Ottawa High School announces hall of fame class

The Ottawa High School Hall of Fame was established in 2006 by the OTHS District 140 Educational Foundation, Inc.

The focus of the hall of fame is to recognize excellence in achievement while a high school student, after leaving OHS, or a combination of both. Further, honorees may or may not have attended Ottawa High but were significant and accomplished contributors to OHS. Also considered are OHS teams or groups.

As a result of a nomination and selection process, three individuals, one team, and a state champion music department, have been selected as 2023 inductees to the Ottawa High School Hall of Fame. A banquet will be conducted to present and honor inductees Saturday, Jan. 28. Tickets are $35 and not available at the door. They may be purchased through email and online contacts smacdonald@ottawahigh.com, kschmitt@ottawahigh.com or at othseducationalfoundation.org, as well as OHS home basketball games Jan. 3, Jan. 10, Jan. 14 and Jan. 20. The inductees for 2023 are as follows.

David Manigold, M.D. (Class of 1969) – Upon graduation from Ottawa High School in 1969, Manigold attended Northern Illinois University, graduating in 1973 with a degree in biology. He then attended graduate school and then medical school at the University of Illinois. After completing residency in Internal Medicine at Blodgett and St. Mary’s Hospitals in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Manigold returned to Ottawa in 1981 and joined the Ottawa Medical Center. He has served multiple terms as president for both the medical center and the Ottawa Hospital Medical Staff. He also volunteered at the Health Center of Eastern La Salle County free clinic and served as a volunteer physician at OHS football games for 20 years. Manigold has served as president of the University of Illinois Alumni Association, and further volunteered his time serving for over two decades as chairman of the Ottawa Police and Fire Commission. He has been president of the Ottawa Concert Association since 1989. He has been a driving and integral force as a volunteer coordinator developing the Dayton Bluffs Preserve, restoring a pioneer cemetery, developing the Dayton Bluff hiking trails, and in the process achieving the certification as University of Illinois Master Naturalist.

William (Bill) Nevin (Class of 1982) – Nevin, was a 1982 graduate of Ottawa High School. His senior year at OHS he was president of the class, student council and National Honor Society. He was the first recipient of the Alex and Virginia Scherer Scholarship, placed eighth in the state for IHSA Speech Individual Events / Radio Speaking, and was one of five students statewide honored with a plaque by the Illinois State Board of Education in the Those Who Excel awards competition, among many other accomplishments and awards. After graduating from IVCC Cum Laude in 1984, he went on to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale receiving a bachelor’s of science degree in 1986 in radio-television. He then began a very successful broadcasting and communications career. He is the associate vice president, communications for the West Virginia University Foundation. Additionally he teaches at West Virginia University as an adjunct Instructor in its graduate program, a course which he developed in voice performance for announcing. In 2019 he was named one of West Virginia University’s Most Influential by the Daily Athenaeum newspaper. Also in 2019 he was honored for 15 years of announcing for the WVU’s Marching Band, was the public address announcer for an NCAA Division I Baseball Regional Tournament, public address announcer for the NCAA National Rifle Championships, and selected National College Sports Public Address Announcer of the Year by NASPAA. In 2022 he celebrated his seventh season as public address announcer for the West Virginia Black Bears of Major League Baseball’s Draft League, received the WVU Reed College of Media Alumni Commitment to Service Award, and became a WVU Greek Alumni Hall of Fame inductee.

