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GMS boys basketball advances to State Championship game

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The Gillespie side of the court erupts as the final buzzer sounds.

The Gillespie side of the court erupts as the final buzzer sounds.

The seventh grade Gillespie Middle School Indians basketball team (25-2) kept their season alive last Saturday in the Class 7-3A State Tournament as they downed Hoopeston Area (24-2) and St. Joseph (22-3) after spending the entire day in Wenoma.

The bus left before 9 o’clock Saturday morning and hundreds of area residents welcomed their hometown winning team back into town shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday evening. Gillespie, coached by Tim Wargo and Stuart Ringer, beat Hoopeston 39-26 in their first round game at 1 in the afternoon to advance to the 6:30 p.m. semi-final action where they knocked off St. Joseph 33-31.

“The kids played great,” head coach Tim Wargo said after the game. “Teutopolis is going to be a handful – they scored 45 points in the semi-final game. We are going to practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to get back here Thursday.”

The bus left around 9 a.m. Saturday and hundreds of residents welcomed their hometown winning team back into town shortly after 11 p.m.

With two victories, Gillespie advanced to the 7-3A State Championship game that will be played Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Wenoma Fieldcrest Middle/Elementary School. The Indians will face Teutopolis (23-3) in the championship bout after the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes beat Markham Robert Frost and Farmington Central on Saturday.

Gillespie 39, Hoopeston Area 26

Billy Gill gives the Indians the lead in the semi-final game.

Billy Gill gives the Indians the lead in the semi-final game.

Gillespie fell behind early as Hoopeston’s Lucas Hofer broke down the Indians’ defense and put Gillespie behind 8-15 after the first quarter of play. The Indians settled down in the second quarter, holding Hoopeston to just 5 points in the quarter to cut the deficit to 17-20 at halftime.

The Indians dominated the second half outscoring Hoopeston 14-2 in the third quarter and then 8-4 in the fourth quarter securing their seat in the semi-final game Saturday evening with the 39-26 victory. Frankie Barrett, Anthony Kravanya and Chance Reiniesch equally led the team with 11 points a piece. Devin Stroh added 4 and Billy Gill scored 2.

Gillespie 33, St. Joseph 31

The real action came in the 6:30 p.m. semi-final game where the Indians battled St. Joseph to see who would advance to the championship game. Despite falling behind 0-9 after the opening tip-off, the Indians only trailed 15-17 at halftime after Anthony Kravanya’s buzzer beater field goal.

The Indians and Panthers were tied 23-23 after the third quarter with Gillespie in foul trouble. With St. Joseph shooting bonus shots midway through the fourth quarter, Gillespie remained patient on the offensive end and converted on open opportunities. Billy Gill gave the Indians a 31-30 lead with 46 seconds remaining, but the Panthers would tie the game at 31 after making 1 of 2 bonus free throws after a Gillespie foul.

After grabbing the rebound and leading the ball to their offensive end, Billy Gill rebounded a missed shot attempt and scored on a put back to give the Indians a 33-31 lead with 10 seconds remaining. The Panthers tried to sketch up a game-winning play during a timeout, but Gillespie remained solid on the defensive end and didn’t foul. Anthony Kravanya led the team with 11 points with Chance Reiniesch following with 8. Billy Gill and Devin Stroh added 6 points each.

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Thursday Night

Gillespie fans wishing to car pool Thursday night can contact Andy Barber at 217-710-6501 to reserve their seat on a 56-passenger Cavallo bus. Cost per seat will be $15-$20 depending on the final capacity Thursday afternoon. Fans not wishing to make the trip can listen to the game online through WSMI FM 106.


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Community News

First class of athletes inducted into CUSD 7 Athletic Wall of Fame

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Gillespie Community School District recently held its firstt inaugural class of its “Athletic Wall of Fame” on October 1, 2023. The inductees were invited to participate in the Homecoming Parade and then a “meet and greet” at the high school football game.

Here is a list of the inductees and a brief biography of their accomplishments.

Sam Anderson graduated from Benld in 1952. He participated in football, baseball, basketball, and track for 4 years earning all-conference in three sports and All-State in football and basketball. He was a St. Louis Browns professional baseball tryout and played basketball at St Louis University for one year and Eastern Illinois University football for two years. He scored over 1300 career points in high school basketball.

Keith Parker graduated from Gillespie in 1940. He participated in football, basketball, and track and earned nine varsity letters. He played football at University of Missouri and National Champion Purdue University for one year each. He was drafted by the Baltimore Colts. He was a football and basketball official for 41 years and inducted into Granite City Hall of Fame, Missouri Football Hall of Fame, NFHS Hall of Fame, and Greater St Louis Hall of Fame.

