THE HOME RUN RECORD-HOLDER
‘Just to get out on the field would be amazing’
Bailey Dowling hit the first home run of her high school softball career on March 18, 2017. She did so against the state’s top-ranked team in Carterville during her freshman season at St. Joseph-Ogden, helping the Spartans post a 7-1 win.She hit the 65th home run of her career during the bottom of the fifth inning of a Class 2A regional semifinal game against Monticello on May 14, 2019, a two-run homer that was her third of the game and that ended an 11-0 win by SJ-O in five innings.
No high school softball player in the state of Illinois has hit more home runs than the 65 Dowling has compiled during her first three seasons at SJ-O. So, it’s easy to understand why she doesn’t recall the details of every one.
“Quite honestly, I don’t remember my first home run,” Dowling said. “I wish I had, especially in a time like this.”
The coronavirus pandemic has put the season on hold until at least May 1 for Dowling, the rest of her SJ-O teammates and every other high school athlete involved in a spring sport in Illinois.
Dowling, an Alabama signee, will get to play softball again some day.
Right now, though, she wishes it was happening in an SJ-O uniform.
“Don’t get me wrong: I love hitting home runs,” Dowling said. “But just to get out on the field would be amazing. It’s something that you can’t take for granted.”
While Dowling already owns the state home run record, she entered the 2020 season within striking distance of becoming the national leader. Kasey Flores holds the current record with 75 after playing from 2015-18 at Eastlake High School in El Paso, Texas.
“I’ve never kept track of the record honestly,” Dowling said. “It’s crazy to think of even getting the chance to break it, which hopefully I will.”
Not that she doesn’t relish the sensation a well-struck ball off the bat creates. After all, Dowling has experienced it more often than anyone else in state history.
“The feeling of hitting a home run is incredible,” she said. “It’s like nothing can stop you.”
Of all the home runs she has hit, two stand out. The first happened in a 2A super-sectional game against Williamsville on May 28, 2018 in Athens when she pulled a towering two-run home run over the left field fence in the top of the fourth to put SJ-O ahead 2-0 before the Spartans eventually lost 6-3.
“No one from either team was hitting and my second at-bat, I hit a home run and immediately our tempo changed,” Dowling said. “We ended up losing, but in that moment, it was amazing.”
The second transpired during the first inning against Unity on May 19, 2018, a solo home run over the center field fence that tied the 2A regional championship game at 1. SJ-O went on to win 14-4.
“It must just be because we are rivals, but I have never forgotten this one,” Dowling said. “I remember just watching it instead of running.”
If Dowling is able to step into the batter’s box at Randy Wolken Field, SJ-O’s home venue named after the state’s all-time winningest coach who retired in 2018 after Dowling’s sophomore season with 1,044 victories, she’ll consider the spring a success.
“This season has been a roller coaster,” she said, “and I hope that we just get the chance to play.”
Westville’s head coach, Guy Goodlove vs. Bismarck Henning/Rossville Alvin in a prep football game at Westville on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017.
THE HALL OF FAMER
‘It was nice to see that their dad made them proud’
Guy Goodlove is like most veteran coaches. He doesn’t want the limelight shined on him. Yet the Westville football coach was about to get his recognition on a statewide level. But the coronavirus pandemic postponed the scheduled Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame banquet, scheduled for March 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Champaign, to June 20 at the Shirk Center in Bloomington in conjunction with the Shrine All-Star Game. Goodlove is one of 13 new inductees into the Hall of Fame for the 2020 class.
“It was the least of my concerns,” Goodlove said. “It’s just been postponed. It’s not comparable to where you take a look at seniors who have waited four years to play baseball or softball, and they won’t be given that opportunity to make those games up.”
Goodlove’s focus this week was more on making sure remote learning was set up for all 387 students at Westville High School — where he is the principal — to go along with helping pack lunches and breakfasts to give out to needy families in the area and getting a backpack program ready as well.
“I’d like to tell you it feels like a summer vacation, but you just can’t go out and do anything,” Goodlove said. “You do what you can do.”
For Goodlove, that means giving back to the Vermilion County community where he has coached football since 1995. The Tigers have compiled a 140-117 record during Goodlove’s tenure, making the playoffs 13 times and finishing second in state in Class 2A in 2006 and 2007.
