Team members, cheerleaders, coaches and fans of the '79 Havana Ducks basketball team gathered in Peoria on March 14 to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of their undefeated regular season that culminated in a 2nd straight State Championship appearance. The team was introduced to the crowd at the State Tournament Class 1A Championship game, Coach Gregurich was interviewed by the Peoria Journal Star, and the group gathered for a terrific reunion at Embassy Suites. Pictured above are (front row, L-R) Coach Bob Gregurich, Talona (Meyer) Withrow, Donna (Myland) Nettleton, Lori (Davidage) Trimpe, Darryl Holmes, Jeff Bonnett, Jim Bonnett; (back row, L-R) Jeff Myland, Brad Gregurich, Doug Hurst, Derek Dierker, Roger King, Marc Radosevic and Darren Hartry.
You can see Coach Gregurich's address to the group in 2 YouTube videos:
Part 1 is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZrndvTdH-g
Part 2 is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoyVgrSF34g
"Flock of ducks"
Sitting in the south end zone of Carver Arena were ex-Havana coach Bob Gregurich and every member of his 1978-79 team that finished second in Class A. They were gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their feat.
That squad won its first 31 games before it lost 46-33 to New Lenox Providence in the championship game. Saturday marked the first time Gregurich had seen many of his players in a while. "Roger King moved to North Carolina," Gregurich said. "This is the first time I've seen him in 30 years. "You can't put it into words what it means to see these guys again and the camaraderie they still have. Most of them haven't changed that much.
Title game
against Providence New Lenox
The team members pictured above are: Front row (L to R): Craig Boggs, Tony Griffin, Jeff Bonnett. Middle row (L to R): Jim Bonnett, Derek Dierker, Brad Gregurich, Darren Hartry, Darryl Holmes. Back row (L to R): Craig Schappaugh, Alan Thompson, Tracey Trimpe, Roger King, Coach Bob Gregurich, Terry Miller, Kevin Simmering, Doug Hurst, Marc Radosevic. Their final record was 31-1 and their achievements for the year included: 2nd Place Class A State Tournament; Holiday Tournament Champions; Mason County Champions; Spoon River Conference Champions; Regional Champions; Sectional Champions; Supersectional Champions.
In addition the HHS Class of 1979 will be holding a reunion on June 27th of this year in Havana. For more information on the class reunion visit the CLASS OF 79 WEBSITE
A special thank you to Marc Radosevic for sending the above photo and information.
