Isi Frank Ativie

Freelance Journalist | Film Critic | Essayist | Content Writer | Photojournalist 

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Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood football heads back to city championship

Kenwood Academy is headed back to the city’s football championship this weekend.On the upswing after a season of ups and downs, the Broncos bested Lincoln Park High School 15-11 in the Nov. 16 Chicago Public League semifinals. The defending city champions quickly took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to Anthony Crooms, Kenwood’s starting junior quarterback. The Lions would go on to tie the game in the next quarter after Crooms was taken out of the game due to an injury, and then take the...
Hyde Park Herald •

Mike Irvin, Kenwood basketball coach, resigns

Eight months after an enrollment investigation cut short Kenwood Academy’s state playoff run, boys basketball coach Mike Irvin has resigned. Irvin, who led the Broncos to two consecutive city championship appearances in his four seasons with the team, announced his resignation on November 4. In an interview with the Herald, Irvin said he’s stepping away from the demanding world of high school sports to take time for himself.“I had a good time at Kenwood,” Irvin told the Herald. “(But) it took a...
Hyde Park Herald •

Mount Carmel football advances to state quarterfinals

Mount Carmel football, two-time state champions, will once again advance to the state football quarterfinals this week after a weekend blowout against St. Charles North High School.Coach Jordan Lynch and the Caravan defeated St. Charles North High School 48-15 on Nov. 9 in the second round of the state playoffs. Though the Polaris scored the first touchdown in the opening quarter, Mount Carmel’s star quarterback, Jack Elliott, helped tie the game just moments later.Elliott continued to carry the...
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood football loses close game in state playoffs, sets sights on city

Kenwood Academy’s football team fell short to Whitney Young in a close game in the first-round of the state playoffs on Friday, the latest development in a rocky season for the Broncos.The team, which finished last season with an 8-5 record and as two-time public school champions, lost the Nov. 1 game 13-12 to the Dolphins. Kenwood started the game strong with a 12-0 lead into the second quarter, thanks in large part to junior running back Jaeden White and senior linebacker Rayne Holmes, the lat...
Hyde Park Herald •

Mount Carmel football rallies for state playoffs

After a disappointing conference loss and a tighter season than the last few, Mount Carmel’s varsity football team still has its sights set on a third consecutive state title.On Saturday, October 25, the Caravan lost 31-7 to Loyola Academy in the East Suburban Catholic Conference title game, finishing the season with a 6-3 record. But, head coach Jordan Lynch says, the team is working to turn things around in time for the state playoffs. “The pressure is high,” said Lynch, who has been with the...
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood Academy flag football wraps standout season

When Chicago Public Schools introduced a pilot flag football program in 2021, an eager group of Kenwood Academy girls approached the school’s athletic director, Karen Garland, with the idea to form a team.Three years later, the team has had successive winning seasons and a second-place finish in the city championship. This year, the first season that the Illinois High School Association recognized the sport, the Lady Broncos also made a run at the state playoffs. Though the season came to an end...
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood loses homecoming heartbreaker

Kenwood Academy football narrowly lost their homecoming game this weekend in a rough-and-tumble match against their former head coach’s new team.The Broncos held the lead going into the final minute of Saturday’s game at Lane Tech, but a devastating last-second touchdown saw the 2-5 Broncos fall 22-20  to Simeon Career Academy.It was Kenwood’s first match against the 6-1 Simeon since the Broncos’ former coach, Sinque Turner, left Kenwood and took the same role at his alma mater. Turner coached t...
Future Black Female •

Why Laila Edwards’ success is important to North America

The North American hockey scene has seen and witnessed many Black Canadian and African American male players who have made their mark. In the NCAA Division One and NHL levels, within the last 66 years, we’ve celebrated amongst others Willie O’Ree and Dakota Joshua. However, Wisconsin Badger forward, Laila Edwards has established herself as one of the most talented female players in the world.  This 20-year-old Cleveland Heights, Ohio native is the first Black female star in this nation since for...
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood Academy girls volleyball searches for foothold

It’s been a mixed bag for the Kenwood Academy girls volleyball team this season, but the Lady Broncos’ head coach feels confident things will turn around.The season started off on the wrong foot with three straight losses and one win during an August 30 tournament. The Lady Broncos rallied shortly thereafter, establishing a seven-game winning streak.“The girls stood a little taller and walked with a little swag to them,” said head coach Kayla Malec. “Overall, I think one of the biggest things is...
Hyde Park Herald •

