Palatine ready to honor Hall of Famers

Palatine High School will introduce the latest inductees to its Hall of Fame as part of Friday night's homecoming festivities.

The Pirates will first host a reception for the three inductees beginning at 6 p.m. at the north end of Chic Anderson Stadium.

Then, at halftime of the varsity game against Fremd, the inductees will be introduced during a ceremony on the football field.

The inductees are:

Steve Currins: If a girl at Palatine High School decided to run cross country or track and field, she was going to be guaranteed two things: she would be part of a winning team, and she was going to be well-coached. The main reason was she would be under the tutelage of coach Steve Currins. For 19 years, Currins led his cross country and track and field teams to new heights and made them perennial state powers. In cross country as well as track and field, Currins' accomplishments are staggering: Four state team championships, 11 state trophies, 32 sectional titles, 19 regional titles and over 50 conference titles. More than 80 athletes coached by Currins achieved all-state honors, including 20 state champions. Coach Currins was inducted into the Illinois Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame in 1997. He has earned six Illinois Coach of the Year honors and was a finalist for the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Girls Track Coach of the Year in 2002. Anthony Attiah: Attiah is one of the most accomplished swimmers in state history. He made his impact right away as a freshman at Palatine and continued his impressive run all the way through the Olympic trials.Attiah was all-conference all four years while at Palatine. He was also a conference champion six times, sectional champ seven times, and a state qualifier 11 times. He was a state finalist nine times and a two-time state champion in the 100 breaststroke, in 1992 and '93. Attiah was named Palatine's Male Athlete of the Year in 1993. After continuing his swimming career at Ohio State University, Anthony became a national champion. He was an eight-time national qualifier and also set a junior national record in the 100-meter breaststroke. Attiah qualified for the Olympic trials and was a multiple qualifier and finalist in the senior nationals. Looking to give back to the sport in which he excelled, Attiah became a swim instructor as well as a lifeguard.endeared him to his coaches and teammates.Rich Pietrini: Rich Pietrini coached softball, baseball and lacrosse at Palatine High School, but he will be most remembered for his success as a head wrestling coach. During his nine years as coach, Pietrini's teams were 141-40-1, for a winning percentage of 77 percent. His teams won the MSL championship five times and the district team championship three times. During his tenure, coach Pietrini helped 17 wrestlers qualify for the state meet and had seven of those wrestlers place. His teams twice won the Berman Holiday Tournament, which is considered the most prestigious wrestling tournament in the state.What made coach Pietrini a great coach was his ability to relate to his athletes. Whether it was an inspirational story, his sense of humor, or his passion for the sport itself, Pietrini's wrestlers would do anything for him and were always prepared for battle. After retiring from coaching, Pietrini continued to give back by being a mainstay at Palatine sporting events.