Author: princetonmays

Nine Princeton High School seniors participated in the Tigers’ signing day on Tuesday evening at Prouty Gym. They are (front from left), Keighley Davis, Camryn Driscoll, Kathy Maciczak and Avery Waca; and (back row), Bradyn Kruse, Common Green, Casey Etheridge, Augustus Swanson and Rhett Pearson. (Kevin Hieronymus)
Nine Princeton High School seniors put the finishing touches on their future plans at the Tigers’ 2nd Annual College Signing Day at Prouty Gym on Tuesday.
There are three student-athletes going off to play college football, two to play volleyball and one to play basketball, one to run cross country and one to wrestle while one senior will serve his country with the U.S Coast Guard.
Each was accompanied by their parents, family members and coaches.
Common Green and Rhett Pearson will be teaming up again to play football at Aurora University and room together. They say they both can cook.
“We’re both over 200 pounds. I think we can cook pretty well,” Pearson said with a laugh. “We’ll be fine.”
Green said he liked Aurora for the cost and that it’s close to home. He will study athletic training to work up to become a physical therapist.
Pearson, who will be an interior defensive lineman for the Spartans, liked the coaching staff at Aurora, led by head coach and former Super Bowl star Don Beebe.
“They really preach faith and hard work and that really resonates with me,” he said.
Both were happy to be reunited with former Tiger teammate Arthur Burden, who will be a sophomore at Aurora.
“Having Arthur is definitely really helpful. Having someone who you trust and believe what they say. And he has nothing but good things to say about Aurora,” said Pearson, who plans to study biology and then go on to an optometry school.
Princeton senior Keighley Davis (front, center) was accompanied for her college signing Tuesday evening by her parents, Spencer and Annette; and (back row) PHS coaches Gina and Andy Puck and her brothers Wyatt, Teegan and Drake. (Kevin Hieronymus)
Keighley Davis, a three-sport standout, picked William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa to play volleyball in her mother’s home area.
“I got a lot of family up there. I really like the atmosphere. It’s not too big of a school and I like that. And it has a pretty good nursing program,” she said.
Her running mate in basketball, Camryn Driscoll, has signed to continue her hoops career for Illinois Central College. She attended ICC’s open gyms last summer in East Peoria and fell in love with the Cougars and coach Karrie Redeker.
“I really loved Coach Redeker’s energy and the way she carried herself at the open gyms,” said Driscoll, who plans to study elementary education. “The girls were very inviting of me even on the first day of open gym I showed up to. It made me feel welcomed to the program quickly.
“I think their program is a great culture to join and I’m very thankful that I’ve been given the opportunity.”
Princeton senior Camryn Driscoll (front, center) was accompanied for her college signing Tuesday evening by her parents, Garey and Courtney; and (back row) brother Evan and sister Lauren. (Kevin Hieronymus)
Augustus Swanson, who became just the second four-time state wrestling qualifier for PHS, placing second at state this year, will continue his wrestling career for St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. He said he had several offers and made a couple of visits, but St. Ambrose stood out from the rest.
“I’d say being on St. Ambrose campus and wrestling with the wrestlers off season made me feel a part of the team even before I decided. And as a bonus they made me a really great offer I couldn’t pass,” said Swanson, who plans to study Sports Management.
Kathy Maciczak will also be heading to St. Ambrose to play volleyball for the Bees. She plans to major in Human Performance and Fitness to become an Occupational Therapist.
“I decided to choose St. Ambrose, because I enjoyed the environment,” Maciczak said. “Everyone there including the coaches and players are very welcoming and friendly. I see myself fitting in and meeting great new people. I also feel like St. Ambrose will help push me to becoming a better athlete and help me develop as a player.’
Casey Etheridge, who became the all-time leading rusher in Bureau County history, will rush off to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to play football.
“It felt at home there as soon as he went there. They also gave me the option to stick with running back and seemed like the best school for my academics,” said Etheridge, who plans to study Civil Engineering.
Etheridge was a state runner-up in wrestling and will be contender for state in hurdles in track this spring.
Avery Waca is opting to stay closer to home to run cross country on the Hilltop at IVCC. She plans to major in elementary education to become a teacher.
Senior Bradyn Kruse made his commitment with the United States Coast Guard.
Roman Pearson, 6, tries on his brother’s helmet during Tuesday’s college signing night at Princeton High School. Rhett Pearson will be playing football for Aurora University. Their father is Tigers head coach Ryan Pearson. (Kevin Hieronymus)
Kevin has provided award-winning coverage for the BCR since 1986, covering Bureau County/IL Valley Sports. Was previously sports editor of the St. Louis Daily News and a regular contributor for the St. Louis Cardinals Magazine. He is a member of the IBCA and Illinois Valley Hall of Fames.

