User:Rexsum/Great Rivers Athletic Conference

About the GRAC
The Great Rivers Athletic Conference (GRAC) is part of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) located primarily in the Southern part of Illinois and has been around since 1982. The GRAC is located in Region 24 which is about 4/5 the Southern portion of Illinois. Region 24 right now consists of two conferences and twenty different schools. The GRAC is one of the two conferences and it consists of nine different schools, with enrollments ranging from low 900’s to low 6000’s. While each school can field as many teams as they choose, the GRAC and NJCAA only sponsor seven sports teams. At this time the GRAC sponsors: Men’s Golf Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Baseball, Softball, and Women’s Volleyball. All other sports i.e. Cross Country, Women’s Golf, Wrestling, etc., are self sustained and supported.

The following article will break down each sport. That is, each sport will have its own section. Each school has its own sub-section within each section. At the end of the article, their is a brief description of all other sports, not currently sponsored by the GRAC.

GRAC Member Information
The GRAC currently consists of nine schools, all from Southern Illinois. The members of the GRAC span the entire width of Southern Illinois with Wabash Valley on the Eastern border of Illinois and Indiana, and Southwestern Illinois on the Western border of Illinois and Missouri. There are multiple highway rivalries between schools located along Interstate 57 and 64. A couple rivalries of this kind are John A. Logan vs. Rend Lake and Lakeland vs. Kaskaskia.



Men's Baseball
Every team in the GRAC fields a men’s baseball team. The Wabash Valley College Warriors are annually one of the premier teams, not just in the GRAC, but in the NJCAA, given their annual success and multiple conference victories and the amount of players taken in the draft since the year 2000. This is considered to be an oddity since the school is very small and located in the Midwest and most premier teams are located in the west coast or southern regions. Other teams that have had many conference titles and players drafted are John A Logan, Lincoln Trail, and Rend Lake College.

John A Logan College - Carterville, IL
The Volunteers have won nine conference titles, six Region 24 championships, and made two national tournament appearances. Eleven Volunteers have earned NJCAA All–American honors, and fourteen former Volunteers are currently playing professional baseball, with four competing in the major leagues. Many players over the years have been drafted and gone on to play in the MLB. The following is a list of recent players drafted.

Kaskaskia College - Centralia, IL
Blue Devils win 108 games in 3 years and have been named Academic All American Team for 2006, 2007, and 2008. Many players over the years have been drafted and gone on to play in the MLB. The following is a list of recent players drafted.

Lincoln Trail College - Robinson, IL
The Lincoln Trail College Statesmen have consistently battled for a top spot in the GRAC. Year in and year out the Statesmen have fielded a strong team that has given fellow conference and Region 24 teams all they could ask for. The Statesmen have been champions of the GRAC three times (2001, 2006, and 2007) since the year 2000 and champions of Region 24 twice (2005 and 2007) in the same span of time.

Along with these accomplishments on the field, the athletes have also been performing well in the classroom receiving the NJCAA Academic team of the year in 2006.

Many players over the years have been drafted and gone on to play in the MLB. The following is a list of recent players currently playing in the MLB

David Arnold - Colorado Rockies, Seth Bynum - Washington Nationals, Tyler Evans - Houston Astros, Kevin Mahar - Texas Rangers, and TJ Brewer - San Fransisco Giants

Rend Lake College - Ina, IL
The Rand Lake Warriors might not be the strongest team in the GRAC, however, they are never taken for granted in the GRAC or Region 24. The Warriors have been Region 24 Champions three times (1997, 1999, and 2008) in the past two decades.

Many players over the years have been drafted and gone on to play in the MLB. The following is a list of recent players currently playing in the MLB or for an MLB minor league team.

Kyle Geiger - Twins, Jim Abbott - Twins, Neal Freandling - Rays, Dan Dement - Nationals, Mike Siefert - Blue Jays, Ryan Spille - Blue Jays, Dan Firlit - Cardinals, and Brandon Braboy - Yankees

Southeastern Illinois College - Harrisburg, IL
The Southeastern Illinois Falcons have put a couple players on the field over the years that have reached the MLB. Two of note are Cory Bailey and Jeff Keener.

Cory Bailey played professional baseball from 1991-2003 for five different teams: Boston Red Sox (1993-94), St. Louis Cardinals (1995-1996), San Francisco Giants (1997-1998), Kansas City Royals (2001-2002), and the Yomiuri (Japan) Giants (2003).

