Wheeling set to honor its 2019 hall of fame class

Former legends of Wheeling High School will have their night Friday at their alma mater.

Beth Anderson, Marc Burns and the late Jim Golden are being inducted into the Class of 2019 Athletic Hall of Fame.

The ceremony will begin at approximately 8:15 p.m. at halftime of the girls' basketball game against Elk Grove.

A reception will be held in the cafeteria after the game.

Here is a look at the most recent inductees:

Beth Anderson: Anderson enters the hall as athlete/coach/administrative assistant after having a tremendously positive impact in all three areas for more than 35 years.

She was a four-year, three-sport athlete excelling in volleyball, basketball and softball at Wheeling.

Anderson earned nine varsity letters and was a member of two regional basketball championship teams and one regional volleyball championship team.

In softball, she was an all-conference selection and school record holder in season and career home runs.

After graduating from Luther College, Anderson returned to Wheeling where she greatly impacted the athletic program and the school.

She served as a certified athletic trainer for 30 years and worked as a physical education assistant and pool supervisor. She coached softball for 10 years, bowling for 16 years and was the athletic administrative assistant for 22 years.

Anderson won the Principal's Award for her contributions to Wheeling. As the administrative assistant, Anderson was the face of Wheeling athletics.

Marc Burns: Burns was an outstanding cross country and track and field athlete. He was a two-time IHSA state qualifier in cross county, finishing 26th in the 1984 state meet to help Wheeling to a third-place team finish.

Burns was also the 1985 Mid-Suburban League individual champion and helped Wheeling win the conference meet. He also finished second at sectionals that year and Wheeling was the sectional champion.

In track and field, Burns was a two-time state qualifier (1985 and 1986) in the 3,200-meter run. He also qualified for the 1,600-meter run and 1,600-meter relay in 1986.

Burns went on to run for Loyola University in Chicago where he was a two-time NCAA Division I all-American. In 1990, he ran the third fastest time in the nation in the 3,000-meter run.

Since graduation, Burns has served as the head cross country coach at Loyola, Wichita State University, Bradley and currently at the University of Missouri.

He has had a very successful career, coaching six NCAA Division I national champions and 15 All-Americans. He has won 80 conference championships and been voted Midwest and Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year.

Jim Golden: Golden, who recently passed away, was an outstanding football coach for more than 30 years at Wheeling. Wheeling hall of fame member and former football coach Rick Benedetto will accept for the induction honors for Golden on Friday night.

Golden began at Wheeling in 1982 after teaching and coaching at Rolling Meadows High School.

Golden positively impacted the Wildcats' football program by working as the offensive line coach, linebackers coach, and defensive coordinator.

In 1985, as the defensive coordinator, he helped guide the Wildcats to their first conference championship in school history and a playoff appearance.

Golden also led Wheeling to the MSL championship and IHSA playoffs in 1988.

His 1994 team won the MSL crown, qualified for the IHSA playoffs and won nine games for the first time in program history.

Golden, who attended Weber High School, Wright Junior College and North Dakota State University, helped lead many Wheeling players to the college ranks, including hall of famer and former NFL linebacker Tom McManus.

Pfligler honored

Hoffman Estates' Dan Pfligler was recently recognized by the IHSA as the girls bowling Coach of the Year.

The honor makes him a nominee for the National Federation High School Coach of the Year. He will compete against other coaches from across the country for the national honor.

Pfligler's Hawks were second in the state last winter with regional and sectional championships. They were undefeated and won the MSL West.

Women's basketball

Alabama-Birmingham senior captain Deanna Kuzmanic (Wheeling) was named the Conference USA Player of the Week after she helped the Blazers go undefeated at the Hilton Garden Inn Classic in Fort Myers, FL.

She averaged 24 points and 8 rebounds in wins over Coppin State (86-61) and Florida Gulf Coast (62-20 in the championship).

Kuzmanic netted 31 of UAB's 62 points against Florida Gulf Coast while matching her career high of 8 rebounds in both games en route to earning tourney MVP Honors.

On the season, Kuzmanic leads the 10-1 Blazers in scoring (15.4 points per game) and is the only player on the team to score in double figures in every contest.

Her 31-point performance against Florida Gulf Coast moved her into sole possession of 17th place on UAB's all-time scoring list.

"Deanna not only had a great tournament but is off to an outstanding start to the season," said Blazers coach Randy Norton on the school's website. "She has been extremely consistent and has really been focused all season."

• Duke redshirt Haley Gorecki (Fremd) has become just the seventh Blue Devil in school history to post over 500 points, 200 rebounds and 100 steals in their first 50 games of their collegiate career.

She joined Alana Beard, Lexie Brown, Monique Currie, Rebecca Greenwell, Alexis Jones and Katie Meier.

Gorecki (Fremd) finished with a team-high 19 points in a 63-51 loss to North Carolina State. It was her 12th game this season with 10-plus points and the 24th of her career.

Gorecki hit a career-high 8 free throws (on 10 chances) and scored 10 points in the third quarter to spark a big push to get the Blue Devils to within 2 points heading into the fourth quarter.

• Carthage junior forward Maggie Berigan (Hersey) registered a career-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and collected all four of the Lady Reds' blocks in a 65-57 loss to Ohio Northern at the D3Hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas.

"(Maggie) Berigan was attacking all day as she was great," said Lady Reds head basketball coach Tim Bernero on the school website. "She played both ends very well while shooting five of our seven free throw attempts the entire game."

Rugby

The Arlington Stallions Rugby Club will hold its signup day for the spring season on Saturday at Camelot Park (1005 E. Suffield in Arlington Heights) from 9 a.m. to noon.

No previous experience is necessary according to head coach Paul Bergman.

"We are used to players coming to us new to the sport," he said. "We see this every year and all of our players have a successful experience."

The Stallions' U-14 side finished second in the 2018 state championship and the high school varsity side won its fourth state championship in the last five years. For more information, go to www.arlingtonstallionsrugby.com

Condolences

Sport Notes sends condolences to the family and friends of Don Williams, who was head football coach at Prospect High School from 1964-73.

Williams, born in Evansville, IN. on Sept. 5 1931, passed away on Dec. 21.

He was a 1949 graduate of Reitz High School and served four years in the U.S. Navy as a helicopter mechanic during the Korean War.

Williams graduated from the University of Evansville and earned a master's degree from Indiana University. He taught and coached at Prospect from 1961 until retiring in 1991.