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Princeton coach Andy Puck works the huddle in Tuesday’s sectional semifinal match against Peoria Notre Dame at Riverdale High School. It would be his final game as head coach at Princeton, stepping down after 24 years as the program’s winningest coach with 516 wins. (Mike Vaughn)
Andy Puck’s career as the head volleyball coach at Princeton High School was a good read from cover to cover.
He won a regional championship in his very first season in 2002 and he won another one this season, which proved to be his last.
In between, Puck became the winningest coach in not only program history with 516 wins, second all-time only to longtime boys-girls cross country coach Pat Hodge (533). His Tigresses won nine regionals and two sectionals, capped by a state tournament berth in 2008, “State in 08,” as the Tigresses called it.
Puck decided before the 2025 season that this would be his last year, a decision he kept to a close circle of friends and staff. On Wednesday afternoon, one day after the season ended in the sectional semifinals, he informed his team that he was retiring.
“I wanted to go out on top as far as winning a regional here at home. It’s kind of bookends because my first year here we hosted a regional and won that regional. And my last year we host a regional and win it,” he said.
“I always wanted to go out on my terms. The administration has always been great. They let me be me. They trust my decisions and give me the opportunity to do what I feel is best for the team and more importantly for the program.”
Puck chose not to let his team know his intentions to retire because he wanted the focus to be on them and didn’t want to be a distraction.
“I did not want this to be about me. It’s always been about them,” he said. “I did not want to go to gyms or tournaments and have people talking to me about the good old days. Don’t get me wrong, I love those talks, But that’s taking away from my job and my focus, which is on the girls and getting them ready to play.”
Puck said he would have not have been able to get through his meeting with his team Wednesday had he not prepared a written statement.
“There were some tears, mostly from me,” he said. “I’m an emotional person. Super hard core. Really old school. Really tough. But if you peel away the onion, I’m definitely soft and they understand that.”
Junior Ava Kyle, who has played varsity for Puck since her sophomore year, said she is sad he isn’t going to be there for her senior year.
“I’m happy that we got to give Coach Puck a regional title for his last year as a coach. That was pretty special, even though at the time we didn’t know it was going to be his last year,” she said. “Although he’s retiring, I’m happy for him and I’m glad he gets to move on to the next chapter of his life.”
Puck said the first regional championship in 2002 feels like yesterday. He had come after coaching just one year at rival Hall, where he had been riffed.
“They threw water over me and I remember they wanted me to do a Pete Rose dive. I don’t know if I’d be able to do that now,” he said.
Puck, who will coach the eighth grade team at Logan one last season this year, admits his coaching style has changed from his first year at PHS.
“I was a lot more of a yeller back then. I thought being loud was more powerful,” he said. “The older I’ve gotten, (I’ve learned) quiet is knowledge. More sit back, take a breath, let’s focus a little more. More positives than negatives. Part of me wishes I was that person back then. But I also feel that it worked for me back then.”
When the COVID shutdown hit in 2020, Puck found he could enjoy life without volleyball and got him thinking then about life after it.
“I did miss it, but I didn’t miss it as much as I thought as I would. Kind of opened my eyes that there’s other parts of life I want to enjoy. That I want to pursue,” he said. “I stayed in because I didn’t want to be that person that regretted it. I still had passion. It’s been harder for me to get to practice, but once I’m in the gym I feel like a kid again. I’m young.
“Saturday tournaments have become, what else could I be doing today? All that set in in during COVID. Gina and I talked and said let’s give this a go and make sure that I’m not regretting the decision and I was glad I stayed in and the senior class was the reason why. Three of them had started since their sophomore year. We definitely took some lumps and knew better days were ahead. I knew this was going to be a special group.”
The family atmosphere of his program over the years has always been important to Puck. This year’s staff includes four alumni, freshmen coach Julie Mussleman, who was on Puck’s first team, and assistants Anna Murray, Libby Boyles and Emma Wittig. Another former Tigress, Emily (Ellberg) Cook keeps the varsity scorebook.
There’s been other alums help in previous years.
“I try to take up as much help as I can possibly get, especially as reliable and knowledgable young ladies. You’re only as strong as the people around you,” he said.
When asked about support of his wife, Gina, who’s become his partner on the job, he became emotional.
“Gina said she’d be in for it as long as I wanted to. I did this over half my career without her and the second half has been so much more enjoyable and easier with her,” he said. “She does all the little things that I’m not good at. She takes care of our social media, all of our stats and all of our stats for conference.”
Puck leaves the program in good shape with both the freshman and sophomore squads winning conference titles with more than 20 wins. Puck said no one on his staff has expressed an interest in taking over the program, so the new head coach will come from the outside.
Kyle said she hopes that assistants Murray and Boyles decide to keep coaching because “they are such good coaches and I look up to them both.”
Kevin has provided award-winning coverage for the BCR since 1986, covering Bureau County/IL Valley Sports. Was previously sports editor of the St. Louis Daily News and a regular contributor for the St. Louis Cardinals Magazine. He is a member of the IBCA and Illinois Valley Hall of Fames.

