OREGON — The Oregon CUSD enshrined its 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class during a ceremony this past weekend. Former Hawk student-athletes, coaches, teams, administrators and faculty as well as friends of the athletic program were honored in the inaugural ceremony. Below are the members who were inducted into the Oregon CUSD Athletic Hall of Fame.
Jerry Baker
Jerry Baker was one of the most outstanding athletes at Oregon High School during the decade of the 1980's. His athletic highlight was capturing the IHSA Class A state championship in the discus during his senior year in May of 1982. At the state finals, Baker threw 165'5, a school record at the time which stood for 15 years. Baker was also an outstanding football player for the Hawks, earning All-Conference honors in both 1980 and 1981 as well as All-State honors in football during his 1981 senior season. He was also selected as the Male Athlete of the Year for OHS for the 1981-82 athletic year. He was a four sport athlete that also participated in basketball and baseball for the Hawks.
Andy Ballard
Andy Ballard was one of the most dominant athletes at Oregon High School during the early 2000's. He excelled in three sports - football, wrestling, and track. In football, he helped lead the Hawks to the IHSA state championship game in 2000 and was a First Team All-State selection that season. He was also named a football All-Conference selection three years straight (1998, 1999, 2000). As a wrestler, Ballard was a two time state qualifier and finished as state runner-up during his senior year in 2001, compiling a season record of 42-3. In track & field, Ballard qualified for the IHSA state finals in four events his senior year (shot put, discus, 400m, and 1600m relay). He finished in 7th place in the discus throw and helped the Hawks take fourth place in the 1600m relay finals. He was selected as the Male Athlete of the Year for OHS for the 2000-01 athletic year. Ballard went on to compete in track & field at Marquette University in Milwaukee
Jake Carpenter
Jake Carpenter was an outstanding athlete for the Hawks during the early to mid 1990's, at times participating in five different sports (football, cross country, basketball, baseball, track & field. As an upperclassman, he concentrated only on cross country, basketball, and track. He was a two time all state runner in cross country with an individual finish of 8th in state as a junior and 6th in state as a senior. He was the captain of the OHS cross country squad that finished as state runner up at the 1993 IHSA Class A State Finals. In basketball, Jake was a three year varsity guard on the Hawk teams that won IHSA Regional Championships in 1993 and 1994 and advanced both of those seasons' Sectional finals. Jake was a team captain and an all state distance runner in track. At the 1995 IHSA Class A State Finals, he placed 5th in 3200m, 10th in the 1600m, and 2nd as a member (along with his twin brother, Ben) in the 3200m relay. He broke OHS school records in the 1600m, 3200m, and the 3200m relay. The 3200 Relay time of 7:58.05 still remains the OHS school record. Carpenter was selected as a co-male Athlete of the Year for the 2004-05 athletic year at Oregon High School. He went on to run both cross country and track at DePauw University in Indiana where he was team captain and earned NCAA Division III All-American honors in the 1500m run.
Sherman Landers
Sherman Landers is widely recognized as one of the finest Illinois high school track athletes of the first half of the 20th century. After finishing in 4th place at the IHSA State Finals in the pole vault as a sophomore, Landers became a three time IHSA individual state champion winning the pole vault in 1915 and both the pole vault and the 120 High Hurdles in 1916. He was also considered the Midwest Interscholastic Champion and was recognized as the unofficial world record holder in the event at 12'8. Combining with teammate Frank Loomis, Landers helped lead Oregon to a third place team finish in Class B at the 1916 State Finals and an 8th place team finish as a junior in 1915. After high school, Landers later became a national champion in the event. He went on to participate in the triple jump at the Olympic Games in Antwerp in 1920, finishing in 5th place with a jump of 46'4. The athletic field at Oregon High School is named in his and teammate Loomis' honor.
Frank Loomis
Frank Loomis moved to Oregon from Hyde Park HS in Chicago to run with OHS star Sherman Landers and together the duo dominated track & field throughout the Midwest. While a senior at Oregon, Loomis equalled the national interscholastic record of 24.2 for the 220y hurdles and after joining the Chicago Athletic Association, he won the AAU title over this distance in 1917 and 1918. After winning the 440y hurdles at the Western Olympic Trials in a new world record time of 54.2 , Loomis then went on to win the gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium with a new world record of 54.0. The athletic field at Oregon High School is named is his and teammate Landers' honor.
Doug Engle
Coach Engle was the long time shot put and discus coach at Oregon High School for both boys and girls from 1987 until his retirement after the 2022 season. During his career at Oregon, Coach Engle had five female throwers place at the IHSA state finals and bring home a collective total of 15 medals. On the boys’ side, he coached seven Hawks to state place finishes and a collective total of 12 medals in the throws. The highlight of his Oregon career were the IHSA Class A state championships won by Brenna Noon in the shot put in 2021, and by Jenae Bothe in the shot put in 2022. After retiring as a teacher in 2007, there was a several year gap where Engle did not coach. During that time, there was not a single state qualifier from Oregon High School. After a few years, he went back into coaching and immediately every single year thereafter, there were state qualifiers culminating in the back to back state champions. Engle was inducted into the Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Association (ITCCA) Hall of Fame in 2014.
