Candidates

Wes Boelkens (Larkin High 1970) is nominated as an all-around athlete for his achievements in football, wrestling, and track. Wes was All-Conference in the Upstate 8, an All-Area selection by the Chicago Daily News and a Chicago Tribune All-Star squad member his senior year. In addition, he received All-State honors by the Rockford Morning Star, Rockford Register Republic, Champaign-Urbana News Gazette and Illinois Prep Sports Special. Boelkens was also named All-American by Prep All-American Football and Sunkist Coaches and Athletes Magazine and was the University of Notre Dame Club of Chicago’s Knute Rockne Award recipient. As a heavyweight wrestler, Wes won 19 and lost 3 and finished second in the sectional his junior year, then compiled a 23-2 record his senior year when he won the Upstate 8 Conference and District championships, with a record 17 second pin in the district final. He threw the shot put and discus in track, finishing 3rd in conference and 2nd in the Prospect Invitational and qualifying for the state track meet. Boelkens attended the University of Tennessee where he played football and wrestled for two years. He finished 4th in the Southeast Conference in wrestling as a sophomore before injuries curtailed his athletic career.

Cindy Bryniarski is nominated for golf. Bryniarski has won more than 25 club championships in Arizona, Colorado, and Illinois. She has set course records at four courses in Sun City West and another in Durango, CO. She has been the senior amateur champion in Colorado and Arizona. Cindy qualified for the round of 64 at the USGA Senior Amateur Championship from 2008-2010 and for the USGA Senior Amateur Championship in 2007-2010. She was a medalist in the 2007 Arizona qualifier and a co-medalist in 2008. In 2011, Bryniarski was co-medalist and runner-up in the Senior Division of Arizona Women’s State Match Play and took 2nd place in the Arizona Senior Championship.

David Cooklin is nominated for his coaching career in baseball at Elgin High. During his 25-year career, his teams won 435 (most in the city of Elgin) and lost 339 for a winning percentage of .562. Cooklin coached Elgin to three Upstate 8 championships and three regional championships, with his 1995 team losing in the sectional finals. He coached four players that played professionally in the minor leagues.

Glen Dallman (Elgin High Class of 1961) coached wrestling for 25 years. At Stillman Valley High School, Glen compiled a record of 129-54-1, winning two conference titles and finishing third in the state in 1974. His teams produced 13 state qualifiers, 11 place winners, and four state champions. During his tenure at Byron High School, Dallman had a 181-77-4 record with five conference titles and three Elite 8 finishes. During that time, Glen coached 29 state qualifiers, 10 state medalists, and four state champions. He has also served as a wrestling official, on the IWCOA Executive Board and the IHSA Wrestling Board. Dallman was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame (1990) and the Byron High School Hall of Fame (2015) and received the Byron High School 25th Anniversary Recognition Award.

Cassie Dumoulin was a National Junior College Athletic Association Third Team (2011) and Second Team (2012) All-American basketball player at Elgin Community College.  After being a three-sport athlete at Hampshire High, Cassie set the all-time scoring record at ECC for women’s basketball with 1393 points (since broken).  She was an All-Region 1st team selection as well as making the Region IV All-Tournament Team both years.

In addition, Dumoulin was the Illinois Skyway Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference both years.  She averaged 22.0 and 22.1 points per game which led to her being named WBCA Junior College Honorable Mention All-American each season.  Cassie received the Lea Plarski Award (top award given by the NJCAA) in 2012.  She received an athletic scholarship to the University of Illinois where she played one year.  Dumoulin was inducted into the Illinois Skyway Conference Hall of Fame in 2019.

Becky (Elk) Golas, has been nominated for her achievements in soccer.  As a four-year varsity starter at Larkin High (1995 – 1999), Becky was a four time Upstate 8 All-Conference and All-Area selection.  During her senior year she scored 15 goals and had 16 assists, for which Elk was selected by the Daily Herald as an All-Area Co-Captain.

Becky became a three time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference First Team selection while playing at Bemidji State University, setting then school records (since broken) for career and single season goals, assists, and points for a career and a single season points.  She led the team in goals each of her three seasons and was honored with the Bemidji Women’s Sports Foundation Award as College Sports Woman of the Year in 2001.  Elk was an inaugural member of the Bemidji State University Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004.

