2004 Girls Track Honorary Referees Named

Five people who helped propel the annual IHSA Girls State Track and Field Meet into the Spring Spectacular its has become have been named Honorary Referee for 2004. Together they have a combined 105 years of service as officials at the Girls State Meet.

Named Honorary Referees are: John Bailey, Jr., of Shiloh; David Daugherty of Mason City; Genelle Samuelson of Rockford; Mary Wersells of Chicago; and Steven Weckstein of Scottsdale, AZ.

Retired East St. Louis (Lincoln) principal John Bailey, Jr., has been involved with girls track and field, and the operation of the state meet, for the past 25 years. He served on the Track and Field Advisory Committee and his input into the administration of the state series has been significant.

At the State Meet, John has worn a variety of hats. For many years he has served on the Games Committee, and on the Jury of Appeals. He has been a field event inspector and the awards custodian. And for nearly the past decade he has been on the Dugout staff.

Like so many other volunteer officials at the Girls State Meet, David Daugherty was in the crowd of spectators one minute and then part of the officiating crew the next.

He first worked a state meet for the boys in 1980 as a discus shagger. He’s worked pole vault, triple jump and discus for the boys.

David joined the girls crew in 1984 at the finish line. He went to the discus 10 years ago and has been head discus judge at the girls meet the last 8 years. A licensed nurse working with the developmentally disabled, Daugherty is a volunteer coach with Special Olympics in track and field, basketball and bowling.

Genelle Samuelson helped launch the girls state track and field meet and girls sports in Rockford, where she taught physical education for 32 years. Now retired, she has been working on the restoration of middle school sports for the Rockford public schools.

A former basketball and track and field licensed official, Genelle served on the Girls Track and Field Advisory Committee from 1976-81, and was a rules interpreter in 1975 and 1977. She worked 24 state meets from 1973-96 and wore many hats. During her tenure on the crew Genelle was the head high jump judge, head finish judge, assistant starter, records clerk and seeded the meet.

She remembers the 1973 uniform of the day for competitors was gym suits and t-shirts, and Jackie Joyner set the state long jump record.

Mary Wersells was recruited out of the stands 23 years ago to work in the Clerk of the Course tent at the end of the O’Brien Stadium straightaway. It was Chicago Public League women’s sports coordinator Virginia Woods doing the recruiting, and Mary working in the tent in the middle of a rainstorm. She didn’t like the mud in the tent and has been on the track ever since. For several years Mary was a finish judge, then she asked to switch to the umpire crew.

A retired coach in volleyball, basketball and track and field at Chicago (Simeon),  Wersells is one of the longest-serving members of the state meet officials crew.

Steve Weckstein has been an official at the boys and girls state meets since 1983. He retired to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1993 but returns to Illinois each spring to work the meets. He was an umpire, and served as crew chief at the boys meet before becoming a member of the dugout staff five years ago. In girls track, he was a finish judge for 13 years before joining the dugout staff in 1997.

For many years Steve was a timer at Highland Park High School and developed comprehensive lap logs for the coaching staff. He started when his son Bill was on the team and stayed 14 years after he graduated. Steve’s wife Beverly also is a member of the dugout staff.

In retirement, Steve and Beverly operate a retail store in Scottsdale selling Green Bay Packer memorabilia and merchandise. Steve also serves as a mediator in the Arizona Justice and Probate Courts and for the Arizona Attorney General’s office.

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