The longtime fixture in Westville aches for the seniors in his school who are seeing athletic competitions and other events canceled.
“I feel terrible for the seniors,” Goodlove said. “Hopefully we can return to some normalcy and salvage some parts of baseball, softball and track, but my heart goes out to those athletes and those coaches who certainly want to be playing ball at this time of the year. Normally, any athlete that’s not participating in a spring sport is in the weight room. They’re missing out on this opportunity. It’s really hitting everybody. Fingers crossed that hopefully we’ll have a football season.”
Back to football, one constant in the Goodlove household for decades, and the Hall of Fame induction. The father of three — daughters Sarah and Meghan and son Julian — was able to share the Hall of Fame news with his children earlier this winter. It’s a moment that still sticks with him.
“When I got the letter about the Hall of Fame, we had a small family gathering, and I let my oldest daughter Sarah read it,” Goodlove said. “That’s probably the most memorable thing I’ll take from this is my kids were very emotional and teared up when I got the news. That meant more to me than anything. It was nice to see that their dad made them proud.”
THE GOLFER
‘I’ve been exercising social distancing off the tee for a lot of years’
Craig Voigt didn’t pick up golf until he was in his 30s. Now, the retired Country Financial insurance agent who lives in Monticello can’t imagine a world without rising early to play golf three to four times a week when the weather cooperates.
Except, of course, the one he and the rest of us are experiencing now.
Voigt’s golf game is on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, with golf courses throughout the state closed through April. Voigt is a member at the University of Illinois Golf Course in Savoy, but he and a dedicated group of friends routinely play other area courses, whether that’s in Rantoul, Tuscola, Decatur or Bloomington.
He offered up this humorous remark in light of what’s affecting the world.
“Golf is a perfect activity to exercise social distancing,” Voigt deadpanned. “I’ve been exercising social distancing off the tee for a lot of years.”
Voigt started playing golf when he and his family lived in the northern Illinois community of Shabbona.
“They had a really nice nine-hole country club nearby,” Voigt said. “I was teaching and coaching and playing fast-pitch softball at the time, too, and I could go out and play golf during the day. I also felt like golf was something that I could continue to get better at. I figured I wasn’t going to be getting better at basketball and softball anymore in my 30s.”
Voigt moved to this area in 1987, coaching boys’ basketball and baseball at Unity High School for a stint.
His passion for golf didn’t diminish once he arrived in Champaign County.
“I’ve played with a group of guys down in Savoy since the time we moved here,” Voigt said. “There’s a lot of good personalities in the group, and the social aspect of golf is also something I enjoy. Plus, there’s nobody to blame out there other than yourself and you don’t need someone to catch a ball or throw it back to you. You can practice by yourself, and you’re able to get some exercise.”
Voigt understands more important matters are facing the world right now than middle-aged men playing out on a local course.
Still, he misses the sport. And the fun times he’s enjoyed from golf.
“We’re all still talking and texting in our little group,” said Voigt, who added he’s focusing more on walking and biking for exercise activities now. “If they said we could go out and play golf tomorrow, that’d be fantastic. But again, it’s what everybody is going through right now. We’ve all got to pitch in and do what we can do. I don’t want to be sick, and I don’t want to cause somebody else to be sick. There’s a lot more people going through more difficult times than us not being able to play golf right now.”
Provided Long-time area softball player Troy Walker, left, poses with one of his old teammates and friends, Chuck Burns, after a game several years ago. Burns passed away in July 2017.
THE RECREATION SOFTBALL PLAYER
‘I need to be out on a diamond again’
Spring and summer, for roughly the last 35 years, has seen Troy Walker on plenty of area softball diamonds. Even if he had little idea what softball was as a teenager growing up in DeWitt County.
“Well, I used to play a lot of baseball,” said Walker, a Farmer City-Mansfield High School graduate who now lives in Mansfield. “When I was 18 or 19, there was a local softball league in Farmer City. I came from a baseball game and a couple guys asked me, ‘Hey, have you ever considered playing softball? We’re looking for a shortstop.’ I said, ‘OK. I’ve got some cleats and a glove. Sure.’”
From there, a passion was born.
“Once I started playing, I was hooked,” Walker said. “I’ve been playing ever since.”
