Piatt’s OT: Introducing the Monticello Athletic Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024

To subscribe, click here.

To submit a letter to the editor, click here.

Want to purchase todays print edition? Heres a map of single-copy locations.

Sign up for our daily newsletter here MONTICELLO Monticello High School is preparing to welcome the latest group of former Sages to be forever enshrined in its halls for their athletic achievements.

Bill Pike, Class of 1957; Chad Marshall, Class of 2003; Nick Stokowski, Class of 2014; Dave Yockey, Class of 1973; and the 2014 softball team will officially join the Monticello Athletic Hall of Fame in an induction ceremony before the Sages homecoming football game against Pontiac on Sept.

27.

We are excited to announce the induction of an exceptional class into the Monticello Athletic Hall of Fame, Monticello Athletic Director Dan Sheehan told The News-Gazette.

Sages Athletics is proud to recognize this year's inductees for their talent and commitment to the program ...

and celebrate their accomplishments as Monticello Sages as well as their continued achievements and careers following their time at MHS.

Please join us in celebrating these outstanding individuals and their remarkable contributions to Monticello Athletics.

Heres a deeper dive into each of their accomplishments: Bill Pike, Monticello Class of 1957, is a member of the Sages' 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class.

A look back Pike was a three-sport standout on the football field, basketball court and track, and he shined brightest during his senior year.

In his second year as the football teams quarterback, Pike threw a touchdown pass in every game.

As a point guard for the basketball team, he finished his career as a top-10 scorer in the Okaw Valley and an All-State Honorable Mention pick.

In track and field, he ran the states sixth-fastest 220-yard dash time while winning the Okaw Valley high jump title and tying for the conference pole vault crown.

Pike was the only freshman to letter in a major sport at Culver Military School in 1954 and later became the leading scorer among former college All-Americans for the United States Army basketball team playing in Germany.

After military police school, he went overseas to take on the role of CIA Hall of Fame member Col.

Paul Lutjens personal bodyguard.

Chad Marshall, Monticello Class of 2003, is a member of the Sages' 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class.

Also a standout for the football, basketball and track teams, Marshall was named Monticellos Roy Jones Most Outstanding Male Athlete in 2003.

He helped the football team advance to the Class 3A semifinals with 96 tackles his senior year.

His defensive prowess extended to the following basketball season, where he blocked 85 shots to lead the Sages to just their second super-sectional appearance.

That spring, he was on the 400- and 800-meter relay teams that placed at state and set school records that stood for 17 years.

Nick Stokowski, Monticello Class of 2014, is a member of the Sages' 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class.

Stokowski is one of the most decorated athletes in Monticello history.

He was a four-year starter for the baseball team, earning all-conference honors all four years.

He was an All-State selection as a senior, setting single-season program records with nine home runs and 60 RBI.

He continued to impress in the collegiate ranks, earning all-conference recognition at Parkland College his first two years, starting 33 games at Central Michigan University as a junior and making the NCAA Division II All-America First Team as a senior at the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Stokowski was also a standout for Monticellos basketball team, ranking fifth in career points and sixth in career rebounds for the program.

Dave Yockey, Monticello Class of 1973, is a member of the Sages' 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class.

The late Yockey was a cherished friend of athletics whose profound influence has left an enduring legacy, Sheehan said.

Yockeys impact stretched over multiple decades in numerous ways.

During his time as a Sage, he was a manager for the football, baseball, wrestling, track and golf teams.

For 20 years after graduation, he was the voice of high school games for WVLJ radio, regularly calling Monticello events.

He also spent 40 years as an IHSA official, connecting with coaches, players and fans.

Yockey wanted to give back to the community, so he umpired youth baseball in Monticello for many years and was a sponsor for Monticellos Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The 2014 Monticello softball team is a member of the Sages' 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame class.

Prior to the spring of 2014, Monticello had never sent a team to the state finals in a bracketed event.

That years softball team, coached by Courtney Hoffman, changed that, going 31-5 and finishing third at the Class 2A state tournament.

Leading the team was N-G Player of the Year Chrissy Gadbury, who went 26-5 in the circle with 150 strikeouts while hitting 10 home runs and tallying a school-record 48 RBI at the plate.

Catcher Allie Hislope was an All-State First-Team selection, blasting a Monticello season-record 14 home runs that year and a program-best 41 for her career.

Samantha Valentine batted .527 and scored a team-high 48 runs.

Along with those three, Sophie Catlin, Emily Chitwood, Ashley Gulliford, Megan Magsamen and Megan Taylor posted a batting average better than .300.

The Sages season marked Monticellos seventh state trophy, and teams have brought home nine more since then.

Congratulations to Jimmy Dillon of Tri-County football and Sierrah Downey of Monticello volleyball for receiving the most votes in this weeks poll.

They are our latest Athletes of the Week and will be featured in The News-Gazette this coming Monday.

Fellow finalists included Bridget Cassady of Champaign Central volleyball, Preston Jiles of Blue Ridge boys' golf, Carlos Juarez of Danville boys' soccer, Caleb Mathias of Champaign Central boys' cross-country, Shannon Monahan of St.

Thomas More volleyball and Farah Scott of Centennial girls' cross-country.

Be sure to vote in next weeks poll, which will open at 9 a.m.

Monday and close at noon the following Thursday.

You can find them under the Prep Sports tab on news-gazette.com .

Shoutouts Became the Panthers all-time leading rusher with his 237-yard performance on Aug.

30, passing Craig Loschens record set in 1996.

Pitched a no-hitter in the baseball teams 8-0 win over Unity on Sept.

3 before shooting the lowest round of the IESA Sectional E with a 72 to lead the golf team to win the title and advance to state less than 12 hours later.

Earned recognition from the Easton/NFCA on Sept.

4 for compiling a team GPA of 3.78 in the 2023-24 school year, the 17th-best mark in the country.

Recorded her 500th career kill in a 16-hill performance to lead the Maroons to a three-set, comeback win over Mahomet-Seymour on Sept.

4.

Holed out from 80 yards for birdie on the par-5 sixth hole at Lincolnshire Fields Country Club in the Sabers win over Fisher last Thursday.

Broke the Panthers career aces record with three in a three-set loss to Watseka last Thursday to put her at 124 total.

Drilled a 31-yard field goal with 1.2 seconds left to give the Spartans a 24-21 win over Unity last Friday.

Tallied her 1,000th career kill during the Sabers runner-up showing at the Centennial Invite last Saturday in which she racked up 52 kills.

Broke the program career assist record with his 59th in a 5-0 win over Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Westville last Tuesday.

Karsyn Johnson, Callie Lu, Maddie Logsdon and Claire Waggoner set a new Bulldog record with a time of 2 minutes, 0.31 seconds in a meet with Champaign Central and Danville last Tuesday..

This article has been shared from the original article on newsgazette, here is the link to the original article.