Mt. Vernon ushers in new HOF class

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By PAUL HINES

phines@morningsentinel.com

MT. VERNON — The Hall of Fame banquet marked a night of remembrance and joy Saturday night at Changnon Gymnasium.

The Mt. Vernon Township High School Sports Hall of Fame class took its place among previous inductees. The new class consisted of individuals Paralee Scrivner, Connie Harre-Blair, Brandon Branon, Demontez Miller-Gray, John Flood and Eric Hawthorne along with the 1997-98 Lady Rams basketball team and the 2002-03 cheerleading team.

Paralee Scrivner

Paralee has been a longtime support of Rams and Lady Rams athletics. She established the John Scrivner Memorial Scholarship. Scholarships to hundreds of graduating Mt. Vernon boys and girls athletes over several decades.

Connie Harre-Blair

Harre-Blair was a longtime Lady Rams track and field and cross country coach.

“On being told I was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for Mt. Vernon (Township) High School, I was deeply honored,” Harre-Blair said. “But then I immediately started anxiously contemplating how to sum up nearly 50 years at Mt. Vernon high school into just a few short minutes.”

Brandon Branon

Branon won more than 100 wrestling matches throughout his career and qualified for the state tournament three times.

Branon spoke about a teaching moment his team received from then coach Scott Tickner. It centered around money that was stolen from Branon one day at practice.

“He handed me the amount of money that was stolen, and he said this is grace. This is doing something you don’t have to do but you do it anyway.”

Demontez Miller-Gray

Miller-Gray finished his career as the Rams all-time leading rusher. He ended with 2,551 yards. He was also a four time state qualifier in track and field.

John Flood

Flood participated in three sports — baseball, basketball and football — and earned a total of 10 letters. He is second all-time in career strikeouts.

“There’s a long list of really impressive athletes that have been in Mt. Vernon,” Flood said. “To have my name up there is truly special.”

Eric Hawthorne

Hathorne was a two-time Rams basketball Most Valuable Player and was named honorable mention all-state his senior season.

“Standing here tonight as a member of the Mt. Vernon Rams hall of fame is something I never dreamed would happen,” Hawthorne said. “Especially considering how it began. Most people don’t know this, but on the very first day of my freshman year of basketball practice, I quit.

“Sometimes quitting is the easy choice but coming back is what really defines you.”

1997-98 girls basketball

The Lady Rams set a record for most wins and least amount of losses during this season. The team was unbeaten in South Seven Conference action and won a regional championship.

“Today, the whole group sat down to a brunch that lasted, I kid you not three and a half hours,” coach Sara Rennie said. “We talked about life. We talked about their journeys. What their lives were like after graduation, all things good, bad, ugly, as you do when you’re chatting.

“Suddenly in my mind they weren’t teenagers anymore. They were grown up, amazing women and all had lived different lives but still connected by our basketball team. And the love they had for each other was just awesome today. I saw them in a different light, and I was very humbled by it.”

2002-03 cheerleading

The team won a regional championship and the season culminated with a state championship at the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association event.

“Just looking back, they had a level head and cool about them, and they just pushed through,” Emilee Mygatt said. “And they did whatever they had to do. Everybody stepped up. There wasn’t excuses.