Crystal Lake Central High School Class of 2021

Graduates in the Class of 2021: 340

Top 10 Highest honors graduates: Faith C. Gancayco, Thomas S. Landt, Max C. Kanellopoulos, Lily F. Sternberg, Emma N. Bolanowski, Christianna M. Dalton, Nicholas Gawart, Michelle G. Franzen, Meera U. Karthi, Ella G. Schuch

Senior/Graduation Speakers: Jordyn St. John, Viviana Galindo, Elizabeth Berg, Quinn Welder

Class Officers: Kyla Schwager, Noah Blome, Nadia Koch, Sara Heffernan

National Honor Society President: Quinn Welder

Illinois State Scholars: Ryan Atkinson, Zachary Bach, Carter Bechtel, Joshua Belousek, Haley Benard, Emma Bolanowski, Gavin Boos, Delaney Carlson, Christianna Dalton, Phoenix DeVries, Iona Dillon, Mary Douglas, Magnus Duran, Michelle Franzen, Viviana Galindo, Faith Gancayco, Nicholas Gawart, Colin Hehn, Max Kanellopoulos, Meera Karthi, Nadia Koch, Thomas Landt, Giselle Lemke, Kelsey Limbach, Sam MacKeben, Matthew McClellan, Madeline McCormick, Montana Murphy, Lesly Ortiz, Sreetej Ponnam, Henry Ryerson, Steven Schmidt, Ella Schuch, Karina Simatos, Jordyn St. John, Madeline Timmerman, Ryan Van Witzenburg, Brendan Wadin, Quinn Welder, Ashley Whittington, Bailey Wydra, Henry Yentsch, Joseph Zachary.

Extracurricular achievements:

• 9th Annual Illinois High School Art Exhibition: Erin Ruddy, Liam Prendergast and Samuel Schauer received more than $396,000 in scholarships.

• Samuel Schauer won the IHSAE/ArtConnectEd Visionary Award.

• Illinois Music Education Association Honors Chorus: All-State Choir: Annabelle Guss, soprano; Jordyn St. John, alto; Quinn Welder, tenor; All-State Band: Elizabeth Pierzina, Flute

• Math Team: Joshua Belousek, Kelsey Limbach, Max Kanellopoulos, Michelle Franzen, Phoenix Devries

• Math Team, Scholastic Bowl: Faith Gancayco, Henry Yentsch, Noah Blome, Steven Schmidt

• Scholastic Bowl: Jackson Buckler, Magnus Duran, Meera Karthi

Athletic achievements:

Fox Valley Conference Academic All Conference Honors

• Baseball: Edward Hartman Jr, Jackson Noonan, Nicholas Zebell

• Basketball: Alec Zumski, Michael Borchert, Nicholas Gawart, Owen Cassell

• Basketball, Baseball: Jack Swichtenberg, Ryan Van Witzenburg

• Basketball, Soccer: Emma Bolanowski

• Cheerleading: Delaney Carlson, Samantha Korn

• Cross Country: Giselle Lemke, Ryan Atkinson

• Cross Country, Swimming: Matthew McClellan

• Cross Country, Tennis: Joel Brickey

• Cross Country, Track: Kylie Smith, Noah Blome, Thomas Landt

• Dance Team: Christianna Dalton, Jessica Korn, Julia Rosenberger, Katelyn Dowling, Skylar Schulz

• Football: Alan Zukowski, Brendan Wadin, Zachary Stricker, Gavin Boos

• Football, Basketball: Connor Bartesch

• Golf: Renata Petersen

• Lacrosse: Nadia Koch

• Soccer: Julia Barrick, Melany Mendez, Mia Pfeifer

• Softball: Ana Karen Salinas, Baylee Snell

• Swimming: Meera Karthi

• Tennis: Alexandria Holtkamp, Delaney Landt, Ellen McGinnis, Ellyse Cruz, Henry Yentsch, Jackson Buckler, Sten Shuman

• Tennis, Basketball, Soccer: Nora Ryan

• Tennis, Soccer: Elizabeth Berg, Katherine Hopkins

• Tennis, Volleyball: Karina Simatos

• Track: Kaitlyn Cicatello, Lauren Kolodziej, Sam Mackeben

• Volleyball: Madeline McCormick, Madeline Timmerman

• Cheerleading: IHSA State Finals 2021 8th Place

• Dance Team: IHSA State Finals 2021 13th Place

Theater productions:

• Musical: "Working"

• Spring Play: "The Laramie Project"

What were the most significant challenges faced by the Class of 2021 and how did they overcome them?

This class has handled seven school-day schedule changes in one year, along with remote and hybrid learning. There were many changes in sports seasons and extracurricular schedules, among them "Spring Coming" and Football in April 2021 instead of in the fall. CLC's "Working" musical was professionally recorded and livestreamed as a show, rather than having an in person audience.

Principal's reflections on the Class of 2021:

People say they are worried about kids in general because of the last fifteen months, but I'm of the opinion that this graduating class is a special group of young adults who have handled this past year with greatness. What they have done is inspiring to us all. Someone once said that "The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them." It's safe to say that this year we have experienced much more than a stumbling block. But the CL Central Class of 2021 stepped up and stepped well beyond our circumstances.

- Principal Eric Ernd