Jeff Keener went onto the University of Kentucky and became their number one pitcher. He then signed and played with the St. Louis Cardinals for two seasons, winning one World Series. Jeff Keener currently coaches baseball at Gen. John A. Logan High School in Southern Illinois.

All players of note would be the All-Americans that have passed through the Falcons system. Jason Colemire, Kieth Jones, Jaime Malave, Tony Ochs, Ron Wahig, and Darren Weisheit, along with Jeff Keener.

Wabash Valley College - Mt. Carmel, IL
The Wabash Valley Warriors are consistently the team to beat in the GRAC. This team has national recognition along with the recognition from its peers in the GRAC and Region 24. The Warriors are consistently in the hunt for the GRAC Championship and Region 24 Championship because of all the talented players that have used this system as a sling-shot to playing professional ball. Under Coach Rob Fournier,(Head Coach of Warriors since 1997) there have been 46 players drafted into the MLB, and 38 since the year 2000. The following is a list of recent players drafted.

Men's Basketball
Every team in the GRAC has a men's basketball team. The Wabash Valley Warriors are the only team from the GRAC to have won a NJCAA Title.

John A Logan College - Carterville, IL
Always competitive, the John A. Logan program has won seven conference championships, four Region 24 Tournament titles, and produced three NJCAA All-Americans.

Kaskaskia College - Centralia, IL
Kaskaskia College has yielded four All-Americans in Sean Stackhouse, 1997, Jeff Rogers, 1992, Darren Hill, 1991, and Vernell Brent, 1991. They have also yielded 8 players who went on to play professional basketball. Shaun Durant (Spain), Mike English (Austria), Ikemefuna Attah (England), Marquis Scott (Mexico), Eoin O'Brien (England), Gavin Smith (France), Darrell Flake (Iceland), Jeff Rogers (Norway)

Lincoln Trail College - Robinson, IL
The Lincoln Trail Statesmen have made two NJCAA tournament appearances: 1977 and 1994. They have also produced 3 All-Americans: Michael Gray (1997), Chris Whitney (1991), and Terry Johnson (1994)

Rend Lake College - Ina, IL
The Southeastern Illinois Falcons have made two NJCAA Tournament appearances: Placed 7th in 2003, and 4th in 2004. They have also produced 8 All-Americans: Tim Barnes 2000-2002 Takais Brown 2004-2006 James Foster 1997-1999 Girard Moore 1995-1997 Lamar Owen 2001-2003 Bill Patterson 1965-1967 Donta Smith 2002-2004 Damian Staple 2001-2003

Southeastern Illinois College - Harrisburg, IL
Southeastern Illinois is one of the premier teams in the GRAC and Region 24. They have reached the Elite 8 twice in the NJCAA tournament. They placed 7th in 2003 and then 4th in 2004.

Wabash Valley College - Mt. Carmel, IL
The Wabash Valley Basketball Warriors is the only team to win the NJCAA tournament. They did that in 2001 in Hutchinson, Kansas, the annual site of the NJCAA Men's basketball tournament. Two players on the championship team went on to play in the NBA; Hiram Fuller and Tony Allen.

The Warriors have had many players transfer to Division I NCAA 4-year institutions throughout the years. A few noteworthy players are Carlos Williams ('06)- UNC CHARLOTTE, Antwon Coleman ('05)-UNC-CHARLOTTE, Jerell Jamison ('05)-UNC-CHARLOTTE, Tony Allen ('02)-OKLAHOMA STATE-BOSTON CELTICS Antwain Barber ('02)-KENTUCKY Hiram Fuller ('01)-FRESNO STATE-WASHINGTON WIZARDS Daren Tarver ('01)-GEORGE MASON Dujuan Wiley ('96)-MICHIGAN STATE

Men's Golf
Though not every school fields a team in the GRAC, golf in the GRAC is played at a high level, seen by the All-American honors garned since the year 2000.

John A Logan College - Carterville, IL
The John A. Logan Vols have won six of the past eight Region 24 Tournament titles and qualified for eight consecutive appearances in the NJCAA National Tournament. Never finishing lower than eighth at nationals, Logan’s best showing came in 2004 when it placed second. Logan has produced the last six individual Region 24 Tournament medalists, and seven Volunteers have earned All–American honors: William Bremner (2008), Patrick Scheil (2008), Scott McGrenaghan (2007), Justin Fetcho (2005), Sean McNemar (2004), Brian Norman (2003), Spence Andrews (2001, 02).