Hyde Park Academy welcomes new football coach

Hyde Park Academy’s football team is off to a rocky start this season, but its new head coach is confident the Thunderbirds can still turn around a two-year losing streak.The Thunderbirds’ season opened with an August 30 loss to Montini Catholic High School, with a final score of 0-49. A week later, they lost 6-41 to Saint Viator High School.In spite of this, Doug Hicks, the new head coach, said the team is showing signs of improvement. “As we progress through this year, I'm just looking...
Hyde Park Herald •

New Kenwood football coach pushes team to ‘reach full potential’ on the field and in class

With a new head coach at the helm of Kenwood Academy’s football team and the loss of several star players, this season may mark the dawn of a new era for the back-to-back city champions.In January, Chris Goffer, a former professional arena football player and longtime assistant high school coach, replaced longtime Broncos coach Sinque Turner, who is widely credited as turning the team into a Chicago Public League powerhouse. But as Kenwood prepares for its first game of the season on Friday, Gof...
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood girls basketball players commit to Division I schools

Chicago Public Schools students are back to the classroom this week, but two Kenwood Academy senior athletes have already trained their sights on college. This past summer, Kenwood girls basketball stars Ariella Henigan and Diann Jackson weighed their combined 24 college offers, almost all of which are to Division I schools, committing just weeks ahead of the new school year.With more than 18 offers, Henigan, a guard, announced last week that she’s headed to Howard University next fall. As she p...
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood baseball players show off for scouts in annual Double Duty Classic

This year’s Double Duty Classic, an annual high school baseball game celebrating the country’s best players from urban schools, pitted a number of Kenwood Academy players against each other at Guaranteed Rate Field.Eight Broncos were among the 41 players chosen to compete at the home of the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, an opportunity to meet rising all-stars from around the U.S. – and impress plenty of college colleges and scouts. Named after Negro League standout (and later coach) Ted "Doubl...
Hyde Park Herald •

From Hyde Park to Paris: Meet the U. of C. swimmer who’s a first-time Olympian

At 21 years old, Jesse Ssengonzi is one of the fastest swimmers in Uganda. That designation came this past February, as he was wrapping up his economics degree at the University of Chicago. In the midst of his studies and a busy season on the university’s swim team, Ssengonzi traveled to Doha, Qatar for the World Aquatics Championships to compete with the Ugandan national team. A dual citizen in Uganda and the U.S., Ssengonzi placed 39th out of 66 swimmers in his signature event, the 100-meter b...
Hyde Park Herald •

3 Kenwood baseball players make city all-star team

Three Kenwood Academy baseball players this week joined the Chicago Public League all-star team at its annual game at Guaranteed Rate Field, bringing a rocky season to a close on a good note. Seniors Khamaree “Special K” Thomas, a left-handed pitcher; Savion “Big Power” Flowers, a center fielder; and Destin Edwards, a left fielder, were selected as three of only a dozen of the top players from Chicago Public Schools to face off against the best of the best from the city’s Catholic schools on Ju
Hyde Park Herald •

U. of C. Lab Schools boys tennis wins state championship

The University of Chicago Lab Schools boys tennis team brought home the gold this weekend in the Class 1A state championship, the boys team’s first title since 2018. U-High came out on top in the finals on Saturday, May 25 at suburban Palatine High School, with a total score of 35. The team was trailed by Dunlap High School, which finished the weekend with 26 points. As for individual trophies, doubles duo Arjun Sawhney, a freshman, and Krish Khanna, a junior, took first in the championship ma
Hyde Park Herald •

Lane Tech beats Kenwood in city baseball championship

In a late-in-the-game upset during this season’s city baseball championships on Monday, Lane Tech High School bested defending champions Kenwood Academy with a final score of 5-3. The Broncos (20-9) looked poised to win the May 20 match at Wrigley Field for most of the game; by the top of the seventh and final inning, Kenwood led Lane 3-0. And then, when the Broncos were only two outs away from victory, Lane (26-9) got a second wind. They scored five straight runs with four hits, two doubles a
Hyde Park Herald •

Kenwood boys track and field wins second straight outdoor city championship

Kenwood Academy’s track and field team has done it again. For the second consecutive season, the Broncos are Chicago Public League champions. The Broncos clinched the outdoor title at a meet last Saturday, May 11 with a final score of 165 points and nine gold medals. Lane Tech and Whitney Young high schools tied for second with 77 points. “It feels good to know that we're building a program that we intend to be good at year after year,” said Kenwood coach Mike Runnels. “We’re building a progra
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