Big names in VCHS Athletic HOF class of ’12
Vandalia’s last state-champion wrestler and the last wrestling team to place at state join the coach who brought
Vandalia’s wrestling team to prominence and one of the best basketball players ever to play at the school in the 2012 athletic hall of fame class.
Jo-E Smith, the 2007 individual state wrestling champion at 152 pounds, will be inducted as an individual, as well as with the 2007 wrestling team, which placed second in the state.
Joining them are coach Glenn Exton, who made Vandalia’s wrestling program a state power in his 14 years of coaching and who presided over the 1996 state champions, and Eric Hobbie, a star basketball player who twice won the state’s slam dunk contest.
The induction ceremony will be held prior to the homecoming football game against Litchfield on Sept. 21.
Jo-E Smith
Smith is the school’s all-time wins leader, with a 155-26 record, a four-time state qualifier and regional champion, and a three-time sectional champion.
He made the state individual finals twice, and was a member of three teams that qualified for the state tournament.
In the fall, he was a three-year letterwinner in football, and a key member of the 2006 playoff team.
2007 Wrestlers
The 2007 wrestling team finished the season with a 21-5 record and lost the championship match of the state tournament on tie-breaker criteria, 30-29.
Six Vandal wrestlers from the team qualified for the individual state tournament, and three of them placed.
Four others were named alternates for the individual tournament, giving Vandalia 10 wrestlers out of 14 that placed in the top four at sectionals.
The team was coached by Jason Clay, who was assisted by Brad Eller.
Glenn Exton
Exton was the head coach of Vandalia’s wrestling program for 14 years, winning the regional championship 12 times and the conference title 11 times, and his teams qualified for the state team tournament nine times, placing in five of those years.
His career record of 282-43-3 gives him an astounding winning percentage of .859.
In his 14 years as coach, he took 68 wrestlers to the individual state tournament – 11 of whom placed, including two state champions.
Eric Hobbie
Hobbie continued his athletic career following his four seasons as a starter for the Vandals, becoming an All-American for McKendree University.
A star whose dunks mesmerized crowds at VCHS, Hobbie was the state champion in the Class A slam dunk contests in 2006 and 2007, also taking King of the Hill honors both years as the best dunker in the entire state.
The 6-foot-6 inch standout averaged better than 23 points and 12 rebounds during his senior year while leading the Vandals to a regional championship, the third in his four seasons, and a 25-5 record.
The 2007 graduate is second all-time in points scored at Vandalia, with 2,103.
