The Beecher Athletic Hall of Fame is pleased to announce Kevin O’Grady as a member of the 2020 Beecher Hall of Fame class. Kevin, a 1980 Beecher graduate, played a major role in the remarkable Beecher cross country teams of the late 1970s. Kevin was a part of two state qualifying cross country teams that finished second in state in 1977, and third in state in 1978.

Kevin was a part of the cross country team and track team for all 4 years of his high school career. During his junior year in 1978, he was crowned cross country Kankakee Valley Conference champion and later in the season Kevin earned district champion honors. At the state cross country meet in 1978 Kevin finished 18th overall. At the state track meet his junior year, Kevin finished in 6th place for the 1600m run.

In Kevin’s senior year in 1979, he repeated as KVC champion in cross country. During the track season in 1980, he was the KVC champion and district champion in the 1600m run. To cap off his high school career, Kevin made Beecher history becoming the first athlete to win a state championship when he ran 4:21 in the 1600m run.

Kevin continued his running career at DePaul University where he ran cross country and track all four years from 1981-1984.

Kevin will be honored, along with the other inductees, in between the junior varsity and varsity boys basketball game on Saturday, February 15th around 3:00 pm at the high school. The inductees will also be honored at a special banquet at Cardinal Creek Golf Club later that evening. The event is open to the public and the cost is $40 per person. More information regarding tickets will be available soon.