GMS
Lady Indians take fourth place in State
The GMS eighth grade girls’ basketball team holds up their fourth place trophy. (Photo/Melissa Bussmann)
The eighth grade girls’ basketball team of Gillespie Middle School (24-4) finished their post-season run in the Class 3A State Tournament last Thursday by falling 31-36 to Germantown Hills (24-2) in overtime.
It was the second time in the state tournament that the ladies lost in overtime. The Indians wound up in the third place game by falling 44-46 to Havana in overtime on Saturday, December 17, and ended up finishing their season with an overtime loss to Germantown in the team’s last game of the season.
Despite losing two close games, this year’s eighth grade girls team proves to be one of the most successful teams in the area as they will transition into high school next spring. The team has two state finishes in two years under the direction of Kevin Gray and Christina Blevins – second in state their seventh grade year and fourth in state this year.
Gillespie started off slow against Germantown Hills scoring only one basket in the first quarter – a field goal by Shelby Taylor. Things got more heated in the second quarter as the Indians recorded their highest scoring quarter with Mikala Hayes, Shelby Taylor and Mataya Beavin each scoring two field goals in the quarter, but Gillespie still trailed by three at halftime – 14-17.
The second half was an evenly matched performance after the Indians outscored Germantown Hills 10-7 in the third quarter to knot the game at 24. Both teams scored six points in the fourth quarter sending the game into overtime where Germantown outpaced the Indians six points to one to take the third place game.
Sydney Bires and Keaton Link carried the team through the second half as the duo scored 14 of the Indians’ 17 points. Bires scored all of her eight points in the second half, six points off of field goals and two points from the free through line, while Link knocked down three field goals for six points.
Bires led the team’s scoring with eight points while Link and Taylor each followed with six points. The Indians made three of eight free throw attempts.
Springfield St. Agnes (26-0), who the Indians lost to in the 2015 State Championship, ended the year undefeated by winning this year’s state championship with a 34-31 victory over Havana (26-1).
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The top 59 boys’ and girls’ basketball seniors from South Central Illinois played in the 19th Annual Carlinville Rotary Club All-Star Basketball Classic on Sunday, March 26 in Carlinville which was presented by Prairie Farms Diary and CNB Bank & Trust.
Representing Gillespie High School among the athletes on the West teams included Emily Schoen, Jenna Clark, Kam Link, and Bryan Jubelt. Clark posted 2 points in the girls’ contest while Link posted 15 and Jubelt helped with 5 points in the boys’ game. Link also put on a show in the dunk contest scoring 48 out of the possible 50 points to win first place.
The Girls East beat the West 68-51 behind 14 points from MVP Layne Rupert of Hillsboro. The 3-point shootout was won by Paige Henson of Carrollton in a corner shootoff with Natalie Engelman of Nokomis. Staunton coach Corrie Allan was selected as the Rotary Club’s Girls’ Coach of the Year.
Devon Peebles of Pana took MVP honors in the boys’ Carlinville Rotary Club All-Star Basketball Classic. Peebles scored 25 points to lead the East to a 108-97 win over the West. Elijah Aumann of Nokomis won the 3-point contest hitting 10 treys and edging out Ryan Eisenbarth of Nokomis, Peebles and Jubelt of Gillespie who all had 9. In the Slam Dunk contest, Link scored 48 out of the possible 50 points for his routine with Peebles finishing second with a score of 41. Nokomis coach Dan DeWerff was named the Rotary Club’s Boys’ Coach of the Year.
With the East winning both the girls and boys match-ups this year, the all-time series record for boys moves to 12-7 with the West holding the lead and the girls record extends to 13-5 with the East holding strong.
The All-Star Classic serves as a fundraiser for the Carlinville Rotary Club who help with community projects throughout the year.
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The Kaskaskia Region of the Illinois Principals Association hosted its 27th annual Student Recognition Breakfast on Friday, March 17 at Greenville University.
Honored at the event included Olivia Kelly of Gillespie Middle School. Kelly is an eighth-grade student of GMS and is the daughter of J.O. and Jill Kelly of Gillespie. She attended the event with GMS Principal Patrick McGinthy.
The annual Student Recognition Breakfast event recognizes a student from each school in the Kaskaskia region for outstanding achievements in and out of the classroom. Over 50 students were honored at the event.
Students were individually recognized in front of the audience and enjoyed a buffet-style breakfast followed by a motivational speech by Dr. Lori Franke-Hopkins.
The Kaskaskia Region includes schools in the Bond, Clinton, Fayette, Macoupin, Marion and Montgomery Counties. The Illinois Principals Association is a professional organization of building and district level school administrators.
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Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education voted 4-1 Wednesday night to hire Patrick McGinthy, O’Fallon, as Gillespie Middle School Principal for the 2022-23 school year. McGinthy steps into a vacancy created when the board hired form GMS Principal Tara Cooper for a newly-created assistant principal’s position last week.
The board met in executive session for about 15 minutes before voting in open session to hire McGinthy, pending confirmation of certification and a background check.
Without offering explanation, board member Dennis Tiburzi voted against the hire. Last week, Tiburzi also cast the sole negative votes against accepting Cooper’s resignation, hiring Cooper as the assistant principal and posting the Middle School principal’s job as vacant. Board members Bill Carter and Weye Schmidt were absent.
Supt. Shane Owsley said McGinthy was selected from six finalists who had initially applied for the assistant principal’s job.
McGinthy reportedly was teaching general music to sixth and seventh graders at Highland Middle School prior to accepting the position at Gillespie Middle School. He also taught fifth-grade beginning band at Highland Elementary School and classroom music at Highland Middle School. Owsley said McGinthy also taught language arts and served as a substitute administrator when Highland administrators were absent. He reportedly earned his administrative certification from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.
Additionally, McGinthy has been a private music instructor, served as guest conductor for local bands and orchestras, and served on the staff of the Highland Marching Bulldogs. According to his Linked-In page, he is a self-described fitness enthusiast who has served as a private trainer.
He holds a Bachelor of Music degree with an emphasis in performance from the University of Missouri at Columbia, and a Master of Music, also with an emphasis in performance, from the University of Louisville.
He lives in his hometown of O’Fallon, with his wife, daughter and son.
Wednesday night’s action completes the administrative staff prior to the start of the school year. A speech and language pathologist’s position remains unfilled at this time, but otherwise the district is fully staffed for the new academic year.
The board is scheduled to meet in regular session at 6 p.m., Monday.
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