FOOTBALL
COACH OF THE YEAR:
PAT KEITH — ROXANA
Keith served as the architect of the Shells, who finished 8-3 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2003. They won five games in a row at one point during the season and recorded eight wins in their last nine games before bowing in the second round of the postseason.
Roxana’s only losses were to Carlinville, Greenville and Carterville (in playoffs). The Shells posted the most wins in 11 years, or when the Bill Smith-coached team of 2003 went 11-1. It also marked Roxana’s first winning season since that year. The Shells were a composite 15-75 the last 10 years before turning it around this season.
BOYS’ SOCCER
COACH OF THE YEAR:
MIKE LAWSON — EA-WR
The Oilers captured a Class 1A regional title and made it to the semifinals of the Metro East Lutheran Sectional before being eliminated on penalty kicks by Trenton Wesclin.
They finished 12-8 overall and that came on the heels of a 17-4-1 season in 2013. Those back-to-back winning campaigns marked the first time the Oilers accomplished that feat since 2005-’06. East Alton-Wood River’s dozen victories this season were the third-most in school history.
CROSS COUNTRY
COACH OF THE YEAR:
RUSS COLONA — EA-WR
Colona continued the Oilers on an upward swing in both boys’ and girls’ cross country. EA-WR qualified both teams for the Class 1A Metro East Lutheran Sectional on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville course. The Oilers also excelled in regional running.
In 2013, the EA-WR boys qualified for the IHSA finals for the first time 1998. This year, sophomore Garrett Fulkerson advanced individually to the state finals and finished 82nd.
VOLLEYBALL
COACH OF THE YEAR:
STACEY FERGUSON — ALTON
It was the Redbirds hitting on all cylinders for most of the fall season. They compiled a 25-8-1 record, logging the most wins in school annals. The 2008 squad finished 24-9.
Ferguson, finishing her sixth season as the Redbirds’ coach, reached a milestone early in the campaign with her 100th career victory. She’s 114-88 overall. And the Redbirds improved drastically after going 16-18 in 2013. They won 21 matches two years ago.
BOYS’ GOLF
COACH OF THE YEAR:
DAVE SOBOL — EA-WR
The fall proved to be a memorable one for the Oilers’ golf team. EA-WR took second in the Class 1A Trenton Wesclin Sectional and qualified for the IHSA finals at Bloomington for the first time. They took third in regional play.
Overall, the Oilers placed 11th at the state tournament and completed their season with a 26-6 record, the most victories in school history.
“It was a great accomplishment to go to state and what we were looking for all year,” Sobol said.
GIRLS’ GOLF
COACH OF THE YEAR:
CAREY CAPPEL — ALTON
A state trip, buoyed by the first sectional championship in state history, highlighted the Redbirds’ season. They shared the Southwestern Conference title after winning it outright in 2013.
Cappel, finishing her seventh season as the head coach, guided the Redbirds to a 15-1 record this season after they went 17-1 in 2013. They have improved dramatically — 32-2 the past two seasons — since going 1-13 in 2011 and 9-8 a year later. Cappel’s overall record at the school is 77-57.
GIRLS’ TENNIS
COACH OF THE YEAR:
JIM CLAYWELL — MARQUETTE
The Marquette Catholic Explorers compiled a solid dual-match record of 10-4 in 2014. Losses came to Mascoutah, Belleville East, Belleville West and Alton. The loss to Alton came down to the wire in a 5-4 setback.
The Explorers responded after the dual loss to Alton though, winning the championship of the eight-team River Bend Tournament hosted by AHS. They also went on to finish fourth at the Edwardsville Sectional, qualifying freshman Shelby Jones for state in singles action.
Claywell just completed his 15th season as head coach of the Explorers and has a 186-58 career record.