Bob Newell
Henry-Senachwine High School

Bob Newell was a legendary baseball coach whose career spanned more than four decades at Chenoa, Sparland, and Henry-Senachwine High Schools. Over the course of his remarkable tenure, he amassed 704 career wins, including 568 victories during his 35 seasons at Henry-Senachwine from 1966 to 2000. His win total ranks as the 21st most by a baseball coach in Illinois High School Association (IHSA) history. Newell led the Mallards to the state tournament in both 1979 and 1993, cementing his legacy as one of the state’s premier coaches. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the sport, he has been inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Greater Peoria Baseball Association Hall of Fame, and the Bradley University Hall of Fame.

Lonnie Hewitt
Western High School

Lonnie Hewitt, a standout track and field athlete from Western, was a three-time Class A state high jump champion and earned a total of five state track medals during his high school career. He is one of only two athletes to ever win three state titles in the high jump. Hewitt continued his athletic success at Augustana College, where he became a two-time All-American and finished second at nationals as a sophomore. Beyond his accomplishments as an athlete, he dedicated two decades to officiating IHSA girls basketball, capped by three assignments to the IHSA state finals.

Rita Placek
Princeton High School

Rita Placek, a legendary volleyball coach at Princeton High School, led the Tigresses for 25 seasons from 1974 to 1998. Over the course of her remarkable career, she guided three teams to the IHSA State Tournament—in 1980, 1990, and 1994. Her 1990 squad captured the Class A state title, which remains the only team state championship in school history and one of just three girls’ team state titles in the area’s history. Placek compiled an outstanding career record of 495-178-14, boasting a .731 winning percentage, and amassed 15 regional/district titles along with nine sectional championships.

Roger Essmann
Earlville High School

Roger Essmann, a legendary coach at Earlville High School, led the Red Raiders boys soccer program for 28 seasons from 1982 to 2010. During his tenure, he compiled an outstanding 433-171 record, boasting a .708 winning percentage, and guided the team to five regional titles, two sectional championships, and appearances in the IHSA Class 1A state tournament in 2006 and 2007. Essmann also coached boys and girls basketball at Earlville and boys soccer at Paw Paw, amassing a combined record of 465-263-28 between the two schools. His 465 wins rank third all-time in Illinois boys soccer history. Over his career, he served as a varsity coach for 54 sports seasons at Earlville, including 28 in soccer, 16 in girls basketball, nine in boys basketball, and one in golf. He was honored as an inaugural member of the Earlville Hall of Fame.

1973-74 Marquette Boys Basketball Team
Marquette High School

The 1973-74 Marquette Boys Basketball Team, coached by Bob Strickland, finished with an impressive 29-4 record and earned a second-place finish at the Class A IHSA State Tournament. The team made a memorable run by defeating defending state champion Ridgway in the quarterfinals and Quincy Catholic in the semifinals before falling to Lawrenceville, 54-53, in the state championship game. Marty Brown was honored for his outstanding performance by being named to the All-Tournament Team.

Glen Mudge
La Salle-Peru High School | IVCC

Glen Mudge, a 1977 graduate of La Salle-Peru High School, was a basketball standout who earned All-State honors from the Associated Press during his senior year. He scored 1,392 career points, becoming the Cavaliers’ all-time leading scorer at the time—a mark that still ranks third in school history. Nicknamed the “Farmer,” Mudge went on to star for two years at Illinois Valley Community College (IVCC). In recognition of his accomplishments on the court, he was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame in 1988.

Joe Perona
St. Bede Academy

Joe Perona, a 1987 graduate of St. Bede Academy, was a standout three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. Recruited in all three sports, he chose to pursue baseball at Northwestern University, where he became a two-time All-Big Ten selection and team MVP. In 1991, he was selected in the eighth round of the MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers and went on to play five seasons in the minor leagues. Following his playing career, Perona became a well-known coach in youth, travel, and summer baseball for over two decades. He is also a proud member of the St. Bede Academy Hall of Fame.

Gary Vancil
Ottawa High School

Gary Vancil was a dedicated coach at Ottawa High School, serving in various roles across football, basketball, and baseball over a 30-year span. As head basketball coach for 13 seasons, he led his teams to seven regional titles, two sectional championships, and a state tournament appearance in 1985. He also served as head football coach for the 1979 and 1980 seasons. Vancil's contributions to high school athletics have been recognized with inductions into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame, the Ottawa High School Hall of Fame, and the Kewanee High School Hall of Fame.

