The winter sports season included a second year of “Fireball,” the introduction of a new head coach, and an individual conference champion.
Women’s Basketball
The Knox women’s basketball team rained down three-point baskets on opponents and improved in the win column during the 2012-13 season. The Prairie Fire utilized an all-out up-tempo, pressing, and long-range shooting style of play for the second straight season. “Fireball,” as head coach Emily Cline refers to it, helped produce four new Knox women’s basketball records while the squad ranked in the top ten in NCAA Division III in points per game, 3-point baskets per game, steals per game, and turnover margin.
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Men’s Basketball
The season highlight for the Prairie Fire was an 84-80 victory against Cornell College at home on December 4. Sophomore Mitch Murphy (Bushnell, IL, Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon) connected on all 15 of his attempts, moving him into second place all-time for free throw percentage in a game. Knox outscored the Rams 33-9 from the foul line in the first meeting between the schools since the 2009-10 season. With only two seniors, head coach Kevin Walden ’01 has plans to build the team, which finished the season with an overall record of 1-22, in the coming season.
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Indoor Track and Field
The 2013 season for the Prairie Fire indoor track and field teams was one filled with “firsts.” Senior Joe Puntoriero (Cheektowaga, New York, Cleveland Hill) had a breakout year in the sprint events. He set the school record in the 60 meter dash during the indoor season and broke his own record on five occasions and finished with a career-best 60 meter dash time of 7.05 seconds. Puntoriero also broke the school record in the 200 meter dash early in the season, topping the all-time mark two more times and establishing the new record of 22.56 seconds. Another senior, Sean Choate (Chicago, IL, Chicago Academy), broke the school record in the 5000 meters by a mere three seconds early in the season, but he saved his best effort for the conference meet with a blistering 15:15.23 in the event, shattering his previous record by nearly 15 seconds. Choate’s other school record-breaking performance was his time of 8:55.04 in the 3000 meters. The Knox women’s team featured a young squad that will look to continue improving and make an impact.
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Wrestling
The 2012-13 Prairie Fire wrestling season produced a second-straight conference champion. Junior Stephen Bora (Northfield, IL, New Trier) won the heavyweight division at the Northern Wrestling Association (NWA) Tournament on February 23 at Maranatha Baptist Bible College. He joins former Knox heavyweight wrestler James Wagner as back-to-back conference champions for Knox.
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Swimming
Talented young swimmers played big roles for the Prairie Fire men’s and women’s teams during the 2012-13 season. First-year Chris Walsh (Boulder, CO, Shining Mountain Waldorf School) led a Knox men’s squad that had no upperclassmen on the roster. Sophomore Susannah Lodge-Rigal (Bloomington, IN, Bloomington) was a top performer and one of 17 first or second-year swimmers on the women’s roster. The Prairie Fire men’s team looks to improve on a 1-6-1 record in dual meets next season while the women’s squad -- with a 4-4 record in duals -- seeks to continue a stretch of at least four consecutive seasons with a .500 record or better.
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