Hitting the 500 mark a program thing for Glenbard N.

There is no ‘I' in mat.

Glenbard North wrestling coach Mark Hahn is a program man, first, foremost and always.

The fact that he's shooting for his 500th dual meet victory Thursday against West Aurora, which would make him one of only six prep coaches in Illinois to reach that threshold, leaves him excited almost exclusively with the big picture.

“I think the program says it more,” Hahn said of a Panthers wrestling squad that has an all-time dual meet record of 787-187-7 since it debuted in 1968-69.

“Right now the significance doesn't mean much. It's another win. But the program itself has sustained success since the school opened,” said Hahn, who in 24 years since succeeding Illinois and national hall of famer Bob Fulk has recorded a mess of big-time stats on top of his dual meet record of 499-101-2.

A 2006 inductee into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame, Hahn has produced 109 DuPage Valley Conference champions, 49 state place-winners and 14 state champions, including two youngsters added to his coaching staff in 2009, Joe Gomez and Tyler Williams.

Hahn's DVC record of 154-8-1 includes 16 conference championships, including the last 12 straight, and he's won 11 sectionals.

One mat source said the 2010-11 squad may be as good as Hahn's ever had. This summer, sophomore 140-pounder Brian Murphy became the first Glenbard North wrestler in the program's 41-year history to win a Cadet Freestyle title at the National Championships in Fargo, N.D.

Returning 125-pound state champ Joey Gosinski and fellow Panthers Brayan Gonzalez, Cris Gonzalez and Zack Durkee qualified for Nationals as well.

Hahn may lead the Panthers program, but he sounds like feels it's a joint ownership operation along with the athletes on the mat and his assistant coaches.

Ever since he succeeded Fulk he's been accompanied by Jeff Cherry and Kent Garrett. His current staff also includes Jim Considine, Chris Edwards, Tony LiFonti, Pat Harris and Jeff Edwards, along with 2009 additions Tony Savegnano, Williams and Gomez.

“I've been blessed with some real loyal and talented assistants. We've got a bunch of them, and they take as much pride in the program as I do,” said Hahn, a Glenbard North physical education teacher who was a senior classmate and teammate of Class AA 185-pound champion Geno Savegnano in 1977.

“That really helps, and we've had great families that came in and wrestled, really worked hard and believe in the program and got the program where it is today.”

By no means is Hahn counting his 500th win before it hatches Thursday night against DVC rival West Aurora, at the Panthers' lair in Carol Stream.

Should it happen if not, Glenbard North hosts Wheaton North on Friday when asked what this major accomplishment means to him, Hahn is bound to repeat the first thing he said on the phone for this story.

“It means I'm old, that's what it means,” he said. “You stay around long enough, you're going to accumulate some wins.”

Hitting for the cycle

All five seniors on the White Sox Training Academy Under-18 fastpitch softball team, based in Lisle, signed letters of intent to play in college.

West Chicago's Mary Connolly (DePaul), Wheaton Warrenville South's Timmie Rappe (Ohio), Benet's Mikayla Panko (Massachusetts), Wheaton North's Kelsey Ullrich (Lewis) and Minooka's Aly Zembruski (Northern Iowa) all signed in November.

Color-coded cancer kickers

North Central College wrestlers have taken the wearing of pink garments to raise cancer awareness to a different, multicolored level.

In addition to the pink “Fear the Bird” T-shirts sold at home wrestling meets proceeds going to the American Cancer Society Cardinals are wearing shoelaces of a different color.

Thus, in an effort to raise awareness of different types of cancer, they're strapping on pink laces (breast cancer), gray laces (brain cancer), white laces (bone cancer), green laces (kidney cancer), and so forth and so on.

Each North Central wrestler also was responsible for securing pledges from individuals or businesses to donate a certain amount for each pin and victory during the months of November and December. That money too will go to the American Cancer Society.