KYLE PEACH, MCHS Athletic Hall of Fame Committee
(MT. CARMEL) The Mt. Carmel High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee of the Mt. Carmel Sports Boosters is proud to announce its 2025 Induction Class is set to be inducted.
The ceremony will take place on Friday, October 10th at 6:30 p.m. at Riverview Stadium, prior to the MCHS football game vs. Casey Westfield. Highlighting the class are three legendary coaches, an individual state champion, and a state runner-up team.
The three coaches being enshrined include four-time district and three-time regional championship volleyball coach Carlotta Enlow, legendary wrestling coach Pat Cheesman, and state runner-up baseball and longtime football coach Larry Lockart.
Also being enshrined is state champion wrestler Andrew Wise and the team being enshrined is the 2001 state finalist Golden Aces football team. The 2025 Induction Class of the MCHS Athletic Hall of Fame will be recognized prior to the Aces home football game on October 10th vs. Casey Westfield, beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m. A reception, hosted by the Sports Boosters, will follow the game at Stymie’s Rest at West Berwick Golf Course.
Aces fans are also reminded that nominations for future Hall of Fame induction can be made anytime. Find the nomination form and view a list of all Hall of Fame members on the Athletic Hall of Fame website at www.wabash348.com/o/mchs/page/mchs-athletics-hall-of-fame
2001 GOLDEN ACES FOOTBALL TEAM
The 2001 Golden Aces Football team took the storied Golden Aces football program back to the state finals for the first time since the Aces won their lone state title in football in 1981. In his first of a program record 3 trips to the state finals as a head coach, Darren Peach, in his inaugural season at the helm, led the Golden Aces to an 8-1 regular season before the Aces had convincing playoff wins vs. Massac County and Nashville… it was the quarterfinals vs. Mt. Zion in which the Aces staged a dramatic comeback, scoring the game winning touchdown - capping an 80 yard drive that started with less than a minute remaining in the game. The Aces then won their semifinal matchup at Benton before setting multiple state records in a double-overtime loss to Addison Driscoll. This edition of the Golden Aces proved to be the cardiac kids – winning double-overtime games in week 1 vs. Harrisburg and week 9 vs. Robinson.
PAT CHEESMAN
Pat Cheesman may have left his coaching mark on the sports of baseball, football, track and softball during his many years at Mt. Carmel High School, but he is indelibly linked to wrestling. Not only is he now an inductee to the Mt. Carmel High School Hall of Fame, Pat has already been honored at the state level. He was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame in 2013. A central Indiana native, Pat was hired at Mt. Carmel High School in 1980 and began his coaching career at the Hilltop in 1981. He has an overall record of 338-125-4, a winning percentage of .723. Through the years, he has coached 27 IHSA state meet qualifiers, three who have placed in the finals, two IHSA team Regional champions, and eight North Egypt Conference team champions. Pat also coached 28 IKWF state qualifiers, eight who went on to place. In addition to coaching the Golden Aces, Pat has coached Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and IKWF wrestlers as well. On the administration side, Pat has also served as Principal, Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at MCHS. As invaluable as he has been on the mat, field, court, or track while at Mt. Carmel High School, Pat has also gained notoriety for his actions on the sidelines. He was labelled a hero after saving a young girl from a vicious dog attack during a track meet in Carmi, Illinois.
CARLOTTA ENLOW
Carlotta Enlow spent thirty-three years at Mount Carmel High School in the Math classroom while coaching many of those years. She came to MCHS after a four-year stint teaching at North Posey High School. She had student-taught at Mount Carmel under Dick Spruel through SIU and wanted to return to Illinois, getting back to MCHS. If you do the “Math”, her influence in teaching and coaching affected well over 4,000 students and athletes during her career. Coach Enlow transitioned the volleyball and softball programs from the Girls Athletic Association (GAA) format in the 1970’s to IHSA competition – the first coach at MCHS in both sports. In volleyball, she amassed a 143-52 record over a 9-year run-a 73.3 winning percentage. She had only one losing campaign - her first. Her teams won four District titles in consecutive years from 1978-1982. Her teams then won 3 regional titles after the change in format from 1983-86. Her teams won four of the seven overall NEC conference titles for Mount Carmel in volleyball in 1979, 1983, 1984, and 1985. This set the program on solid ground from the start. In softball, she served as head coach from 1979-1985 – winning the school’s first NEC Championship in 1984 – ending her tenure with a record of 54-43.
LARRY LOCKART
Larry Lockhart was a Golden Aces coach for one state-championship and two other state finalist appearances. He served as an assistant to Larry Davis on the 1981 state championship football team – having served as an assistant for the team since 1975. He returned following a year away in 1983 to become the head coach of the Golden Aces – serving in that role through the 1989 season – capturing 6 NEC conference championships in his 7 year stint as head coach, dropping only 3 conference games in that stint. He took the Aces to the playoffs every year – making it to the semifinals in 1986. He ended his football head coaching tenure with a 61-15 record. Lockart’s winning percentage of just over 80% is second all-time in Golden Aces history. In baseball Lockhart took the Golden Aces to the state finals twice – in 1978 and 1979… the only coach to attain that level of success in that sport.
ANDREW WISE
Andrew Wise finished his illustrious Mt. Carmel High School wrestling career at the very top. He won the 2016 Illinois High School Association state championship in the 220-pound weight class, defeating Cody Ayers of Fithian Oakwood to complete a 43-1 senior season. Andrew became the second Golden Aces wrestler to win a state title, joining Tanner Crum, who accomplished the feat in 2011. Andrew had a career record of 156-17 on the mat. He burst onto the scene with a record of 36-6 during his freshman season in 2012-13, followed by a 38-4 mark as a sophomore and a 39-6 record his junior season. He made the first of two state tournament trips that season, placing sixth in his division. He was a two-time regional champion, one-time sectional champion, and three-time Big Eight Conference champion. After graduating from The Hilltop, Andrew wrestled at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, from 2016-18. The following year he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health, Fitness and Recreation from Millikin Andrew starred for the Aces on the football field as well, competing as a senior at the Blue-Grey All-American Football Game as a center/nose guard on January 16 in Jacksonville, Florida.