2010 Girls All-Sports Banquet: Lady Indians' pitching ace receives top honor
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Chelsea Hill was named Du Quoin High School's Outstanding Senior Female Athlete for 2009-2010 during Wednesday's 32nd annual all-sports banquet.
The event is sponsored by Community Hope and was held in the commons area of Du Quoin Middle School. All totalled, 86 senior athletes were honored. The list included members of the softball, basketball, track, cheer and dance teams.
Approximately 250 people attended the festivities.
The daughter of Darren and Marla Hill, Chelsea is a four-year starter in softball and owns most of the current DHS single season and career pitching records.
Twice named River-to-River All-Conference, she's won 40 career games and enters Friday's play at the Marissa-Coulterville tournament with 438 strikeouts. When not pitching, the righthander splits time between first base and the outfield.
Hill also carries an impressive 3.941 grade point average.
"I would like to thank my teammates, family, friends and coaches," she said. "It's been a fun experience these past four years."
Hill was one of a dozen senior athletes recognized during the evening, which included a meal catered by BJ's Garden Inn.
As the outstanding senior athlete award winner, Hill receives $750 in scholarship money.
Two other awards-both in memory of 1979 oustanding senior athlete winner Kris Stacey-who was lost to cancer in 2007, were handed out.
Volleyball standout Staci Davis won the scholar-athlete award after producing the highest GPA (3.982) among the female athletes.
She wins a $300 scholarship.
Alexis Korbar, who participates in track, won the Kris Stacey Memorial Spirit award, handed out by Stacey's family for the first time. It also carries a $300 scholarship prize.
Dianne Daugherty, 24th year women's golf coach at SIU-Carbondale and a fomer touring LPGA professional, was the principal speaker.
While still carrying her LPGA touring card, Daugherty now devotes most of her team to coaching and teaching the game.
"You girls today are just so lucky and have so many oppurtunities," said Daugherty, who's been a longtime friend of the banquet.
"Find your passion in life. I have been so fortunate to make mine (golf) a big part of my life."
Du Quoin High School softball coach and assistant basketball coach Jason James served as the emcee.
The Indianette dance squad was honored for recently winning its third consecutive IDTA state championship in the hip hop division.
Davis, Hill and Korbar led a senior class that also included Nastia Campanella (volleyball), Lindsey Chapman (dance), Alex Dusch (dance), Taylor Heck (dance), Ashley Hess (softball), Mallory Hill (track), Lakeisa Johnson (basketball), Amy Restoff (dance) and Kelsey Smith (basketball).