Algonquin's Evan Jager is Headed to the Summer Olympics in Rio

Every U.S. athlete heading to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the coming weeks has a story to tell, and the athletes who hail from Illinois are no different.

Among those who have qualified for the U.S. Olympics in Rio, which will get underway on Aug. 5, are a team of rhythmic gymnasts who trained together at the North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center in Highland Park. The six-person team will be the first in 20 years to represent the U.S. in rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics.

Other athletes who hail from the Chicago suburbs include Grant High School graduate Daniel Dennis, formerly of Ingleside, who dropped out of the sport in 2013, moved to California and lived out of a van with no internet or TV. He returned in 2015 after his father died from cancer and recently qualified for the U.S. team.

"His father was extremely supportive of him. He loved watching Daniel wrestle," former wrestling coach Ryan Geist told the Daily Herald. "The support he received from his father is a big reason why he was able to finally overcome the obstacles in front of him and get to where he's at."

Laura Zeng of Libertyville will also be representing the U.S. in rhythmic gymnastics after she placed eighth in the all-around at Rhythmic Worlds, the highest ever for an American. Zeng will make history if she places in the top 10 in Rio, as Team USA’s best result in individual rhythmic gymnastics at an Olympic Games came in the sport’s debut when an American tied for 11th in 1984.

The stories are varied but the road to success for most of these athletes started at a young age in area communities where they began their training. Here is a look at the Illinois athletes who will soon be headed to Rio.

• Evan Jager of Algonquin

Jager, a graduate of Jacobs High School, first ran the steeplechase after competing for years as a distance runner in early 2012. He qualified for the Olympics in London during his fourth shot at the event in June of that year and ended up finishing in sixth place in London.

Photo credit: Evan Jager's Twitter page

Now, he has qualified for the Olympics again, finishing in first place in the 300-meter men’s steeplechase at the Olympic Trials earlier this month. Jager was a standout runner in high school, winning four state titles for Jacobs in track and cross-country. He then headed to Wisconsin for a year before leaving with Badgers coach Jerry Schumacher to run professionally in Oregon with Nike, according to the Northwest Herald.

• Read more on Patch: Evan Jager Prepares for Summer Games in Rio

More via Evan’s Team USA profile. You can also follow him on Twitter and check out his website.

• Laura Zeng of Libertyville

Laura Zeng of Libertyville will also be headed to the Olympics in rhythmic gymnastics. She attends Libertyville High School and also trains at the North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center.

The 16-year-old won her second straight rhythmic gymnastics all-around national title last month in Providence, Rhode Island, to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, according to a U.S. Olympics press release. Zeng will make history if she places in the top 10 in Rio, as Team USA’s best result in individual rhythmic gymnastics at an Olympic Games came in the sport’s debut when Valerie Zimring tied for 11th in 1984.

She is the daughter of Li Chen and Tian Zeng and has one sister, Yecca.

• READ MORE: History-Making Rhythmic Gymnast Laura Zeng Qualifies For Rio Olympics

More via Zeng’s Team USA profile page. You can also follow her on Facebook or Instagram.

• Monica Rokhman, Kiana Eide, Alisa Kano, Natalie McGiffert and Kristen Shaldybin

Monica Rokhman, Kiana Eide, Alisa Kano, Natalie McGiffert and Kristen Shaldybin, along with Jenny Rohkman, who will serve as the replacement athlete for the team, have been selected to represent the U.S. in group rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics. The six-person team, who train together at North Shore Rhythmic Gymnasts Center in Highland Park, will be the first in 20 years to represent the U.S. in rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics.

Rhythmic gymnastics is a form of gymnastics emphasizing dance-like rhythmic routines, typically accentuated by the use of ribbons or hoops. Monica Rokhman and Jenny Rokhman, who are identical twin sisters, grew up in Northbrook and are both 2015 graduates of Glenbrook North High School. Monica and Jenny are the daughters of Dmitry and Svetlana Rokhman.

Shaldybin attends Highland Park High School, and Eide attends Glenbrook North High School. McGiffert graduated from Glenbrook North High School in 2015.

