SHS Sports: Timelines From The Sidelines Tradition Everlasting

The information in this column is provided by the book “The History of Staunton High School Sports (1908-2012)” which was researched and written by local resident and School Board member, Steven F. Moore. “Covering over 100-years of multiple sporting events of a local area is quite a daunting task,” and it is important to note that Moore acknowledges that he could not find everything that he wanted to include in the book.

The Star-Times releasing and publishing the information as a weekly news column is intended to educate, connect, and potentially humble all of us within the community on events and people that were the driving force in molding Staunton’s community and its tradition of sports into what it is today.

As we time travel the timelines in this column, the goal is to accumulate more information than what was provided from Moore’s book by being interactive and present. Feel free to send in any information, questions, pictures, comments, or concerns based on the information (or lack thereof) that is provided in this column for the foreseeable future. The Star-Times is appreciative of Moore in allowing the use of his hard work and research as a means of doing what Moore intended to do himself when writing the book: display and document local information and records in hopes to instill honor and pride for the traditions within and surrounding the sporting success of Staunton High School.

Overview of 1990-1999

The 1990s saw Staunton High School capture its first-ever Illinois team championship when the 1993 basketball Bulldogs won the IHSA Class 1A State Tournament. Unfortunately for the program, the title ended a run of basketball dominance at the school, as the Bulldogs enjoyed just one winning season in the next 15 years. The 1994 baseball team also made an appearance at State, and the program overall enjoyed a very strong decade, including setting a school record for victories in 1998.

Regrettably, like the basketball program, baseball suffered later too, eventually faltering to ten straight losing seasons. While the football program did not have a great decade by SHS standards, the last three years of the era did see the Bulldogs return to the IHSA Playoffs. Included in the run was an undefeated regular season in 1997. Arguably the best sport of the decade was boy’s golf. Not only did SHS golf win eight conference championships in a nine-year span, but the program also qualified for the State Tournament on four separate occasions.

Softball was introduced as a sport at SHS in 1993, and soccer became an option for girls in the school just one year later. Unfortunately, neither program has enjoyed much success since its introduction. The new offerings came at the expense of the track program, which the school dropped as a sport for girls after the 1992 season. While the school did allow girls to compete as individuals and practice with the boy’s team, the days of separate track coaches for the two genders were over. Finally, girl’s bowling was added as a sport in 1998-99, and a boy’s team followed one year later. The school itself also experienced a structural change during the decade, as a fire in the cafeteria destroyed a portion of the high school, resulting in a new multipurpose building in 1994. The added space was a blessing for the district’s indoor sports teams.

One of the biggest changes of the decade dealt with the realignment of the South Central Conference. Beginning with the 1997-98 school year, the SCC was totally revamped into a superconference that included 12 teams. Joining current SCC schools Alton Marquette, Carlinville, Gillespie, Litchfield, Southwestern, and Staunton were East Alton-Wood River and Roxana out of the Mississippi Valley Conference; and Greenville, Hillsboro, Pana, and Vandalia out of the now defunct Mid-State Conference. Concerning sports such as cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, and track, the league operated as a 12-team conference. However, the league was split into two six-team divisions, the SCC East and SCC West for baseball, basketball, football, softball, and volleyball. Though each division played crossover conference games against the other in order to ease scheduling concerns, those contests did not count as conference games in the standings. Unfortunately, when the divisions were set, Staunton was placed in the SCC East, apart from traditional rivals Carlinville and Gillespie. From a competitive standpoint, the Bulldogs had their work cut out for them. Not only was SHS the smallest school in its division, but over time the SCC East proved to be much tougher than the SCC West in nearly every sport. While the Dogs continued to hold their own in contests pitted against SCC West opponents, most sports programs at the school struggled to consistently compete in the SCC East.

Class of 1990

Baseball

Barry Deist’s 1990 baseball team finished the year with a record of 6-9 overall and 3-6 in the SCC. After a 3-0 start, the schedule was marred by rainouts, and the Dogs never found a groove during the season. The Bulldogs were eventually eliminated by Ramsey in the Regional. SHS featured a solid senior class that included: Greg Best; Phil Deist; Brian Dustman; Ed Fletcher; and Jeff Schwartz. Fletcher captured both the Pitching Award (3.32 ERA) and Hitting Award (.456), and he was also named First Team All-Conference. Fletcher eventually returned to SHS and served as the district’s high school principal for six years.

