editor's comment

The 14 former Sage athletes below were elected by a commitee to the new Monticello High School Sports Hall of Fame. The pictures are senior pictures scanned from their school yearbooks. The comments are my own. Later a more formal writeup will appear on plaques that Hall of Famers will receive on Homecoming September 29, 2006.
Lynn Swango

Harry Combes class of 1933

Harry Combes was a standout on three Sages basketball teams that had an overall record of 72-9. He played on a conference champion at the University of Illinois and was named all Big Ten Conference. He coached nine seasons at Champaign High school where his teams won a state title and reached the title game three consecutive years. He became the U of I coach and in 20 seasons, his Illini won 316 games and lost 150. Three teams reached the NCAA final four. National speaking, Combes is clearly the most famous Monticello athlete.

Bob Miller class of 1933

Bob Miller and Harry Combes were the backbones of three outstanding basketball teams. The teams posted 20-5, 25-2, 27-2 records. He earned three letters in football and was all-conference in both sports. Miller has always been a strong supporter of Sages athletic programs. He has seen nearly 2,000 games and has fed nearly 1,000 steak dinners to Monticello and Okaw Valley players.
He served many years as president to the Monticello School Board. Miller is a member of the Monticello High School Hall of fame.

Noel Pike class of 1927

Max Noel Pike was an outstanding athlete at Monticello in football, basketball, and track. He led the football team is scoring. He was the leading scorer on a 20-6 basketball team. In track, he was long jumper, javelin thrower and pole vaulter. He won the conference in the pole vault and placed third in the state meet.
He was a standout as the baseball centerfielder at the U of I. He batted .348 his senior year. He had a long career after graduation playing in the Eastern Illinois Amateur League.

Linden Piatt class of 1930

Piatt was a starter all four years in football. He was all conference. He won three letters in basketball and three as a weight man on the track team, winning the conference and district discus crown. He was Captain of Monticello’s only unbeaten football team in 1927. He was a three-year lettermen on Coach Bob Zuppke’s Illini football teams. He played both ways and was honorable mention all Big-Ten.

Rich Gadbury class of 1950

Gadbury was one of the Sages finest all-around athletes. He won 13 varsity letters. During his senior year in football, he had over 200 tackles, including 47 in one game. In basketball, he had over 700 career points and was selected honorable mention all-state twice. In baseball, he had a four-year .310 batting average. He held the school track records in the 120 yard high hurdles, 180 low hurdles, and the shot. He played briefly in professional baseball after high school graduation.

Larry LeCrone class of 1954

LeCrone’s track performances read like sports fiction. In his senior year, he won eight events in an eight-team track meet. He also won six events in a seven-team track meet. He was fourth in the state 100-yard dash and second in the 220-yard dash in the days of a one-class system.
While in grade school, LeCrone scored enough points to single-handedly win the State Elementary school track meet.
LeCrone was an all-around athlete. He played football four years and was a starter on the 1953-54 Okaw basketball Champions.

Dike Stirrett class of 1966

Stirrett held school records in the half mile, mile, and mile relay. His mile record (converted to 1600 meter) is still unbroken. He went to the state in cross country.
At Eastern Illinois University he was a small college All-American as a distance runner. Stirrett continued running after college and won numerous marathons and road races. He was a track and cross country coach at Champaign Central High School until his retirement from teaching.

Heath Weddle class of 1990

Weddle was a state and national champion high jumper. He placed 4th in the state meet as a sophomore and won the title in his junior and senior years. He also placed 6th in the high hurdles his senior year. He won the National NCAA division III high jump while at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Weddle was one of Monticello’s finest ball carriers in football. He is third in career rushing with a 7.8 yards per carry average.
He was a starter on two of Monticello’s best basketball teams. His senior year the team had a 24-4 record.

J.C. Ahrlich class of 1973

Ahlrich won 14 letters in Monticello High School sports. He was a running back in football and once scored five touchdowns in one game. In basketball, he was a three-year starter, on successful teams. He held the school record in the 440 yard dash. He was also a star on the baseball team.
He was a four-year varsity end for Illinois Wesleyan University’s football team.

Kim Burke class of 1976

Burke was a groundbreaker for the early girl’s sports program at Monticello. She was well ahead of her contemporaries in basketball. She averaged 26 points per game and once made 12 of 15 shots in a game while scoring 40 points. She set a single game scoring record at Parkland and was a third team All-American. She played two years at Northern Illinois where she also set a single game scoring record.

Jeff Bailey class of 1974

Bailey was a complete athlete. He has the school record for his 26.7 points per game in his senior basketball season. He was a fantastic rebounder. He once had 37 rebounds in a single game. He was picked Little All-State his senior year.
In addition, Bailey was a football quarterback, and excellent high hurdler in track, and baseball outfielder.
After high school, Bailey played basketball two years at Boston College on an athletic scholarship.

Kelly See class of 1981

Kelly excelled in Monticello volleyball, basketball, and softball. She is the second all-time basketball scorer and has single game record with 43 points. Kelly played on the 1979-80 team that had a 23-5 record and advanced to the super sectional. She earned a varsity volleyball letter at the University of Illinois. She has served the school as a coach and member of the Monticello Education Association.

Charlie Vinson Class of 1982

Charlie Vinson was a three-year starter in football, basketball, and track.
The ’80 and ’81 football Sages were 9-2 and 9-1. On those teams, Vinson was the ball carrier, kicker, and leading tackler.
He is the career leader in football scoring and yards rushing. He played four years of varsity football at Eastern Illinois University as an offensive end.
He was a double figure scorer on three strong basketball teams.
He holds the school record in the discus and placed fifth in the state track meet.

Angie Heitz class of 1983

Angie Heitz was a superstar in volleyball, basketball and track. She was MVP in volleyball and basketball her senior year. Heitz was one of Monticello’s all-time finest in track and field. She won the state in the shot in 1982 and in both the shot and discus in 1983. Her school records are often considered the most difficult of all to break. She played on some of Monticello’s most successful girls athletic teams.