Sports notes: Scheffler, Tuetken, Boudouris to go into IBCA HOF; college awards and more
The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association announced its hall of fame class for 2024 and it includes Springfield High School girls basketball coach Brad Scheffler.
Scheffler, who took over the Senators’ program in 2003, entered the 2023-23 season with a 474-140 record. He has two Class 3A third-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes in the state tournament and won nine regional titles.
Scheffler is one of three area girls basketball coaches getting the nod to the IBCA's Hall of Fame. Hillsboro coach Bret Tuetken, a 1983 Nokomis High School graduate, is 381-225 since he took over for the Hiltoppers in 2001. Hillsboro has 10 regional titles, three sectional championships, a fourth-place finish in the Class 2A state tournament in 2019 and a Class A state championship in 2006.
J.R. Boudouris, who resigned as the Rochester girls basketball coach following last season, will also be honored. Boudouris went 463-168 over 20 seasons, which included stops at Carrollton and Pana before Rochester. He never had a losing record, won 13 regionals, four sectionals, a trip to the 2004 Class A state quarterfinals and two Class 3A runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2017.
Two area basketball officials will be inducted for their years spent in stripes: Taylorville's Aaron Lane and Williamsville's Mike Wiley.
More: Six high school girls basketball teams to watch for the 2023-24 season
Two Christian County men are being recognized by the IBCA as career coaches. Stonington High graduate Tom May, who has served in various roles at the high school and junior high levels in Taylorville and the late Florian DeMichael, who coached at Tovey Grade School and Stonington Junior High, will be part of the class of 2024. DeMichael, nicknamed Flindy, died in 1986 at the age of 76.
Springfield's Dr. Diane Hillard-Sembell, Auburn's Jeff Marsaglia, Pawnee's Mary Kay Smargiassi, Loami's Eugene Dodd and Piasa's Gary Bowker Sr. — who coached boys basketball at Gillespie for two seasons — will each enter as a Friend of Basketball.
The IBCA Hall of Fame banquet will be held on Saturday, May 4 at CEFCU Arena on the Illinois State University campus in Normal.
UIS men's soccer coaches gets big award
The University of Illinois Springfield men's soccer team earned the NCAA D-II Midwest Staff of the Year award, the United Soccer Coaches announced on Monday.
The Prairie Stars, led by Adam Hall in his eighth season as head coach, won the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title in 2023. Hall was named the GLVC's Coach of the Year for that effort, which culminated in the third straight NCAA D-II tournament appearance for UIS.
Charlie Ward and Jason Loftus round out Hall's coaching staff.
"I'm humbled," Hall said in a GLVC press release. "I appreciate the award as it's proof of what a special season we had. Our conference is one of the largest and best in the country. Every year we are challenged by multiple teams who are very good programs. But the credit goes back to the students who bought into what we were implementing every day and have executed on our strategies."
UIS was 13-1-7 and went 10-0-3 in the GLVC. The Prairie Stars allowed just one goal in conference play. UIS reached its highest ever position in the USC poll in October at eighth.
Voice of the Cubs coming to town
Pat Hughes, the Chicago Cubs’ radio voice since 1996 and a 2023 recipient of the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award, will be in town to tell stories, answer questions and sign autographs at the second annual Springfield Lucky Horseshoes’ ‘Shoes Hot Stove Social on Jan. 29.
The event, held at the Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill on Toronto Road, will take place from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Tickets, which cost $75 each, include a VIP meet and greet, photos, autographs, food and non-alcoholic beverages. To purchase tickets, go to tinyurl.com/ShoesPatHughes.
In other Lucky Horseshoes’ news, the team announced in November it had hired Brad Gyorkos as its field manager for the 2024 Prospect League season. Gyorkos, originally from Rockford, is in his fifth season as the Culver-Stockton College baseball head coach and spent the last two summers with the Quincy Gems and was 62-55. The Horseshoes are coming off back-to-back Prospect League playoff appearances.
Gleckler gets GLVC award
Just months after finishing up her high school career at Rochester, McKendree University's Maggie Gleckler was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference women's soccer freshman of the year last month.
Gleckler, a midfielder, started every game for the Bearcats and scored two goals and six assists in 1,325 minutes played. She also earned a spot on the GLVC's all-conference third team, along with Maryville sophomore goalkeeper Gigi Yurevich, a Chatham Glenwood graduate.
Lehnen, Chance up for D-III award
Luke Lehnen and Destin Chance don't have much longer to find out if they will advance as finalists for the NCAA Division III Gagliardi Trophy, an award handed out annually to the most outstanding player in D-III.
Lehnen, a Chatham Glenwood graduate who is a junior quarterback at North Central College in Naperville, and Chance, an Auburn graduate and a junior QB at Illinois College in Jacksonville, are two of 20 semifinals for the award. The finalists will be announced on Dec. 7; the winner will be presented on Dec. 15.
More: No. 9 by design: Rochester football captures ninth state title with win over St. Laurence
Chance led NCAA D-III with 4,036 yards and threw 48 touchdowns against eight interceptions. The Blueboys finished 9-2. Chance steered IC to the NCAA playoffs for the second time in school history and helped the Blueboys to the Midwest Conference title.
Lehnen has North Central in the D-III semifinals and has thrown for 3,006 yards, 43 TDs and one INT. He has rushed for 714 yards and 11 TDs. NCC (13-0) plays Wartburg College on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for a chance at its fourth straight D-III championship game. The Cardinals won the national championship in 2022 and 2019. Lehnen won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Art Keller Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year award.
Lehnen's teammate, senior defensive lineman Will Kettelkamp of Taylorville, was named to the CCIW All-Conference defensive first-team.
UIS runner Ross named all-American
Cortland Ross, a senior runner on the University of Illinois Springfield men's cross country team, earned a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American spot after finishing 18th overall at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Nov. 18 in Joplin, Missouri.
Ross became just the second UIS men's USTFCCCA All-American. Wyatt McIntyre won the honor in 2022. Ross finished the 10,000-meter race in 29 minutes, 50.7 seconds.
More: Ten girls high school girls basketball players to watch for the 2023-24 season
Richie finishes fall season with two MVC awards
New Berlin native Dain Richie, a junior on the Southern Illinois University's men's golf team, took home Missouri Valley Conference golfer of the week honors twice during his first season at SIU in Carbondale.
Richie earned his first weekly honor after a 10th-place finish at the White Sands Bahamas NCAA Invitational on Oct. 22 where the Salukis finished fourth among teams.
In SIU's final fall event, Richie placed seventh overall in the inaugural Kapolei Invitational in Hawaii on Nov. 2. Richie finished with a 13-under-par 203 over the three rounds. On Nov. 8, the MVC named Richie the men's golfer of the week again.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield area sports notes: Scheffler, Boudouris, Tuetken get IBCA Hall call
