Two local girls basketball coaches were recently recognized by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.
Annawan Coach Jason Burkiewicz was named the 2024 Coach of the Year and Wethersfield Coach Todd Hansen was named the 2024 District 11 Coach of the Year.
Jason Burkiewicz
Burkiewicz was named IBCA Coach of the Year after his 2023-24 Annawan Bravettes team capped off another successful season by winning the 1A Annawan Regional. They defeated a strong Brimfield team, 53-47, en route to winning the championship game.
The Bravettes were consistently ranked in the top five among 1A schools throughout the season and were the No. 3 in the final poll.
Annawan started off the season with an impressive 4-0 run through the Geneseo Thanksgiving Tournament. In a tournament that’s comprised of mostly 2A and 3A teams, the Bravettes edged out 3A Sterling, 43-41, in the championship game.
The Bravettes also went 4-0 to win the Lady Bruins Christmas Classic at St. Bede. Annawan scored key wins over host St. Bede (66-52) and Serena (42-35).
Annawan and Wethersfield each had Lincoln Trail Conference records of 9-2, which were runners-up to the 11-0 Biggsville (West Central) Heat.
The Bravettes (24-7) concluded the season with a 53-46 sectional semifinal loss to Illini Bluffs. Burkiewicz resigned at the end of the season after accumulating a career record of 341-92 (.788) as head coach of the Bravettes for 14 years.
Todd Hansen
Wethersfield Coach Todd Hansen was named District 11 Coach of the year after guiding the Lady Geese to a record of 26-5.
A highlight of the 2023-24 season for Hansen and the Lady Geese was winning the Cliff Warkins Memorial Classic. Wethersfield defeated Lena-Winslow, 49-46, to win the title.
The Lady Geese also fared well at the Brimfield Thanksgiving Tournament. They beat host Brimfield to go 3-0 before falling to a tough Elmwood squad in the championship game.
Annawan and Wethersfield each had Lincoln Trail Conference records of 9-2, which were runners-up to the 11-0 Biggsville (West Central) Heat.
Wethersfield’s season concluded with a 46-40 Princeville Regional loss to Abingdon-Avon.
Hansen is credited with turning around a program that was struggling just four years ago. He saw potential in a talented group of freshmen (in 2020-21) that had a COVID year record of 1-13 and he turned that team into one that had a record of 26-5 in 2023-24.
The season records in between were 8-20 (2021-22) and 20-13 (2022-23).
In recognition of the turnaround and a successful 2023-24 season, Hansen was named coach of the North squad at the Kiwanis All-Star Game in Canton. Playing for Hansen were seniors, Kennady Anderson and Paige Huffman, of Wethersfield and Ava Storm of Galva.