Ken Bourquin
Walnut | Manlius | Bureau Valley

Ken Bourquin, a 1953 Walnut graduate, was an All-State football player who led the entire state in scoring his senior year with 175 points. He went on to play college football at both the University of Illinois and Western Illinois University. Bourquin enjoyed a legendary 38-year coaching career at Manlius, Toulon, and Bureau Valley—where he served as the first head coach of the Storm—amassing 189 career wins. One of his most remarkable coaching runs came at Manlius, where his Red Devils went 34-1-1 from 1969 to 1972.

Tracy Stroyan-Maynard
Mendota High School

Tracy Stroyan-Maynard was a three-sport standout at Mendota High School who played a key role in leading her teams to the state tournament in both 1980 and 1981. A two-time all-state volleyball selection, she helped the 1981 squad earn a Class A state runner-up finish. In track and field, she captured the 1982 Class A state title in the discus and placed fourth in the shot put, earning a total of three state medals. She went on to play volleyball at Illinois State University, where she set season records for kills, attack attempts, and points, and was later inducted into the ISU Hall of Fame. Stroyan-Maynard also made her mark as a coach, leading the Illinois Wesleyan volleyball program from 1988 to 1995 and compiling a record of 188-100.

1997-98 Hall Boys Basketball Team
Hall High School

The 1997-98 Hall Boys Basketball Team, led by coach Eric Bryant, had a historic season, finishing with a 32-1 record and placing second at the Class A IHSA State Tournament. Ranked No. 1 in the Class A AP Poll throughout the entire season, the team lived up to its billing with impressive state tournament wins over Teutopolis (52-44 in the quarterfinals) and Chicago Leo (56-46 in the semifinals). Their only loss of the season came in the state championship game, where they fell to Nauvoo-Colusa, 45-39.

Charlie Ellerbrock
Shaw Media - Distinguished Media Award

Charlie Ellerbrock is a legendary local sportswriter who covered area athletics for an impressive 46 years, from 1976 to 2025. His journalism career included work at several regional newspapers, beginning with the La Salle NewsTribune (1976–1987), followed by the Ottawa Times (1988–1989), the Bureau County Republican in Princeton (1990–2024), and returning to the Ottawa Times from 2004 through his retirement in 2025. Throughout his career, Ellerbrock earned numerous Illinois Press Association awards for his exceptional writing, photography, and contributions to top-ranked sports sections. In recognition of his impact on high school sports coverage, he was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in May 2024.

George Meagher
DePue High School
Legacy Award – Individual

George Meagher, a 1932 graduate of DePue High School, was a standout three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track and field. He won the long jump at the 1932 IHSA State Meet and earned three state medals during his high school career. Meagher claimed an impressive 42 first-place finishes and helped lead the Little Giants to four Bureau County track championships. In 1932, he captured a national title in the long jump with a mark of 23 feet, 10 inches. He went on to compete in track and field at the University of Notre Dame, where he broke the school long jump record in his very first meet and served as team captain. During his collegiate career, Meagher even competed against the legendary Jesse Owens.

Fran Cahill
La Salle-Peru High School
Legacy Award – Individual

Fran Cahill, a 1944 graduate of La Salle-Peru High School, was a standout two-sport athlete who went on to serve his country in World War II before continuing his athletic career at Northern Illinois University. At NIU, he starred in both football and baseball, leading the NCAA in receiving yards (876) and touchdown catches (11) as a senior in 1951. Cahill was selected by the New York Giants in the 19th round of the 1952 NFL Draft and later signed a free-agent contract with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats. His remarkable achievements earned him three inductions into the NIU Hall of Fame—once individually and twice with teams—and he was honored as a member of the NIU Football All-Century Team in 1999.

John Cruz
Lanny Slevin Lifetime Achievement Award

John Cruz, a 1969 graduate of DePue High School, dedicated 52 years to coaching baseball at the youth and high school levels from 1972 to 2023. He spent over four decades coaching Little League in Spring Valley and led American Legion baseball teams from 1992 to 1999. Cruz also served as an assistant coach alongside Bob Koopman at three collegiate programs, including a five-year stint at Illinois Valley Community College. At the high school level, he was the head baseball coach at Princeton from 2009 to 2010 and held assistant coaching roles at Putnam County, Hall, and La Salle-Peru.