Illinois' Mount Vernon Township High School (MVTHS) recently announced their 2016 Hall of Fame (HOF) inductees.
The inductees were honored at a banquet on Feb. 13. The inductees included six athletes, three teams and one friend.
Jason Books graduated in the class of 1990 and played football, wrestling and baseball during his high school career, earning him 10 varsity letters. Chad Hammons from the class of 1994 played football basketball and baseball for three years. As the starting quarterback, he passed for 3,008 yards with 219 completions, setting records for both stats. Tommy Hays of the class of 1984 played basketball for three years, amassing 889 career points of which 542 were scored during his senior year. Dr. JW Sanders of the class of 1955 played football and baseball for four years and basketball for two years. He served as co-captain of the football team during his senior year and went on to become an NFL Official for six years.
Lindsay Wagner of the class of 2003 ran cross country and track during her four years at MVTHS. Her records in the 1,600, 3,200 and the 3,200 relay still stand. Jerry Wilson of the class of 1977 was a basketball player and ran track during his high school career. He scored 578 points in basketball and holds the school record in the high jump of 6’7”.
The HOF also honored three Rams teams including the 1908-09 basketball team which was the first in school history to advance to the IHSA Elite 8 under the coaching of W.L. Stuckley. The 1991-92 basketball team, coached by Lee Emery and Doug Creel, had a record of 25-5 and won the AA Regional and Sectional Championships. The 2001-02 girls cross country team is the first and only MVTHS team to win an AA Sectional Championship.
Finally, the MVTHS HOF honored John Rackaway in the friend category. He was a sports reporter for the Register News who loved to return to his alma mater and report on Rams basketball.
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