Senior Rachel Skoza receives congratulations from girls basketball head coach Rebecca Murphy after scoring her 1,000th career point. Her prowess on the court helped earn Skoza the honor of Female Athlete of the Year. Gargoyle photo by Dave Porreca (click to enlarge)

Male Athlete of the Year Malcolm Taylor runs in the Class 1A cross country sectionals last fall. Taylor led Uni to a fourth-place finish at the IHSA state meet and made all-state himself by placing among the top 25 finishers. Gargoyle photo by Dave Porreca (click to enlarge)

URBANA — The track and girls soccer teams were honored at Tuesday's sports awards ceremony at Uni Gym, along with senior athletes, scholar athletes, and Athletes of the Year. Seniors Rachel Skoza and Malcolm Taylor were named Athletes of the Year.

After the head coaches of both teams gave brief synopses of the seasons and distributed certificates to all of their athletes, the ceremony wrapped up with the athletic department year-end video. The video showcased the two teams' achievements, and the Athletes of the Year.

Skoza won the Female Athlete of the Year Award for her contributions to the volleyball, basketball, and soccer teams this year. She led the volleyball team to 20 victories, matching last year's school record, and set new Uni records in career kills and blocks and single-season kills.

The Beloit College-bound Skoza also led the basketball team to a 16-9 record, head coach Rebecca "Merf" Murphy's best record in her 15 years of coaching. The team MVP finished fourth in school history with 1,126 career points.

The senior also became the soccer team's varsity goalkeeper in just her first year playing the sport, but a torn ACL ended her season early.

The University of Illinois-bound Taylor received the Male Athlete of the Year Award for his contributions to the cross country, basketball, and track teams. He helped the Illineks finish fourth at the Class 1A cross country state meet, and took first place at the Twin City Classic.

On the basketball team, Taylor led the Illineks to their sixth-consecutive 15-victory season and a tie for the East Central Illinois Conference title.

As a member of the track team, Taylor has set a meet record in the 400-meter dash at the Charleston Boys Indoor Invitational, won the Illinois Prep Top Times 400 state title, and contributed to several other strong Uni performances, including the Prep Top Times championship in the 4x400 relay.

Fellow seniors Daniel Borup and Adam Tiouririne also won schoolwide athletic awards. Borup won the Tom Jolly "Spirit of Uni" Award for his dedication to the boys basketball team and help as an assistant coach.

Tiouririne won the Athletic Director's Award for changing the face of Uni athletics. Known as "The Voice," Tiouririne's announcing at Illinek home basketball games has gained him local fame, and he has often been asked to announce at other events, such as the recent Illinois Marathon.

The Uni soccer team also ended its season last night, losing to Monticello in a Class 1A regional final. The 11-5-3 Illineks finished with a tie for the ECIC title. Junior Erika Belmont was named to the ECIC all-conference team, and senior Joy Shapley was named all-conference honorable mention.

Other individual honors for the track and soccer teams will be announced later this month. Doug Mynatt is the head coach of the boys and girls track teams. Assistant coaches are Karl Knox, Elizabeth Lerner, Bryce Montgomery, and Phil Suprenant.

Philip Anders is the head coach of the girls soccer team, with assistant coaches Megan McCaffrey, Betsy Dorner, and Ralph Falarca.

IHSA Scholastic Achievement Award Winners (Seniors)

• Daniel Borup
• Holden Bucher
• Isaac Chambers
• Clement Dossin
• Sheri Grill
• Elaine Gu
• Jeremy Kemball
• Alan Kessler
• Deborah Ladd
• Maddy Levin
• Alan Liang
• Cheng Luo
• Natsuki Nakamura
• Nish Nookala
• Carl Pearson
• Gordon Ruan
• Kareem Sayegh
• Joy Shapley
• Rachel Skoza
• Laura Sligar
• Jessi Sullivan
• Malcolm Taylor
• Adam Tiouririne
• Brian Wang
• Lizzy Warner
• Miguel Zamora-Mills

IHSA Scholastic Achievement Award Winners (Juniors)

• Katherine Allen
• Liz Allen
• Erika Belmont
• Tuli Bera
• Sian Best
• Lisa Boyce
• Miles Bribriesco
• Katie Buzard
• Tej Chajed
• Daniel Cheng
• Amy Ding
• Eric Fritzsche
• Chumin Gao
• Rachel Harmon
• Isaure Hostetter
• Diana Liu
• Linda Ly
• Grace Man
• Jasper Maniates-Selvin
• Maritza Mestre
• Arnav Pamidighantam
• Neil Pearson
• Elizabeth Russell
• Brittany Scheid
• Ben Suslick
• Isabel Vazquez
• Horace Wang
• Andrew Weatherhead

East Central Illinois Conference Scholar Athletes

• Holden Bucher
• Clement Dossin
• Sheri Grill
• Jeremy Kemball
• Alan Kessler
• Deborah Ladd
• Alan Liang
• Cheng Luo
• Nish Nookala
• Carl Pearson
• Gordon Ruan
• Joy Shapley
• Brian Wang
• Lizzy Warner
• Miguel Zamora-Mills

Uni High Tri-Sport Athletes

• Deborah Ladd, senior (swimming, basketball, track)
• Rachel Skoza, senior (volleyball, basketball, soccer)
• Malcolm Taylor, senior (cross country, basketball, track)
• Erika Belmont, junior (swimming, basketball, soccer)
• Rachel Harmon, junior (volleyball, basketball, track)
• Jack Snyder, junior (cross country, basketball, track)
• Michelle Wong, junior (volleyball, basketball, soccer)
• Emma Coverdill, sophomore (swimming, basketball, soccer)
• Jamie Blue, freshman (volleyball, basketball, soccer)
• Tahar Bowen-Pinto, freshman (soccer, basketball, track)
• Sarah Heffley, freshman (volleyball, basketball, track)
• Brandon Lin, freshman (soccer, basketball, track)
• Steven Morse, freshman (cross country, basketball, track)
• Joseph Song, freshman (cross country, basketball, track)
• Henry Carlton, subfreshman (cross country, basketball, track)

Uni High Senior Athletes

• Jasmine Alvarado (volleyball*)
• Greg Atherton (tennis)
• Daniel Borup (basketball manager)
• Holden Bucher (soccer*)
• Isaac Chambers (cross country, track*)
• Clement Dossin (soccer)
• Sheri Grill (volleyball*, basketball*)
• Elaine Gu (cross country*)
• Carter Hutchens (soccer*)
• Jeremy Kemball (soccer*)
• Alan Kessler (basketball*)
• Noel Knox (soccer, track)
• Deborah Ladd (swimming*, basketball*, track*)
• Maddy Levin (cross country)
• Alan Liang (soccer*)
• Cheng Luo (cross country*, track*)
• Andrew Lovdahl (cross country)
• Anne Machesky (volleyball*, soccer*)
• Natsuki Nakamura (swimming)
• Nish Nookala (soccer*)
• Carl Pearson (soccer*)
• Russell Prochaska (soccer*)
• Stephen Prochaska (soccer*)
• Gordon Ruan (soccer*)
• Kareem Sayegh (cross country, track)
• Joy Shapley (basketball*, soccer*)
• Rachel Skoza (volleyball, basketball*, soccer)
• Laura Sligar (swimming*)
• Jessica Sullivan (volleyball*, basketball*)
• Malcolm Taylor (cross country*, basketball*, track*)
• Adam Tiouririne (basketball — Voice of the Illineks*)
• Charlie Wan (basketball)
• Brian Wang (soccer)
• Lizzy Warner (basketball*, track*)
• Miguel Zamora-Mills (soccer)