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New Jersey Lyric Opera Festival Features Favorites Il Trovatore, The Pearl Fishers, Romeo and Juliet, Barber of Seville at MCCC’s Kelsey Theatre Aug. 28-30  TAPinto
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Tortoises took center stage Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, during a Tortoise Race at Vintage Vines in downtown Spring Valley. The fun-filled event brought together locals and visitors to cheer on the slow-and-steady competitors while raising money for the Hall Township Food Pantry and Project Success of Eastern Bureau County.
Got a news tip? Email ntnewsroom@shawmedia.com
Copyright © 2026 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2026 Shaw Local News Network

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Evaluating data from nine school districts in the region, at the elementary, middle and high school levels, superintendents in the Illinois Valley make on average $168,884.81 in base salary.
Got a news tip? Email ntnewsroom@shawmedia.com
Copyright © 2026 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright © 2026 Shaw Local News Network

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A child is rescued from Big Bureau Creek after being stuck on a sandbar as Bureau County emergency personnel pull her to safety during a water rescue near the Captain Swift Bridge on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Princeton. (Scott Anderson)
Two children were rescued from Bureau Creek in Princeton on Tuesday after strong currents carried them downstream while they were swimming, according to the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office.
Lt. James Todd said the children were swept away by the current before reaching a small island where they became stranded.
“They were swimming and the tides carried them away,” Todd said. “They got stranded on a lower portion where they were able to get to.”
Emergency responders, including the Princeton Fire Department, rescued the pair using ropes and a rescue buoy, Todd said.
Todd said the children were stranded for about 15 to 20 minutes from the time authorities received the emergency call until they were rescued. Both were safely brought to shore with no injuries were reported.
“Everyone’s back home safe,” Todd said.
Additional information about the rescue effort was not immediately available Tuesday. Todd referred questions regarding the technical aspects of the rescue to the Princeton Fire Department, who were not available for comment on Tuesday afternoon.
A child stands on a sandbar as swift current surrounds them as Bureau County emergency personnel gather to perform a water rescue on Big Bureau Creek near the Captain Swift Bridge on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Princeton. (Scott Anderson)
Bill Freskos is a multimedia journalist based in the Illinois Valley. He covers hard news, local government, sports, business enterprise, and politics while contributing to Shaw Local Radio stations for Shaw Media across La Salle, Bureau, and Putnam counties.

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Police sirens from a cruiser.
Illinois State Police are investigating after a 3-year-old child was killed and a suspect was injured in an officer-involved shooting over the weekend.
According to Illinois State Police, the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office and Princeton police responded to a call of a domestic disturbance in the 2700 block of East Street on Sunday.
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Illinois State Police also assisted at the scene with perimeter security, according to a press release.
According to Princeton police, officers were told a suspect armed with a knife had barricaded himself inside of the residence, holding multiple individuals hostage, including children.
According to Illinois State Police, officers entered the residence and fired shots, striking the suspect and a 3-year-old boy.
That toddler, identified by the Bureau County Coroner as 3-year-old Damian Camacho according to NBC-affiliate KWQC, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The suspect was also hospitalized, and is facing charges of aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated assault and domestic battery.

Illinois State Police are investigating the use-of-force in the incident.
No further information is available.

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