William & Janet Egan Memorial Trophy

egan-memorial-trophy

Story

The trophy awarded to the NAQT State Champion in Illinois is named for William and Janet Egan. William passed away in 2010, and his wife Janet in 2013. At the time of William’s death they had been married over 30 years and were the parents of three: Thomas, Scott, and Pepper. Their three children, together, permanently lent this trophy to the IHSSBCA to be given to worthy state champions. The IHSSBCA solely maintains the responsibility to collect it from the previous champion and present it to the new champion each year.

The trophy crystal bowl was a gift to William on the occasion of his retirement from Volvo. William had worked for many years at Clark Equipment Company of Benton Harbor, Michigan (out of their Chicago office at 76th Street and State Road), which eventually became subsumed by Volvo’s heavy construction equipment division in North America. Mr. Egan traveled across the country and across the world representing his employers (his travels included Seoul, Tokyo, Stockholm, and London, but also included remote locations in the Amazon and Mexico). Janet and William met while working at Clark Equipment in the early 1970s. Over the course of their lives, they lived in Evergreen Park, Illinois; Alsip, Illinois; Asheville, North Carolina; and Orland Park, Illinois.

Mr. and Mrs. Egan both stressed education. Both were educated at Catholic high schools in Chicago (William at DeLaSalle Institute and Janet at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School). Mr. Egan held a BA and MA in Business Administration in addition to a second MA in Health. Another common thread that was entwined through their lives was service. Mr. Egan proudly served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam era, working in communications for Naval Intelligence. Mrs. Egan worked at various jobs including a teacher’s aide for students with learning difficulties and as an assistant to a medical doctor.

With Janet’s passing in 2013, the crystal bowl passed to the three children, none of whom initially were sure what to do with it. It was eventually decided to gift the bowl as a unique trophy for a worthy state champion, and as a memorial for their parents.

The Trophy

The bowl is a crystal Orion Bowl from the Orrefors Company of Sweden, a company that has been producing practical and artistic glass and crystal since 1898. The bowl was originally designed by Lars Hellsten in 1987. His design was translated into three different sizes, of which this bowl is an example of the largest. As of December 2013, this particular crystal bowl retailed from Orrefors for €159 (about $220).

The wooden base was crafted by Mr. Paul Dietrich. Mr. Dietrich is a member of the Maine South High School (Park Ridge, Illinois) custodial staff, and is a master carpenter. This base was designed with the help of his son, and then built to the standards needed for a state level champion. This was not Mr. Dietrich’s first work on state championship trophies, as he had previously created new wooden bases to replace damaged state trophies at Maine South after a few were damaged by water. After experimenting with several types of wood, Mr. Dietrich decided on Honduran mahogany for its consistency in grain, and the patina it would acquire over time.

Recipients

The trophy was first awarded in 2015. This list includes all schools who have won the NAQT State Championship:

  • 2023: Buffalo Grove, comprising Benjamin Finkelshteyn, Rohan Ganeshan, Jack Omansky, Lucas Pasdo, Karanvir Saini, and Joe Van Hoy
  • 2022: Buffalo Grove, comprising Rohan Ganeshan, Bruno Ibrahim-Betts, Abigail Toushin, and Joe Van Hoy
  • 2021: The tournament was not held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 2020: University Laboratory School, comprising Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, Jonathan Lau, Sasha Rushing, and Matthew Tang
  • 2019: Auburn High School, comprising Justin Abel, Lily Chavez, Ethan Strombeck, and Leif Verace
  • 2018: University Laboratory School, comprising Ethan Ashbrook, Dylan Bowman, Tim Cho, and Jonathan Lau
  • 2017: Adlai E. Stevenson High School, comprising Nathan Cha, Deepak Moparthi, Govind Prabhakar, and Ali Saeed
  • 2016: Auburn High School, comprising Henry Roe, Ethan Strombeck, Cole Timmerwilke
  • 2015: Auburn High School, comprising Mohammad Nizamuddin, Evan Pandya, Cole Timmerwilke, and Steven Vo
  • 2014: Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, comprising Waleed Ali, Siva Gangavarapu, Maia Karpovich, Dan Pechi, and Andrew Salij
  • 2013: Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (Aurora), comprising Waleed Ali, Siva Gangavarapu, Maia Karpovich, and Sabrina Lato
  • 2012: Auburn High School, comprising Abid Haseeb, Brody Hooker, Alex Pandya, and Lloyd Sy
  • 2011: Adlai E. Stevenson High School, comprising Zach Blumenfeld, Matt Felz, Kevin Malis, and Joe Schlude
  • 2010: Auburn High School, comprising Abid Haseeb, Zahed Haseeb, Jordan Hoffmann, and Lloyd Sy
  • 2009: Auburn High School, comprising Zahed Haseeb, Michael Jiang, Siva Sundaram, and Lloyd Sy
  • 2008: Auburn High School (Rockford), comprising John Brown, Matt Hargrove, Michael Jiang, Siva Sundaram, and Robbie Westfall
  • 2007: New Trier High School (Winnetka), comprising Carlo Angiuli, John Doe*, Jeff Hirschey, Nick Matchen, and Robert Sido
  • 2006: Adlai E. Stevenson High School
  • 2005: Adlai E. Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire)

* Name removed by request of player.