TUSCOLA — Boys' basketball coach Paul Lehmann resigned in February, but little progress has been made in finding his replacement at Tuscola High. Many of the school's 11 retiring teachers will not be replaced as the district implements a cost-reduction plan, and interim Superintendent Jim Voyles said the basketball opening will not be posted until a determination is made on which teaching positions can be filled.

He hopes that can be decided by the April 25 school board meeting. As yet, there have been no applicants for the basketball job. Voyles expects there could be a teaching job but doesn't expect it to be in physical education, which could eliminate some potential candidates.

LeRoy softball regional loaded

LeROY — The IHSA announced its postseason assignments for next month's softball and baseball regionals, and the toughest site in Class 1A for softball could be the LeRoy Regional.

Based on this week's state rankings by the Illinois Coaches Association, three of the top nine 1A teams will compete at LeRoy: No. 3 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, No. 6 Tri-Valley and No. 9 Blue Ridge.

GCMS' assignment is especially odd. The Falcons co-op in many sports with Fisher, which has a softball regional, but instead the Falcons are traveling farther (double the distance) to go to LeRoy.

The only other state-ranked area 1A softball team is No. 17 Tuscola, which will host a regional. Unranked, but on the verge of making the Top 20 in 1A is unbeaten Schlarman, which will be the team to beat at Fisher's regional.

In Class 2A, the most challenging postseason draw could be the Rantoul Sectional. If favorites survive regional action, two of the four entries at Rantoul would be the current second-ranked team, Olympia, and the current third-ranked team, St. Joseph-Ogden.

Wrestling Hall honors M-S pair

COUNTRYSIDE — Former Mahomet-Seymour wrestler Rob Porter and current Mahomet-Seymour wrestling coach Rob Ledin were among the 16 inductees Sunday to the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Hall of Fame. Ledin has been the M-S head coach for five seasons.

Porter is the head coach at Naperville Central. As a Bulldog, he was a two-time state placer, winning the 105-pound Class 1A title in 1984. His father, Tom, was inducted in the Hall of Fame's third class in 1972.

A lifetime achievement award was presented to former UI wrestling coach Jack Robinson, 87, who lives in Utah. Robinson was Tom Porter's high school coach at Harvey Thornton, and Tom Porter replaced Robinson as the Illini head coach.

"It was a big day for the Porter family," Tom Porter said. "Rob was named for him (Robinson)."

Sabers mix baseball, service

CHAMPAIGN — St. Thomas More's baseball team did more than play six games during its spring trip to Vero Beach, Fla. The 13 athletes on coach Steve Rear's varsity squad, who had collected toiletries at the high school, delivered them to the Samaritan Center, a shelter that is part of the Catholic Social Services in the Dioceses of Palm Beach. The center provides long-term housing, counseling and training for displaced families.

"Any time boys can get the chance to see people out there suffering and in need, it makes them feel good to help," Rear said. "They've read about it but haven't visually seen people living in poverty."

The project was organized by St. Thomas More junior Aaron Pinkerton.