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Saturday, Feb. 8

High school basketball

[FEB. 8, 2003] 

Boys

At Bloomington

Olympia                   4   16   29     37

Central Catholic     10   31   40     51

Olympia:  Springer 0-0-0, Thornton 1-0-2, Williams 1-0-2, Kieser 2-0-4, Schmidgall 2-0-4, Criswell 3-0-6, Olson 2-1-5, Boudeman 2-2-6, Schultz 2-0-4, Dillenburg 0-0-0, Elliott 0-4-4.  Totals 15-7-37.

Preliminary game:  Olympia def. Central Catholic 67-43.

Others

Lincoln def. Chatham Glenwood 55-45.

Illini Central def. Greenview 94-58.

[Photo by Bob Frank]

[Click here for more photos]

Dave Snyder honored with Joseph F. Warner
Golden Redbird Award

[FEB. 8, 2003]  NORMAL -- Professionally and personally, Dave Snyder has been showing people in central Illinois for years that investments of time and talent, as well as treasure, can make a difference. Because he has personified those commitments, he was honored recently with the 2003 Joseph F. Warner Golden Redbird Award by Illinois State University athletics.

The managing director and investment officer for Wachovia Securities, an NYSE firm, Snyder has principally invested his time and his passion in Redbird athletics. Over more than three decades of his involvement in Redbird athletics, many have followed Snyder's lead and made their own investment.

Many people may not remember, but Snyder first came to Illinois State as a staff member.

"After I got out of the service in 1969, I came to Illinois State as part of the admissions office staff," said Snyder, who has bachelor's and master's degrees from Southern Illinois. "I started going to events and gradually got hooked on the Redbirds."

As Snyder moved into the business world, one of his colleagues and contemporaries was Joe Warner. Later, each would serve as president of the board of directors for The Redbird Club. They had many common interests and worked on plenty of community and university projects together. When Warner, the 1999 Golden Redbird Award winner, was killed in an airplane crash last summer, Snyder lost a respected friend. Snyder is touched to have received an award renamed for Warner.

"Joe and I were the same age, and, in a sense, we 'grew up' together as adults here," said Snyder. "His death had a large impact on me. I'm thrilled that the award has been named for Joe. It's a wonderful thing and a wonderful honor."

Perk Weisenburger, Illinois State director of athletics, values the long-term association Snyder has had with the Redbirds.

"He is a good friend of the university and the athletics department," said Weisenburger. "He also was a personal friend of the late Joe Warner, and I think it's significant that he is the first person to receive this award after it was renamed for Joe Warner."

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Snyder says he has reached a point in his life that he is planning to slow down his professional life a bit and enjoy his success. But he has no plans to cut back on his enthusiasm for the Redbirds. He believes the success Redbird athletics enjoys is based on good people.

"I go back to the days of Milt Weisbecker," said Snyder, remembering the late Redbird athletics director from the 1960s and 1970s. "I've worked with a lot of people at Illinois State, and I can honestly say that I've never had a bad relationship. I've always admired the fact that the athletics department has had quality people who are successful in some tough jobs because they work extremely hard and they are good people."

He sees the challenge of Redbird athletics in the future as one of providing the resources for success, and he admires Illinois State's commitment.

"There's no question you have to have resources to compete," said Snyder. "You build teams with coaches and athletes who have the resources and the facilities to be successful. Private financing for athletics at Illinois State is becoming more and more important. ISU has done a nice job of setting priorities and raising the money to meet them. But it takes a lot of people working really hard to get that job done, and the job only gets bigger."

Todd Reeser, Redbird assistant athletics director for development, believes Redbird fans and friends will continue to follow Snyder's lead.

"Dave has always believed in hands-on involvement and that things get done because people get involved," said Reeser. "Quite simply, he has been a leader of our organization for a long time and continues to be a leader."

[Thomas Lamonica, Illinois State University]

Articles from the past week

By Jeff Mayfield

[FEB. 3, 2003]  Illinois State's Redbirds, featuring Lincoln's Gregg Alexander, are finally back on track! The 'Birds thumped Bradley 89-74 behind Alexander's first collegiate double-double. The sophomore sensation hit for 21 points, including the first three 3-point bombs he attempted, and then crashed the boards to haul down 10 big caroms. Long known for his work on the glass, it comes in handy, as ISU's big men have struggled so much the last couple of seasons. This huge win, coupled with Wednesday night's victory over Northern Iowa, gives the 'Birds their first two-game winning streak of the season and also pulls them out of the Missouri Valley Conference basement!

