Wrestling honors elite group; 'The Lady in Red' returns

Exceptional balance.

Quick feet.

Explosive movements.

Above-average strength in relation to size.

Mat awareness.

Flexibility.

Those are some of the physical qualities that begin to emerge in young wrestlers to indicate their potential.

Now add some attitude to the mix along with, and this is vital, a quality head coach and you have the recipe for mat success.

Six men who know all about success and helped develop many talented young wrestlers were honored Sunday in Countryside at a recognition banquet.

Quality describes all six who were praised for their lifetime service to the sport of wrestling as competitors, coaches and ambassadors.

Jim Cartwright (Conant), Rick Mann (Hersey) Ron Bessemer (Palatine/Harper College), Joe Cliffe (DeKalb), Larry Gassen (Downers Grove), and Dale Pierre (Wheaton) make up the 2007 class of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Illinois Chapter. Their names will be displayed at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla.

Cartwright, Mann and Bessemer are familiar names in the Daily Herald's Northwest suburban area.

• Jim Cartwright, who was an outstanding wrestler at East Leyden High School under the direction of Hall of Famer Chuck Farina, continued to star on the mat at Triton Jr. College and Illinois State University.

After graduating from ISU, he came to Conant High School and didn't leave for 34 years. During his tenure as head coach at Conant, Cartwright's teams won 425 dual meets, 21 Mid-Suburban division titles and 17 overall MSL crowns.

Cartwright's Cougars were ranked in the top 10 in Illinois 14 times and nationally twice, won 15 regional and 5 sectional championships and in the last year of team tournament scoring, Conant finished second to Marist in the IHSA finals.

He coached 8 state champs and 9 high school All-Americans and is in the Illinois Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame (IWCOA), also receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cartwright has helped the sport in many ways, running camps and clinics and serving as a coach in international and national competition. He helped as a wrestling venue volunteer at the 1996 Olympic Games and served as floor manager of the Midlands Wrestling Tournament and on the Board of Directors of the National Coaches Association.

• Rick Mann was captain of both his football and wrestling teams at Morton East High School, qualifying for state on the mat, and continued his wrestling career at Illinois State, winning two conference championships and reaching the nationals as the ISU captain.

Mann arrived at Hersey High School in 1969 as an assistant to IWCOA Hall of Famer Tom Porter, and the Huskies won back-to-back state titles in 1971-72.

Mann took over the Hersey program in 1973 and remained as head coach until his retirement in 2002, winning 7 MSL titles, 6 regionals and 4 sectionals.

Mann-led teams won over 300 dual meets and qualified over 40 wrestlers to the state finals, including 1 state champ and 3 silver medalists.

Mann also has helped the sport as host to various wrestling events and as a coach with national teams. He was the Technology Director in 1984 of the Olympic wrestling venue and received special recognition from the Commissioner for his Outstanding Contribution to the Sport of Wrestling.

The IWCOA inducted Mann into its Hall of Fame in 1993 and in 2005 presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

• Ron Bessemer, a 1955 graduate of Palatine High School, had an outstanding career on the mat before starting his coaching career at Illinois State.

He went to Oregon to guide a high school team to second in the state and then returned to Illinois to direct the newly created wrestling program at Harper College, a program that eventually rated as high as fourth in the nation.

Bessemer started the wrestling program at St. Louis Community College in Florissant Valley, Mo., and then held administrative high school jobs in the state of Washington before retiring.

He has been a strong advocate of the sport of wrestling as a coach and official and is in the Washington and Illinois wrestling Hall of Fames.

'The Lady in Red'

The encore presentation of "The Lady in Red" is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Forest View Educational Center, 2121 S. Goebbert Road, Arlington Heights.

The documentary film by The Sullivan Group celebrates the history of Arlington Heights and Arlington High School and was first presented in June.

"The premiere sold out quickly, and the response was so enthusiastic that we felt the community was anxious for a second opportunity to see the film," said Mike Field, director of District 214 Community Education. "It became more of a homecoming or reunion than a film screening."

Tickets are $10 ($8 for Gold Card Club members), and they may be reserved by calling (847) 718-7702 through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets also are available in the District 214 Community Education office at the Forest View Educational Center during the same hours.

DVDs of the film will be available at these screenings.

Football

Peter Spachner (Hersey) has a team-leading 3 touchdown receptions for John Carroll University. He had 6 receptions for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns against Marietta and pulled in 7 passes for 88 yards with an 18-yard TD against Muskingum.

Diving

Senior Katie Janonis (Hersey) of Illinois State University was named Missouri Valley Conference Diver of the Week. She also received the award last season.

Softball

Stevenson (No. 3), Buffalo Grove (No. 12) and Barrington (No. 25) have been ranked by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) as among the top academic high school softball programs in the country.

The weighted grades show Stevenson's softball team coached by Larry Friedrichs with a combined 3.915 GPA, Buffalo Grove coached by Laura Stock with a 3.792 and Barrington coached by Perry Peterson with 3.625.

The NFCA honors both the high school and collegiate softball teams for their success in the classroom and playing field.

Basketball

The Palatine Boys Feeder Basketball Program will conduct tryouts for its 6th- , 7th- and 8th-grade teams at the following times:

6th grade -- Saturday, Nov. 3, 12-2 p.m., North Shelf, Palatine High School; Thursday, Nov. 8, 7-9 p.m., Winston Campus, Main Gym; Sunday, Nov. 11, 12-2 p.m., North Shelf, Palatine High School.

7th grade -- Saturday, Nov. 3, 12-2 p.m., South Shelf, Palatine High School; Thursday, Nov. 8, 7-9 p.m., Winston Campus, Main Gym; Sunday, Nov. 11, 12-2 p.m., South Shelf, Palatine High School.

8th grade -- Saturday, Nov. 3, 2-4 p.m., South Shelf, Palatine High School; Wednesday, Nov. 7, 8-9:30 p.m., Main Gym, Palatine High School; Sunday, Nov. 11, 2-4 p.m., South Shelf, Palatine High School.

Boys are encouraged to attend all three tryouts. They are open to boys who live in the Palatine High School boundaries and plan to attend Palatine.

For more information, call Steve Herbst at (847) 776-7421 or visit the team Web site at www.phsfeeder.com.