Meet the Class of 2026
Click through our 2025 inductees to learn more about their athletic achievements.
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Jim Morel
La Salle-Peru High School
Jim Morel, a 1961 graduate of La Salle-Peru High School, was a standout three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track and field. In football, he led the state in yards per carry in 1960 and earned all-area, all-conference, Chicago Daily News All-State, and Chicago Sun-Times All-State honors, while also qualifying for the state track meet three times. He continued his athletic career at Purdue, where he played football and competed in track and field, serving as a two-way starter and team captain for the 1964 football team and running sprints and relays for the Boilermakers’ track program.
Karla (Walgenbach) Goskusky
Tonica High School - IVCC
Karla (Walgenbach) Goskusky was as a multi-sport athlete who went on to coach and officiate volleyball. As a standout performer at both Tonica High School and IVCC, she earned team MVP and first-team all‑conference honors in volleyball, basketball, and softball, later signing to play volleyball and basketball at Loyola before an injury cut her collegiate career short. Her athleticism shined early on at Tonica Grade School, where she played baseball and competed in boys track. Beyond her playing career, Goskusky contributed as a coach at IVCC and Peru Washington and has served as a volleyball official for more than 30 years, including officiating an IHSA state championship match.
Kristian Wahlgren
Princeton High School
Kristian Wahlgren, a 1994 Princeton High School graduate and the youngest of four brothers, stood out as one of the program’s most accomplished wrestlers. He won the Class A state championship at 152 pounds in 1993 and followed it with another title at 160 pounds in 1994, after placing fourth at 145 pounds as a junior. Wahlgren remains the only two-time state champion in the area and the only Princeton wrestler to earn three state medals in a career. He went on to wrestle at the U.S. Naval Academy and was later inducted into the Bureau County Sports Hall of Fame.
Todd Hopkins
Putnam County/Marquette High School
Todd Hopkins, a 1990 Putnam County graduate, built one of the most respected coaching careers in the area during his time at Marquette. Best known for his success in baseball, leasing his teams to three state championships (2019, 2024, and 2025) and six total state trophies, making him the only coach in the area to win three state titles. His baseball teams also piled up 16 regional and 10 sectional titles. His career record stands at 685–186. Hopkins has been equally successful in basketball, going 371–118 as Marquette’s girls coach with five regional and two sectional championships, while also topping 200 career wins as the boys coach. Across 55 seasons coaching baseball and basketball, Hopkins has finished with just one losing season.