The Illinois Fighting Illini almost pulled off the big upset in East Lansing on Sunday afternoon, but the Michigan State Spartans had other ideas. They outlasted the Illini 68-65 as they held Lincoln's Brian Cook to 13 points. But people will be talking about the amazing comeback win the Illini had over Michigan last Wednesday night for years to come. Cook's 26-point scoring outburst was one of the greatest sports feats this unbiased reporter has ever seen. You should've seen it! [Click here for the LDN report.]

Lincoln College has now won 10 games in a row, which takes their record to 15-6 and may help them crack the national top 10 rankings! B.J. and his crew seem to be gelling at just the right time. On Saturday they beat Lakeland, which always has a good program, so maybe this is the year that the Lynx will advance in the playoffs.

Lincoln Christian College's hoops teams split their respective games this past weekend. The girls punished Central Bible on Friday before losing a squeaker to Faith Baptist on Saturday. Two former Lady Railers, Steph Urton and Brittany Robbins, continue to shine for the Angels!

The men played extremely well on Friday but faded and lost to Faith Baptist. On Saturday they won what was in some ways an improbable game. On the verge of being blown out twice in the first half, they somehow managed to stay within five at the intermission. And by the time Tim Schultz had garnered 23 points and 15 rebounds, and John Holderby and Dan Black had added 16 and 14 respectively, and Jim Turney had thrown in his 10-point contribution, the Preachers had danced out of their spiffy new Laughlin Center with a hard-fought 77-71 win over longtime rival Cincinnati Bible College! The Preachers truly won one for Marion "Doc" Henderson, who was the first person ever enshrined in the newly created LCC Athletic Hall of Fame. Apparently the aura of that pre-game ceremony lifted the Preachers to victory. Coach Randy Kirk and his current group of cagers are to be commended for fighting through a multitude of obstacles this season. That should make THIS win all the sweeter!

We're less than two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting. IF anyone is going that way and there is development work in the plans…

Junior high hoops should be heating up in the area as we enter the postseason…

[to top of second column in this article]

The Lincoln Railers must feel like they've been lost in space, as I don't think they've played a home game in a month. IF memory serves, the last one was on about Jan. 3…

Speaking of the Railers, they had had a nice double this week too! They took out one of my favorite opponents, Jacksonville, and then disposed of Springfield on Saturday night.

Coach Alexander, according to my notes, is just three wins away from becoming the all-time winningest coach in Railer basketball history. After three more wins he'll have more than guys like Duncan Reid, Loren Wallace and even ol' Roy S. himself. This is an amazing record and one that has the potential of never being broken again!

The Lady Railers have a tough stretch in their next few outings. They will be playing the top four teams in the conference! Hopefully that will get them ready for postseason play as well.

How 'bout that Illinois Wesleyan team? Coach Scott Trost's quintet struggled in his first year, hovering around or below the .500 mark. With their big win over North Park on Saturday, which proved to be their 12th win in a row, they jet their record to 15-2 and 6-0 in league play. I mention it here because rumor has it that they are interested in some Railer players, most notably Cory Farmer!

IF you want to see some true amateurs having some fun, go out to the Rec Center on a Saturday morning and catch the Junior Railer program. My son and I have been going out, and he loves it. He keeps demanding the ball and tells me that no one will pass it to him… the story of my career!!!

The LDN throws out OUR CONGRATULATIONS to Marion "Doc" Henderson for being the first inductee ever to LCC's Athletic Hall of Fame. We'd like to see Lynn Laughlin as inductee number two? What do you think???

NASCAR fans take note… IF you're into NASCAR, and we know that dozens of you are, then you need to catch this week's edition of "FANdamonium." During the middle segment of our show, Greg and I will step aside and bring some people to the mikes who really know their stuff. There'll be Chevy guys and Ford guys, and you callers will have to settle the disputes. See you tonight at 6 on LDN, Channel 5 and FIX 96.3!

Have a GREAT week, EVERYONE!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• Last week: "First things first"
• More columns...

Announcements

Softball pitching clinic in Bloomington

[JAN. 31, 2003]  The Bloomington Hearts' annual softball pitching clinic will be Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University. Former Illinois State all-American and current Hearts pitcher Nicole Kurth will lead the clinic. Other instructors will include pitchers from the Hearts, IWU and Illinois State University who are very experienced in both playing the game and teaching.

There will be two sessions, so attendees can sign up for 9:30 a.m. until noon or for 1:30 to 4 p.m. The cost is $30 per session, and that includes a heavy-duty T-shirt. For groups of three or more, the cost is $25 per student. The sessions will be limited in number to allow maximum individual instruction.

To register by telephone or for information, call (309) 828-2686 or (309) 662-5861.

[News release]

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