Candidates

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.

Courtney LaFerle (Larkin High Class of 2004) has been nominated for her accomplishments in softball. She was a three-year varsity starter at shortstop during which Courtney received all-conference and all-area honors all three years. In addition, LaFerle was a McDonald’s/Mitsubishi All-Star team and Super 60 All-Star team selection her senior year when she was chosen as Larkin Female Athlete of the Year. She was named to the Illinois Coaches Association All-State Team in 2003 and played on the World Cup Softball Team in the Netherlands in 2004. LaFerle also competed at the varsity level in girls golf and basketball, earning 11 varsity letters at Larkin. She continued her softball career at Valparaiso University where she was named Mid- Conference Player of the Week and to the Mid-Continent Second Team her freshman year. Courtney was a member of the Mid-Con All-Academic Team in 2006 and 2007 and was named as an NFCA Scholar-Athlete in 2007. During her career at Valpo, she batted .249 with 26 doubles, 116 hits and 64 runs batted in (5th in school history at that time).

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.

Bryan Pelka (Elgin Academy Class of 2005) is nominated for his accomplishments in swimming. As a high school athlete, Bryan swam independently and competed in the sectionals in 2004 and 2005. He qualified for state competition in the 500-yard freestyle and finished 20th in 2005. That spring, he earned a gold medal at the Illinois Senior State Championships in the 1650 short course yards freestyle. At Carthage College, Pelka was a four-year varsity swimmer. He set school records in the 200 fly, 1000 freestyle, and 1650 freestyle in 2006 and 2007. In addition, Bryan was the CCIW Conference champion in the 500 freestyle once and the 1650 freestyle twice, setting the meet record in the 1650. He was named All-Conference three times and served as team captain. At the national level, Bryan qualified for the NCAA national meet all four years and finished 14th and 12th in the mile and had provisional “B” times in the 1650 freestyle for two consecutive years. He was All-American Honorable Mention twice in the 1650 freestyle and three time Academic All-American.

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.

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.

Ashley Scheffler (Burlington Central Class of 2010), has been nominated for her accomplishments in softball. Ashley was a four year varsity softball infielder, during which she was a unanimous All-Big Northern Conference selection in 2009 and 2010, as well as being named All Area 1st Team by the Daily Herald and Courier News. In addition, Scheffler received All-State 3rd Team honors both years, was Team Most Valuable Player and the Senior All-Star Game MVP in 2010. She also received the Distinguished Athlete Award by the U. S. Marine Corps her senior year. Ashley led the team with a .475 batting average, a .548 on base percentage and 39 hits in 2010. In her junior year, she batted .400 with an OBP of .474 when Central took 3rd place in the Class 3A state tournament. As the shortstop at Elgin Community College, Scheffler was 1st Team All-Conference and All-Region 1st Team for two years and a member of the All-Tournament Team in 2011. She finished her college career at McKendree University (DII) playing third base for two years. She made the All Tournament Team in 2015 and was the “Top Offensive Player” for McKendree when she led the team in hitting (.354), OBP (.396), hits (51) and stolen bases (21).

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.

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.

David Yates (St. Edward Class of 1988) is nominated for his achievements in coaching. After serving as a basketball assistant at Gordon Tech in Chicago, David was the boys basketball coach for six years at Highland High in Gilbert, AZ. While there, he compiled a record of 95 wins and 83 losses, with his 1999-2000 squad finishing 2nd in the state and having a record of 22-9. Yates then served as boys head basketball coach in 2001-02 at Mahomet-Seymour (IL) winning 15 while losing 11. Then, for the next four years, he was the boys assistant varsity basketball coach at Palatine-Fremd. David became the girls varsity basketball coach at Fremd in 2006.

Counting the 2023 season, his teams have won 399 games and lost 142. During that time, Yates’ teams have won 11 conference titles, 10 regional and four sectional championships. In 2020, Fremd won the IHSA Class 2A state championship, finished second twice (2015 and 2016), and fourth once (2017). Coaching honors include the Conference Coach of the Year and Arizona State Coach of the Year in 2000, a five time recipient of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association District 5 Coach of the Year, the 2020 IBCA State Coach of the Year, and the IHSA Girls Basketball Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations for 2019-2020.