Naperville Sports Notables

Naperville Sports Notables. . Murals depict Naperville Sports Notables. Known as a place where education plays a most important role, sports also are part of the big picture. Naperville schools have produced not only stellar graduates prepared for careers, but also a number of sports figures who after high school graduation have distinguished themselves on the national and/or international sports scene. , , Featured in these murals, 15 homegrown athletes are participating in a "reunion" round of golf at Naperville Country Club, our city's 100-year-old golf course reminiscent of a symbiotic "field of dreams"! Fore!!! , , Representing Naperville Country Club at the first tee are Jay Marten, Tom Gritzenbach, Fran Barenbrugge and Jim Arendt. , , Sean Payton played college football for Eastern Illinois University and went on to serve as head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the NFL in 2006, following several assistant coaching positions on college and NFL teams. He has the second longest NFL tenure among active head coaches and has helped guide his team to three NFC Championship games (2006, 2009 and 2018). The New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV. , , Kevin Cordes is the current American record holder in the 50m and 100m breaststroke (long course), and the 200m breaststroke. He was a six-time NCAA Individual National Champion and was named the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Swimmer of the Year. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Cordes won a Gold Medal as a member of the US 4x100m medley relay. , , Evan Frank Lysacek is the 2010 Olympic Champion as an American figure skater. He is also the 2009 World Champion and a two-time US National Champion. He was the 2010 winner of the prestigious James E Sullivan Award as the top US amateur athlete and on January 22, 2016, he was inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. , , Jerry Hairston Jr. was a 16-year Major League Baseball veteran who retired following the 2013 season. He was a third-generation Major Leaguer who played for nine teams during his career including the Chicago Cubs (2005-06). In 2009, he won a World Series ring as a member of the 2009 Yankees and was a .362 career hitter in 17 postseason games. , , Candace Parker is a two-time National High School Player of the Year (2003 and 2004) at Naperville Central. While in college she led the University of Tennessee to consecutive NCAA titles in 2007 and 2008. A two-time WNBA MVP, she began playing for the Chicago Sky after 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks. , , Anthony Parker became one of the top players in Bradley University history. While in college he averaged 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists during his Bradley career, scoring 1,683 points. He was the 21st pick by the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the 1997 NBA draft. His NBA playing career covered nine seasons during which he averaged 9.1 points per game. He also played professionally in Israel and Italy. Parker was twice named MVP of the European professional league. , , Grace Seibolt, who started swimming when she was just five years old, participated in Abu Dhabi's Special Olympics World Games in 2019 and brought home a gold and two silver medals. She is on the autism spectrum and earned a medal in each of the events she completed in: a gold and a silver in the 100m and 50m freestyle races, respectively, and a silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay race. She also garnered two gold and silver medals during the Special Olympics USA in 2018. , , Representing Naperville Country Club, Ted Gladson crosses the bridge. , , Kate Ann Harbaugh was a member of the four-person 1st Team that won the US Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in 1990. The following year she was the Illinois State champion in the sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon or rope. The competition combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics, and was first recognized as a sport in 1963. It became an Olympic sport in 1984 with the group all-around competition being added in 1996 after she competed. , , Morolake Akinosun earned All-State Illinois High School Association honors for four years before attending college at the University of Illinois and University of Texas where she won 13 Big 12 conference titles in track and field. She also won a team gold medal at the 2015 Pan American games in Toronto in the 4 x 100m relay, and followed that as part of the gold medal winning 100m relay team in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics. , , Harry Kalas was best known for his Ford C. Frick Award winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, a position he held from 1971 until his death in 2009. He was also closely identified with the National Football League, serving as a voiceover narrator for NFL Films Productions and calling football games nationally for Westwood One radio. , , Owen Daniels played quarterback for Naperville Central on the undefeated IHSA Class 6A State Championship team in 1999. He then attended the University of Wisconsin switching to tight end and earning the moniker "Ole Sure Hands." He was drafted in the fourth round with the 98 overall pick in the 2008 draft by Houston where he had many successful seasons, including a trip to the 2009 Pro Bowl. Owen also played in Super Bowl L for the Denver Broncos, retiring in 2014. , , Elizabeth Lumpkin Robinson won a record four successive Illinois High School titles in tennis singles. She was a Junior Fed Cup representative for the United States in 2002. She played collegiate tennis while attending UCLA and was a member of the NCAA 2008 championship winning team before graduating in 2009. She currently serves as the assistant women's tennis coach at the University of Oregon. , , Casey Short Krueger while in high school was designated an Illinois State Scholar and was twice named NSCAA/Adidas Youth All-American in 2016 and 2017. In 2008, she was ranked a top rated soccer recruit by the Chicago Sun-Times in addition to running track where she won three state championships: two in the 800m run and one in the 400m dash. She attended Florida State University and currently plays as a defender for the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League. , , Justin McCareins continued his passion for football by attending Northern Illinois University. He is the school's all-time leader in receiving yards, and has the longest reception in school history on a 99-yard touchdown catch versus Ball State. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL draft by the Titans where he played an important role in their 2002-2003 playoff campaign. He was then traded after the 2003 season to the New York Jets where he again made a great contribution in the 2004 playoffs. , , Porter Moser has been one of the most successful Division I basketball coaches of the past half-decade. During his four-season tenure at Loyola University Chicago, he claimed three regular-season Missouri Valley Conference titles, won six NCAA tournament games, secured two Sweet 16 births and reached the 2018 Final Four. In 2021, he continued his coaching career at the University of Oklahoma. , , [Caption for the painting on the left:] , Architect: Tom Bendelow (1868-1936), nicknamed "The Johnny Appleseed of American Golf," was a Scottish-American golf course architect during the first half of the 20th century. He is credited with having designed some 600 courses in a 35-year span, Naperville Country Club being one of them in 1921. Dozens of his courses continue to provide a challenging and pleasurable experience and six have received historic designation by the National Park Services. , , [Caption for the painting on the right:] , Architect: Steve Forrest received world-renowned architectural recognition with Arthur Hills and Associates. He redesigned the Naperville Country Club course in 2006. The course now reflects his desire to work with the natural contours of the land and affords player-friendly opportunities for golfers of all skill levels with five sets of tees on each of 18 holes as well as generous landing areas. The 124-acre course winds its way through rolling terrain, mature trees and ponds, and is home to an array of birds and other wildlife, not far from downtown Naperville.