Coree Woltering (Class of 2008) – Woltering was involved and accomplished in extracurricular activities at OHS. He participated for four years in varsity teams as a soccer player, track and field athlete, and cross country runner. He also was a varsity cheerleader, junior varsity swimmer, four-year member of the OHS state championship music department, and also spent two years on the varsity speech team, including winning a conference championship. Woltering also spent three years in the Fine Arts Club and two years serving on student council. He achieved some of his greatest accomplishments at OHS as a runner, placing 23rd in the AA IHSA Cross Country Regional, finishing as the third individual sectional qualifier in 2004. He placed 17th and was the first individual sectional qualifier in 2005, and placed 10th and was the first individual sectional qualifier again in 2006. In track in 2008 he was the AA Sectional champion and state qualifier in the 800 meter event. He is an accomplished trail runner, and is a professional ultra runner. He is the record holder for the fastest time completing the Ice Age Trail, a 1,147 mile historic footpath run through the state of Wisconsin. While competing as a track athlete for Greenville College, he also competed in triathlons. He qualified for the Ironman World Championships twice, in 2012 and 2013. After graduation he moved to Boulder, Colorado and got involved in ultra trail running. He won every trail ultra he entered in 2015, including the Malibu Canyon 50K and the Tunnel Hill 50 Mile. In 2016 he reduced his person best in the marathon by 9 minutes in the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama, finishing in second place, then later by 2 more minutes, finishing in 2 hours and 26 minutes in the Chicago Marathon, finishing 44th out of 40,608 runners. Later that year he ran the third fastest 50 mile trail run in North America at Tunnel Hill. In 2020 he completed the run in 21 days, 13 hours, and 35 minutes, besting the previous record by five hours, and in the process raised $35,000 for Feeding America. Among his extraordinary running accomplishments are two Ironman 70.3 World Championship finishes, two Land Between the Lakes Marathon Championships and course record, two Starved Rock Country Marathon Championships and course record, two Tunnel Hill 50 Mile Championships, and 15 other different trail course records and 22 ultra marathon podium finishes.

1983 Ottawa High School Music Department – Ottawa High School has long enjoyed a distinguished and accomplished music program. Each year the IHSA hosts Music Sweepstakes State Championships in five separate classes based upon enrollment. OHS has always competed in one of the two largest classes. The first state championship for any team or organization at OHS was accomplished by the 1983 music department with the collaboration and participation of the band, choir and orchestra. The 1983 group won the second largest class series, and in doing so defeated Macomb, at the time the school with the most music championships in IHSA music sweepstakes history. The 1983 music department was the first to reach the championship summit, and begin a streak of future achievement. Including that original state championship, OHS has won 22 state titles in total, and 20 in succession. Teams accumulate a total score, based upon a number of individual and group entries. To date, in the history of the music sweepstakes, five schools have exceeded the 1,000 point barrier. Two schools have achieved it twice, two have achieved it once, and OHS has achieved this benchmark 19 times. The OHS music department has recorded the top 5 scores in the event over the years, and 12 of the top 13 scores, in any class, over the history of the event. The 1983 music department, with 178 students involved, began that accomplished tradition with its first state championship. The directors for the 1983 group were: Ray Makeever, band director; Roger Amm, choir director; and Roger Rinaldi, orchestra director.

1984-85 varsity boys basketball team – The 1984-85 boys basketball team finished at 23-6, and is the most recent team to make it to the Elite Eight in the IHSA state tournament. At the time Illinois held their championships in two classes based on enrollment, with OHS competing in the largest class AA. Illinois moved to the two-class system in the 1971-72 season, then to its four-class system in 2007-08. The team was crowned the Ottawa Thanksgiving Tournament champion, as well as the North Central Illinois Conference co-champion with a record of 11-1. During the IHSA state tournament they won the regional title with a 76-60 victory over La Salle-Peru, the sectional title with a 60-58 victory over Rock Falls, the supersectional Sweet 16 with a 67-65 victory over Peoria Richwoods, who was ranked sixth in the state, before being eliminated in the Elite Eight 81-66 by Cahokia. The Pirates were 12-0 in OHS’s iconic Kingman Gym, extending the Pirates consecutive home game winning streak to 44. Captain Scott Miller was a unanimous NCIC first-team selection, selected third team All-State by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, was the top scorer and rebounder and named MVP by his teammates. Mark Setchell and Rick Hayne were NCIC second-team selections. The team consists of Matt Winchester, Dave Yell, Brent Sonday, Dewey Gould, Rick Hayne, Mike Sipula, Brad Hartshorn, Ted Trager, Head Coach Gary Vancil, George Johnson, Mark Setchell, Tony Sinning, Scott Miller, Greg Streul, Jay Stortz, Manager Neal Wallace and Assistant Coach Tom Henderson.