Meet newest class of SCE Hall of Famers
Tera Moody, Jevon Herman, Chuck Rachow and Ruth Poulin Vostal will be recognized as Jodie Harrison Lifetime Achievement Award recipients and inducted into the St. Charles High School Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony prior to the Saints’ varsity basketball game against Larkin at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Tera Moody (Class of 1999)
Moody has a good excuse for not being able to attend Saturday’s ceremonies.
She’ll be in Houston Saturday morning competing for one of three spots on the 2012 U.S. Olympic marathon team.
Moody was a 4-time cross country conference, regional, and sectional champion, as well as a 4-time track and field state qualifier during her tenure at St. Charles.
In addition to earning a pair of state titles in the 1,600-meter run (1998 and 1999), Moody was a 4-time all-state cross country runner who led the Saints to back-to-back state cross country team titles (1997 and 1998) as well as a second-place state team finish (1996).
As a freshman in 1995, Moody placed sixth in the state. She followed up with a fourth-place individual state finish in 1996 before placing second to Geneva’s Rebecca Mitchell in the 1997 state meet.
“Individual accomplishments aside, Tera was the consummate team player,” said former Saints girls cross country coach Tom Roderick, who was a STC Hall of Fame inductee last year. “She had finished sixth, fourth and second in the state the previous three seasons and she was 12th as a senior. After she got into the chute, she couldn’t turn around fast enough because she wanted to know if she did enough to get the team victory.
“She always talked team first.”
Moody went on to capture a Big 12 Conference title in the 10,000-meter run, as well as being a member of the University of Colorado’s NCAA Division I cross country championship team.
“With the way Tera handled herself in distance running, winning the 10,000-meter title in the Big 12, I’m not surprised that she got involved in marathons,” said Roderick. “She has always been tough mentally and meticulous about details.”
Moody participated in her first marathon in 2005, posting a time of 2:50:04 in Chicago.
She narrowly missed a berth on the 2008 U.S. Olympic marathon squad after finishing fifth at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Boston (2:33:54). In October of 2010, she posted a PR time of 2:30:53 at the Chicago Marathon.
Last August, Moody was the top U.S. finisher at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, placing 17th (2:32:04).
“Her focus has been on London (2012 Summer Olympics) for the past four years,” said Roderick.
Jevon Herman (Class of 1993)
Before the Potter era (David, Jason, Christopher) began in St. Charles, there was a highly decorated wrestler named Jevon Herman.
By the time Herman graduated from St. Charles High School in 1993, he was the owner of 21 team records.
After back-to-back second-place state finishes as a sophomore (152 pounds) and junior (160), Herman struck gold during his senior season.
Herman put the finishing touch on his 37-0 senior campaign with a state title triumph over Ryan Root of Chatham Glenwood at 171 pounds.
“Finishing two years as the state runner-up was tough,” admitted Herman, who lost both title decisions to Glenbard South’s John Kading.
“Losing those two matches the way I did (5-3 and 1-0) really put a fire in me,” said Herman. “There was no settling for second as a senior.”
It also didn’t hurt that Kading was a year older than Herman, who compiled a 4-year mark of 139-11-1.
“Eight of those losses came freshman year and the others were to Kading,” said Herman. “It was nice to see him finally graduate.”
While Kading went on to become a national champion at Oklahoma, Herman carved out his own niche at Illinois, where he went on to become a 4-time national qualifier and an NCAA All-American.
“For me, it (wrestling) really was my life,” said Herman, who praised all of his high school coaches, particularly former Saints wrestling coach Mick Ruettiger.
“Wrestling for Mick was one of the best experiences I’ve had,” said Herman. “Looking back, I had great experiences with all of my coaches. I’m still close personally with Mick and still look to him for guidance.”
Herman, who also was an all-conference linebacker on the Saints’ 1993 football team, admittedly sacrificed plenty during wrestling season.
“I missed 11 straight Thanksgiving meals,” he said. “The sport is very demanding. You really learn a lot about yourself and your character through wrestling.”
Herman, who expects his 2 sons (6 and 4 years old) to wrestle some day, now lives in Orlando, Fla., with his wife, Mindy (Miller).
“This is a little extra special honor for me,” he said. “Mindy’s sisters, Marci and Maggie, are both (STC) Hall of Famers and they’ve been giving me grief about it ever since their inductions. Now I’m there with them.”