Travann Hayes has been nominated to the Hall of Fame for football.  Travann was a three year All-Conference and All-Area wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner for the Larkin Royals football team.  As a senior, Hayes was also named Co-Player of the Year by the Courier News and the Daily Herald for his outstanding performance on the gridiron.  He had 44 receptions for 790 yards and 12 touchdowns, rushed for 994 yards and seven touchdowns, returned 12 kick offs for 427 yards and three touchdowns, and intercepted three passes.  State honors after his senior year included being named to All-State teams by the Illinois Football Coaches Association and the Champaign News Gazette.

During his Larkin career, Travann had 81 receptions for 1386 yards and 18 touchdowns, rushed for 2241 yards and 18 touchdowns (7.3 yards per carry), ran back 38 kick offs for 1131 yards and five touchdowns, 18 punt returns for 472 yards and three touchdowns, had 11 interceptions and 4 fumble recoveries.  His total of all-purpose yards was 5511 with 47 touchdowns.  At that time, Hayes ranked tied for 5th in the IHSA in kickoff returns, 2nd in kickoff return yardage, and tied for 3rd in kickoff return touchdowns with 5.  Travann was a member of the University of Wisconsin football team for four years as a wide receiver, then played four seasons of semi-professional football.

Scott Hofstetter performed on track teams that won two indoor and two outdoor championships at Larkin.  Scott set school records in the high hurdles, low hurdles, and anchored the school record 4 x 400 relay team.  Hofstetter won eight conference and county titles and competed in the state competition in five events over two years.  He was the leading point scorer in Larkin High track history and received the Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year Award at Larkin in 1978.

Lee Jackson has been nominated for his achievements in baseball.  Jackson, a unanimous All-Upstate 8 Conference selection his senior season and two-time Courier News All-Area selection, tied the school record for victories when he had a 10 – 0 pitching record in 1988 when he shared MVP honors with Steve Hinton.  At Elgin Community College, Jackson set the single season stolen base record (since broken) and was named to the National Junior College All-Star game (1990).  He was named to the 1st team All-Skyway Conference as an outfielder and twice named Most Valuable Player.  He received a scholarship to Western Illinois University where he was a starting outfielder for two seasons compiling a .287 average.

Kayla Oranger set school records for most career hits (212, 13th in IHSA), most runs scored (177) and most stolen bases (159, 9th in IHSA) as a four-year varsity starter.  She was named 1st team shortstop (2008-2009) by the Kane County Chronicle, All Area 1st Team (2007-2009) by the Daily Herald and Courier News, and to the IHSA State Softball Super 60 All-Star team.  Kayla was a member of the Big Northern East All-Conference 1st team all four years while compiling a .448 career batting average and a .490 on base percentage for the four-time conference and regional champions and 2009 Class 3A third place team.  Her state honors included Chicago Tribune All-State Special Mention and Chicago Sun-Times All-State Honorable Mention in 2008 and 2009, the Illinois Coaches Association Class 3A/4A All-State 2nd Team (2008) and All-State 1st Team (2009).

Oranger continued her softball career at the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) the next four years playing mainly second base.  She had a career average of .286, with a season high of .346 (2012).  In addition, Kayla finished in UTEP’s top five with 23 career stolen bases and 289 career assists.  The National Fastpitch Coaches Association named her to the All-Midwest Region 2nd team in 2013.

Donald Palochko has been nominated for football and coaching.  Don was the starting tackle on Larkin’s 1972 football team that went 7-2.  He was named first team All-Conference in the Upstate 8 and earned a football scholarship to Northern Illinois.  At NIU, Don was a three-year starter, earning three varsity letters in football.  He was named All-Mid-American Conference Second Team at offensive guard and Co-Most Valuable Player his senior season (1976).  Palochko was the defensive coordinator at Mooseheart High School from 1988-2000 and the team’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator from 2004-2014.  During that time, Mooseheart had a record of 122-103 and participated in the IHSA playoffs 8 times.

