Ahern, Theuerkauf leaving their marks
Geneva’s Ryan Ahern put his best foot forward to help those in need.
Hitting on the idea of a shoe drive in January, the senior hurdler on the Vikings’ boys track team has so far donated 400 pairs of shoes to recipients from Mooseheart and Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS) — with another 150-odd pair in his basement, ready to walk out the door.
“I knew I’d be graduating this year and I’d be going away, and I just wanted to do something good for the community before I left,” said Ahern, who cruised to victory in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles races last Saturday at Batavia’s Les Hodge Meet.
“What originally gave me the idea is through track and cross country I feel I’ve taken a lot from being an athlete over the years. It helped me with school. I’ve enjoyed it. I wanted to help promote that for other, less-privileged kids,” Ahern said.
The drive will continue Saturday at Geneva’s annual Mike VanDeveer Invitational. Ahern asked Vikings boys coach Gale Gross to spread the word, and Gross sent emails to coaches of participating teams at the coed meet.
“We’re going to put out bins Saturday morning and see what happens,” said Ahern’s proud mother, Carrie.
First brainstorming the idea with his father, Bob, who has a contact in the PADS administration, Ryan Ahern has collected shoes from donators within Geneva High, Heartland Elementary School and St. Peter Catholic Church in Geneva.
He also approached the owners of Giesche Shoes of Geneva and Geneva Running Outfitters. They just so happened to have a cache of shoes in the back that, whether out of style or bearing a minor defect, were donation-ready.
The shoe drive initially targeted athletic shoes but has since incorporated all types. Large or small, business or casual, men’s, women’s or kids’, they all can be found sorted in the Aherns’ basement ready for delivery.
“There’s really a much greater need than we thought there was,” said Ryan, who plans on studying aerospace engineering. “So we just kind of expanded to collect everything.”
Ahern told a story of his father’s PADS connection, Michael Cobb, pulling up to the distribution area in a van loaded with shoes. A worker asked if he was “the shoe guy.” Cobb said yes, he had a bunch of them.
“The guy’s face lit up,” Ryan said.
The feeling Ahern gets from this project might rival crossing the finish line first.
“We’ve helped a lot of people so far,” Ahern said, “and it’s pretty cool to hear how big of a difference it’s making.”
Catching up with... Haleigh Theuerkauf
At an indoor track meet March 12 at Batavia’s dandy new field house, Bulldogs junior Haleigh Theuerkauf chucked the shot put 42 feet, 6½ inches, the farthest mark in Batavia girls track history. It was more than 2 feet over Tricia Porch’s throw of 40-4½ back in 1988, the longest-lasting record on Batavia’s books along with a Porch discus throw. Theuerkauf’s 42-footer was nearly 4 feet farther than her best throw in a 10th-place effort at the 2010 Class 3A state meet, and helped build confidence for a second trip to the 3A finals. Theuerkauf, who moved to Batavia from her native Naperville before fourth grade, is a three-sport varsity athlete (volleyball, basketball, track) and the middle of three sisters; older sister Blaire will be playing volleyball at Augustana.The Western Sun Conference#146;s 2010 shot put and discus champion, the well-rounded Haleigh is a three-time Academic All-Conference athlete who undertakes community service efforts with her church youth group, and last year earned nomination to attend a 10-day medical leadership conference at University of Illinois-Chicago. That#146;s where we#146;ll start.Q: Do you have any career goals at this early stage?
A: I plan on going to college then going to medical school to become a radiologist or treating cancer patients.
Q: When did you start out in athletics?
A: I started playing sports when I was really young. I got involved in almost every sport. I started playing basketball in the third grade and I started track in middle school. I didn#146;t really get involved in volleyball until my freshman year but I really like it and wish I started earlier.
Q: What do you enjoy about the sports you compete in?
A: I like being part of a team, supporting each other and meeting the new girls each year. I#146;ve made some really good friends through all the sports I play. Track is different from the other sports as you are always trying to better your personal records, but in the end they are all team sports.
Q: Which is the most grueling sport for you?
A: Basketball is very tiring because of all the conditioning we have to do to be in shape to play games, but each sport has its own difficulty for me.
Q: What#146;s been your biggest thrill on the court in volleyball and basketball?
A: For me it would have to be when someone gets blocked or stuffed. It#146;s a great feeling knowing you denied a point.
Q: Is one sport more mentally taxing?
A: I feel that for me track is my most mentally difficult sport because you don#146;t really have a team to depend on for the outcome. You have a team to support you, which is very nice, but throwing is all mental for me and if I#146;m not mentally there I won#146;t do well that meet.
Q: Did it feel #147;different#148; when you threw the shot put 42 feet?
A: I honestly couldn#146;t tell the feeling of anything being different when I threw 42 because when I throw I just clear my head and don#146;t worry about what I just did until I hear the word, #147;mark.#148;
Q: How were your nerves last year as a sophomore reaching the 3A finals in shot put?
A: Going downstate last year was very exciting for me but I definitely think that the nerves got the best of me on the day of finals. I saw how good all the other girls were and it made me think too much about what I had to do and I just couldn#146;t pull out a good number.
Q: How did last year#146;s state experience help you entering this year?
A: I think the experience going downstate last year helped me overcome my nerves of big meets and gave me a good opportunity to go up against great throwers that I don#146;t usually see.
Q: What are your goals this outdoor season?
A: To officially beat the school record for both shot and discus (Porch, 40-5frac12; and 129-3, respectively). I would like to throw around 43 or 44 feet consistently and in discus throw about 120s and get my spin down.
Q: Finally, and off the beaten path, what#146;s your favorite holiday?
A: It would have to be Christmas, because it#146;s a time to just hang out with the family and not have to worry about school.
Now for something completely different
We can now say this column#146;s had just about everything...
As a fundraiser and a means of building camaraderie, over the next two weekends all three levels of the St. Charles North girls soccer program will be shoveling and bagging alpaca droppings for sale as fertilizer.
The parents of one of the varsity players, junior Lauren Koehl, have a farm that raises the animal, native to South America and in the camel family. Among the wonderful alpaca#146;s byproducts are the aforementioned droppings, which can be used as fertilizers for gardens and flower beds.
#147;The girls all giggle and give a little, #145;Ooh, are we really doing this?#146;#148; said Julie Dusek, who is with the St. Charles North girls soccer boosters and has a junior daughter, Carleigh, on the squad. (Older daughter Paige, now at Drake, was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team this past season.)
#147;So many of the fundraisers these days are parents doing all the work,#148; Julie Dusek said. #147;The neat things about this that were really attractive is the girls were involved...(and) the other key, obviously, is 100 percent of the sales go directly to the boosters.#148;
The freshmen and junior varsity #147;will be shoveling#148; this Saturday and Sunday at the Koehl#146;s #147;Inspiration Farm,#148; 6N925 Glenview Drive, St. Charles; from 9 a.m.-noon next Saturday, April 24, it#146;s the varsity#146;s turn. Thirty-pound bags cost $10. The plan is to have people pre-order the stuff, but Dusek said those interested may go straight to the farm. For information, she can be reached at (847) 682-9425.
#147;We#146;re all learning a little bit more about alpaca poo than we ever thought we would,#148; she said.
doberhelman@dailyherald.com