Prep picks

Choices for this week's Prep Picks Game of the Week are currently online. You can vote at nwiprepsports.com.

Auto racing

KANAAN ON POLE: Sitting on stage Saturday after qualifying for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves looked to their left and there, appearing quite comfortable in their new surroundings, were former Champ Car drivers Will Power and Justin Wilson.

"I guess we better get used to this," said longtime IRL IndyCar Series star Castroneves, the two-time defending winner of the St. Pete street race.

It's only the second event of the new unified era of American open-wheel racing, with Champ Car melded into the IRL and nine newcomers among the 26 drivers racing here. And with the more familiar surroundings of a street course -- after last week's rough introduction to oval racing -- the transition drivers had a better chance to show their talent.

While former IRL champion Kanaan won the pole in IndyCar's new grueling three-session qualifying format, Power took the outside spot on the front row and Wilson was third, sharing the second row with Castroneves. Ryan Briscoe was fifth and Ryan Hunter-Reay sixth on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn downtown circuit.

Saturday's qualifications were the first to be held with the new IndyCar knockout rules. The race is today.

GOMEZ 23RD AT ST. PETE: Crown Point native Logan Gomez finished 23rd at Saturday's St. Pete 100 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Gomez started 10th but had mechanical problems. Raphael Matos won the race.

KYLE BUSCH WINS NATIONWIDE RACE: After all the laps Kyle Busch has led in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season, he finally led the only one that ever really matters.

Busch won at Texas Motor Speedway in dominating fashion Saturday, leading 126 of the 200 laps and finishing more than a second ahead of Jeff Burton. With an average speed of 151.708 mph, it was fastest Nationwide race at the 1 1/2-mile high-banked track.

College basketball

PARKER, AURIEMMA WIN AP HONORS: Candace Parker has earned all sorts of honors -- All-American, national champion, future Olympian.

Parker, a junior, averaged 21.6 points and 8.3 rebounds to lead the Lady Vols this season. The All-American on Saturday was voted player of the year in women's college basketball by The Associated Press. Geno Auriemma of Connecticut was the coach of the year, the fifth time he won the award.

MONTGOMERY HEADS TO CAL: Mike Montgomery knows his surprising move across San Francisco Bay won't sit well with certain fans of both Stanford and California. Wearing a blue shirt and gold tie Saturday after 18 years in Cardinal red, the veteran coach agreed to a six-year contract at Cal nearly four years after he left Stanford for a dismal stint with the Golden State Warriors. Montgomery won 393 games and four Pac-10 titles at Stanford, and he sees no reason the Cardinal's archrivals can't enjoy the same success.

"I'm sure when I show up next year at Maples (Pavilion), they won't have the welcome wagon out," said Montgomery, who led the Cardinal to 12 NCAA tournaments and the 1998 Final Four. "But that's part of the experience. ... You will never get me to say anything bad about Stanford. I love the place. They were great to me, and now I'm here."

College baseball

PNC SWEEPS TRINITY CHRISTIAN: Jake Pierce (Crown Point) had three hits in each game as Purdue North Central swept visiting Trinity Christian 10-0 and 6-1 in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Mike Zolper (Boone Grove) helped PNC (15-11, 11-1) win its eighth straight game with four hits in the nightcap.

SSC BEATS SJC JV: South Suburban College (10-15) beat Saint Joseph's JV team 3-2 on Saturday. Scott Handley (2-0) allowed eight hits and struck out six in 7 2/3 innings. Ryan Gull was 2-for-3 for Saint Joseph's.

SAINT JOE'S SPLITS DH: Saint Joseph's (28-5) split a doubleheader with Indianapolis on Saturday, losing the opener 4-3 before winning the second game 9-3. In the victory, Ryan Murray had four RBIs on three hits.

PSC SPLITS DH: Prairie State College (6-11) split a doubleheader with McHenry, winning the opener 7-2 and losing the second game 12-2. In the win, James Johnson went 2-for-2, while Coderro Richmond was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

VU SWEPT IN DH: Valparaiso University dropped both games of its doubleheader with Youngstown State, falling 6-0 and 3-1. Ryan O'Gara and Matt Lenski each had two hits in the second game for the Crusaders (8-20, 3-5 Horizon League).

College softball

VU SWEEPS LOYOLA, SETS RECORDS: Three school records fell Saturday afternoon as the Valparaiso University softball team swept Loyola 7-3 and 2-1. Senior pitcher Andrea Zappia struck out six batters on the day, breaking VU's career strikeouts record. Junior outfielder Karen Korb, who broke VU's career stolen bases record earlier this season, surpassed the single-season mark in the fifth inning of the nightcap with her 22nd steal of the year.

The team single-season record for stolen bases was also broken when freshman Jamie Weinburger swiped third base in the second inning of the second game. Coach Randy Schneider also earned his 100th win at VU and 200th overall on Saturday.

SJC SWEPT IN DH: Saint Joseph's (10-15) was swept by SIU-Edwardsville, 5-2 and 5-0, on Saturday. Stephanie Kickels and Cheryl Zakowski had the Pumas' RBIs.

PNC SPLITS DH: Purdue North Central split a doubleheader with Franklin College, winning the opener 3-1 and losing the second game 7-6. Valorie Minyard (Lake Central) was 5-for-7 with a run scored and two RBIs on the day for PNC (15-11).

Men's track

BARTHOLOMEW FIRST IN HAMMER AGAIN: Steve Bartholomew's meet-record victory in the hammer throw highlighted Valparaiso University's performance in the DePauw Invitational on Saturday. Bartholomew, who measured 183 feet, 7 inches in the hammer, also took second in the discus (164-4). Chris Honig's 3 minutes, 59.46 seconds in the 1,500 was good for second. VU's 49 points put it seventh in the field. Indiana Wesleyan won with 159.

Women's track

VU'S WILSON WINS THREE EVENTS, BREAKS RECORD: Valparaiso's Melanie Wilson won three events, including a meet- and school-record in the 100-meter hurdles (14.49), at Saturday's DePauw Invitational. Wilson also finished first in the long jump (17-10 3/4) and triple jump (35-7 3/4). Ini Umana captured the hammer throw (139-4) and the discus (125-7). Amanda Body added three runner-up finishes in the 100, long jump and triple jump, and Emilie Marsicek had three thirds -- shot put, hammer throw and discus. The Crusaders totalled 125 points to finish third behind champion Illinois Wesleyan (151).

Around the horn

Recapturetheglory overcame 15-to-1 odds to beat heavily favored Denis of Cork and easily outdistance a seven-horse field at the $500,000 Illinois Derby on Saturday.