Left to right: Alisa Kano, Kiana Eide, Natalie McGiffert, Kristen Shaldybin and Monica Rokhman qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in group rhythmic gymnastics.

• Kevin Cordes of Naperville

Kevin Cordes qualified for the Olympics last month in the 100-meter breaststroke Monday, according to the Associated Press. His time was 59.18. In 2012, he just missed qualifying for an Olympic spot after coming in third. Cordes swam for Neuqua Valley during his high school days. For the past year, Cordes has been training in Singapore under Sergio Lopez, coach of the Singapore national team.

• MORE ON PATCH: Naperville Swimmer Heading to Rio Olympics

Cordes is the son of Bill and Kristen Cordes. Kevin has a brother Jack and a sister Caroline.

More via Cordes’ Team USA profile. You can also follow Kevin on Twitter.

• Conor Dwyer of Winnetka

Conor Dwyer will be making a return trip to the Olympics this summer. He will represent the U.S. in swimming and will compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle.

Dwyer earned a gold medal as part of the 4x200-meter freestyle relay team at the 2012 Olympics in London. Dwyer is a 2006 graduate of Loyola Academy.

The 27-year-old graduated from the University of Florida in 2012 with a degree in sports management.

More via Dwyer's Team USA profile page. You can also follow Conor on Twitter.

• Ryan Held of Springfield

Held will also represent the U.S. in swimming at Rio. He will compete as part of the the 4x100 freestyle relay team, according to the State Journal-Register.

• Olivia Smoliga of Glenview

The Glenbrook South High School grad will also compete as part of the U.S. swimming team at Rio. Smoliga beat two Olympic champions in the women’s 100 backstroke to qualify for her first U.S. Olympic team. The 21-year-old won a silver medal in the 100 backstroke at the 2015 Pan Am Games.

She is the daughter of Elizabeth and Tom Smoliga and has one brother, Matthew. She began swimming at age 6.

More via Smoliga's Team USA bio page.

• Morolake Akinosun of Itasca

Akinosun, a 2012 graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School, qualified for the U.S. track and field team. The 22-year-old was selected to “the six-woman pool of 400-meter relay candidates by the team's coaching staff,” according to the Chicago Tribune. This means she will be among a pool of six runners who will be eligible to run in any rounds of the 4x100 competition at the Olympics in Rio.

Akinosun is the daughter of Olawale and Foluke Akinosun and has two siblings, Moriyike and Anjola. She ran track at the University of Illinois before transferring to the University of Texas. More via Akinosun's Team USA bio page

• Ben Kanute of Geneva

Marmion Academy grad Ben Kanute will compete as part of the U.S. Triathlon team in Rio. The 23-year-old Geneva native earned a spot on the team through a rigorous selection process that concluded in May at the ITU World Triathlon Series race in Yokohama, Japan.

Kanute, an all-state swimmer and cross-country runner in high school who completed his first triathlon at age 8, currently lives in Tuscon, Arizona. Kanute’s parents are Mike and Eileen Kanute, and he has two younger brothers, Josh and Nick.

More via Kanute’s Team USA profile page. You can also follow Ben on Twitter and Instagram.

• Tom Jaeschke of Wheaton

Thomas Jaeschke of Wheaton was among 12 men named to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team in June. Jaeschke, an outside hitter, is among eight newcomers to the team, which includes two gold medalists and four returning Olympians, according to a press release from Team USA. Jaeschke lead Wheaton Warrenville South High School to the 2012 national championship, wrapping up an undefeated season (42-0). He went on to play at Loyola, helping the college’s volleyball team win the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Men's DI-II National Championships.

Jaeschke is the son of John and Danielle Jaeschke. Thomas has a twin sister Jaime and a brother Joseph.

More via Jaeschke’s Team USA profile page. You can also follow Thomas on Twitter and Instagram.

• Haley Augello of Lockport

Augello has qualified for the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. Haley Augello will represent the U.S. at the 48-kilogram (105.5-pound) weight class. The 2013 Lockport grad began wrestling when she was 8 years old and started on the boy’s varsity team as a freshman, according to the Daily Southtown. The accolades have continued to pile up in recent years. She was second in the 2016 1st World Olympic Qualifier in Mongolia and second in the 2013 and 2016 U.S. open. She was the 2016 University Nationals champion.

