Wheeling sends foursome to Hall of Fame
This Friday night, the newest members of the Wheeling High School Hall of Fame will be honored at halftime of the varsity boys basketball game against visiting Rolling Meadows.
The four honorees are Jon A. Hittman, Betty O'Connor, Mark Saylor and Amy Siegel.
A reception will follow in the school cafeteria after the game.
Here is a brief look at four inductees.
Jon Hittman: He was an outstanding athlete and coach at Wheeling, playing football and baseball for four years and swimming for two years. He was named to the all-conference football team his junior and senior year and named team captain as a senior.
Hittman was named to the all-conference baseball team as a junior year. He was also the embodiment of the student athlete, graduating in the top ten of his class and member of the National Honor Society. He attended Northwestern on a football scholarship, after which he returned to District 214 as a teacher and coach. From 1979 to 1982,
Hittman was the head football coach at Wheeling.
His teams were very competitive in the MSL and in 1981 he was named the Mid-Suburban League Coach of the Year.
At Northwestern, Hittman was a threeyear letterman in football. He was selected to play in the American Bowl in 1971.
He spent 13 years teaching and coaching in District 214.
Betty O'Conor: O'Conor was one of the most involved and supportive parents at Wheeling.
From 1976 to 1987, she was a fixture at many athletic events, attending golf matches, swim meets, track and field meets, basketball games, tennis matches, badminton matches, baseball games, and football games watching her seven children compete for Wheeling.
In addition to supporting her children, she was a key member for the Wildcat Spur Club, the athletic booster club. She helped organize fundraisers, coordinated team pictures, sold concessions, and helped establish the hospitality room at the Hardwood Classic as the best in the state.
O'Connor was also a board member on the Wheeling Instrumental League. In 1983, she received the Township High School District 214 Distinguished Service to Secondary Education Award. Betty was also chosen as the parent representative for Wheeling High School at the National Seminar for Community Leadership.
Mark Saylor: Saylor spent 35 years teaching and coaching boys and girls cross country and track.
In cross country, he helped make Wheeling's program one of the best in the state with a combined girls and boys record of 145-65.
Saylor coached numerous conference, regional, and sectional runners while guiding nine runners to all-state finishes and five to individual state championships.
In 2001, his girls team finished second in the IHSA state cross country meet.
His 1997 boys team finished third in the state and his 1998 boys cross country team won the state championship.
In track and field, his teams were also among the best in the state winning 242 meets during his tenure. He coached 166 state qualifiers, 56 state medal winners and eight individual state champions.
His teams won 12 Mid Suburban League championships, including a record 11 in a row from 1979 to 1989.
The Wildcats also finished second at the IHSA state meet three consecutive years from 1985-1987.
He taught physical education and driver education for 35 years in addition to being a part of the Wheeling football chain gang for 18 years.
He also served as the voice of the Wildcats, announcing every home basketball game for 31 years.
At the state and national level, Saylor garnered many accolades for his coaching. He was a fivetime Illinois Track and Cross Country Coach of the Year.
Saylor served as the president of the Illinois Track and Cross Country Association, coached Team Illinois at the Midwest Meet of Champions, and was the head coach of the North Shore Region Women's track and field team at the Prairie State Games. In 1997, Mark was inducted into the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Amy Siegel: Siegel was an outstanding cross country and track athlete at Wheeling. She was a two-time conference and regional cross country champion and a three-time all-state runner.
In 1989, Siegel finished eighth in the IHSA Class AA meet, and in 1990 and 1991 she finished second.
She was a three-time all-conference and sectional track and field champion.
Seigel was also a four-time state medalist.
At the 1990 track and field state meet, she medaled two times with a fifth-place finish in the 1,600-meter run and second-place effort in the 3,200-meter run.
In 1991 Siegel also medaled twice, taking second in the 1600 meter run, and winning the 3,200 meter run.
Siegel competed in both sports on a full scholarship at Notre Dame.
Women's basketball
Loras sophomore Kelly Rogowski (Hersey) scored the game-winning basket in the Duhawks' 56-55 win over No. 19 Coe.
Rogowski took off from the top of the key and drove to the basket, getting an off-balance layup from the right side to go down with just 20 seconds remaining.
Rogowski finished with 6 points and 3 assists.
Loras owns sole possession of fourth place in the Illinois Iowa Athletic Conference at 8-6 and is 12-11 overall.
Ÿ Lake Forest freshman guard Sam Acosta (Maine West) made four 3-pointers and scored a season-high 12 points as the Foresters posted a 70-68 come-from-behind victory over visiting Monmouth College.
Men's track and field
Arthur Baptist (Prospect), a senior at the University of Chicago, placed fourth in the 3,000-meter race at the Chicagoland Championships indoor track and field meet at North Central College. He had a personal-best time of 8.40.59 minutes.
Ÿ North Central freshman Pat Lesiewicz (Schaumburg) ran a season best 8:52.09 to finish third in the 3,000-meter run of the Wisconsin-Whitewater Invitational.
The Cardinals finished second in a field that included six of the NCAA Division III's top 16 teams.
Illinois Magic
The Illinois Magic has announced its Spring AAU basketball tryout dates. The program is under the direction of former Barrington and Crystal Lake South head coach Marty Dello.
The Illinois Magic will have over 500 players in four states wearing its uniform. There will be new locations forming in Libertyville, Niles, and Schaumburg.
For questions or information go to www.magicbball.org or call Coach Dello at (847) 594-4038.
Recruitment Nights
Grayslake Central High School will host the 2nd Annual College Football Recruitment Night on Wednesday, May 4.
Also, Lemont High School will host its ninth annual College Football Recruitment Night on Thursday, May 5.
The Football Recruitment Nights are designed to provide an opportunity for college coaches to discuss the recruitment class of 2012 with the North & South suburban high school football coaches (Grayslake for North suburbs, Lemont for south suburbs).
Each high school football coach will be asked to bring 100 copies of a list of players graduating in 2012. The information should include academic and physical information such as height, weight, position, GPA, SAT and/or ACT scores, class rank, 40-yard speed, strength measurements and/or statistics from last year.
Cost is $20 for college coaches. There is no cost for high school coaches. The event will begin at 6 p.m.
Food and refreshments will provided by Grayslake Central and Lemont High School.
Any questions should be directed to Brent Pitt at (847) 986-3300 ext. 5638.
IHSA television
The Illinois High School Association and NBC Chicago announced a broadcast partnership for the high school girls and boys basketball state finals.
The complete schedule of semifinal, third-place and state championship games will be seen on Chicago Non Stop (Digital Channel 5.2, Comcast 341, WOW 50 and RSN 131) beginning at the end of February.
“Since we launched our Chicago Non Stop digital channel last November we continue to look for programming that is uniquely Chicago and serves our local communities,” said Larry Wert, President, Central & Western Region, NBC Local Media. “The IHSA state championships are a great event to televise for high school basketball fans throughout our viewing area.”
The girls finals are at Redbird Arena in Normal on Feb. 25-26 (1A/2A) and March 4-5 (3A/4A). The scene then shifts to Peoria's Civic Center, where the boys championship unfolds at Carver Arena on March 11-12 (1A/2A) and March 18-19 (3A/4A).
Bears camps
This summer, the Chicago Bears will offer 27 non-contact football camps in 23 Illinois communities. Each five-day camp runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All programs provide football instruction, athletic skill development, fitness and agility training.
The camps will feature former Bears such as Robin Earl, Allan Ellis, Kris Haines and Mickey Pruitt.
The camp cost is $389 with early registration discounts available. For more information, visit www.BearsCamps.com or call 312-226-7776.