The Beecher High School Athletic Hall of Fame Commission is pleased to announce Steve Currins as a member of the 2022 Hall of Fame Class. Steve coached and taught health, P.E., and driver’s education at Beecher H.S. from 1974-1980. Currins was the lead architect behind the emergence of supremacy in Beecher cross country.

From 1976-1979 Coach Currins’ cross-country teams produced four consecutive district titles (1976-79), two consecutive sectional titles (1978-79), and a sectional runner-up (1977). His last three BHS cross-country teams (1977-79) were ranked number one in the state in Class A at some point during their respective seasons. In 1977, the BHS cross-country team placed second at the IHSA state meet, earning the first state level team trophy in school history. That effort was followed up with a third place state meet team finish in 1978, which was the first time in state history that a Class A boys cross-country team had earned state trophies in consecutive years. While at Beecher, his runners won the Kankakee Valley Conference individual title five of the six years he coached.

After leaving Beecher, Steve coached one year at the University of Illinois-Chicago, then nine years at Crete-Monee High School from 1981-1990. During his tenure at Crete-Monee, the girls team qualified for the state tournament on 4 different occasions. To this day, the four state qualifying teams are the only qualifying teams in the history of the school.

In 1991, Steve took over the Palatine girls cross country team and girls track team. At Palatine, Steve’s legacy grew to enormous heights as he won five team cross country state championships. His track and cross country teams combined to bring home 20 state trophies in his 18-year coaching career at Palatine. His Palatine girls teams still hold the IHSA state record for the most consecutive dual meet wins in cross-country at 73.

In 1997, Steve was inducted into the Illinois Track and Cross-Country Coaches Association (ITCCCA) Hall of Fame in 1997. He was named Illinois girls cross-country coach of the year 5 times and the Illinois girls track and field coach of the year once. He was named the national girls cross-country coach of the year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) in 2004.