More via Augello’s Team USA profile page

• Kelsey Card of Carlinville

Card will represent the U.S. Track & Field team in Rio. She will compete in the discuss throw.

More via Card’s Team USA profile page.

• Daniel Dennis of Ingleside

Daniel Dennis, a Grant High School graduate, has qualified for the Team USA and will represent his country in the 57-kilogram (125.5 pounds) weight class in wrestling.

He won a freestyle match in Iowa City in April to qualify for the Olympics, according to the Daily Herald. While at Grant, he was a two-time state runner-up.

Dennis attended the University of Iowa where he was second in the 2010 NCAA Championships and seventh in 2009. Dennis left wrestling in 2013 for a few years, moved to California and lived in his truck and in a trailer with no TV or internet. He coached some wrestling but did not train. He returned in 2015 after his father, Tim, died of cancer in 2014, according to the Daily Herald.

"His father was extremely supportive of him. He loved watching Daniel wrestle," former wrestling coach Ryan Geist told the Daily Herald. "The support he received from his father is a big reason why he was able to finally overcome the obstacles in front of him and get to where he's at."

Dennis went on to place second in U.S. World Team Trials in 2015 and fourth in the U.S. Open.

More via Daniel’s Team USA profile

• Kelly Murphy of Joliet

Joliet-born and Joliet Catholic Academy alum Kelly Murphy will compete as part of Team USA’s 12-person volleyball team. Murphy, who now calls Wilmington her home town, started playing volleyball at age 11 in 2000 with Club Uno, according to her Team USA profile. Her mom played volleyball at Illinois State University, and her boyfriend Christian Taylor won the 2012 Olympic gold medal in the triple jump.

After high school, Murphy attended the University of Florida, majoring in elementary education. University of Florida Head Volleyball Coach Mary Wise called Murphy a unique talent.

“She has a picture-perfect arm swing coming from a 6-foot-2 left-hander. She has great court vision and great arm speed. That by itself would be enough to make her a special talent. But then she has one of the best deliveries and touches on the ball ... of any setter in the college game. She makes it look effortless,” Murphy said in a December 2011 espnW article.

The official announcement came on July 12, which nearly left Murphy speechless.

"It's pretty hard to find the right words," Murphy told the Chicago Tribune. "I'm still trying to process it and settle in. I guess the one thing I can say is that I'm really happy and just extremely honored that this has happened."

More via Murphy’s Team USA profile. You can also follow Kelly on Twitter.

Kelsey Robinson of Bartlett

Kelsey Robinson, who was born in Elmhurst and lists her hometown as Bartlett, will represent the U.S. at the summer Olympics after recently qualifying for the 12-person volleyball team.

Robinson, a graduate of St. Francis High School in Wheaton, was selected as a Big Ten Player of the year during her senior year at the University of Nebraska. She graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism in 2013. The 22-year-old is among the youngest on the Olympics volleyball team and the outside hitter has earned the nickname “cash” because she has been “money” since her debut in May, according to a U.S. Olympics video.

“Not every hitter wants the ball when it is 24-all or 14-all and the set or the match is on the line. But she is one who does,” said Karch Karaly, the coach for the women’s Team USA volleyball team, in the video.
More via Robinson’s Team USA bio. You can also follow Kelsey on Twitter and Instagram.

Zach Ziemek of Itasca
The 23-year-old from Itasca qualified in early July to represent the U.S. in Rio in the decathlon after finishing in third in the Olympics trials, USA Today reports. The lean 6-foot 4-inch, 190-pound Lake Park High School grad has added 35 pounds of muscle since he graduated from high school and is “built for sprinting and jumping,” according to the article.

"When he was a freshman in high school, pole vault came very natural to him," Ziemek's father, Rick, told USA Today. "In a matter of a couple months he was jumping 12 feet. And he was really fast. One of the coaches said, 'This kid has to get into decathlon because he has the physical makeup of a decathlete.'"

Photo credit: Team USA website