OP_110917

opprairie.com Sports
the orland park prairie | November 9, 2017 | 35
Sandburg inducts inaugural athletics Hall of Fame class
Jason Maholy
Freelance Reporter
Well before the start of
the 1993 high school soccer
season, the players on the
Sandburg boys team told one
another they were going to
win that year’s state championship
and do it in a way no
other team ever had.
It did not matter to them
that the Eagles’ program
had to that point never even
advanced beyond sectional
competition. Those boys, 16
and 17 years old, simply believed
they were destined for
greatness.
In the fall of 1993, that
team would record one of
the most dominant seasons
of any team in any sport in
the history of Illinois high
school athletics. The Eagles
finished 29-0-1, set state records
with 27 consecutive
wins and 164 goals scored,
and shut out 22 opponents,
including the final 12 on
their way to the state title.
The squad was the first
to win a team state title for
Sandburg — a feat that has
since been accomplished
19 times. For their historical
contribution, the 1993
Eagles headlined the inaugural
class of inductees into
the Sandburg High School
Athletic Hall of Fame. A
ceremony honoring the first
class was held Friday, Nov.
3, in the Eagle Gym.
Also inducted were former
swimming coach Jane
Caliendo; former football
coach Joe Devine; former
coach and athletic director
Cliff Eade; former athletic
trainer John Wator; former
student-athletes Pat Fitzgerald,
Tom Graves and Katie
Hertz; and Mike Navarro,
who had a storied athletic
career and later returned to
the school to coach football.
Sandburg Athletic Director
Tom Freyer said honoring
the people who have
made the most impactful
contributions to Eagles athletics
is long overdue and
many more will be inducted
in the coming years.
“There are lots of deserving
individuals that need to
be recognized for their contributions,”
Freyer said.
It was fitting that the late
Caliendo, a former physical
education teacher who guided
the girl’s swimming and
water polo programs for 22
years, will go down in Sandburg
history as the first person
inducted into the Hall.
Caliendo was a four-year
varsity letter-winner in basketball,
swimming and track
during her student years at
Sandburg. After returning
to the school as an educator
and coach, she earned Illinois
High School Association
Coach of the Year honors
six times for swimming
and three times for water
polo. She was beloved by
her athletes for her passion,
dedication and warrior spirit.
The Sandburg Aquatics
Center was named after
Caliendo following her
death in October 2014. Her
husband, Jim — the Eagles’
longtime swimming and water
polo coach — accepted
the honor on her behalf.
“Jane would be beaming
with pride,” Caliendo said
as he addressed the hundreds
of people assembled in the
gym. “She dedicated her life
to Carl Sandburg and the Orland
community.”
Despite her competitive nature,
Jane was gracious in defeat
and taught the athletes she
coached to be the same way.
“She taught them to believe
in themselves, and helped
them achieve a level of success
they never dreamed was
possible for themselves,” he
said. “Win or lose, they held
their heads high.”
Jane also played the role of
counselor for her students and
athletes, who knew they could
come to her with any problem
in or out of school, Jim said.
That care she showed came
back tenfold in the form of
cards, meals and visits, after
Jane was diagnosed in January
2014 with Stage 4 colon
cancer, he added.
Today, Jane’s words of
wisdom live on in quotes
that adorn Eagles swimmers’
T-shirts, and a memorial
5K held in her honor draws
roughly 700 people, “all
who were touched by Jane,”
Jim said.
Fitzgerald, one of the best
defensive football players
in the state during his time
at Sandburg, was not in attendance.
“Fitz,” as he is
known, has since 1996 been
the head football coach at
Northwestern University. He
was in Lincoln, Nebraska,
where his Wildcats were preparing
to take on the Cornhuskers.
So, Fitzgerald sent
in a recorded video message
in which he congratulated
the other inductees.
“It’s truly a humbling
honor for me to share this
with you, who were better
athletes than I ever was at
Sandburg,” he said.
The evening concluded
with the induction of the
1993 state champion soccer
team. Nearly every coach
and player from the squad
made the trip — some coming
from Arizona, California
and New Hampshire. One of
those missing was Marty Regan,
one of the team’s captains
and who died in June
2011 at 35 years old.