Until the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe this spring. Walker, who used to play softball five nights a week in a variety of leagues throughout the area but has since cut it down to just Monday and Wednesday night games in the Champaign Park district league, isn’t sure when he or any of his teammates will set foot on a diamond at Dodds Park in Champaign.
“Hopefully we’ll get going here soon, but it just really stinks because I really enjoy the competition of playing against other teams, but one thing I really miss, more than anything, is just catching up with everybody,” Walker said. “I’ve met so many different people, hundreds and hundreds of them, just by playing softball. That’s what I’ve enjoyed the most is the camaraderie and the friendships I’ve made.”
Known for his speed and defensive acumen, Walker won’t wow opponents with his power hitting. He admits that.
But his competitive passion for the sport hasn’t waned in the last three decades. And whenever he is able to get back on a field, he’ll appreciate the opportunity more than he realized.
“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s a couple hours where we’re able to not think about work or anything else in life. It’s just going out, acting like a kid again and just playing. Here in the Midwest, we really appreciate spring after a long winter. You get the smell of fresh-cut grass, and that’s the first signs of spring. To me, that means playing softball. I need to be out on a diamond again.”
Provided Mahomet native Bret Beherns has served as WCIA's sports director since 2015.
THE LOCAL TV ANCHOR
‘Just because games are canceled doesn’t mean people are’
Bret Beherns was at home the morning of March 12.He was helping his wife, Jenna, out by taking care of their three children — 6-year-old Aberle, 4-year-old Gabriel and 5-month-old Ezekiel.
The WCIA sports director since 2015 knew his two sports reporters, Craig Choate and Marlee Wierda, were on their way to Indianapolis ahead of the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament. Illinois was slated to open play in the quarterfinals on March 13.
That changed quickly, with the Big Ten canceling the tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic and the NCAA following suit a few hours later with the cancelation of the men’s basketball tournament.
Wierda proceeded on to make the drive to Indianapolis to get fan reaction for the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, while Choate stayed back in Champaign for reaction once the Illini arrived back at Ubben Basketball Complex late Thursday afternoon.
Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman and Illinois men’s basketball coach Brad Underwood addressed the assembled media in a press conference less than 18 hours later at State Farm Center. By then, Beherns realized all the coverage he and his team had planned for the next few days and weeks would have to change.
“My team and I spent multiple hours coming up with a game plan,” Beherns said. “It’s been an ongoing process to fill our time and provide newsworthy content every day.”
Yet, that’s what they’ve done. And, Beherns said, they’ll continue to do so throughout the pandemic.
“I preach to my team daily, ‘How are we staying relevant?’ and ‘How are we being creative today to step outside of our normal comfort zone of how we operate?’” Beherns said. “We’ve been doing a good job of adapting, and I think our coverage shows that. Just because games are canceled doesn’t mean people are. It’s up to us to find stories that matter.”
Beherns has quite the story he can tell as well. The 2005 Mahomet-Seymour High School graduate, who went on to earn degrees from Parkland College in 2008 and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 2010, suffered a life-altering injury in the summer of 2006. He fell 80 feet from a cell phone tower in Rochester while working a summer job, somehow survived despite a myriad of serious injuries and spent 54 days in the hospital recovering. His broken left leg eventually had to be amputated.
But Beherns has used that event to help inspire others, sharing his story in multiple speaking engagements around the area each year.
“God spared my life,” Beherns said. “Now, I’m just doing my best to make the most out of my second chance at life. I love sharing my story with others, and unfortunately COVID-19 has postponed a few events on my schedule.”
Still, Beherns is staying optimistic in these unforeseen times. Even without live sporting events.
“I’m no different than any other sports fan,” Beherns said. “I want nothing more than for everyone to be healthy, first and foremost, and for sports to return. The one positive thing out of all this for me is that it’s given me a chance to spend a lot more time at home with my family. March is always crazy, and I’m traveling a lot. While not covering my first NCAA tournament is disappointing, getting to see my kids every night for dinner and on the weekends is a huge plus.”
Provided Salt Fork High School senior Payton Taylor is hopeful he can compete in the shot put at some point this spring after placing fourth in the event last May at the Class 1A state track and field meet.
