2026 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Steve Dixson

  a 1997 Springfield High School graduate, was one of the most prolific scorers in city and school history. He remains the only three-time scoring champion in the 75-year history of the City Tournament and finished his high school career as the second-leading scorer at Springfield High with 1,774 points. A four-year varsity starter under Springfield Sports Hall of Fame coach Clark Barnes, Dixson concluded his prep career as the number 7 scorer in city history. As a senior, the 6-foot-4 guard was among 15 players named to the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette all-state team, earned second-team all-state honors from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, and was a third-team all-state selection by The Associated Press. He was named Central State Eight Conference Player of the Year after tying Chatham Glenwood’s Jayson Werth for the league scoring title at 19.7 points per game while leading the conference in rebounding for the third consecutive season at 10.2 rebounds per game. Dixson led the Senators to their most recent sectional championship in 1997, along with conference and regional titles, as Springfield High finished the season 23-6 and ranked 16th in Illinois. He was the first boys basketball player in Central State Eight history to earn all-conference honors in all four seasons after becoming the first freshman named to the team in 1994. He capped his high school career with a game-high 21 points in a 57-49 loss to eventual four-time state champion Peoria Manual in the Class AA Normal Supersectional. Dixson scored 481 points as a sophomore, tying Lanphier’s Jim Kopatz for the second-most in Class AA city history, and added 304 points as a freshman, the third-highest total in Class AA city history at the time while averaging 12.6 points per game. He led the CS8 in rebounding with 10.3 per game as a junior while ranking third in the league in scoring at 17.7 points per game and paced the conference in rebounding as a sophomore at 11.7 per game while ranking fourth in scoring at 18.5 points per game. Outside the high school season, he played on a Chicago-based AAU team that won the Las Vegas Classic prior to his senior year and participated in the IBCA All-Star Game following his final season. Dixson continued his basketball career at Vincennes University, helping the Trailblazers place fifth at the 1998 NJCAA Division I National Championships with a 31-5 record while averaging 12.9 points per game as a freshman before increasing his scoring output to nearly 20 points per game as a sophomore.

Hailee Elmore

 a 2006 Springfield High School graduate, distinguished herself as one of the most accomplished female athletes in school history, excelling at both track and field and tennis. She became the first girl in Springfield High history to win a state championship in track and field, capturing the Class AA 1,600-meter title at the 2005 state meet with a time of 4 minutes, 57.18 seconds. She also placed second in the 1,600 meters as a freshman, finished 10th as a sophomore, and qualified for the state meet as a senior before missing the event due to illness. In tennis, Elmore earned a third-place finish in singles at the 2004 state tournament as a junior, the highest placement for girls in city history at the time, and followed with a fifth-place finish as a senior while leading the Senators to fifth in the team standings, the best finish in program history. She won 167 of 177 matches during her four-year high school career, capturing four Central State Eight Conference championships and four sectional titles in singles while qualifying for the state tournament four times, including a quarterfinal appearance as a sophomore. Elmore was named Central State Eight Girls Athlete of the Year in 2006 after becoming the only four-time CS8 Girls Tennis Player of the Year in league history and was also honored as the 2005 CS8 Girls Track Athlete of the Year, making her the first female from Springfield High to receive that distinction. She continued her tennis career on scholarship at Saint Louis University, where she concluded her collegiate career in 2011 as a third-team Academic All-America selection and a nominee for the Atlantic 10 Conference’s NCAA Woman of the Year award. A two-time Atlantic 10 Conference Most Outstanding Performer, she set Saint Louis school records with 93 career singles victories and 74 doubles wins while serving as a three-year team captain. Her singles record included a perfect 10-0 mark in Atlantic 10 play and a school-best 31-3 season in 2009-10. In 2011, she became the first player in Saint Louis University history to earn a national singles ranking, reaching 118 while posting a 22-6 record, and she remains the lone women’s tennis player inducted into the Saint Louis University Hall of Fame in 2019. Elmore began competing in United States Tennis Association tournaments at age 12 after growing up near Washington Park.