Basketball (Boys)

Despite starting the year off with four consecutive losses, the 1989-90 basketball team finished the season with a record of 14-11, including 6-4 in the SCC. Mike Stivers’ squad took Second Place in the SCC and at the Macoupin County Tournament despite having only one senior, Jeff Yarnik, on the team. In addition to Yarnik, the team featured Brad Best, a junior standout who solidified himself as one of the best basketball players in school history. Best averaged a double-double for the season by scoring 25.2 points and snaring 11.8 rebounds per game. In fact, it is believed that his scoring average is the best single-season mark in school history, and his rebounding average is also high on the list. After the season, Best took home Team MVP honors and the Free Throw Award (72 percent) to go along with First Team All-SCC and First Team All-County accolades. Additionally, he was a Second Team All-Area pick by the Telegraph and State Journal-Register. Yarnik also had an outstanding season, capturing Second Team All-County honors as well as being named All-SCC Honorable Mention.

Basketball (Girls)

Kim Leaser was the lone senior on the 1989-90 basketball team, a squad that set a program record for victories by finishing 14-10 overall and 5-5 in the SCC. The Lady Bulldogs were coached by Larry Kuba and featured outstanding offensive balance with Leaser, juniors Glenda Leeman and Debra Sievers, and sophomore Shayne Isbell sharing the load. Leaser captured Team MVP honors in addition to All-Conference Honorable Mention recognition. Kleeman (Second Team), Sievers (Honorable Mention), and Isbell (Honorable Mention) were also named to the All-Conference team. The latter three captured All-County recognition as well, with Sievers taking home First Team accolades and Kleeman and Isbell each capturing Second Team honors. Isbell won the Free Throw Award by hitting 66 percent of her attempts from the charity stripe. After the season, Kleeman was named All-Area by WSMI Radio.

Football

The 1989 season saw a coaching legacy come to an end as Barry Deist directed his last football game at SHS after 15 years as the head coach and seven years as an assistant. Leaving with the former SHS standout were the following seniors: Greg Best; Dave Cox; Phil Deist; Brian Dustman; Ed Fletcher; Gary Fuller; Dave Gerdes; Brad Hemann; Tony Masinelli; Bronson Painter; and Brad Young.

Though Deist’s teams finished with nine winning seasons overall the 1989 campaign ended with a record of 3-6 and 2-3 in the SCC. The campaign got off to a rough start for the Dogs with consecutive losses to Hillsboro (15-10) and Greenville (15-0). A Week Three shutout of Nokomis (42-0) preceded losses to Triad (33-7) and Carlinville (43-6). The Bulldogs got back on track with two straight wins over Litchfield (14-7) and Southwestern (17-6), but the year ended with defeats to Gillespie (35-0) and Columbia (39-14). Carlinville won the SCC title that season.

After the season, several Bulldogs were honored for their accomplishments on the field. Deist and Fletcher both took home First Team All-SCC honors. Gerdes was named Second Team All-Conference, and Hemann and Painter received Honorable Mention status. Best (Offensive MVP) and Fletcher (Defensive MVP) won team awards, and Fletcher was also named First Team All-Area by the Telegraph. Meanwhile, Deist was named Second Team All-Area, Fletcher later returned to his alma mater and served as high school principal for six years.

Golf (Boys)

Larry Kuba’s 1989 golf squad included just one senior, Mike Ficker. However, the team was composed of some very talented underclassmen who helped set a program record for victories the following season. The Dogs ended the year with a mark of 12-7, including a Second Place finish at the SCC Tournament. The team featured sophomore and Team MVP Jason Przymuzala. Not only did he lead the squad with a 40.8 scoring average, but Przymuzala put together rounds of 79 (Regional) and 83(Sectional) to qualify for State. Przymuzala was also an All-Conference honoree, as were sophomore Nathan Spudich and freshman Andy Kuba.

Track (Boys)

The 1990 track team is considered the finest squad in modern school history. Coach Ron Sturomski’s crew won the program’s first Sectional championship behind the following seniors: Greg Best; Phil Deist; Brian Dustman; Dave Gerdes; Chris Knowles; Tony Masinelli; and Brad Young. In addition, the team won every track meet that it entered during the season, including titles at the SCC and Macoupin County events.

