Hamann legacy thrives at Prospect
When Prospect girls golf coach Jim Hamann was a student at Willowbrook High School, he played golf for his father. John Hamann served as the Warriors' head boys golf coach for 34 years as well as the head boys basketball coach for 13 years.
A resident of Villa Park since 1968, John Hamann died of complications from lung cancer at the age of 67 on Aug. 21, the same week Jim was beginning his sixth year as the head coach for Prospect.
In recent years, John Hamann and his wife Jalaine were regular spectators at Jim and his brother Jeff's golf meets. Jeff is the head girls golf coach at Maine South.
“I want to be just like him, Jim said of his father, who received the Outstanding Teacher of Industrial Education award from the Illinois Industrial Technology Education Association in 1995. “He was my coach and just like a brother to me.
Both Willowbrook High School and the Community Congregation Church in Villa Park set up scholarship funds in honor of John Hamann.
Prospect girls golfers wore ribbons in their hair in memory of John Hamann at the start of the season.
Knights senior golfers Emily Mick and Rachel Lawless said the Walsh family (Allison and Kiley Walsh are sisters on the team) and Kelly Lawless (Rachel's sister) played major roles in developing the ribbons.
“It's been really tough, Jim said. “But the girls have been great therapy. I'm very thankful for all of the support of the Prospect staff and my assistant coach (Tim Casper), who has done a terrific job this season.
Hamann's Knights are enjoying one of their best seasons under Jim Hamann.
They won their first regional since 2006 last week at the Deerfield Golf Course with a score of 335.
And they won the second sectional in school history Tuesday in Rockford (Ingersoll Golf Course) with a score of 315, just 1 stroke shy of the school record.
“We know he (John Hamann) is watching us and supporting us, Jim said. “If there is anything he can do like a good bounce here or there, a little needed gust of wind, he would do it.
“He was a big fan of Prospect and Maine South athletics. If he wasn't at my meet, he was at Jeff's.
Tom Domin, now the chair of Willowbrook's physical education department and previously the school's athletic director, was quoted in a publication calling John Hamann a great role model and mentor.
Born in Kankakee, John Hamann grew up in far south suburban Grant Park and graduated in 1961 from Grant Park High School, where he was the ace golfer on his high school team.
He received a bachelor's degree in science education from Illinois State University in 1965. After completing a master's degree in teaching from Illinois State in 1966, John Hamann joined the faculty in 1966 at Willowbrook, where he first taught architectural drawing and woodworking. He adapted to technology changes, transitioning to teaching computer-aided drafting.
John's wife, Jalaine, is also a former teacher in the Elmhurst area.
She continued to be a regular at her son's golf meets this fall and served as a scorekeeper at the recent Maine South regional at the Mt. Prospect Golf Course.
John Hamann's legacy continues in his three children, who all work as teachers. Jim and Jeff are math teachers and their sister Julie is a fourth-grade teacher at St. Celestine Catholic School in Elmwood Park.
“I can't be more thankful to all my assistant coaches, my players, their parents and the Prospect staff which helped me get through this, Jim said. “He was my best friend.
To donate to the scholarship funds being founded in John Hamann's memory through Willowbrook High School and Community Congregational Church, call Willowbrook at (630) 530-3400 or the church at (630) 834-8352.
Women's volleyball
Senior setter Annie Fesl (Hersey) and senior outside hitter Stephanie Niemer of Cincinnati have developed into one of the most effective tandems in the history of Bearcat volleyball.
Niemer leads the Big East and ranks fourth in the nation averaging 5.29 kills per set, while Fesl is second in the conference and seventh in the country with 11.84 assists.
Their efficiency is a primary reason Cincinnati has climbed to No. 21 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association's Top 25 and is tied atop the Big East standings with Notre Dame.
Fesl has been Cincinnati's starting setter since her rookie season and has led the Bearcats to an 86-33 overall record, a 37-9 record in conference play and a share of the 2008 regular-season Big East title. She is second in the Big East and seventh in the nation with 11.84 assists.
Ÿ Denison senior libero Lauren Weidner (Barrington) led the Big Red to back-to-back victories for the first time this season and was named the North Coast Atheletic Conference “Volleyball Player of the Week.
Weidner recorded a career-high 56 digs in a five-set win over Muskingum, then added 30 more in a three-set victory over Earlham. Against the Muskies, her dig total was just six off the NCAC single-match record and two short of Denison's single-match record.
Ÿ Memphis senior Altrese Hawkins (Hoffman Estates) put down a match-best 16 kills in a three-game loss to Southern Methodist.
Men's cross country
North Central senior Michael Spain (Schaumburg) was selected as the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Cross Country Co-Runner of the Week.
Spain, a finance and economics major, won the individual championship in the Gold Division race at the Notre Dame Invitational. He claimed the 8,000-meter race in 24 minutes, 41 seconds, as North Central placed second to Eastern Michigan University. Spain shared the honor with Wheaton College sophomore Parker Thompson.
Spain, who is unbeaten in three races this season, has now won three CCIW Runner of the Week Awards.
Feeder tryouts
The Wheeling girls feeder basketball teams will conduct tryouts on Sunday, Oct. 17 for eighth graders from (2-3 p.m.), seventh graders (3-4 p.m.) and fourth through sixth graders (4-5 p.m.).
To be eligible for tryouts, girls must live in the Wheeling High School district. Players should bring a basketball and arrive 15 minutes early for registration.
For more information, call Bob Kuzmanic at 847-571-0812.
Men's soccer
Saint Xavier freshman goalkeeper Kyle Held (Palatine) continued his dominance in goal as he earned his third Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference “Defensive Player of the Week award this season.
He stopped 14 shots on the week and recorded a shutout in a scoreless tie against Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.).
Held had 7 saves for his third shutout of the year in the week's first game against Calumet. In Saint Xavier's biggest win of the season, Held posted seven stops in the 2-1 upset of No. 16 Judson University.
Held has 53 saves on the year and conference leading 0.75 goals-against average (GAA) and leads with an .883 save percentage.
Ÿ Northern Illinois junior Tim King (Conant) scored the winning goal on a header four minutes into overtime against Wisconsin.
It was King's fourth career goal, despite playing center defensive back for Northern.
King is the only NIU player who started all 19 games in 2009 and has started 34 out of the last 35 games for the Huskies.
Coaching assignment
Bill Murmann, who coached St. Viator to its first girls basketball regional championship in school history in 2002, and was the former Schaumburg girls head coach, has joined the Bartlett girls basketball program.
Murmann will be an assistant on coach Denise Sarna's staff, working on the lower levels and helping in other areas.