IHSA

Girls Track & Field Honorary Referees -- 2005-06

Three individuals who have been great friends to girls track and field and to the IHSA have been named Honorary Referees for 2006. Together they have a combined 83 years of service at the girls state meet.

Named Honorary Referees for 2006 are: Joyce Carlson of Lemont, Gail Borton of West Frankfort, and Eugenia Krzyzanski of Chicago.

Joyce Carlson has been working the Girls Track and Field State Finals in Charleston since 1981. She began her service to the IHSA as an assistant high jump judge that year, and after a few years as an assistant she was promoted to the position of head high jump judge, where she has served ever since.

A graduate of Northern Illinois University, Joyce began her teaching career at Dwight Township High School in 1966. The following year she moved to Niles East H.S. where she stayed for one year until relocating to Oak Park-River Forest High School. She remained at Oak Park for the next 26 years, serving as a physical education instructor, assistant athletic director and as the physical education department chair during her tenure.

Joyce’s coaching credentials are wide and varied. During her 26 years at Oak Park she oversaw girls golf, tennis, softball, volleyball, basketball, and track and field. Her affinity with the high jump began in 1980 when she took on the role of high jump coach.

After retiring from Oak Park in 1994, Joyce joined the faculty of the Physical Education Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. There she kept her love for physical education and teaching alive through the instruction of future physical education teachers. In 1999, she became the Director of Field Experiences for the Physical Education Department until the program was dissolved in 2004.

Gail Borton has served as an IHSA official in one form or another for the past 53 years. This is his 34th year of assisting with the Girls Track and Field State Finals and next weekend will mark his 49th year of helping with the Boys Track and Field State Finals.

Gail is very familiar with Charleston both on and off the track. He was a three-sport athlete at Eastern Illinois University, participating for the Panthers in football and wrestling and captaining the track team in 1954.

Gail began his teaching and coaching career at Charleston High School in 1956. He remained there for the next 15 years serving as both assistant principal and principal during his tenure. In 1971, he moved to Frankfort Community High School in West Frankfort, where he served as principal of the high school until 1984.

He maintained a close affiliation with the IHSA throughout his years as an educational administrator and beyond. Gail has served on the IHSA Legislative Commission and the IHSA Board of Directors. He still serves as a rules interpreter for the Girls Track and Field State Finals, something he has done for the past 26 years.

This past December Gail was inducted into the Illinois Track and Cross Country Officials Hall of Fame. A month later, in January of 2006, he was inducted into the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame.

Eugenia Krzyzanski is working the long jump event at the IHSA girls meet for the 24th straight year. Her first state meet was in 1983, when she was persuaded to join the crew by a friend, Christine Trucinski. Eugenia had worked at numerous youth track meets prior to her first state final experience as a member of the Polish Falcons, a Chicago community group dedicated to physical fitness. Eugenia now serves as president of that group.

Eugenia currently works at the City Colleges of Chicago, where she manages the office of the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and recently received an award for her unselfish public service. Before that she worked for Illinois Bell, Ameritech, and the City of Chicago.

Working the long jump pit can be a special challenge when it the weather is cold and rainy, as it frequently is in May. Keeping the pit from becoming a quagmire requires a dedicated crew, but Eugenia says, “We have a good team at the long jump. I do it for the kids. It’s wonderful to see how motivated they are.”