P.J. Finigan

a 2001 Lanphier High School graduate, was a standout multi-sport athlete whose baseball career spanned youth, high school, collegiate, professional, and coaching levels. He was the starting shortstop and pitcher on the 1995 Dairy Queen youth baseball team that advanced to the Pee Wee Reese (12-under) World Series and again served as the starting shortstop and pitcher on the 1997 Springfield Statesmen team that reached the CABA 14-under World Series. Finigan was named to the AAU World Series/Junior Olympics 16-under all-tournament team at shortstop and went on to earn three varsity letters in golf, basketball, and baseball at Lanphier. He qualified for the state golf tournament as a junior and was the starting point guard on Lanphier’s 2000-01 basketball team that finished 27-3, averaging 7.1 points per game. In baseball, Finigan was named Central State Eight Conference Player of the Year as a senior after batting .490 and posting an 8-2 record on the mound with a school-record 1.67 ERA, earning CS8 Male Athlete of the Year honors in 2001. He continued his baseball career on scholarship at Southern Illinois University, where he became a four-year starting shortstop while also contributing as a pitcher. He spent the summer following his sophomore season competing in the prestigious Cape Cod League and was later named to the Central Illinois Collegiate League All-Star team during the summer after his junior season before returning to the Cape Cod League to complete the summer. As a senior at SIU, Finigan led the Missouri Valley Conference in hitting with a .396 average while recording 11 doubles, four triples, six home runs, and 48 RBIs. On the mound, he went 9-2 with a 3.01 ERA and 101 strikeouts, earning National Pitcher of the Month honors for May and being named the Joe Carter Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. He was selected first-team all-conference as both a pitcher and shortstop and later named to the Missouri Valley Baseball All-Centennial Team in 2007. Finigan was selected in the seventh round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft by the Detroit Tigers and spent four seasons pitching in the Tigers’ organization before retiring following two Tommy John surgeries. He transitioned into coaching in 2010 as SIU’s pitching coach, a role he held for nine seasons, and was inducted into the SIU Hall of Fame in 2018. Finigan later spent three seasons on the baseball coaching staff at SIU-Edwardsville. He was named associate head coach at Lindenwood University for the 2022-23 season and was promoted to head coach the following year.

Alexandria Harden

 a 2011 Southeast High School graduate, stands among the most accomplished athletes in Springfield history as the only female from the city to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association and the only girl in Illinois history to win four consecutive state championships in the long jump. She concluded her prep career with eight state titles, six individual and two relay championships, ranking second in school history. Harden won the state long jump from 2008 through 2011, capturing her first title in Class AA and the next three in Class 2A, with marks ranging from 19 feet, 2¼ inches as a freshman to a then-state-record leap of 19-5¾ as a senior, which ranked 15th nationally in the DyeStat Elite 100. She added back-to-back Class 2A state championships in the triple jump as a junior and senior, highlighted by a mark of 40-10¼ in her final season that ranked third in state history at the time and among the top 20 nationally. She also anchored Southeast’s winning 4x200-meter relay teams as a sophomore in 2009 and a junior in 2010 and helped lead the Spartans to back-to-back Class 2A team state championships in 2010 and 2011, beginning a run of four consecutive titles for the program. Harden was a four-time State Journal-Register Central State Eight Conference Girls Track Athlete of the Year and was named the 2011 CS8 Girls Athlete of the Year after also earning CS8 Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors during the 2010-11 season. On the basketball court, she was a second-team all-state selection by The Associated Press, The News-Gazette, and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association as a senior while averaging 14.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 4.3 steals per game and playing every position on the court. She led Southeast to a school-record 27 wins in 29 games and a share of the Central State Eight Conference title at 15-1 during the 2010-11 season, with the Spartans reaching as high as No. 2 in the state rankings while starting 22-0. Harden continued her basketball career on scholarship at Wichita State University, where she led the program to its first three NCAA Tournament appearances and finished as the Shockers’ all-time leading scorer with 1,708 points while ranking second in steals (278), third in assists (436), and seventh in rebounds (683). She was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and earned honorable mention Associated Press All-America honors in 2014-15, becoming the only three-time Most Valuable Player in MVC Tournament history while also being a three-time first-team all-conference selection. Harden was a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time member of the conference’s all-defensive team, and a selection to the Valley all-freshman team. She recorded a career-high 31 points against Northern Iowa as a junior and set a Wichita State single-game record with 11 steals against Indiana State as a senior. Harden was selected in the second round (18th overall) of the 2015 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury and appeared in 60 games over two seasons before a shoulder injury sidelined her during her third year. She played in 32 of 34 games as a rookie in 2015 and 28 of 34 games in 2016, posting career highs of 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists in an 83-64 victory over the San Antonio Stars on July 16, 2016, the lone start of her WNBA career. She concluded her professional career with eight seasons overseas, competing in Israel, Turkey, Portugal, and Spain. Harden was inducted into the Wichita State University Hall of Fame on January 28, 2024, and currently resides in San Antonio, where she works in real estate and serves on the community relations team for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.

