WVHS Hall of Fame

Waubonsie Valley High School honors those who have made exemplary contributions to our athletic programs. Individuals are recognized in one of three categories: athlete, coach and friend of WVHS. There is a display in the athletic hallway honoring these individuals.

Athletes Inducted into the Hall of Fame:

Class of 1979

Mike Kos--Football & Wrestling
Mike was the First State Champion in Waubonsie's history, claiming the Class A Wrestling
155 lb. Title in both 1978 and 1979. He was named All-American by Scholastic Wrestling News and was named the Outstanding Wrestler in the State of Illinois, Class A in 1979.

Don Riesenberg--Basketball
Don was a two-time Unanimous All-Conference selection. In 1978 he was named to the Chicago All-Area team and the ISCA All-State Team (Honorable Mention). In 1979 he was named to numerous All-State 1st teams and played in the IBCA Class A All-Star Game. Don still holds WV records in a number of categories, including most points in a game (41) and season (653), and scoring average for a season (23.3) and career (21.7). Don was the first Warrior to score 1,000 points in a career.

Scott Miller--Golf
Scott was a four-time MVP for WV golf from 1976-1979. He placed 20th in the State of Illinois in 1978 and was the Conference Champion Medalist in 1979.

Class of 1980

Steve Jumper--Football, Basketball, Baseball
Steve is #8 All-Time in career points (797) in basketball. He threw two no-hitters in baseball, was named 1st Team All-Conference in 1980 and held numerous records in both pitching and batting.

Class of 1982

Cathy (Brzeczek) Sharpe--Cross Country, Track, Basketball
In Cross Country, Cathy earned All-Conference honors in 1979, 80 & 81. She was a two-time State qualifier, earning All-State honors in 1980. In Track, she won nine Conference Titles, impressively winning both the 1600 Run and 3200 Run all four years, setting Conference records in both events. The WV 1600 Run record she set in 1982 has stood for 25 years. She qualified for the IHSA State meet eight times, earning All-State status in five events and was the State runner-up in the 3200 Run in 1981. She also played basketball all four years and was named All-Conference Honorable Mention in both 1981 and 1982.

Class of 1983

Kim Tatro--Volleyball, Basketball, Softball
Kim was a Six-Time Unanimous All-Conference selection earning those honors in Volleyball in 1981 & 82, in Basketball in 1982 & 83, and in Softball in 1982 & 83.

Class of 1986

Christy (Brzeczek) Thomure--Cross Country, Track, Basketball
Christy was a two-time All-Conference runner in Cross Country and qualified for the IHSA State meet in 1982. In Track she was a two-time Conference Champ and five-time State qualifier, earning All-State honors in 1983. Her school records in the 800 and 400 stood for over 10 years. In Basketball, Christy was named All-Conference in 1986.

Jeff Kragh--Football & Wrestling
Jeff was All-Conference in Football in 1984. In Wrestling, he was Conference Champion in 1985 & 86, qualified for State in 85 & 86 and earned All-State status in 1986. He went on to a successful career in Wrestling at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL.

Gail (Williams) True--Volleyball, Basketball, Track
Gail was All-Conference in Volleyball in 1984 & 85. In Basketball, she was named All-Conference in 1986. In Track she was the Conference High Jump Champion and qualified for State. She attended Elmhurst College where she was named 2nd Team All-American in Volleyball in both 1988 and 1989.

Class of 1987

Jason Whitehead--Football & Baseball
Jason was named All-Conference in Football in both 1985 & 86. He was named All-Conference in Baseball in 1986 & 87. He attended Georgia Southern where he played Football.

Class of 1989

Mike Fagerson--Baseball
Mike was named All-Conference--First Team all four years in Baseball and was the Conference MVP in 1988. In 1989, he was named to the All-State Team in two positions (First Team-Pitcher, Second Team-Outfield). As a pitcher, his overall record was 34-10. In 1989, he sported a record of 12-1. He threw 2 no-hitters at WV. As a hitter, Mike Collected 125 hits and in 1989 he had a robust .468 batting average. Mike still holds three career batting records for WVHS.

Class of 1990

Hugh K. Williams, Jr.--Football & Wrestling
Hugh was a 2-time All-Conference and All-Area Football player. He was also a 2-Time Conference Wrestling Champ and placed 3rd in the IHSA Wrestling meet in 1990. He played Football for Northwestern University and continued on to play European Pro Football and was on the French National Champions team.

