Seven coaches were voted into ITCCCA’s Coaches Hall-of-Fame at the recent Hall-of-Fame Committee meeting. They will be inducted at the annual ITCCCA Hall-of-Fame Banquet, following the Clinic on January 6, 2018. The selection meeting takes place in October each year. ITCCCA by-laws allow the committee to select up to seven members each year. This year there were over 40 coaches nominated.
The committee consists of 15 Hall-of-Fame coaches through Illinois. Each region of the State is represented. Each of the candidates was discussed at length with concern focusing on the three C’s – coaching record, contribution to the sports outside of coaching, and character. The committee was faced with a tough task of only selecting seven inductees. Each of the members placed a secret ballot where they were allowed to vote for seven coaches. The votes were cast and counted.
The following coaches have been selected for this year:
James Brauer (Petersburg Porta High School)
James Brauer served as head Cross Country Coach at Petersburg Porta for 28 years. He, also, served as head Track & Field Coach a couple seasons. James is unique in that he is one of a very few who have ran on a State Championship, and coached both a boys CC and a girls CC State Championship team. All together his teams won 3 State Championships and a total of 6 IHSA State trophies. Individual State medals were won 26 times by girls and 13 times by boys. In 1991, Heather Hollis won the State Championship. Coach Brauer’s teams won 10 Sectional Titles and qualified for State 19 times. He, also, has had the honor of coaching several of his six children.
Chuck Danner (Metamora High School)
Chuck is in his 46th year of coaching Track & Field. He became the head Boys’ Track & Field Coach at Metamora in 1984. His teams have won18 Mid-Illini Conference titles and 3 Sectionals. He has coached athletes to 26 IHSA State medals, including 3 State Championships. This past season, he coached Jake Gillum to State Championships in both the 800 m. and 1600 m. in Class AA. Coach Danner is well-respected throughout central Illinois. He has directed track & field clubs. He started the Metamora Co-Ed Invitational, which is one of largest co-ed meets in Illinois. He has had the honor of coaching with his son, Steve, for 26 years.
Cynthia Fitzgerald (Argenta-Oreana High School)
Cynthia coached Track & Field at Aregnta-Oreana High School for 34 years, as head Girls Track & Field coach. Recently retired, she coached the Track & Field team of her school, with an enrollment of 280, to 3rd place in the IHSA State Track & Field Meet in 2002 and 7th in 2003. Never having an assistant coach and having run the program on a cinder track, Coach Fitzgerald has coached 6 individual State Champions and 37 State medalists. Her 2006 team was Sectional Champions and her teams won the Okaw Valley Conference 8 times. A member of Millikin University Athletic Hall-of-Fame, she has volunteered at many athletic events at Millikin, including several national championships.
Kevin Kramer (Shelbyville High School)
Kevin has coached boys and girls cross country and track & field at Shelbyville High School for over 30 years. In that time, he has coached athletes to State Championships on 8 occasions (4 in CC and 4 in TF) and to runner-up position 9 times. His 2015 boys Cross Country team earned the IHSA State runner-up trophy. Kevin has coached athletes to a State medal in every event except the triple jump. His CC teams have qualified for State 16 times, and have finished in the top 10 on 7 occasions. His CC and TF teams have won 22 conference, 12 Regional, and 7 Sectional titles. Coach Kramer has coached athletes to State medals 21 times in Cross Country and 30 times in Track & Field. He has served for meet manager for numerous Conference, Regional. and Sectional CC and TF meets.
Michelle Lillis (Rock Island High School)
Michelle Lillis served as the Head Girls Track & Field Coach at Rock Island High School from 1995-2014. Previously, she coached at Washington Jr. High. In 2009, she coached her girls to the IHSA State 2A championship. Michelle coached 38 individual and 19 relays to IHSA State medals. She coached State Champions in the 400 meters and the 4×100 m. relay. For several years of her coaching, Michelle was fortunate to coach alongside her husband, Ed. He has served as head boys T & F coach for many years. Ed was inducted in ITCCCA Hall of Fame in 2010. The Lillis’ are the first husband and wife team to enter the ITCCCA Hall of Fame. She currently is the Athletic Director at Rock Island High School.
Paul Vandersteen (Neuqua Valley High School)
Paul began coaching at Peoria Notre Dame in 1988 and at Pekin and Waubonsie Valley High Schools until becoming head Cross Country Coach at Neuqua Valley in 1997. There, he developed one of the top cross country programs in Illinois and the nation. Paul’s teams have qualified for State on 16 occasions, won 13 conference, 9 Regional, and 6 Sectional titles. They have won the IHSA State Championship 3 times and have earned 3 third place State trophies. Five of his teams have qualified for the prestigious Nike National Cross Country Meet. And in 2007 they won the Nike Nationals. Also, in 2007, Chris Derrick won the Nike National meet and finished 2nd at Footlocker. He has only coached track & field a few years, as he is Department Chair of Science. In T & F he has coached 12 State medalist and the 2017 3200 m. relay State Champion.
Todd Vohland (Decatur St. Teresa High School)
Todd has served as a head coach of Track & Field and/or Cross Country for 28 years. Before coming to St. Teresa in 2000, he coached at Sciota Northwestern and Delevan. At St. Teresa he has coached teams to 5 State trophies. From 2010 through 2013, his girls team won 4 consecutive IHSA State Cross Country Championships. His teams have won 6 Sectional and 7 regional titles. A total of 57 times his athletes have won IHSA State medals. His CC athletes have won 18 and his Track & Field have won medals in 23 individual and 16 relay events. He, also, serves as a teacher and athletic director at St. Teresa.