Max Pokorny has been nominated for tennis.  Max played in the #1 singles position at Elgin for three years and compiled a record of 73-13 while competing is singles and doubles competition.   He was the conference singles champion as a junior and runner-up his sophomore and senior seasons.  In addition, he was the district champion all three years and qualified for state competition each year.  Pokorny advanced to the state quarterfinals his senior year before losing to nationally ranked Bruce King.  At Indiana State University, Max was a four-year letterwinner and qualified for the NCAA Tennis Tournament all four years.  He defeated the #1 and #2 top juniors from Australia while compiling a 112-40 record in singles and doubles play.

He was named the Most Valuable Player in tennis at ISU for two seasons and was the runner-up for outstanding achievement of the year in sports and academics for the Class of 1974.  Other notable achievements include being ranked in Northern Illinois Tennis from 1968-1976, winning the doubles championship at the U. S. Lawn Tennis Western Association (1972) and being ranked in the association for three years, winning the #1 Men’s Doubles in the Midwest Sectional (1976) and a Sarasota (FL) Pro tournament.  During his career, Max won 138 tournaments with 23 runner-ups.  He won 33 various city championships in Elgin where he was the #1 player over 10 years.

Michael Pokorny has been nominated and approved for tennis.  Mike was a three-year #1 singles varsity tennis player for Elgin.  He was the Most Valuable Player on the team all three years during which time he was conference runner-up in 1972 and 1973 followed by a conference championship in 1974.  In addition, Pokorny was the District champion all three years and finished 9th in the state his senior year.  At Northern Illinois (1974-75), he was the #3 singles player and the #1 freshman in the MAC.  He defeated the #3 and #4 singles conference champs that year, as well as the #3 singles Division champion.  Mike was the #1 singles and state ranked #1 while at Elgin Community College (1976-77) and ranked #3 in the state as part of a doubles team. He won the conference and sectional championship in #1 singles, was part of the conference champion doubles team and was named team MVP and Skyway Conference MVP.

In local play, Pokorny was the city Champion (singles and doubles) over 20 times.  He won the Northern Illinois Tennis Association championship four times.  During that time, he was NITA’s #1 Under 18 singles player in 1974, #1 Men’s singles in 1975, #1 ranked doubles (with brother Max) in 1975 and represented NITA in the Junior Davis Cup as #1 singles from 1974-1977.  Playing mixed doubles, Mike finished in 2nd place (with Cheryl Pokorny) in the 1976 Illinois State Indoor Championships.

Nancy (Petersen) Regul is nominated for gymnastics.  Nancy was a four-year varsity member of the Elgin/Larkin coop gymnastics team which won five major invitationals, two regionals and qualified for sectionals three times.  Individually, Nancy placed in the top three in 138 events entered, of which she had 56 first place finishes.  She represented the team at the IHSGCA Mixed Pairs meet in 1999 and 2000, finishing in 7th place her junior year and 3rd place her senior year.  In addition, Petersen was one of six girls chosen to represent Illinois at the National High School Gymnastics Championships in Madison WI in 2000.  In state competition, Nancy was 12th in floor exercise (freshman), tied for 11th in vaulting (sophomore), qualified in the vault and tied for 20th in floor exercise (junior) and tied for 17th in floor exercise (senior).

As an individual and part of an event team, she helped break 15 school records.  At the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Petersen was a member of four Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and three National Collegiate Gymnastics Association championship teams.  She received All-Conference honors each year, finishing 6th on the vault (2001), 3rd on the vault (2002), 4th on the vault and 4th (tie) on the balance beam (2003), and 5th on the vault and 2nd in floor exercise (2004).  In addition, Nancy received NCGA All-American honors by finishing tied for 4th in floor exercise (2002), 5th in floor exercise (2003), and 5th in vault (2004).  She was an Academic All-American in 2004.

