June 11, 2001
Gena Rawlins of Stanford (Olympia) and Matt Roth of Villa Park (Willowbrook) have been named the 2001 IHSA Sports Report Athletes of the Year.
This year’s selections are the tenth time the IHSA Sports Report has presented the honors. Begun in 1992 by veteran broadcaster Art Kimball, the award is presented to one female athlete and one male athlete whose performance in competition has been outstanding throughout their interscholastic career. Kimball and IHSA staff selected the honorees from 1992-96 and current Sports Report anchor Lanny Slevin and IHSA staff has selected the honorees since 1997.
Rawlins was a three-sport standout for Olympia, a school district covering much of the land south of Bloomington-Normal and north of Lincoln. She lives in Atlanta, IL. She holds 13 school records in swimming and track and field, was prom queen, a member of the National Honor Society, homecoming attendant, class officer and carried a 3.95 GPA.
During the fall, Gena ran on the cross country team and swam. She would practice for one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. In the 1998 state cross country meet, she placed 52nd in 16:27, and in the 2000 meet she finished 92nd in 16:53.
Her signature event in track and field was the 400-meter run. Rawlins won the event three straight years. As a sophomore she won in :57.81, took it in :57.14 as a junior, and capped her senior year with a win in :56.22. Gena anchored Olympia’s Class A record setting 800-meter medley relay in 2000 when it posted a 1:48.20 (FAT). This past spring she also placed third in the 200 in :25.53.
She will be attending Illinois Wesleyan in the fall majoring in risk management.
Roth ended his career at Willowbrook with outstanding seasons in football and wrestling.
On the gridiron, the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder was a fullback and linebacker. He was a first team all-state player in football on the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Champaign News-Gazette teams. He has accepted a football scholarship to the University of Iowa. He will major in sports medicine and aspires to be a sport trainer or physical therapist.
On the mat, Roth finished at 31-0 to win the 275-pound individual title at the Assembly Hall in February.
Following is a complete listing of the IHSA Sports Report Athletes of the Year:
1992
Male: Mike Kamienski, Addison (Driscoll)
Female: Marnie Trefenbach, Belleville (West)
1993
Male: Keith Lozowski, Palatine (Fremd)
Female: Patience Grayer, Peoria (Manual)
1994
Male: Brandon Hughes, Peoria (Manual)
Female: Terri Zemaitis, Downers Grove (South)
1995
Male: Tai Streets, Harvey (Thornton)
Female: Jenny Schmidt, Normal (Community)
1996
Male: Mark Prina, Paxton (P.-Buckley-Loda)
Female: Katie Schumacher, Chicago (Mother McAuley)
1997
Male: Antwaan Randle-El, Harvey (Thornton)
Female: Sara Ettner, Marengo
1998
Male: Patton Seagraves, Harrisburg
Female: Allison Curtin, Taylorville
1999
Male: Nick Setta, Lockport (Twp.)
Female: Kourtney Walton, Chicago (Marshall)
2000
Male: Brian Hartlaub, Riverton
Female: Aminata Yanni, Machesney Park (Harlem)
2001
Male: Matt Roth, Villa Park (Willowbrook)
Female: Gena Rawlins, Stanford (Olympia)