February 20, 2025
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Basketball notebook: The Dressler family has now won five regional titles

By Kevin Hieronymus
PHS senior Jackson Dressler added another regional championship to the family trophy belt which now adds up to five for the family.. His dad, Derek (left), won the first in 1986 followed by his sons Jalen (2010, 2011) and Brandon (2009).

PHS senior Jackson Dressler added another regional championship to the family trophy belt which now adds up to five for the family.. His dad, Derek (left), won the first in 1986 followed by his sons Jalen (2010, 2011) and Brandon (2009). (Kevin Hieronymus)

Princeton High School has won 17 regionals boys basketball championships in school history.

The Dressler family has taken part of five spanning a period of 36 years.

Derek started the family run as part of the 1986 Tigers’ regional title team, which beat Putnam County, 69-40, in the finals.

Twenty three years later came his eldest son, Brandon, who was a guard on the 2009 team that beat Hall, 69-50.

Jalen followed the Tigers’ three-peat with regional titles in 2010 (59-39 over Riverdale) and 2011 (42-40 over Fieldcrest).

PHS senior Jackson, the third Dressler brother to wear the Tiger blue, kept up the family lineage as the starting guard in the latest championship moment when PHS defeated Kewanee, 71-63, to capture the Class 2A Hall Regional on Friday night.

“It’s crazy, because I grew up watching my older brothers …. My dad and I were talking about that last week that if we won regional, we’d all have one,” Jackson said.

Dressler said he’s been thinking a lot about his two late grandfathers, Joe Falk and Lou Emge, whose family’s memorial donation went toward the Tigers’ new warmups this season.

• Say uncle: Tigers Kaden and Kolten Monroe have some family tradition of their own. Their uncles, Matt and Jesse Monroe, led LaMoille to its only regional championship in school history in 2008, the first year of the four-class system.

Matt, aka “Bub,” had the game-winning shot with seven seconds left to give the Lions a 46-45 win over the host Polo Marcos.

The elder Monroes have been in attendance cheering on their nephews down the tournament trail.

• A season of firsts: The 2021-22 basketball season, including the past week in the postseason, has seen its share of firsts.

The Fieldcrest girls won their first sectional in school history, defeating St. Joseph-Ogden, 52-46, in overtime in Class 2A at Peotone. The Knights then added their first trip to state by defeating Chicago Butler/Noble 43-40 to win Monday’s Cicero Supersectional.

PHS won its first regional in 11 years with its first regional championship win over Kewanee. It was also the Tigers’ first win in three tries against the Boilermakers this season.

Putnam County won its first regional in eight years when it beat Midland 66-51 at the Class 1A St. Bede Regional.

The end of the regular season saw the Princeton girls capture their first conference championship in school history. The Tigresses also finished undefeated at home in regular season play for the first time.

• Last second shots: There will be more Bureau County flavor at the Mendota Sectional this week. Hall’s Drake Garland made 11-of-15 attempts to win the regional 3-Point Showdown at Hall. He advanced along with teammate Payton Dye (10), Bureau Valley’s Carter Salisbury (10) and IVC’s Michael Hollaway (8). ... Tony Lavorato, Jr., son of the former Princeton High School coach, has retired after 24 years as head coach, the past 19 at Maine South. He finishes his career with 407 wins and stands as the all-time winningest coach at Maine South (354). He also surpassed his dad’s win total by one. Lavorato, Sr. coached at Princeton from 1974-87, posting a 179-156 mark, and won 406 overall over 28 years, including a stint from 1987-2002 at Hinsdale South.