Johnsburg's Erin Stochl led the Skyhawks to a school-record 34 straight wins to start the season, the team's first conference championship since 2017 and first regional title in four years. Stochl is the 2026 Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.

Johnsburg sophomore guard Summer Toussaint surpassed 1,000 career points and helped lead the Skyhawks to a program-record 34 wins and their first conference title since 2017. Toussaint is the 2026 Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Devin DeLoach and Tanner Mauer combined on a no-hitter in St. Petersburg, Florida, Woodstock North baseball earned its first win, and more in Thursday's roundup.

Aubrey Brown scored early in the first half and Emma Emricson followed with Huntley's final two goals as the Red Raiders took down Larkin 3-0 in their season-opening girls soccer match Wednesday evening.

Seven acres of prairie grass burned in a brush fire Thursday in Prairie Grove.

Four people were taken to a hospital after a crash involving a dump truck and two passenger vehicles in Barrington Hills Thursday morning that shut down a stretch of Algonquin Road.

Four people were taken to a hospital after a crash involving a dump truck and two passenger vehicles in Barrington Hills Thursday morning that shut down a stretch of Algonquin Road.

A January fire in downtown McHenry that closed the Riverside Bake Shop and Reeses Barkery was accidental and started from torches being used in roofing work, according an investigation.

Johnsburg's J.D. Sylvanus, whose Skyhawks went 15-1 and 7-0 in the KRC to claim the program's first conference championship since 1995, is the 2026 Northwest Herald Boys Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Marian Central's Jimmy Mastny, an Iowa State recruit who went 53-1 and won his third consecutive IHSA individual state championship, is the 2026 Northwest Herald Boys Wrestler of the Year. It's his third straight season winning the honor.