Townsend Topics: Veterans Day and other exciting November Days

Jerpa was honored on Veterans' Day at both Sangamon and Lincoln Trail Schools. Every year these programs get better!

Claire and Jake went to Family Reading Night at Sangamon School, and got a photo with Pete The Cat. Jerpa finally got the weeping willow to fall.

Kathleen got a mention in the opening game of the season when St. Charles East played Wheaton Warrenville South.

Claire and Jake with Pete The Cat at Family Reading Night

St. Charles East impresses in season opener
There is always a bit of an unknown factor heading into the opening game of a season.
"I wasn't quite sure what to expect," said St. Charles East girls basketball coach Lori Drumtra. "I didn't really know what to expect from Wheaton Warrenville South because we didn't play them last year."
Another thing Drumtra didn't expect was for her team to cruise to a 66-31 season-opening victory over the Tigers (0-1) in the first round of the Schaumburg Thanksgiving Tournament Tuesday night.
Senior guard Katie Claussner led the way with 18 points, earning a well-deserved rest throughout the fourth quarter after the Saints (1-0) built a 52-25 advantage after 3 periods.
"We had some real good practices last week and we just came out ready to go," said Claussner, who single-handedly had more points (14) then the entire Tigers' team (10) at halftime.
Claussner and junior teammate Kelly Rinker each scored 6 points as the Saints burst to a 17-3 first-quarter lead that helped comfort their coach.
"I was able to sit down and relax a little bit which was nice," said Drumtra, whose team grabbed an early 12-0 advantage.
Claussner added 8 of her team's 17 second-quarter points as the Saints extended their lead to 34-10 at the intermission.
"I've been working a ton over the summer on jump shots and finishing layups," said Claussner, who received first-half offensive support from senior Kyra Washington, 6-foot freshman Sara Rosenfeldt, Chloe John, Hannah Vitkus and Rinker.
Washington, who recently committed to attend Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and Rinker each connected on a pair of first-half 3-pointers.
"We have great shooters on the team," said Claussner, who will play basketball at Washington University in St. Louis.
Washington and Rinker finished with 11 points apiece and combined for all 6 of the Saints' 3-point baskets.
"I thought our outside shooting for this time of the year was good," said Drumtra. "Overall, I was real pleased with our ball movement -- getting everybody involved in the game.
"What's nice is that everybody contributed."
Rosenfeldt scored 6 points in her high school debut while 6-foot junior Kathleen Townsend also added 6 points. Gabriele Butkute and John contributed 5 and 4 points, respectively.
"We've got some great senior leadership," said Drumtra. "Katie and Kyra -- they've been on this team for a long time. That kind of (leadership) carries over to the team. This is a very energetic group."
Ellen Anderson scored a team-high 8 points for the Tigers, who lost Meghan Waldron -- their all-time leader in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals -- to graduation.
"We're going to go through some growing pains here early in the year," said Tigers coach Rob Kroehnke, who has guided the team to 3 consecutive Class 4A regional titles. "There's no way around it.
"We worked hard. That was our goal tonight."
Kelly Hanrahan chipped in with 5 points for WW South.
"We've got 17 games before January 1st," said Kroehnke. "We don't have a lot of time to worry about it. We're just going to keep working."