KC Inducts 2014 Athletic Hall of Fame CENTRALIA - The weather was picture perfect as many were in attendance for the Kaskaskia College Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this past weekend. The class includes 1940-41 and 1984-85 Mens Basketball Teams, former baseball players Jeff Mahy, Jim Sinovic and Jason Backs, former volleyball player Tammy (Winkeler) Gomez, former basketball player Jerri Wiley and former golfer Kristen (Bening) Hundelt. The Colleges first basketball team was organized during 1940 and came together as a result of an advertisement for interested basketball players to come out for the new Centralia Township Junior College. Bruce Grant was the coach and the team chose the name, Blue Devils and the moniker remains the name for the mens athletic teams at Kaskaskia College. Their schedule included games against Blackburn College, Joliet Junior College, Springfield Junior College, Elgin J.C., Shurtleff College and McKendree. Playing some 4-year colleges and junior colleges, Centralia Township JC finished the first season at 4-6. Team members include: Herman Joseph Johnson, Robert Oral Smith, Robert Louis Cover, Frank Gene McCarrey, John Leland Adams, Richard Charles Lake, Charles Garritson (team manager), Francis Lynn Kirkland, Stanley Warren russell, Jon Paul Ahlers, Lawrence Schwartz and Coach Bruce Grant. The 1984-85 KC Blue Devils Basketball Team won 29 regular season games, lost only two and finished 16th in the nation in the NJCAA Poll. They were ranked 1st in the Illinois NJCAA Region 24 Coaches Poll the same year that Coach Frank Evans won his 400th game at Richland. The team also won the conference title by beating John A. Logan 43-41, marking the first time that the Devils had won the GRAC title. Wayne Harre was nominated for NJCAA Academic All American. Their momentum carried them to a championship in the sectional and state tournament and the team finished 7th in the nation. Team members include: Chris Parsons, Benji Evans, Doug Allen, Mike McNair, Jeff Anderson, Gerald Stephenson, Danny Johnson, Doug Beckemeyer, Mike McCrave, Wayne Harre, Baron Wright, Charles Deterding. The team was coached by Frank Evans and David Francis. Tammy (Winkeler) Gomez was an integral part of the KC Blue Angels Volleyball Teams in 1989 and 1990. A graduate of Breese Mater Dei High School, she was a regular starter as a middle hitter her freshman year. She was a Tournament as well as an All-Conference selection and to the 2nd team for All-Region 24. Tammy transferred to the University of South Alabama where she was a member of the volleyball team. She was a two-year letter winner at USA and was named First Team All-Conference. Jerri Wiley played womens basketball at KC from 1987-89 and was selected as the 87-88 Conference Newcomer of the Year. Jerri was also named as a Kodak All-american in 88-89 and went on to play basketball at Southeast Missouri State from 89-91. Jason Backs played basketball at Carlyle High School and had great career stats for the KC Blue Devils. As a pitcher, he won 16 games with an ERA of 2.52. Opposing players only hit .245 when he was pitching. he threw 211 innings while at KC with 175 strikeouts and 89 walks. Jason finished his sophomore season with a .99 ERA while holding opponents to just a .214 batting average. he had 5 saves; most impressive of his career stats was that he started 28 games and had 26 complete games. jason played 3 seasons summer baseball in the Central illinois Collegiate League for the Decatur Blues. After KC, he went on to play at the University of Illinois on a baseball scholarship. he played for one year with 24 innings pitched as a junior and struck out 17 and walked 13. Jason then signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in thy summer of 1988 and was assigned to Martinsville, Virginia in a rookie league. He played professional ball for 4 years reaching the AA level, playing AAA in an exhibition game against the big league Phillies and went 7 innings, allowing only 2 runs in that game. He retired from baseball in 1991 and returned to the University of Illinois to complete his Mechanical Engineering degree. He is now the Vice President and part owner in a manufacturing company. Jason also coaches boys baseball for the Cypress Crusaders Baseball Organization, a premier level baseball program. Jeff Mahy attended Rich Central High School in Country Club Hills, Illinois where he played baseball. he was a big part of their success on the field. He received a baseball scholarship to attend KC as a catcher and third baseman. He was at KC from the Fall 1896 through Spring of 1988. His career batting average at KC was .320 and he had 33 doubles, two triples and 7 home runs. He had 83 runs batted in with an on base average of .512. Jeff was named to the All-Conference Team his sophomore year when he hit .436 and had an on base average of .596. Jeff was also named Co-Male Athlete of the Year at KC. After KC, Jeff attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama from the Fall 1988 to the Spring 1990 on a baseball scholarship where he started for two years and hit .345 with 19 doubles, 4 home runs, scored 22 runs and drove in 31. Jim Sinovic attended high school at Belleville East where he played football and baseball. Jim attended KC on a baseball scholarship in the Fall of 1986 through the Spring of 1988. Jim played 1sst base for 2 years and had a career batting average of .312 with 23 doubles, 2 triples and 14 home runs. He drove in 99 runs with an on base average of .424. Jim had a career day with four home runs in 2 days and drove in 20 runs in 10 games. Jim had a great fall season his sophomore year. He hit .384 with .526 on base average with 8 doubles and 5 home runs. Jim is a very successful businessman in the metro east area where he owns four Big Daddys Sports Bars in Edwardsville, Soulard, Belleville and the Landing in St Louis. He also owns the Silvercreek Sports Bar and Grill in Belleville. Jim continues to support local community projects and KC Athletics through his philanthropic contributions. Kristen (Bening) Hundelt, a graduate of OKawville High School, was a member of the Inaugural Blue Angels Golf Team at KC in 2004 and golfed for KC from 2004-06. In 2005 she received the Low Average Award and helped the team to the championship of the Maryville Invitational. In 2006 she qualified for the NJCAA National tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida making history as the first KC womens golfer to achieve this honor. She was also named an Academic All-American in 2006. Her career average as a Blue Angel was 95.8. She is still active playing golf and in 2010 was able to play the Ryder Cup Course, the Twenty-Ten at Celtic Manor Resort located in South Wales, United Kingdom.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 15:08:00 +0000