THE UNCOMMITTED SENIOR ATHLETE
‘I’m just going to keep grinding’
Payton Taylor is used to a busy spring. The multi-sport athlete at Salt Fork High School juggled both baseball and track and field his first three years representing the Storm.
This was after he starred on the football field and basketball court for the school of 273 students based in Catlin.
But before the coronavirus pandemic brought a halt to sports around the world, Taylor had already decided he would spend the spring of 2020 just honing in on track and field, where he’s an elite thrower in both the shot put and discus.
“It was a really tough decision,” said Taylor, who placed fourth in the shot put and sixth in the discus during last season’s Class 1A state meet to help the Storm win a team state championship and was also the starting catcher for Salt Fork’s baseball team that reached the Elite Eight in 1A. “Seeing all my friends that I’ve played with in baseball since I was little and telling them I wasn’t playing was really hard. But I decided to do just track and field because this year I fully believe I have a big chance of bringing home state titles in the shot and the disc.”
Those plans are currently on hold with spring sports postponed until at least May 1 after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced on Tuesday the stay-at-home order in Illinois will last for the entire month. Which means no school and no events for Taylor.
Yet he’s still practicing. And working out. All in an effort to not only become a state champion, but to keep his skills sharpened for a possible throwing career in college.
Provided Salt Fork High School senior Payton Taylor lifts weights at his house in Sidell earlier this spring.
“I made a throwing ring in my backyard,” said Taylor, who lives in the country in Sidell. “My freshman year, I had the concrete surface I threw on, but whenever school got shut down, I went out with my dad and brothers and painted a circle and pained all the sections down. Me and my brother are both out there quite a bit. It’s really helpful. The other day, I threw and it rolled all the way down to the creek near my house. That’s about the only wild thing that’s happened so far.”
And he has a weight rack inside his house he uses frequently.
“I’m just acting like it’s the season right now,” Taylor said. “I’m really getting more work in than I did during the last three years because I have basically the whole day to do all my workouts and lift.”
Which is beneficial since Taylor said he is considering continuing his throwing career in college at either Eastern Illinois or Illinois State.
“I have not decided yet, but I just like how both have good throwing pasts,” Taylor said. “That’s all I’m looking for is which school can help get me better.”
Taylor plans to major in either agriculture business or business at whichever state school he decides upon. He said not knowing what university he’ll attend yet next fall is “kind of stressful,” at the moment, but his workmanlike approach and dedication to athletics is helping him through these uncertain times.
After all, unleashing a throw with a weighted object out in the country of Vermilion County does have its benefits.
“I just enjoy the aspect where it’s all about technique and the person who puts in the most hours is going to get the most out of it,” Taylor said. “This will all settle out. I’m just going to keep grinding.”
THE LITTLE LEAGUE ADMINISTRATOR
‘Being involved in a volunteer-based organization is great for the soul’
Hydrologist by day. Little League volunteer by night.
David Dupre isn’t a superhero, even if his wife, Alison, daughter Rachel and son Jacob might think so.
But he typically spends his spring and his summer helping oversee local Little League operations as the area’s district administrator when he’s not working his full-time job with the US Geological Survey, where he focuses mainly on water-quality research.
Dupre’s role, in essence, is to serve as a liaison between Little League’s Central Regional office and the local leagues.
“I help the local leagues implement their programs, understand what’s required for player safety and when any player accommodations are needed to foster those expectations and special cases to get all kids on the field and playing ball,” Dupre said.
Playing ball sure sounds good to Dupre and others involved in local Little Leagues at this moment on the calendar. But instead of gearing up for another season of youth spending time on area baseball diamonds, all Little League activities across the country are on hold until at least May 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
That means the leagues Dupre helps oversee — Champaign East, Champaign West, Decatur, First String, Paris, St. Joseph, Tri-County, Tuscola, Unity and Urbana, while the Tom Jones Challenger League is also an extension of the four local C-U leagues — aren’t going to be at a diamond anytime soon.
“All local leagues are following the lead of their local school districts and public health recommendations,” Dupre said. “It would be a letdown for so many kids to be certain if the season was canceled, but I remain optimistic that some form of Little League baseball can be put together in 2020.”
What that may look like is unclear at the moment.
