Wheeling set to induct Hall of Famers

It’s been six years since the inaugural class was inducted into the Wheeling High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

This Saturday, the 2012 class will be honored at approximately 6:30 p.m. at halftime of Wheeling’s boys basketball game against Buffalo Grove.

Inductees are Evelyn Mendralla (athletic administrative assistant), Dean Manus (athlete), Jeff Vanyek (athlete) and Dave Watters (coach).

The varsity game starts at 6 p.m. and a reception will be held in the cafeteria following the Mid-Suburban East contest.

Here is a closer look at the four inductees.

Evelyn Mendralla: Mendralla served as the administrative assistant to the athletic director at Wheeling High School for 29 years. She was also the assistant for the Physical Education, Health and Driver Education division. She began her career in the fall of 1966 and retired after the 1996 school year. As the sole assistant in the athletic department, Mendralla had many responsibilities. She assisted the sports coordinators, tracked athletic eligibility, assisted coaches, and communicated with other area schools regarding contests. Mendralla was also the face of Wheeling athletics. She always greeted parents, officials, visiting schools and vendors with a smile. For 29 years, she was the backbone of the Wheeling athletic program. Her diligence, organizational skills, and outgoing personality helped countless coaches, parents, and student athletes have a positive experience.

Dr. Dean Manus: Dr. Manus (1976-1979) was a Mid-Suburban League all-around, district and sectional champion, winning five medals in state gymnastics meets. In 1978, he was the state champ on parallel bars and named a high school All-American. He received a full athletic scholarship to Oregon and remains the all-time high scoring record holder on the parallel bars for the Ducks. He later competed with Michigan and received numerous Big Ten Conference awards. Dr. Manus is now a practicing plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California and frequently appears on NBC’s “The Today Show” providing expert commentary, and has been regularly featured on E! Entertainment’s “Dr. 90210,” “Extreme Hollywood,” and numerous other internationally syndicated programs. Viewers in more than 120 countries worldwide have now seen Dr. Manus performing surgery.

Jeff Vanyek: Vanyek was also an All-American gymnast at Wheeling. He was a four-year varsity letter winner and 12-time medalist at the Mid Suburban League meet. He was the 1978 state champ on still rings and earned Wheeling’s “Male Athlete of the Year” in 1979.

He received a full athletic scholarship to Arizona State and was a two-time NCAA Pacific Ten Conference medalist. Vanyek is a teacher in Arizona and coaches at a local gymnastics academy. He has trained two athletes who medaled at the Men’s Gymnastics World Championships and one athlete who was an Olympic medalist.

Dave Watters: Watters spent 31 years teaching at Wheeling and served as the head boy’s gymnastics coach for 16 seasons. The three-time “Mid-Suburban League Coach of the Year” won eight division championships, five Mid-Suburban League championships, seven regionals, five sectionals and sent seven teams to the state finals (two fourths, one third and one runner-up). Dave also had six of his teams gain recognition as a National Gymnastics Association All-American Team. Watters taught health education for 31 years and earned the District 214 Excellence in Education Award and was named the District 214 Health Teacher of the Year. In his retirement, Watters runs a cabinet making business and he is responsible for the beautiful Hall of Fame display at Wheeling.

Women’s basketball

DePaul freshman Megan Rogowski (Hersey) went 5-for-11 from 3-point range and finished with 15 points in the Blue Demons’ 86-83 win over visiting Pittsburgh. DePaul (15-3) improved to 3-1 in the Big East.

Rogowski’s 5 3-pointers and 11 attempts were both career-highs.

She also recorded her first career block.

Ÿ Junior Forward Ashley Wilson (Wheeling) helped lead Hannibal-LaGrange (7-4) to a 60-47 victory over Haskell Indian Nations at the First Community Bank Classic hosted by the College of the Ozarks. The 6-foot Wilson scored 12 points and also came away with 6 rebounds.

Men’s cross country

Nick Penev (Schaumburg) was recently named an Academic All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honoree as a runner for North Central College. North Central won the national title this season and Penev competed in four races, highlighted by a 15th-place finish at the CCIW Open meet (27:19).

Football

Lake Forest junior wide receiver Austin Sobey (Prospect) broke the school receiving touchdown record this year with 13 touchdowns.

Professional Soccer

Former Notre Dame midfielder Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove) re-signed with Women’s Professional Soccer’s Philadelphia Independence.

Buczkowski was named to the 2011 WPS Best XI and was named the team’s 2011 Ironwoman after logging every minute of the 18-game regular season last year.

She has played the past two seasons with the Independence after opening her WPS career with the 2009 WPS champion Sky Blue FC of New Jersey.

Buczkowski was selected by Philadelphia in the first round (third overall) of the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft.

In two seasons with the Independence, Buczkowski has started in 38 of 41 games played, logging 3,428 minutes and contributing an assist in 2010. In 2011, the Independence advanced to the WPS Championship and played the Western New York Flash to a 1-1 draw through regulation. But the Flash took home the crown, winning a 5-4 shootout.

Men’s basketball

Junior Kevin Reed (Prospect) is the third-leading scorer for Illinois Wesleyan with 10.2 points a game. The 6-7 post is also averaging 6.3 rebounds.

Ÿ Senior Brian DeSimone (Buffalo Grove) leads Augustana in assists and steals and is averaging 7 points a game.

Familiar face in town

Former Buffalo Grove standout Allison Guth, who helped lead Tom Dineen’s Bison to the 2000 Class AA state championship at Illinois State, was recognized by McDonald’s Shootout director Jim O’Boye last Saturday in Villa Park.

Guth, an assistant coach for Yale, was scouting at the Shootout which features some of the top players in the state each year. Guth played in the event in 1999 for Buffalo Grove.

Before joining the Yale staff, Guth was previously DePaul’s Director of Basketball Operations, handling the Blue Demon summer camps, video exchange, scouting and on-campus recruiting. In her two seasons, coach Doug Bruno’s Blue Demons reached the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

Guth, who played for Illinois and helped the Illini reach the 2003 NCAA tourney, started her coaching career as an assistant at Loyola-Chicago from 2005-07. She also served as recruiting coordinator with the Ramblers and worked with backcourt players.

Ÿ Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com or FAX to (847) 427-1173.