia from Michigan after the Wolverines' post-season coaching changes.

At Butler, Brennan Bosch will join running back Anthony Scaccia of Batavia and quarterback Matt Schiltz of St. Charles North, who through six games was tearing it up until suffering a season-ending injury. Geneva's Bret Shannon ended his college career last fall as a Butler defensive lineman.

Bosch is projected as an offensive guard or center, and said might possibly help out as a freshman at a thin right guard spot. A two-time all-Upstate Eight player, Bosch played guard on the Saints varsity his sophomore and senior seasons and left tackle as a junior.

He said Bulldogs head coach Jeff Voris praised his aggressiveness on the line and his technique for a young player.

"He said he really wants to get me in the program and he can't wait to get me in a uniform," Bosch said.

Marching on

Those in the St. Francis community may be familiar with Jack's Army, or the Jack Pribaz Foundation. It was started by Liz and Mike Pribaz, the latter a former St. Francis teacher now into his second decade teaching and coaching at Wheaton North. He maintains ties with, among many others in Spartan land, boys basketball coach Bob Ward.

Jack's Army, founded in December 2011 and headquartered in Winfield, is named after the first of the couple's two young sons. Within 17 hours of little Jack's birth he was undergoing tests to determine why he was having seizures. No real answers emerged.

Further health issues came along, such as severely abnormal baseline brain patterns that doctors cautioned might have Jack lucky to reach his first birthday.

Thankfully he did - Jack will turn 6 on March 5 - but not without continuing complications. Through a recipe of diet and medication the family and doctors diminished the seizures, but they realized Jack's development and muscle tone were not progressing. He was unable to speak, control his head or sit unassisted, and required surgery to implant a feeding tube for nutrition.

It took two and a half years for genetic tests to find the cause of all this - KCNQ2 encephalopathy, a rare mutation of a gene called KCNQ2.

"When we got our diagnosis in the fall of 2011 (doctors) said, we don't know anybody else (who had the condition)," Mike Pribaz said.

The family got busy starting the Jack Pribaz Foundation, aka Jack's Army, which advocates for research grants, partners with and funds physicians, spreads awareness about the condition and connects those who have it.

Pribaz said about 150 people worldwide have now been identified with it. The Foundation has since created a second website targeted to worldwide patients, kcnq2.org.

Jack's Army is well-known locally with annual golf outings and, for the last three years, a girls basketball exhibition at Wheaton North. On Jan. 31 the event will shift to St. Francis. The Wheaton-Quad Cities Jack's Army Shootout will bring in varsity and sophomore boys basketball games between Wheaton North and Moline, Wheaton Warrenville South and Rock Island and St. Francis and Rock Island Alleman.

With a goal of raising awareness, not money, there will be video presentations and literature on KCNQ2 plus the usual 50-50 raffles, shooting contests and such. There is a minimal admission fee, but everyone gets a free Jack's Army T-shirt.

"If just a couple people come out of that event and have an idea, know somebody, get another diagnosis, that's our goal," Mike Pribaz said. "We just can't sit quiet about it."

Jack will be there, too. He does "tons" of therapy," his father said, has a full-time aide but attends Bower Elementary School in Warrenville after going to Jefferson in Wheaton last year.

"Jack's life has been very productive so far," Mike Pribaz said. "He's done more than any 5-year-old that I know."

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

Follow Dave on Twitter @doberhelman1