At Conference, Gerdes won both the discus and shot put competitions, while juniors Tim Straub (800 meters, 1600 meters) and Kevin Boeckenstedt (300 meter hurdles) also took gold. Additionally, Best, Deist, Dustmann, and Knowles teamed up to capture championships in both the 400 meter and 800 meter relays.

At County, Gerdes won the shot put competition, and the aforementioned individuals also captured gold in their respective events. Additionally, the Bulldogs received championship performances out of the 1600 meter relay team of Boeckenstedt, junior Matt Bracht, and freshmen Brad Best and Dan Burgard. Finally, the 400 meter and 800 meter relay teams qualified for State, as did Gerdes (shot put) and Straub (800 meters, 1600 meters). In fact, Straub took Sixth Place overall in the 800 meters, while Gerdes captured Seventh Place in the shot put to wrap up the magical season.

Track (Girls)

Coach Donna Ruehrup’s 1990 track team featured a strong group of 16 participants. The squad was mostly made up of underclassmen and featured just one senior, Kristy LaRosa.

Volleyball

Donna Ruehrup’s 1989 volleyball team was filled with underclassmen, as the squad’s roster included just two seniors, Tammy Garde and Melanie Ureta. Though inexperienced, the youthful club finished with a record of 16-11 on the year, including 7-3 in the SCC. The mark was good for the program’s first winning season in three years and touched off a string of five consecutive winning seasons. The highlight of the year came at the Macoupin County Tournament when the Lady Bulldogs captured the championship for the first of three straight titles. After the season, junior Sherry Masinelli captured First Team All-SCC honors, while fellow classmates Janelle Franke, Glenda Kleeman, and Becky Miller were all named Honorable Mention winners. Masinelli took home Offensive MVP honors while Garde received the Defensive MVP award.

Class of 1991

Baseball

Barry Deist’s 1991 baseball team finished the season with an overall record of 13-10, including 7-3 in the SCC. Senior Jason Huhsman and freshman Jeremy May each hit .351 to share the team’s Hitting Award, while junior Nathan Spudich (7-2, 2 saves, 2.37 ERA) took home the Pitching Award. All-Conference First Team members included seniors Scott Bremer, Huhsman, and Dan Lyday, while Spudich and sophomore Andy Kuba captured Honorable Mention accolades. John Mitchelar joined Bremer, Huhsman, and Lyday in the senior class. After the season, Huhsman took his talents to Lewis and Clark Community College. After competing for two years for the Trailblazers, he moved on to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and played two additional seasons for the Cougars.

Basketball (Boys)

The 1990-91 basketball season was a very exciting one for SHS. After starting the year off by splitting their first six games, the Bulldogs ran off fifteen straight wins and eventually finished with a record of 21-5 overall and 9-1 in the SCC. The SCC mark was good for a league title, and the Dogs also captured the Macoupin County Tournament championship. Unfortunately, coach Mike Stivers had to say goodbye to an excellent senior class made up of the following: Brad Best; Kevin Klein; Jason Huhsman; Dave Legendre; Dan Lyday; and Doug Stevens. Best took home Team MVP honors, while Stevens and junior Nathan Calcari shared the Free Throw Award. Junior Kevin Hemken averaged 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Dogs, and he was named First Team All-Conference and All-County for his efforts. Additionally, Hemken was chosen for the Telegraph’s All-Area Second Team. Klein took home Second Team All-Conference and All-County distinction, while Lyday was named All-SCC Honorable Mention.

With Best’s departure from the program, SHS saw its all-time leading scorer graduate with a total of 1,681 points. Best, who averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds, was named First Team All-SCC for the second straight season and also captured County MVP honors. He also took home First Team All-Area honors from the Telegraph, the State Journal-Register, and WSMI Radio. Finally, Best was named All-State Honorable mention by the Associated Press. After graduating from SHS, he continued his basketball career for three seasons at Monmouth College.

Leaving with the Class of 1991 was the coach of the Bulldogs, Mike Stivers. In his 13 seasons at the helm, SHS won 213 games, making Stivers the program’s all-time wins leader by a large margin. During that span, his teams claimed seven conference titles, six county crowns, three Regional titles, and eclipsed the 20-win mark on five occasions.