Women's Softball
All the teams of the GRAC that field a women's softball team are very proud of what they accompish each year. The Wabash Valley Warriors are consistently the team to be in the conference as seen by their 19 conference victories since the year 1983, and winning conference every year since the year 2000.

John A Logan College - Carterville, IL
The John A. Logan Vols have won four conference titles and produced six NJCAA All-Americans.

Rend Lake College - Ina, IL
The Rend Lake Warriors have produced two NJCAA All-Americans: Jennifer Calandrilla (1999) and Jaymie Cowell (1996).

Wabash Valley College - Mt. Carmel, IL
The Wabash Valley Warriors are consistently known to be the premier team of the GRAC, and even Region 24.

The Warriors have won 19 GRAC titles: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 2000 (Co- Champs), 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 The Warriors have also won nine Region 24 titles (place): 1984, 1985 (4th), 1997 (5th), 2001 (9th), 2002 (13th), 2003 (10th), 2004 (6th), 2005 (4th), 2008 (7th). The Warriors are led by NJCAA Softball Hall of Fame coach Paul Schnarre. Currently, Schnarre is first in active coach’s wins in the NJCAA. He has guided the Lady Warriors to 17 Great River Athletic Conference championships, 9 NJCAA Region XXIV Championships, and 8 NJCAA Division I National Tournament appearances. In 2006, the Illinois Eastern Community College Administration dedicated the Softball field as the Paul Schnarre Field in honor of his accomplishments. In 2007, Schnarre was inducted into the NJCAA Softball Hall of Fame.

Women's Basketball
Every school in the GRAC fields a women's basketball team. The Southeastern Illinois Falcon are consistently the team to beat as seen by the amount of players that have been All-American's from their team.

John A Logan College - Carterville, IL
The John A. Logan Vols have won 16 GRAC titles and twelve Region 24 titles with their best finish in 1988 of second place. The Lady Vols have also been named NJCAA All-Americans.

Kaskaskia College - Centralia, IL
The Kaskaskia Blue Devils have produced 1 NJCAA All-American: Lesslie Dumstorff (2000).

Southeastern Illinois College - Harrisburg, IL
The Southeastern Illinois Falcons have won the Region 24 title twice (place): 2006 (5th) and 2007 (4th). The Lady Falcons have also produced 9 NJCAA All-Americans: Chandra Brown (2003), Crystal DeLorch (2004), Juliana Fernandes (2005), Christy Henry (1994), Amber Holt (2006), Lesha Jones (2007), Armelie Lumanu (2008), Chanel Mokango (2008), and Sonja Thompson (1997)

Women's Volleyball
John A. Logan College is consistently the team to beat in the GRAC, as seen by their winning three GRAC titles since the year 2000.

John A Logan College - Carterville, IL
The John A. Logan Vols have won three GRAC titles: 2000, 2002, and 2008. They have won three Region 24 titles and (placed) in the NJCAA Championship: 2000 (8th), 2002 (7th), 2008. They have also produced five NJCAA All-Americans: Shannon Winkeler, Jenny Heimann, Shannon Winkeler, Megan Markwell, Amy Verseman

Rend Lake College - Ina, IL
2002 was Rend Lake's best season as a Women's Volleyball team. They went 35-17 and gained second in the GRAC.

Other Sports
Though not officially sponsored by the GRAC the schools also field teams such as men's and women's track and field, men's and women's soccer, women's golf, along with others.

Women's Golf
John A. Logan

The Lady Vols have won three Region 24 Tournament titles and competed as a team in the NJCAA National Tournament seven times. Their best finish at nationals came in 2002 when they placed fourth. Logan has had five individual Region 24 Tournament medalists, three NJCAA All–Americans, and one honorable mention All–American selection.

References and Sources
NJCAA Home

Great Rivers Athletic Conference Home

Lincoln Trail Athletics

Rend Lake Athletics

Olney Central Athletics

Wabash Valley Athletics

South Eastern Illinois Athletics

South Western Illinois Athletics

John A. Logan Athletics

Kaskaskia Athletics

Lake Land Athletics