Salley Wessels
Salley Wessels was a trailblazer for female athletes at Mt. Morris high school both before and after the passage of Title IX legislation in the early 1970's. Prior to girls interscholastic sports, Wessels was the Girls Athletic Association (GAA) advisor for MMHS which provided opportunities for girls to participate in various sports in an intramural-like setting. When competitive girls athletics began in 1973, Wessels served as head coach of the Lady Mounders in basketball, track, and even field hockey. Later on, she also became head volleyball coach and also worked with the boys golf team through the 1990's. After retiring, she helped as a volunteer girls basketball coach at the junior high level for many years. Wessels herself was a highly successful golfer capturing the Illinois Women's Amateur title in 1972 as well as numerous other state and local championships. She was inducted into the Illinois Women's Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2022.
2008-09 Boys Track & Field Team
The 2009 Oregon Hawk boys track team captured the third ever state championship in school history by taking home the IHSA Class 1A state title. The journey to the title started at the Lena-Winslow Sectional where the Hawks edged rival Winnebago 142-131.5 to take home the Sectional crown and advance a multitude of athletes to the following week's state finals at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. At State, the Hawks ran wild racking up 55 team points to again defeat runner-up Winnebago with 37. Leading the way was sprinter Jordan Thomas who was double state champ winning both the 100m (:11.01) and the 200m dashes (:21.90). Thomas also finished in second place in the 400m dash. Also scoring points for Oregon were Ethan Gale - 6th in the pole vault; Thomas, Garrett Thomas, Nick Snyder, and Ryan McWethy - 3rd place in the 4x100m relay; Nick Gallardo - 5th place in the 100m hurdles & 7th in the 300m hurdles; and McWethy, Garrett Thomas, Snyder, and Dylan Puckett in the 4x200m relay. The Hawks were coached by Jim Spratt who was inducted into the Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2023.
1997-98 Boys Cross Country Team
Following a tenth place finish at the 1996 IHSA Class A State Finals, hopes were high for the '97 cross country Hawks with multiple runners returning to the squad. The high hopes proved to be legitimate as by the end of September, Oregon had risen to the #1 spot in the Class A rankings. The Hawks powered through to victory at the Byron Invitational, ran a seven man sweep to win the IHSA Regional, and claimed the Sectional championship the following week. Moving on to the IHSA State Meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria the following weekend, the Hawks edged runner-up McLeansboro by five points (144-149) to bring home the first state championship trophy in any sport in school history. Chad Zellers (7th) and Jared Harvey (17th) were the top finishers for the Hawks in the championship effort. Other runners on the course that day were Tom Bottoms, Seth Grennan, Dan Dietrich, Lance Reinbolz, and John Weber. The Hawks were coached by Art Carlson who was inducted into the Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1999.
1997-98 Wrestling Team
The 1997-98 Oregon Hawk wrestling team became the second team in school history to claim an IHSA state championship by winning the 1998 IHSA Dual Team Wrestling state title and 28-2 overall dual meet record. The path to the title was not an easy one as the Hawks had to edge local rivals Stillman Valley and Byron at the Sectional. Oregon ended up defeating Stillman 31-22 and beating Byron 29-18 to advance to the Round of Eight state finals. At state, Oregon secured an easy 49-11 win over Rock Island Alleman to advance to the semifinals. In the semis versus Lombard Montini, the Hawks were tied 20-20 before winning four of the final five bouts to claim a 36-23 win and an appearance in the state championship match against Coal City. In the final round, Oregon went ahead for good after Eric Berg's major decision at 103 pounds and held on for a 35-26 championship victory. Team members who wrestled in the state finals were Berg, Chad Gaston, Nate Winters, Jason Bausman, Tom Bottoms, Brent Suter, Brad Bauer, Jeremy Benesh, Jeremy Kennay, Sean Connolly, Marc Heng, Rob Wilkins, Josh Pearson, Ted Pollock, & Josh Carlson. The team was coached by Mike Papini, who had earned Illinois Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors the prior year in 1996-97 when the Hawks finished as the IHSA Class A state runner-up.
J.R. Worley
After serving his country in World War II and excelling in athletics at Monmouth College, J.R. Worley came to Mt. Morris High School as a science and social studies teacher. After serving as head coach for the Mounders in all boys sports offered at the school (football/basketball/track), he became Athletic Director at MMHS in 1956 and held the position until his retirement in 1982. During his tenure as AD, Worley was instrumental in advocating for girls sports in the mid 1970's after the passage of Title IX legislation. As such, Mt. Morris had highly successful girls athletic teams during this era. After he retired, he was a long time IHSA official in both track and cross country and continued to provide assistance at home track meets on the cinder track in Mt. Morris until the merger with Oregon. He was inducted into the Monmouth College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
Bob & Leona Groenhagen
Bob & Leona Groenhagen were die-hard Oregon Hawk Fans and were a constant presence in the stands of numerous OHS sporting events for well over 40 years. Especially during the mid 1990's through the mid 2000’s, they could be found supporting basketball, football, track, baseball, softball, cross country, and more with their Hawk Pride. The couple would additionally support many park district teams and high school programs with helpful financial donations from Groenhagen Farms. Leona was a 1948 Oregon High School graduate.
