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Orion High School will induct the 2000 volleyball team during the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, Jan. 7.
The induction will be about 7 p.m., between the sophomore and varsity boys’ basketball games with Sherrard.
Orion Music Boosters is hosting a chili supper that evening.
Going into the Hall of Fame for individual achievement during high school are Glenn Chivers, Rod Lee, Denise Kunert Jacobsen, Chad Cox and Rob Rogers.
Diane and Myron McCunn will be inducted as Friends of Orion High School.
2000 volleyball team
Coach Natalie Weller’s team was the first girls’ team to compete at the state tournament in any sport.
With a 29-5 record, the Chargers set a school record for most wins by girls or boys in any sport.
They were the Olympic Conference champions at 13-1. Orion also won the Wethersfield tournament and regional, sectional and super-sectional championships.
They won the Sport A Winning Attitude from the IHSA for the sportsmanship shown by players and fans at the sectional tournament.
Team members included Jennifer Johnson, Holly Neuerburg, Julie Ziegenhorn, Maegan Puebla, Emmi Harlan, Emily Nightingale, Lindsay Calhoun, Stephanie Begley, Ashley Lough, Lyndsey Jackson, Nicki Nelson, Kristi Hepner, Sarah Juenger and Laura Maeltzer.
Assistant coaches were Jack Wheeler and Bethany Wotal.
Individual achievement
• Glenn Chivers, Class of 1946—Already in the Hall of Fame as a member of the 1944 football team, he also starred in basketball.
In track, he ran on cinders, asphalt and grass. Chivers tied the Cornbelt Conference record for the mile in 1944. A year later, he qualified for state in the mile.
At the time, the Illinois High School Association had only one class. To qualify for state, Chivers had to compete in a district meet with athletes from 28 schools. The meet included Moline, United Township and Rock Island, as well as Geneseo, Sterling, Galesburg and Kewanee.
After graduation, Chivers became an educator.
• Rod Lee, Class of 1977—He is already a member of the Hall with the 1976-77 basketball team. Lee started at forward on a team that finished the regular season 24-0 and won its first postseason game to set the Quad Cities record for consecutive wins.
Shooting 54 percent from the field, Lee average 16.2 points per game that season. He also averaged 10.1 rebounds.
He led the 1976-77 Chargers to the first Olympic Conference championship, as well as the championships of the Orion Invitational and Princeville Holiday tournaments, and he made the All-Tournament team in both.
Lee was selected for the All-Olypic Conference and All-Western Illinois first teams, as well as the Chicago Tribune’s All-State team.
Orion High School will induct the 2000 volleyball team during the Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, Jan. 7.
The induction will be about 7 p.m., between the sophomore and varsity boys’ basketball games with Sherrard.
Orion Music Boosters is hosting a chili supper that evening.
Going into the Hall of Fame for individual achievement during high school are Glenn Chivers, Rod Lee, Denise Kunert Jacobsen, Chad Cox and Rob Rogers.
Diane and Myron McCunn will be inducted as Friends of Orion High School.
2000 volleyball team
Coach Natalie Weller’s team was the first girls’ team to compete at the state tournament in any sport.
With a 29-5 record, the Chargers set a school record for most wins by girls or boys in any sport.
They were the Olympic Conference champions at 13-1. Orion also won the Wethersfield tournament and regional, sectional and super-sectional championships.
They won the Sport A Winning Attitude from the IHSA for the sportsmanship shown by players and fans at the sectional tournament.
Team members included Jennifer Johnson, Holly Neuerburg, Julie Ziegenhorn, Maegan Puebla, Emmi Harlan, Emily Nightingale, Lindsay Calhoun, Stephanie Begley, Ashley Lough, Lyndsey Jackson, Nicki Nelson, Kristi Hepner, Sarah Juenger and Laura Maeltzer.
Assistant coaches were Jack Wheeler and Bethany Wotal.
Individual achievement
• Glenn Chivers, Class of 1946—Already in the Hall of Fame as a member of the 1944 football team, he also starred in basketball.
In track, he ran on cinders, asphalt and grass. Chivers tied the Cornbelt Conference record for the mile in 1944. A year later, he qualified for state in the mile.
At the time, the Illinois High School Association had only one class. To qualify for state, Chivers had to compete in a district meet with athletes from 28 schools. The meet included Moline, United Township and Rock Island, as well as Geneseo, Sterling, Galesburg and Kewanee.
After graduation, Chivers became an educator.
