[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 26 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           KAHOKS' 2000 WINS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 16, 2012

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today to honor the 
achievement of the boys basketball team from my high school and 
hometown, my Collinsville Kahoks. On January 21st of this year, the 
Kahoks recorded their 2000th victory, becoming only the second team in 
Illinois and the third in the country to reach this great milestone.
  This achievement is the result of the combined efforts of more than 
one hundred years of Collinsville players, coaches, and families. These 
are today's Collinsville Kahoks: Jaris Wellmaker, J'Vaughn Williams, 
Jacob Shaffer, Falando Wilkinson, Briley Kellison, Jared Blasingame, 
Chris Mathes, Devonta Crochrell, Daryn Foster, Jason Kusnerick, Travis 
Dunnette, Tanner Houck, Caleb Johnson, Sean Davis, Kelyn Conner, and 
Coaches Darin Lee and Eric Anderson.
  These players and coaches have proven beyond a doubt that they can 
uphold our tradition of success, a tradition forged by past players 
such as Bob Bone, who set the all-time scoring record at the University 
of Missouri-St. Louis and also coached the Kahoks for twenty years, and 
other players such as Kevin Stallings, who went on to play at Purdue 
and now serves as head coach at Vanderbilt University.
  But the one man most responsible for our tradition of excellence was 
the legendary coach of the Kahoks for thirty-three years, the late 
Vergil Fletcher. In his tenure, Coach Fletcher amassed 747 victories, 
leading the team to twenty conference championships and two State 
titles, one of which included an undefeated season. Coach Fletcher was 
an excellent coach and an exemplary role model, and we can only imagine 
how proud he would be today. May we all find the same measure of 
success.
  And so once more I congratulate my Collinsville Kahoks, and I extend 
my gratitude to all those who helped make this achievement possible. I 
wish them continued good fortune in their future endeavors.

                          ____________________