Elgin Sports Hall of Fame announces class of 2012
From Staff Reports September 11, 2012 5:00PM
Larkin High School graduate Ryan Sienko (left) is one of five Elgin Sports Hall of Fame inductees for 2012. | File ~ Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 14, 2012 1:39PM
Athletes from five different sports comprise the 2012 Elgin Sports Hall of Fame induction class.
Beth Fitchie graduated from Larkin in 1999 after competing in varsity gymnastics for four years where she was a part of 17 schools records. Fitchie was all-conference three times and qualified for state competition all four years. She was named Female Athlete of the Year at Larkin in 1999.
Paul Hudgens, a 1955 graduate of Elgin, was the playmaking guard and co-captain of the 1955 Elgin Maroons team that finished second in the state tournament, compiling a 26-4 record. During his senior year, Paul led the team in assists, averaged 11.3 points per game, and set the record of 33 points in a game for a guard (since broken). Hudgens played three years at Beloit College where he served as captain his senior year.
James Kossakowski, a three-sport varsity athlete and 1988 Larkin graduate, will be inducted as a wrestler. He compiled 91 wins in four years with a second- and sixth-place finish at state.
He was named Larkin High Male Athlete of the Year for 1987-1988. Kossakowski attended Northern Illinois University, where he was a four-year letter winner in wrestling. He qualified for the Olympic trials in Roman-Greco style wrestling in 1992.
Ryan Sienko, a 1993 Larkin graduate, was a member of four consecutive conference championships for the Royals baseball program.
The former Courier-News Player of the Year played four years at the University of Iowa before playing in the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox farm systems. He also played for the Joliet Jackhammers in 2002-2003 and was the first player inducted into the Jackhammers Hall of Fame.
David Wurm helped lead St. Edward to its first state football playoff appearance in 1983. A Chicago Sun-Times Little All-State selection as a junior, Wurm, a lineman, earned All-State recognition from both the Sun-Times and the Champaign News-Gazette his senior season, and received honorable mention Parade High School All-American. Wurm earned a football scholarship to Vanderbilt University where he started four seasons and was a co-captain his senior year.
The ESHOF induction banquet and ceremony will be held Nov. 4 at The Centre of Elgin. The 25 scholarship award winners, outstanding achievement award honorees and 2012 class will be recognized.
Joan Jolitz, the Vic Masi Service Award winner, will also be honored.