• Rod Lee, Class of 1977—He is already a member of the Hall with the 1976-77 basketball team. Lee started at forward on a team that finished the regular season 24-0 and won its first postseason game to set the Quad Cities record for consecutive wins.
Shooting 54 percent from the field, Lee average 16.2 points per game that season. He also averaged 10.1 rebounds.
He led the 1976-77 Chargers to the first Olympic Conference championship, as well as the championships of the Orion Invitational and Princeville Holiday tournaments, and he made the All-Tournament team in both.
Lee was selected for the All-Olypic Conference and All-Western Illinois first teams, as well as the Chicago Tribune’s All-State team.
He graduated with the career scoring record of 929 points and the career rebounding record with more than 600 boards.
Lee was the Athlete of the Year at OHS in 1977.
As a junior, he was a captain of the Orion team that won the last Cornbelt Conference championship in 1975-76. Lee led the team in scoring and rebounding, and he was a member of the All-Conference team. He also made the Orion Invitational’s All-Tournament team.
Lee received a full scholarship to play basketball at Marycrest University, Davenport, where he scored 1,250 points to set the school’s career scoring record. He graduated in 1981 with a degree in business administration.
• Denise Kunert Jacobsen, Class of 1988—She excelled in volleyball, basketball and track.
In volleyball, Kunert and her teammates won the Olympic Conference championship in 1986 and regional championships in 1985, 1986 and 1987. The 1985 team won the sectional, too.
Kunert was All-Conference in 1986 and 1987. A captain of the 1987 team, she received the Most Valuable Player award at the postseason banquet.
In basketball, she played on conference and regional championship teams in 1986-87 and 1987-88. Kunert also made the All-Conference teams both years.
She was named to the All-Tournament team at the Orion Invitational in 1987.
Kunert was the Most Valuable Player on the 1987-88 team, and after graduation she played on All-Star teams at he Kewanee Hoopfest and the Greater Quad City All-Star Classic.
She was the Senior Athlete of the Year at OHS in 1988.
Kunert played volleyball and basketball at North Central College, Naperville.
In volleyball during 1990 and 1991, she won the Most Valuable Player award and a place on the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin’s All-Conference first team. The team won the CCIW in 1991.
Kunert also was named to the NCAA All-Midwest team in 1991.
She was North Central’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1991. She graduated as the single-season record holder in kills, a record that stood from 1991 until 2007.
In basketball, Kunert was a captain during her senior year. She was third team All-Conference in 1992, and she graduated in 10th place on North Central’s single-season list of rebounds per game.
• Chad Cox, Class of 1999—A three-year varsity letterwinner, he capped his wrestling career with third place at the state tournament in 1999.
Cox wrestled on Charger teams that won four Olympic Conference championships and three regional plaques.
He also wrestled on two squads that qualified for the state dual team tournament.
Cox already is in the Hall of Fame as a member of the 1996-97 team, which set the program record for wins with 22.
A two-time regional champion, Cox qualified for sectionals three times.
He wrestled at state as a junior in 1998 and as a senior in 1999.
He was on the All-Conference teams as a junior and as a senior.
Cox twice received the Pacesetter award from the Dispatch and Rock Island Argus.
His teammates voted the Most Valuable Award to Cox.
He was selected for the Illinois team in the Iowa vs. Illinois All-Star meet.
In football, Cox was a member of the 1998 playoff team. He was a two-year varsity letterwinner, starting on both offense and defense. He was a team captain and he won the Best Defensive Player award.
Cox was on the All-Conference and All-Western Illinois first teams his senior year.
• Rob Rogers, Class of 2000—He starred in football and baseball. On the gridiron, he probably ranks as one of the all-time leading tacklers at OHS even though teams ran away from Rogers.
He was voted to All-Conference and All-Area teams in football, and he received the Best Defensive Player and Most Valuable Player awards from his teammates.
As a four-year starter at Monmouth College, Rogers ranks as one of that school’s leading tacklers. He had 97 tackles in 2003 and 83 in 2002. With 258 for his career, he ranks third on the all-time list.
He holds both season and career records for fumbles returned for a touchdown (two in 2000). Rogers also had four interceptions in 2003.
He was on the All-Midwest Conference first team as a senior, second team as a junior and honorable mention as a sophomore.
Friends of OHS
Myron and Diane McCunn volunteered with Orion Athletic Boosters for many years. Diane ran the concession stands from 1988 to 2002. She also worked behind the scenes in other areas. Myron helped build many facilities still used today.