Chuck Rachow (Coach: 1966-94)
Rachow served as an assistant basketball coach at St. Charles High School for 28 years from 1966-94.
During that time, the Saints captured 17 regional championships, including 5 consecutive titles from 1970-75.
While legendary coach and STC hall of famer Ron Johnson guided the Saints’ varsity team, Rachow was in charge of the sophomore squad, joining Johnson on the bench for postseason play.
“I was with Ron all those years,” said Rachow. “We had a wonderful working relationship. It was a good job, one I enjoyed a great deal.”
Rachow recalls plenty of memorable games, many which came on an annual basis in Upstate Eight Conference play.
“At one time, I believe the Upstate Eight had the state’s top basketball coaches,” said Rachow. “There was John McDougal at West Aurora, Ernie Kivisto at East Aurora, Bill Chesbrough at Elgin, Kenny Johnson at Larkin, Jack Tosh at DeKalb, and Ron Johnson here at St. Charles.
“It was a good league.”
The early to mid-1970s were filled with solid victories and heartbreaking postseason defeats.
“We had several good clubs, probably the best being in the 1970s,” said Rachow. “I thought the best team we had was the one (1978) with Rick Garrison that played Barrington in the sectional finals. We got beat by a point. That was the one club I felt had a chance to go all the way.”
Rachow was a pretty good basketball player himself, becoming the leading scorer at Wayne State College (Neb.).
“I played quite a bit and had some success,” he said. “I signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Hawks before going into the service. Playing basketball when I was in the Army was like being in basketball graduate school. It was during the Berlin Crisis so many pro players were there. It was a great experience.”
The physical education teacher also was the head golf coach from 1966-79, guiding the Saints to a second-place state finish in 1968.
“We lost by two shots to Belleville and (future PGA player) Jay Haas,” said Rachow. “We had some wonderful players in St. Charles.”
Ruth Poulin Vostal (Class of 1994)
Poulin Vostal enjoyed a star-studded career at St. Charles as a 4-year varsity soccer player, helping the Saints capture a pair of state championships (1992, 1994) and a third-place finish (1993).
During her 4-year career, the Saints compiled an amazing 91-8-9 record.
It was the beginning of a dominant decade for the Saints, who won 7 girls soccer state titles in the 1990s.
“Looking back, it was a special time but when you’re living it you don’t know anything different,” said Poulin Vostal.
Hard work and mental toughness were two important traits of those Saints’ teams.
“We weren’t cocky but we expected to win,” said Poulin Vostal.
After the third-place showing in 1993, Poulin Vostal remembers the team’s mindset the next season.
“As a senior, there was no option,” she said. “We were going to win.”
That they did, as the Saints capped a 27-0-1 season with a 2-1 title victory over Naperville Central.
As for the tie?
“I can remember the day,” said Poulin Vostal. “I think it was against Glenbard West at Reid Field. I remember (assistant coach) Bret Hall yelling at us. For us, tying wasn’t acceptable. We knew we should have done better.”
Poulin Vostal, who went on to play soccer at the University of Michigan and was part of the 1997 Big Ten Conference championship team, loved playing sports at St. Charles.
“Some of my best high school memories are associated with my team and teammates,” she said. “Our coach, Tim Dailey, brought the whole mentality of being a family. We all looked out for each other.”
It’s a feeling she has tried to instill as the girls’ varsity soccer coach at St. Charles North, a post she has held since 2000.
“I’ve tried to give the girls some of the same experiences at St. Charles North,” said Poulin Vostal, who guided the North Stars to a second-place state finish 2004 and third-place showing in 2010. “I’d like to think that some of the success has carried over to St. Charles North.
“As a coach, it’s so much harder,” she added. “When you’re playing, you maybe have a little more control over what happens. All of the coaches work so hard and there’s just the slightest difference between some teams.”
Soccer wasn’t the only sport Poulin Vostal excelled in at St. Charles. She also earned all-conference and team MVP honors and was a scoring record holder as a basketball player.
“Not many people know that I played basketball,” said Poulin Vostal, who is married to former STC North cross country coach Reed Vostal and has 3 children. “My older brother (Tom) helped me with my game. I showed up on tryout day and I had a blast. But I knew that playing soccer was what I really wanted to after high school.”
You can reach Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com