Ryan O’Malley

 a 1998 Sacred Heart-Griffin High School graduate, built a successful baseball career that spanned high school, junior college, NCAA Division I, Major League Baseball, and professional coaching. He attended Athens Junior High, where he competed in baseball, basketball, and track and field, and went on to earn four varsity letters in baseball at Sacred Heart-Griffin. O’Malley was an All-Central State Eight Conference selection as a junior and senior and also earned three varsity letters in football, receiving all-conference honors as a wide receiver as a senior while ranking 23rd all-time in SHG history in receiving yards. He continued his baseball career at Lincoln Land Community College, where he was a two-year starting center fielder and pitcher. A two-time all-conference and two-time all-region selection, O’Malley was named the 2000 Mid-West Athletic Conference Player of the Year, earned second-team NJCAA All-American honors, and was a member of Lincoln Land’s 2000 NJCAA World Series championship team. He holds multiple Lincoln Land career records, including doubles (52) and runs batted in (137), and ranks second in hits (170), fourth in runs scored (134), and eighth in home runs (20). He was inducted into the Lincoln Land Community College Hall of Fame in 2010. O’Malley transferred to the University of Memphis, where he was a two-year starting pitcher and outfielder, before signing a free-agent contract with the Chicago Cubs in 2002. He spent five seasons in the Cubs’ minor league system from 2002 through 2006 and was called up to the major leagues in August of 2006. In his MLB debut season, he pitched eight scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros and made two starts for the Cubs, finishing 1-1 with a 2.13 ERA before an arm injury curtailed his season. O’Malley concluded his professional playing career in 2008 with the Chicago White Sox’s Double-A affiliate in Birmingham. He later transitioned into coaching, serving as a minor league pitching instructor for the Texas Rangers from 2009 to 2013 and the Los Angeles Angels from 2014 to 2015 before retiring from professional baseball.

Ron Riggle

 a 1986 Springfield High School graduate, has made a lasting impact on baseball in Springfield and across the junior college ranks as both a player and coach. He was a pitcher on Springfield High’s Class AA state runner-up team in 1985 and earned all-city honors as a senior after winning 13 games. Riggle continued his playing career at Lincoln Land Community College, where he won 14 games over two seasons, before spending two years at Coastal Carolina. He returned to Lincoln Land in 1990 as an assistant coach under Claude Kracik and was later named the Loggers’ athletic director in 1997. Following Kracik’s retirement, Riggle became Lincoln Land’s head baseball coach in 2002. Over 22 seasons as head coach, his teams compiled a record of 734-459, and he was named Region 24 Coach of the Year four times. Across 34 seasons on the Lincoln Land coaching staff, Riggle helped develop 231 players who went on to compete at other collegiate baseball programs, including 80 at the NCAA Division I level. He coached 18 All-Americans, including the 2013 NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year Ryan Aper, and guided three Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners. Twelve players he coached were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, and 20 former Lincoln Land athletes advanced to play professional baseball. Under Riggle’s leadership, the Loggers won NJCAA national championships in 1994 and 2000 and qualified for the NJCAA Division II World Series in 1993, 1995, 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2021. In recognition of his leadership, service, and outstanding contributions to the college community, Riggle received the Lincoln Land Community College Administrative Distinguished Service Award in 2016 and was honored with the NJCAA Loyalty Award in 2024. He was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2025.

