More than 700 public, private and parochial students are expected to compete in the 33rd annual Evanston/Skokie Ron Risch Invitational Track & Field Meet to be held on June 7 at Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave. Participating students are selected in various ways at the school level to represent their schools in the competition.
Rich Fattes, director of the meet, says it will include boys’, girls’ and co-ed events for fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders on the ETHS field. In case of rain, the events will be held in the field house. Activities commence with the mile run at 7:30 a.m. and are scheduled throughout the morning in grade level categories. Each student should consult with his or her school’s meet coach to learn the approximate time for each event.
The meet is now named for Ron Risch, a dedicated District 65 physical education teacher who was instrumental in creating the first Junior Olympics in l976. The Chute Middle School teacher and ETHS coach died in l994 of lung cancer related to asbestos exposure. In l995 the event was renamed to honor Mr. Risch’s lifetime commitment to promote physical wellbeing for all students and his efforts to continue the annual track meet.
The Evanston Athletic Club and Dengeo’s Restaurant join District 65 and District 202 to support the day’s activities. Meet Director Fattes expressed his appreciation to the two commercial sponsors and hopes to bring in other local businesses to continue the track and field meet in the years to come.