“The chartering fiscal year runs through Sept. 30, so we can get as creative as much as each locally-run league has the volunteers,” Dupre said. “Everyone that I have been in contact with is committed to following the guidelines of the health professionals. Little League is about the whole family and not just the kids. Games are a draw for extended families to show their love and support for the players, and it makes sense to limit gatherings at this time.”
A volunteer with Little League since 2013, Dupre is glad he’s filling the role he has now. Despite the uncertain times and with no baseball games or practices for youth to participate in at the moment.
“The most rewarding aspect is getting to know other parents and people all across east central Illinois,” Dupre said. “Being involved in a volunteer-based organization is great for the soul. Demonstrating your passions to others in an altruistic framework like a local Little League is one of the best ways to benefit our society.”
St. Thomas More's head coach James Johnson in a Class 1A soccer regional semi-final at STM in Champaign on Wednesday, Oct 10,
2018.
THE TEAM
‘In order to compete, we have to keep up hope’
Ask James Johnson to talk about a variety of athletes on his St. Thomas More girls’ soccer team and the ninth-year coach of the Sabers will. For quite some time.Even without the coronavirus pandemic currently gripping the globe.
Like junior Bridget DeLorenzo.
“Bridget is our most experienced returning player and a three-year starter who played club soccer last fall and is hoping to play collegiately,” Johnson said. “She has assumed leadership roles on this team, and I expect big things from her.”
Or fellow junior Tatum DeVriese.
“Tatum was third in goals on last year’s team and another extremely fast player on what may be the fastest overall team I have coached,” Johnson said. “Tatum is tough, and has shown leadership so far this season in helping guide some of our talented new players into their new roles in our program.”
And junior Cede Rentschler.
“Cede was a key player on last year’s team and looks to factor in even more this year,” Johnson said. “She is always eager to learn and improve, which earned her a spot on the field in our most key matchups last spring. This spring, she has been a leader and will be a starter in the midfield or at forward.”
The list could go on and on, with Johnson offering up similar anecdotes and descriptions for seniors Noelle Schacht and Sophie Dowling, juniors Kylie Hopper and Reese Hogan, sophomore Molly Hergenrother and freshmen Kennedy Ramshaw, Ava Dickersen and Emma Devocelle.
Now, he just hopes he has a chance to coach them in a game. The Sabers, who have won seven Class 1A regional titles under Johnson’s watch and placed fourth in state in 2015, were scheduled to open the season on March 23 at Williamsville. That obviously never happened. STM announced on March 12 that all athletics were postponed until at least April 5 and that was pushed further back after all schools in the state were closed indefinitely on March 17 in response to the pandemic.
The earliest STM’s season could start now is on May 1.
“Everything just happened so fast,” Johnson said. “The coaches and I were getting ready to name a starting lineup after two weeks of practice and next thing I knew, we had a teachers meeting after school on the Thursday before spring break, telling all STM faculty about the cancellations.”
Which led to a difficult meeting with his players and coaches after wrapping up practice on March 12.
“I ended the soccer portion of practice that day with a team meeting in our new soccer shed where I delivered the bad news and the uncertainty for the future,” Johnson said. “I told them, ‘We cannot control many events in soccer or life, but by controlling our responses to events, we can influence outcomes.’ The discussion centered on how to remain mentally strong and the need to assume the season was still on in case we did end up playing in games again.”
If STM is able to get any matches in this spring, it will come during a truncated regular-season schedule, if at all. IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said on Wednesday the IHSA is considering extending the state championship series for each spring sport well into June. Before the pandemic, the Class 1A girls’ soccer state postseason was supposed to start on May 8, culminating with the state championship match on May 29.
“Most people I talk to think I am crazy for thinking there is any chance at all,” Johnson said. “Psychologically, in order to compete, we have to keep up hope.”
Along with the soccer aspect, Johnson said can’t wait to have the daily interaction with the students he teaches at STM whenever the pandemic subsides.
“As a coach and teacher, the everyday routine is something I thrive on,” he said. “I miss the face-to-face relationships I have with my students and athletes very much. On the positive side, I am trying to use my extra time to pray more and have a meaningful Lent sent. I don’t believe all these events are just happening by accident, so I am trying to learn about myself in these tough times.”
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Sunday Special | Impact of coronavirus on local sports community, Part II - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
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