Fabien Bownes--Track & Football
A late bloomer, Fabien did not play Football until his Senior year, but he was named All-Conference Honorable Mention. A standout sprinter, Fabien medaled in the Indoor State Track meet in 1990 in the 200 Dash. He attended Western Illinois University Where he was a two-time Conference Champion in both the 100 and 200. He was the National Champion in the 200 Dash in 1991 and also qualified for Nationals in the 100 and 4 X 100 Relay. He was also a two-time Olympic Tryout Qualifier. After college, Fabien played for the Chicago Bears from 1995-99 and then with the Seattle Seahawks from 1999-2002, earning numerous accolades.

Bob Vozza--Soccer, Basketball, Baseball
Bob was named All-Conference, All-Area and Captain in all three sports his Senior year. The overall varsity record of the teams he competed on was 133-24-5. He continued his sports career at Aurora University.

Steve Keller--Soccer & Basketball
Steve earned All-Conference honors in Basketball and Soccer his Senior year. In Soccer, he was named All-State in both 1988 and 1989 and earned All-Midwest honors in 1989. The overall record of the Varsity teams he competed on was 85-12-5.

Class of 1992

Dawn (Platte) Gaydosh--Soccer
Dawn earned All-Conference honors in 1992. She was All-Sectional in 1990, 91 and 92 and was named to the 1st Team All-State in 1992. That year also saw her receive the Sun-Times Player of the Year award. She attended Dayton where she earned All-Conference honors in both 1995 and 1996. From there, she has had a successful run as a Varsity Soccer coach in Ohio.

Class of 1993

Broc Kreitz--Football
Broc Kreitz was All-Conference in both 1991 & 92, leading the team to the 1992 State Semi-Fianl game. He was named MVP of the UEC in 1992. Broc excelled on both offense and defense. He was named to the 1st Team All-State as a Defensive Back & as Quarterback. He was the Daily Herald's Player of the Year in 1992. Broc continued his Football career at Ole Miss where he was named to the 2nd Team All-SEC in 1997.

Debbie (Keller) Hill--Soccer & Basketball
In Basketball, Debbie was All-Conference in 1992. In Soccer, Debbie was named to the All-State team all four years at WV. She was a Parade All-American in both 1992 & 1993. She received numerous "Player of the Year" honors. She played Soccer for North Carolina where she was a two-time All-Conference player for the ACC. Her team won three National titles. She was a four-time All-American and twice named National Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996. Her jersey was retired in 1997. She played on the US National Team from 1994-1999 earning numerous honors.

Class of 1995

Christopher Ziemann--Football & Baseball
In Baseball, Christopher was named All-Conference & All-Area in 1994. In Football All-Conference in 1992 & 1994 and was named to numerous All-Area teams in 1994. He was also named All-State in 1994. He played for the University of Michigan, winning 2 Big-Ten Titles and the National Championship in 1997. He then moved on to the NFL, playing for the New York Giants during their Super Bowl season and then for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Class of 1997

Greg Busse--Swimming
Greg was a nine-time All-State swimmer and three-time IHSA State Champion. He was named the High School Swimmer of the Year in 1997. He swam at Auburn University where he was a 16-Time All-American, two-time National Champion, and on the 1999 National Champion Team. He was a World University Games Medalist in 1999 and won medals at both the Goodwill Games and World Championships in 2001.

George Poulakidas--Basketball
George was a four-time Varsity letter winner at WVHS and was named All-Conference and All-Area each of those four years. He was named to the All-State Honorable Mention team in 1997. He is the leading scorer (1,753) and rebounder (911) in WV history. He continued his career at Waubonsee Community College where he was All-Conference both years and All-Region in 1999. He then played at Briar Cliff University.

Class of 1998

R.J. Luke--Football & Basketball
R.J. earned All-Conference and All-Area honors in Basketball in both 1997 and 1998. He was a four-time All-Conference athlete in Football, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 1995 and Offensive Player of the Year in 1997 as well as UEC MVP in 1997. He was named Al-State by four publications both his Junior and Senior year. In 1997 he was the Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year and USA Today & Parade First Team All-American. He set a number of IHSA records in the course of his career. He played 3 years at Penn State and was an All-American at Western Illinois University in 2002. He signed with the Tennessee Titans of the NFL in 2003 and with the Seattle Seahawks in 2004.