PRESSBOX PICKS
Our staff’s predictions for
the top games in Week 12
Providence Catholic (7-4) at St. Laurence (8-3)
Lincoln-Way East (11-0) hosts Oswego (10-1)
Lincoln-Way Central (10-1) hosts Benet Academy (8-3)
Lincoln-Way West (9-2) hosts Batavia (10-1)
Josh Feigl, the squad’s
other captain, paid tribute to
his friend and former teammate.
He called Regan “one
of the most special parts of
the team.”
“He was an amazing captain
an amazing leader — a
man of few words, but when
he did speak, everybody
stopped and everybody listened.”
Feigl said. “He led
by example. He was a great
player, friend and teammate.
We miss you, Marty.”
Feigl recalled how after
the 1992 season, after the
Eagles lost in the sectional
finals for the third consecutive
year, the guys on the
team were convinced they
would win the state title in
1993.
“This group was a really
special team, and that
sounds cliché, but these guys
believed, and we started
talking about winning a state
championship and doing it
in a way no other team ever
did,” he said. “Call it crazy,
but we actually believed it.”
Feigl credited coach Brian
Papa for instilling passion
for the game into his players.
He said Papa and the
other coaches believed in
the players’ dream of a state
title, and inspired and challenged
the team.
“This team has a bond
that’s hard to explain,” Feigl
said, turning to his teammates
assembled on stage.
“For me, this is what greatness
looks like.”
44-10
Tim Carroll | Sports Editor
• Providence 35, St. Laurence 17. St.
Laurence has the better record, but
the Vikings have not faced the same
level of competition.
• LW East
• LW Central
• Batavia
Providence
From Page 38
know them, but they were
much bigger than us. They
also have a good setter, who
has very good hands. The
matchup was just tough for
us.”
The loss ended the campaign
for Providence (21-
17) in the sectional semifinals
for the third straight
season. The Celtics hey won
a regional title for the third
consecutive year.
“We had a good season,”
Muys said. “We finished
third at the Rich East Tournament
and third in the Oak
Lawn Invite. We beat Lincoln-Way
West early in the
season but lost to Lincoln-
Way Central. We defeated
Loyola, which was a nice
win. We had some really
good matches in going three
with some teams like [Joliet
Catholic Academy] and
Wheaton’s St. Francis.
“We had a team of five seniors
— all of which started
at some point — 10 juniors
and a sophomore. We had a
lot of defensive players and
only one girl that is 6-foot
[tall].”
The Celtics graduate five
seniors. They are: middle
blocker/right side hitter Rachael
Dion, libero Megan
Kulpinski, libero/outside
hitter Olivia Smagala, setter/right
side hitter Keely
Tess and outside hitter
Emma Urchell. But the 10
juniors and a sophomore are
expected back.
Tess, who is the only
6-footer on the team, and
44-10
Tom Czaja | Contributing
Editor
• Providence 35, St. Laurence 21.
Formidable schedule of Celtics has
team well-prepared to continue
playoff run to semifinal.
• LW East
• LW Central
• Batavia
sophomore outside hitter Izabela
Gorys made All-Conference
in the Girls Catholic
Athletic Conference for
Providence.
Muys, who worked as a
pediatric nurse for many
years, has four children
who all played volleyball
at Sandburg, as well as the
club and collegiate levels.
She graduated high school
in 1982 from Andrew. Then,
she embarked on a volleyball
career at DePaul University,
where she still holds
records and was inducted in
the school’s Hall of Fame in
2006.
She has coached at the
club level for years, but had
not coached high school
since a lower level coaching
stop in 1988 at Andrew.
“It was interesting and
different,” she said of
coaching at the high school
varsity level. “Because of
the amount of matches you
play, you play every other
day on average. So, the
speed of the season goes
by fast with the amount of
matches you play. I wish
there was a little bit more
practice time to work on
some things.”
Despite the time and season
flying by, Muys said she
enjoyed it.
“It was a lot of fun,” she
said. “The girls were awesome.
We had a great team
bond. Also my assistant
coach, Kyle Klaver, was a
huge help to me. Really, everyone
was so helpful, positive
and supportive. I look
forward to being back next
season.”
42-12
Joe Coughlin | Publisher
• Providence 34, St. Laurence 24.
Like many Chicago Catholic League
teams, the Celtics are built for this.
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• LW Central
• LW West