LT All State Academic Team members

Lyons Township High School senior Kate Dickman, of LaGrange Park, is one of just 26 outstanding student athletes recently named to the annual Illinois High School Association All-State Academic Team. The 13 male and 13 female honorees of the IHSA’s top academic honor were chosen from a group that included over 475 students throughout the state.

Dickman is a member of the LT track and cross country teams. She is also a member of National Honor Society, French Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta, a math honor society. Outside of school, she co-founded a chapter of Lions International called the LaGrange LEO Club. She has served as a weekly volunteer catechist for special needs students and is an accomplished pianist.

She is a gifted runner having finished among the top 11 racers at the past four cross country Regional and Sectional events. At the State cross country meet in 2018, Dickman finished 16th in the state and third in the 2019 State track meet as a member of the 4x800 meter relay team. Dickman signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in cross country and track and field at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign this fall.

According to coach Alex Lyons, “Kate has had an outstanding career at LT. She’s achieved All-State finishes in cross country and track. She produced elite performances at every distance - from the 800 meters through three miles - and she’s done it in the midst of considerable disruption. Despite all the changes the past year has brought to the sport and the world, she’s stayed totally committed to her training. She is an example of the discipline necessary to be an elite distance runner.”

Senior Owen Hays, of Western Springs, was named to the Honorable Mention All-State Academic Team and has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in cross country and track and field at the University of Wisconsin.

The All-State Academic Team includes one male and one female senior student from each of the seven IHSA geographic divisions, plus 12 at large selections. To be eligible for selection, a student must have a minimum grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale after the seventh semester. Nominees must have participated in at least two IHSA-sponsored activities during the last two school years and must have demonstrated outstanding citizenship during his/her high school career.

“To attain excellence in academics, athletics and citizenship is a rare thing. I hope every student who was nominated takes a great deal of pride in all that they have accomplished,” said LT Superintendent Dr. Timothy Kilrea. “These high school students are just brushing the surface of their potential.”