Class of 1999

Tony Haid--Cross Country & Track
Tony was a four-year Varsity letter winner in Track and Cross Country. He earned All-Conference in Cross Country in 1998. He was All-Conference in Track in both 1998 & 99 winning Conference titles. He ran on the 4 X 400 Relay team that won the Indoor State Title in 1999. He qualified for the IHSA State meet in three events and earned All-State Honors. He attended Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois where he earned All-Conference honors in the CCIW and was a Division III NCAA National Meet qualifier in the 400 Meter Hurdles. He also earned Academic All-American status. Tony was killed in a tragic car accident in 2000.

Michael Bock--Soccer
Michael was All-Conference in 1998 & 99 and earned All-State and All-Midwest honors in 1999. At Indiana he played in three NCAA Division I Final Fours, won two Big Ten titles and a National Championship in 1999.

Ashley Luke-Clanton--Basketball
Ashley was named All-Conference four consecutive years in the Upstate Eight. She was the Beacon-News Player of the Year all four years, and the Daily Herald and Naperville Sun Player of the Year for three years. She earned All-State honors in 1997, 1998, and 1999 as well as All-American honors from Street & Smith in those years. Ashley scored 2885 points in her career and held the IHSA state record for career 3-pointers (437) for eight years. In college, Ashley was a starter at Penn State where the Nittany Lions reached the Final Four in 2000. She later played for DePaul and led the team to two NCAA tournaments. She went on to play professionally for Killester Club in Ireland where she was named "Irish Player of the Year." She is currently an assistant coach for the Loyola University women's basketball team.

Class of 2000

Denny Clanton--Soccer & Basketball
In Soccer, Denny earned All-Conference honors in 1997, 1998 and 1999. He was named player of the year by both the Beacon News and the Daily Herald in 1999. He was named to the All-State team by both the Tribune and Sun-Times in 1999 and also earned All-Midwest honors.  In Basketball, Denny was named to the UEC's All-Conference team in 1999 and 2000. Denny went on to play Soccer for the University of Dayton where he earned All-Conference, All-Great Lakes, and All-American honors. He was named the Ohio Player of the Year in 2003. Denny was drafted by the Chicago Fire and has played for the Chicago Storm (Major Indoor Soccer League) where he was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2006.

Coaches Inducted into the Hall of Fame:

Dick Kerner--Athletic Director and Coach at WVHS from 1975 to 1995.

Jerry Engelhardt--Varsity Baseball Coach from 1975-83. He also was an Assistant coach for Boys Basketball and Baseball.

Bob Mattingly--Boys Basketball Head Coach 1975-87, he won two Regional Titles. He was the Boys Golf coach from 1975-82. He continued as an assistant Basketball coach through 1997.

Craig Clendening--Girls Cross Country Coach from 1975-2004. Boys Cross Country Coach from 1975-1981. Head Boys Track & Field Coach from 1976-87. Head Girls Track Coach in 2001-2002. Assistant Girls Track coach from 1988-2000, 2003-2005. Five Conference Titles, 23 consecutive years as Sectional Team Qualifier in Girls Cross Country.

Matt Laurich--Head Football Coach 1975-1988. Assistant Baseball Coach. Illinois Coaches Basketball Hall of Fame as referee.

Fred Johnson--Wrestling Coach from 1975-1991. Dual record 192-76.

Bill Lay--Football and Baseball Assistant Coach from 1977-2005. Basketball Statistician since 1977.

Jeff Still--Football and Baseball Assistant Coach from 1991-97. Still Middle School was named for him after he was killed in a car accident in 1997.

Barb Barrows--Head Girls Softball Coach 1986-91, Head Girls Soccer 1985-86, Assistant Athletic Director.

B.J. Luke--Head Football Coach 1988-2005. Six Conference Titles. 98-70 Record at WV.

Tom Wood--Tennis Assistant Coach 1991-2006. 10 Junior Varsity Conference Titles.

Friends Inducted into the Hall of Fame:

Tom Gibbs--Principal 1974-1987

Gary Elmen--Principal 1987-1999

Glenn Shaffer--Friend since 1976

Dennis Vozza--Booster Officer 1986-96

Adam Paikai--Administrator 1987-2005

Pam Dorman--Director of Concessions 1998-2005

Andrea Shadix--Booster Officer 1997-2004

Dan Malloy--Friend since 1998. Booster Club President.