TEAM

FRIENDS OF SPORT

Harold Christofilakos

 who was born in Anogia, Sparta, Greece in 1940 and later settled in Springfield, has been a driving force in the growth and development of local sports for more than 65 years, most notably in the sport of soccer. Throughout his lifetime in Springfield, Christofilakos has served the community as a coach, parent, board member, donor, and advocate, helping establish and sustain multiple athletic programs across the region. He was a founder and member of the first Springfield YMCA soccer team and played a key role in the expansion of the YMCA youth soccer program beginning in 1967, donating all of the original goals for the program’s fields. His involvement in area athletics extended to the YMCA, Sangamon State University/University of Illinois Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College, and the Springfield Area Soccer Association. Christofilakos was instrumental in the formation of the Sangamon State University men’s soccer program and became a charter member of the Friends of the Prairie Stars booster club, providing long-standing support for collegiate athletics in the community. Beyond his volunteer and organizational contributions, he purchased Amco Fence Company in 1967 and later became one of the original owners of SoccerWorld in 1985, further strengthening soccer infrastructure in central Illinois. He also spearheaded the semi-professional Springfield Sparks/Spirits indoor soccer team and created the Spartan Sports Park complex in Chatham, leaving a lasting physical and organizational legacy that continues to benefit athletes and families throughout the region.

John Levin

 a 1982 Southeast High School graduate and a 1986 Sangamon State University alumnus, has been a familiar and respected voice in Springfield sports broadcasting for more than three decades. He served as a play-by-play announcer and commentator on WFMB-AM from 1997 until 2019, covering high school baseball, basketball, football, and softball throughout the Springfield market while also calling University of Illinois Springfield basketball games and co-hosting call-in shows. Levin began his broadcasting career in 1984 at WTAX-AM, where he worked as an anchor, courthouse reporter, sportscaster, and sports director alongside Coley Cowan and Tim Schweizer before remaining with the station until 1997. Over the course of his career, he broadcast every Sangamon County Tournament from 1985 through 2019, every boys state basketball tournament from 1993 through 2019, the Boys City Tournament, and countless regular-season boys and selected girls contests. He also spent one year at WLDS-AM and WEAI-AM, sister stations in Jacksonville. Levin’s contributions to basketball coverage earned him induction into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the media division in 2015. In addition to his broadcasting career, Levin was a standout high school athlete, earning second-team all-city honors as a junior third baseman after batting .316 with team highs of three home runs and 18 RBIs and receiving honorable-mention all-city recognition as a senior outfielder and team co-captain. He graduated from Sangamon State University after attending Fontbonne University in Clayton, Missouri, where he served as sports editor of The Font Banner.

Bob Vose

a 1947 graduate of Lanphier High School, devoted more than 35 years to sports officiating in the Springfield area. His career began in 1944 as a freshman, when he started refereeing grade school basketball games. By high school, he was officiating junior varsity and grade school contests in basketball and later expanded into football and baseball, assisting senior officials at the varsity level. After graduating, Vose earned Illinois High School Association certification in basketball, baseball, and football. Vose officiated until 1951, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War and stationed in Germany. While overseas, he umpired intramural baseball games, worked competitive contests between Army bases, and also officiated football, basketball, and boxing matches. Upon returning home in 1953, he resumed officiating and worked at every level of competition, including high school junior varsity and varsity sports, youth leagues such as Little League, Pony League, Colt League, and Senior League, college basketball and baseball at Concordia Seminary, and numerous community leagues, including Muny A League basketball and baseball, Church League fast-pitch softball, and American Softball Association leagues. Vose umpired at the National Boys Baseball World Series in 1957 and the Pony Grads World Series in 1958 and 1959, all held in Springfield, and worked the championship game of the 1969 Connie Mack State Tournament. He was an active leader in the Springfield Umpires Association and Springfield Officials Association, serving as president in 1957 and 1958 and as secretary-treasurer in 1959. He was selected to umpire the IHSA Boys State Baseball Finals in 1969, 1971, and 1972. From his first whistle in 1944 to his final game in 1982, Bob Vose embodied dedication, integrity, and love for the sports he served.  His career stands as a testament to the vital role officials play in athletics and community life.