UPDATE: Oak Forest's Kyle Hullinger is Patch MVP

Oak Forest football standout Kyle Hullinger outpolled 10 others in voting for Southland Patch's MVP, Oct. 22-28. Hullinger is now eligible for Patch Athlete of the Month honors.

Your Patch is a place to celebrate local high school athletes. Show your support for these prep sports MVPs—each of whom is Athlete of the Week in his or her local Patch—by cheering them on in the comments thread, sharing your own photos with the Patch community and voting in the poll. Do you think we're missing someone? Tell us in the comments and share his or her photo to the gallery above. (It's easy. Just click the Upload Photos and Videos link — learn more here.) Read more about this week's MVPs in the photo gallery, and show your support for them by: There is one more way for you to become a more interactive fan: Sign up to become a Patch sports blogger. (Learn more about blogging on Patch here).

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Local Sports Notebook

Sandburg Alum Lukas Verzbicas Mines Triathlon Gold in Beijing

Ex-Eagle long-distance running sensation Lukas Verzbicas captured the world junior triathlon championship on trip to China, then presented his gold medal to an ailing friend.

Sandburg alum Lukas Verzbicas might just be good enough to run in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Over the weekend, he took another giant step toward achieving that goal. Verzbicas was running in the host city of the 2008 Summer Games as a competitor in the World Junior Triathalon in Beijing. He showcased his talent with a first-place finish and displayed a heart of gold, too. According to the Chicago Tribune's Philip Hersh, Verzbicas gave his gold medal to a friend from Geneva who recently was diagnosed with cancer. Verzbicas is one of several highly touted freshmen running for the University of Oregon. The Ducks men's cross country team is ranked fourth in the nation. The Sandburg boys soccer team put together a 7-0 rout of …

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