Matt Schabert quarterbacked the Larkin varsity football team from 1997 – 1999.  In his senior season, Matt passed for 2837 yards and 30 touchdowns, including four games of over 300 yards.  For his career, Schabert had 6550 passing yards (ranking 4th in IHSA history at that time), and 69 touchdown passes (ranking 3rd in IHSA). He also set an IHSA record with most games 100+ yards passing with 32.  In addition, he had rushed for 554 yards and 15 touchdowns.  Matt was named All-Conference two years, All-Area three years, Daily Herald Co-Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and the Courier News Co-Player of the Year in 1999.  He was an All-State selection by the Illinois Football Coaches Association and the Champaign News Gazette his senior season and was also named a Prep Star All-American and a member of the North/South Suburban All-Star game.

Schabert played quarterback for the University of Wisconsin, where he had 43 completions and 618 yards with a 114.2 rating.  He is remembered for coming off the bench and throwing a game winning 79-yard touchdown pass against Ohio State, their first loss in 19 games.  At Eastern Illinois University, Matt was selected to the All-Ohio Valley Conference second team after completing 190 passes for 2153 yards and 15 touchdowns, twice passing for over 300 yards.

Terry Schabert served 22 years as head coach at LHS.  During that time, Terry was the first baseball coach in Elgin history to record 400 wins.  With a winning percentage of .598, Schabert led Larkin to five conference championships (including three consecutively), four regional titles, a sectional championship and appearance in the Elite 8 in 1991.  In addition, he coached high school football in different capacities, including assistant varsity, for 33 years.

Chris Schultz is nominated for baseball.  Chris was a two-year varsity pitcher and 1st baseman at Elgin where he set the school record for home runs with 11 while hitting .455 with 41 runs batted in and a slugging percentage of .848 during his senior year.  For his outstanding season, Schultz was a unanimous All-Upstate 8 Conference selection and named to the Daily Herald and Courier News All-Area teams.  Since he was also All-Conference and Upstate 8 MVP as a golfer, Chris was chosen as Elgin High Athlete of the Year.  He played two years at Elgin Community College, batting .378 and .450 and driving in 67 runs as ECC advanced to the NJCAA World Series both years with Chris being named NJCAA All-Region 2nd Team (2007).

At Purdue University North Central, Schultz played first base and center field.  He hit .445 both years with a total of 22 home runs and 109 runs batted in.  He set school records for a season in batting average, home runs, runs batted in, triples, total bases, hits, runs and slugging percentage.  For his achievements, Schultz was twice named to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference First Team, the CCAC Player of the Year (2009), and a NAIA First Team All-American (the first in school history for any sport) He was inducted into the Purdue North Central Hall of Fame in 2013.  Chris finished his career playing one year with the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League (2010).

Richard “Punjab” Simonsen (Elgin High Class of 1950) was an all-around athlete at Elgin lettering in football twice, basketball twice, wrestling once and track three times. At 6’5” Simonsen played offensive and defensive lineman as a junior, then was switched to offensive fullback as a senior. He set the Big 8 Conference scoring record with 73 points, rushing over 1000 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns for the 8-2 team. Punjab was named All-State at defensive tackle by the Champaign News-Gazette. In track, he competed in state finals competition in the shot put. Richard was recruited by over 150 colleges, including every Big 10 school and Notre Dame. He chose the University of Florida and played offensive tackle and defensive lineman as a freshman. Simonsen then joined the U. S. Air Force during the Korean War and played four years of service football, then accepted a scholarship at Brigham Young University. Later, he was a member of the Chicago Bears taxi squad.

Martin Skok, Sr. was the owner-developer of the “ELGIN PISTON PIN SPECIAL” race car that raced at the Indianapolis 500 in 1926-1928, 1936-1941, 1946, and 1953, finishing as high as fourth place on three occasions. In 1953, the car was driven by Jim Rathmann in La Carrera Panamericana (The Pan American), a nine stage, five-day race that traversed Mexico (widely considered the most dangerous event of its day). As the owner of Elgin Industries, Skok was a constant developer, fabricator, and rebuilder of new and improved engine parts, which greatly advanced the car engines used in all of the major races, especially the piston pin. This innovation was critical to the success of many drivers, such as ESHOF inductee Ken Barnhart.