Lisa (Ribes) Roberts was a graduate of Gillespie HS in 1996. She participated in multiple sports including four yrs in track. She holds the school record in 1600 and 3200 meters. She ran track at SIUE for 4 years and is a professional Tri-Athlete and 6x Iron Man Champion. She has participated in over 100 triathlons around the world and holds multiple Iron Man course records.

Jim Hlafka graduated from Gillespie in 1952. He earned all-conference in basketball. He played basketball at St Louis University and Eastern Illinois University for one year each. He coached Bunker Hill High School basketball for 43 years and ranks 13th in IHSA career wins with a record of 754-347. Hlafka was also inducted into the IBCA Hall of Fame.

Gordon Hartweger graduated from Gillespie in 1957. He participated in basketball, baseball, and track for four years earning all-conference honors in basketball. He played basketball at St Louis University for 4 years earning MVP and Captain. He was the assistant basketball coach at St Louis University for 5 years and played in the NIT National Finals.

Jerry Grandone graduated from Gillespie in 1960. He participated in basketball, track, and football earning all-conference in basketball and track. After Gillespie, he played basketball and track at Eastern Illinois University for 4 years. He held hurdle records, MVP, and track captain at Eastern Illinois, basketball captain at Eastern Illinois, and earned seven varsity letters at Eastern Illinois. Grandone coached basketball in Coal City and Gillespie, was the track coach at Coal City five years, and in Gillespie for 38 years.

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Rick Bertagnolli graduated from Gillespie in 1978. He participated in football, basketball, baseball, and track earning all-conference in football and baseball. He played baseball at Lewis and Clark and SIUE for two years each and was the MVP and Captain at Lewis and Clark. Bertagnolli was a men’s Olympic Festival softball and Major fastpitch softball for five years and earned the IHSA Softball Coach of the Year. Bertagnolli coached softball at Wabash Valley Jr College, University of South Carolina-Spartanburg and California University of Pennsylvania for 20 years winning the Div. II National Champion twice and also receiving the Conference, Regional and National Softball Coach of the Year.

Bob Boston graduated from Gillespie in 1966. He participated in football and basketball for four years each. He is the all-time school basketball scoring leader with approximately 2000 points and also threw for over 2000 career passing yards. He earned all-conference football and basketball, and honorable mention little All-State football and basketball. He played basketball and football at University of Missouri for 2 years each and received over seven university scholarship offers from St Louis University, Air Force, Memphis State, LSU, Northwestern, Holy Cross, Princeton and Dartmouth.

The 1964 Gillespie football team was the last inductee with an 8-0-2 record. They were the last unbeaten football team with wins over Feitshans (Springfield SE), Hillsboro, Mt Olive, Pittsfield, Jerseyville, Carlinville, Nokomis and Dupo, and ties to Southwestern and Staunton. The team was coached by Bill Parmentier and Andy Easton.

Another class will be inducted in the fall of 2024. Wall of Fame nomination forms can be found on the Gillespie Community School District website.

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Antonacci named DII player of the year

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Charlotte, NC – Heartland’s Sam Antonacci has been named the 2023 NJCAA Division II Baseball Player of the Year after a stellar sophomore season. Antonacci is the grandson of Pete and Janet Kocis, formerly of Gillespie.

Antonacci ended the 2023 campaign batting .515 with 14 home runs and 103 RBI. The sophomore also ranked in the top five in the nation in seven statistical categories: hits (106, 1st); runs (105, 1st); doubles (32, 1st); RBIs (103, 1st), batting average (.515, 1st), on base percentage (.618, 1st), and total bases (186, 2nd).

The ABCA/Rawlings National Player of the Year helped lead Heartland to a Division II Baseball World Series championship, where he continued to shine bright. In four championship games, Parker batted .286 with three runs and one RBI.

“Sam Antonacci is the most talented baseball player I have ever been around and that showed up all year. He is deserving of this award, but I guarantee he only cares about us winning the National Championship.,” Heartland’s coach Chris Razo said. “Sam was the rock this season and set the tone on winning over everything. He is the most competitive person I have ever met and is going to have a long successful career.”

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Gillespie to honor record-setting baseball team on Wednesday

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Gillespie High School will honor the high school baseball team before the team’s banquet on Wednesday, June 14 with a parade through downtown.

The parade will start at the school at 5:30 p.m. and proceed through downtown Gillespie before heading back to the school so the team can conclude their season with a team-only banquet.

The school invites everyone to come downtown to recognize the team and celebrate this year’s accomplishments. The team ended their season with an overall 32-1 record and won 32 straight wins, a new school record.

The team also won their respective conference and regional.

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