St. Francis student wins at Golden Gloves, making those 3:30 a.m. wakeup calls pay off
You have to admire the dedication.
St. Francis senior Anthony Quaranta said he gets up at 3:30 in the morning on school days to leave his Oak Brook home for the Rick Ramos Boxing Gym in Chicago.
Quaranta will do his strength and conditioning work in the early morning, then head to St. Francis in Wheaton for school. After that he returns to Pilsen for either drills or sparring. Saturday is his light day, just the conditioning.
The grind paid off April 12 when Quaranta won his 187-pound division at the 2025 Chicago Golden Gloves at Cicero Stadium.
With Ramos and former Golden Gloves champion Jessica McCaskill in his corner, Quaranta won his Golden Gloves debut by unanimous decision over Julian Gonzalez.
“I think it’s just a great thing to put on my résumé as a boxer,” Quaranta said.
A 6-foot-tall left-hander, Quaranta at one point used a lefty body shot followed by a right hook and a straight left to get an 8-count on Gonzalez, who had to deal with a moving target.
“I just kept moving around and staying active the whole fight,” Quaranta said.
The victory evened his record at 2-2 in an amateur career that started last July at The Mansion in Stone Park. He fought most recently last September at an odd venue, Naperville Country Club.
Quaranta played basketball through his junior year at St. Francis, and he tried football, but he wanted to try an individual sport.
He began with jiu jitsu before seeking the boxing training Ramos’ gym provided.
“He took me under his belt and has taken care of me ever since,” Quaranta said.
He hopes to make a profession of boxing, probably as a light heavyweight.
“I love it,” Quaranta said. “It’s a huge commitment so you’ve got to love it. If you don’t love it, you’ll burn yourself out.”
Jewish Basketball Showcase
Perhaps inspired by Israeli Deni Avdija’s 37 points against the Bulls two days prior, the second Chicagoland Jewish Basketball Showcase came down to the wire April 6 at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie.
A back-and-forth game in which the greatest lead was 7 points, “Team Jerusalem,” coached by York boys assistant J.J. Pearl, beat “Team Tel Aviv” 68-64. Wheeling assistant coach Andrew Braverman coached Tel Aviv with Bulls Prep’s Jacob Goldstein.
Highland Park’s all-time leading scorer, Simon Moschin, scored a game-high 26 points. Glenbrook North’s Dylan Fleishman led Tel Aviv with 19.
Rolling Meadows’ Aaron Kossack played, with Mustangs coach Kevin Katovich looking on. Stevenson’s 6-foot-7 Atticus Richmond and Grant’s Brandon Wolkowitz were rostered but unable to play.
Director Mike Kamin, of Lake Zurich, started the Jewish senior all-star game to expose players to the Jewish community and instill pride in their abilities, and also to support Hadassah Medical Organization hospitals in Israel.
Kamin, who has tentatively scheduled the third showcase for April 26, 2026, said the event raised more than $1,000 for Hadassah.
“Everyone from the fans, coaches and players left with a really positive vibe and you could feel the sense of combined community, both Jewish and basketball,” Kamin said.
Back in blue
Prospect girls water polo coach Dick Mortensen recently reported a win over Buffalo Grove via email. He noted it was his 250th victory, surprising in that Mortensen is not listed in Illinois High School Association records for victories.
After correspondence he sent his season-by-season results, which provided clarity. Mortensen has coached both girls and boys water polo — and should be on IHSA all-time lists for both.
Starting in 2000, entering Wednesday’s game against Hersey, Mortensen has led St. Viator and Prospect girls teams to 122 victories, and boys teams from Wheeling and Hersey to 135 wins.
Until this season, his last water polo campaign came with the Hersey boys in 2017.
A three-time sectional coach of the year and the 2003 IHSA coach of the year after leading St. Viator’s girls to the state quarterfinals, Mortensen would be at No. 22 on both boys and girls victory lists.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Mortensen, 51. “I’m very lucky to have had good kids along the way. And especially good parents and administration that’s supported me.”
The girls swim coach and a special education teacher at Hersey since 2005, Mortensen has another fun batch of players at Prospect in his return.
“It is reinvigorating,” he said. “I have so much fun with the kids. I really like watching them from Day 1 to where we are now, and how much growth I’ve seen.”
doberhelman@dailyherald.com