Because of his innovating, Skok became a known leader in the racing community. In 1933, AAA Indy race teams accepted the invitation to come to the Elgin Road Race (part of Chicago’s World Fair), which was scheduled as the only road race in the United States. After the funds for the cash prize disappeared, Skok financed the event. In the early 1950’s. Skok partnered with Dick Doan Chevrolet to build and promote a stock car in a variety of races. This led to a business relationship with Andy Granatelli, who was to become one of the best-known engine builders, team owners and promoters in racing.

Tony Soskich is nominated for his achievements in basketball.  A three-year varsity starter, Tony set the Larkin career scoring record (since broken) with 1319 points, doing most of his scoring with long range jump shots prior to the three point shooting line.  He was two time All-Conference and All-Area 1st Team selections and was All-State 2nd team his senior season when he averaged 24.5 ppg and led the state in free throw shooting percentage (over 94%).  Soskich attended Penn State on a basketball scholarship and lettered four years.  He was awarded the Penn State Coaches Award (1991) for the player who best exemplifies Nittany Lion traditions for positive team attitude.

Mark Stettner was an All-Conference running back his senior season as well as All-State special mention. He led Upstate 8 rushers with a 6.8 yard per carry average and in scoring with 51 points. Other post season honors include the Coke/Chicago Tribune Golden Helmet Award, being named as a Chicago Tribune All-Star, and as a Prep All-American. As a running back at Eastern Illinois University, Mark was the team’s leading rusher in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He set school records with 604 carries (now 8th), 2638 rushing yards (now 10th), and the single game record of 44 carries in 1977, which stood for 16 years. Stettner was nominated as a Division II All-American running back in 1977.

James Stinson was a two-year starter for the Larkin basketball team. Stinson went on to play for Elgin Sports Hall of Famer Dick Estergard at New Mexico Military Institute.  After compiling a 94 – 77 record in seven seasons as a boys basketball coach, Jim began coaching girls basketball, first with Springdale High (14-12), then at Davenport High in Spokane, WA.  From 1991 – 1995, his girls teams won 111 and lost 9 while winning consecutive state championships in Class B with records of 29-1 and 30-0 in 1992 and 1993, followed by second and third place finishes in the state tournament the next two years.  In two tenures at Davenport, Stinson had a record of 151 – 40.  Jim is considered the authority on high school basketball in the state of Washington; in addition to coaching, he has written three books on the subject, including “Remembering the B,” for which he received a special award from the Washington State High School Basketball Coaches Association.  His career also includes coaching track and cross country over 30 years, with over 20 state champions in various events, with five cross country champions.  Stinson was inducted into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame’s Scroll of Honor in Spokane, WA, in 2015.

Ron Ultes was a standout baseball player at Elgin and the University of Illinois.  He led the Maroons in hitting for three consecutive years, batting .403 his senior season and helping lead the Maroons to the state finals, one of two Elgin baseball teams to advance that far.  While EHS lost in the semi-finals to state champion Peoria Manual, Ultes was named to the state all-tournament team.  Ron played three years at Illinois, helping the Illini to co-Big 10 titles in 1952 and 1953.  He was All-Big 10 second team and NCAA District third team his junior year when he led the team in batting average and was pursued by the Boston Braves.  He was captain on the team his senior year and led the team in doubles, home runs, and runs scored.

Ultes then played semi-professional baseball in South Dakota for three years and the Fort Bliss Falcons in the Texas League, winning the Texas Semi-Pro and Southwestern Semi-Pro championships.  Ron was named to an all-tournament team as a left fielder and played for a team of All-Stars in Texas against a touring team of Major Leaguers that included Monte Irvin, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Ernie Banks.  He declined an offer to play for the Chicago White Sox organization.

As a junior, Fred Versluys averaged 15.5 ppg and led the Upstate Eight Conference in rebounding with 12 per game. In his senior season, Fred averaged 18 ppg and again led the conference in rebounding. Fred was All-Conference and Most Valuable Player at Larkin both years, while being named All-Area 2nd Team as a junior and All-Area 1st Team his senior season. He played varsity basketball four years at Judson College, where he led the conference in rebounding his freshman year and was NAIA 1st Team. His top scoring average was 13.9 ppg in his junior year. Versluys also played four years of baseball at Judson and was named most valuable player on offense and to the NIIC All-Conference Team his senior year.