Did you know St. Francis High School had a chess team in 1973? Better yet, did you know they won the state championship? The underdog team was assembled by Vice Principal and Coach George Craver and led by a student who joined at the last minute of the season.

Henry Antolak ’73 (the aforementioned student) recently shared the story with us when we reconnected with him this spring. The state championship was hosted by a chess club (not the IHSA) so little information is publicly available. Surprisingly, it wasn't included in the 1973 SFHS yearbook, either.

The championship team was made up of (pictured above, left to right) Mike Rogers '74, Frank Aiello '73, Henry, Mike Murphy '73, John Engelke '75. We'll have a more detailed feature in our fall 2024 issue of Focus Magazine. Please reach out to us if you have any information or a similar story you think fellow alums will enjoy!

Read Henry's account of this amazing story linked below.

Todd Shaw '89

Alumni Relations

tshaw@

sfhscollegeprep.org

(630) 668-5800 x1143

Calling all Classes from ‘4 and ‘9 – it's time to organize your next reunion! We're here to help, please reach out to start planning your event.

Spring 2024

Focus Magazine

You should receive a copy in the U.S. mail this month! Didn't get it? Email Todd with a contact info update.

Send us your updates and photos for our next newsletter and Focus Magazine issue! Careers, marriages, new babies, and more - we want to hear from you!

Ally Morris '09 celebrated her wedding with Zach Harmeyer in September.

Congratulations to parents Jon '12 and Elizabeth Bruggeman! Thomas Edward "Teddy" Bruggeman was born March 1.

Elizabeth Grivetti '20 was featured on the Purdue University Engineering Instagram page! The video highlights her experience at Purdue, where she is now a senior.

At 1:00 p.m. this Saturday, April 6, St. Francis High School will host a college match with Western Michigan University facing off against Loyola University in the Spyglass Athletic Center.

On Western Michigan's team is SFHS alum, Anna Calcagno '20. If you're in the area, stop by to enjoy the game!

Dr. Chris Nemeth '67 presented in Dr. Juliano's Engineering class in March and shared about his career while providing several examples of projects he's worked on in many different disciplines of engineering.

After graduating from Marquette University with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and History he worked in broadcast journalism, product design, and then human factors engineering. He served as a Commissioned Officer of the U.S. Navy from 1971-2001 and worked at the Illinois Institute of Technology (adjunct faculty); Northwestern University (adjunct Associate Professor); and the University of Chicago (Assistant Professor), among many other professional roles. He is currently the Principal Scientist and Group Leader at Applied Research Associates, Inc.

Other fun facts: Chris has run about 55 marathons and has served as an expert witness in a court case. Thank you for sharing with our students!

The Class of 1984's 40th Reunion is the weekend of September 21, 2024. Golfers, plan to attend the Spartan Classic Golf Outing on Friday, September 20, followed by a pre-reunion gathering. The "official" reunion is Saturday, September 21, in the Atrium at SFHS. More information to follow. 

To join the planning committee or to connect with other golfers to create a foursome for the Spartan Classic, contact Tracey Morris-Kozak (630-248-2672), Shannon Pierce-Denny (630-803-9550), or Dave Kimball (630-826-9992).