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Achievement 

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Josh Swikard '09

Joshua Swickard was very involved in the fine arts program at Glenwood High School participating in Titan Fever, band, choir, GHS musicals, and the local theater. After graduating from high school, Josh moved to Chicago to study accounting at College of DuPage. After two years, he left to start a career as a model, modeling for companies such as Men's Health, Sports Illustrated, Guess, Jockey, Finish Line, Kohl's, Nordstrom, and others.

 

He made his television debut as a recurring guest star on the Disney Channel shows "Liv and Maddie" and "K.C Undercover." You might recognize Swickard from starring in roles in General Hospital and Roped as well as a number of holiday movies such as A California Christmas, A California Christmas: City Lights, A Hollywood Christmas, and Holiday in the Vineyards.

 

 

Service

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Clark Blade 

Clark Blade student taught at GHS in 1979 and began his career here in 1984. In the 1980s, teachers were expected to work at more than teaching: assisting with the school play and variety show, yearbook, speech team, track, and cross country. Mr. Blade served on the negotiation team and was the chief negotiator for three contracts. He also worked with the State Board of Education on standardized testing. He was selected by Cornell University as a “Teacher Who Made a Difference.” Mr. Blade sponsored Key Club for over a decade and was selected to be the Key Club Advisor of the Year for Illinois/Iowa. In the classroom, he taught junior English. Every Friday morning before class, for over 15 years, students gathered in his room for a student-led Bible study. He was selected by the senior class three times to deliver the Graduation Address. Outside the classroom, he rarely missed football or basketball games, girl’s softball, and encouraging students toward excellence in academics and athletics. At GHS, he found a home, a place to belong until he retired in 2014.

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Individual Athletic Accomplishments

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Daniel Helm '14

Daniel Helm was one of the best football players to ever wear the bolts at Glenwood High School. As a tight end and safety, he racked up the yards and touchdowns earning him many accolades throughout his high school career.  Helm set the Glenwood career record with 35 receiving TDs. During his junior campaign, he had 44 receptions for 821 yards with 17 TDs and Glenwood finished 9-3 advancing to the quarterfinals of the  Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state playoffs. As a senior, Helm caught 35 passes for 565 yards and 13 TDs and recorded 68 tackles, an INT, and four pass breakups. Helm led the  Titans to an 8-3 record and trip to the second round of the IHSA playoffs as a senior.

 

By the end of his Titan career, Helm was a consensus top-10 tight end recruit; ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com, No. 3 by Scout.com, No. 4 by 247Sports.com, and No. 7 by ESPN.com.  He was selected to play in the 2014 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl, named to the MaxPreps 2013 All-America second team, a second team all-state pick by the Chicago Tribune in 2013.

 

After high school, Helm played college football at Tennessee before transferring to Duke University. He was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2019. After bouncing around to a few teams, Helm made his NFL debut for the San Francisco 49ers on October 18, 2020 vs the Los Angeles Rams. After injuries shortened his professional career, Helm has been back on the sidelines in Chatham helping coach the Titans.

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Brittany (Koester) Bisch '03

Brittany (Koester) Bisch was a standout athlete at Glenwood, earning 12 varsity letters over her four years: four each in volleyball, basketball, and softball. Bisch was a team captain, earned All State honors, and was named to All-Conference teams three times in softball and basketball and twice in volleyball. She won the Scholastic Heisman Award in 2002 and the Vernie Lee Sportsmanship Award in 2003.  In softball, she earned the Golden Glove Award in 2000 and the Silver Slugger Award in 2002. She was the volleyball team MVP her junior and senior year. In basketball she earned the Most Rebounds Award 2000-03 and the Best Offensive Player Award 2000-2002.

 

As a player, her teams won 5 CS8 Conference Championships, eight Regionals Titles, and three Sectional Titles. The 2001-2002 Girls Basketball Team was the first team to play in a standing-room only crowd in the newly built West Gym at GHS.

 

At the end of her career at Glenwood, she held school records in both volleyball (Most Kills in a Season and Most Career Kills) and basketball (Most Career Rebounds) and finished her basketball career in the 1000 Point Club; at the time being the second leading scorer in Glenwood Basketball history (combining both girls and boys leading scorers.) She also finished in the top 25 Most Kills in the State of Illinois.

 

Bisch was recruited to play Division 1 in all three sports she played and signed to play softball at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where she was a member of the Fighting Illini for four years and graduated with an Applied Life Sciences degree in Kinesiology.  While in Champaign, she earned four varsity letters, served on the Student-Athlete Academic Committee (serving as liaison to the administration), and earned several awards including the George Huff Award, Illini Coaches’ Award, Softball Spirit Award and was a Top 5 Candidate for the Department of Interscholastic Athletics Spirit Award her senior year.  Bisch held a career .990 fielding percentage as a catcher.

 

After graduating from the University of Illinois, Bisch returned to Glenwood as a physical education teacher and coach where she coached basketball, softball, and volleyball. As a part of the coaching staff, teams won 7 Conference Championships, 8 Regional titles, 2 Sectional titles, and a 2nd Place Finish at State.  Bisch was the Varsity Volleyball coach for four years before she decided to be a stay-at-home mom. She is now a NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), the Program Director and an instructor at Powerworks Fitness, competes in Scottish Highland Games, and homeschools her 12-year-old daughter, Alice Ann. 

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Athletics/Team

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2014 Softball Team

The 2014 Titan Softball Team was crowned the 3A State Champions after defeating Manteno 7-2 in the final. After trailing in the first five innings, the Titan offense went to work scoring twice in the sixth to take the lead and four times in the seventh to seal the game and earn the school’s first IHSA Softball State Championship. The road to the title was no easy feat. The Titans battled through the state series including a 3-2 win over Quincy Notre Dame in the Regional Final, a 2-1 win over Mattoon in the Sectional Final, and avenging an earlier season loss to Columbia in the Super-Sectional game-winning 5-0. In the state semi-final game, the Titans gave up two runs in the first inning to St. Ignatius before they broke the game open scoring six unanswered runs to earn the win and advance to the final. They finished the year with a record of 32 wins and 7 losses.

 

Team Members: Amanda Balster, Parker Bandy, Karah Bell, Alexa Brown, Abby Burton, Skylar Dougherty, Miranda Esperum, Angela Ford, Brianna Graham, Nikole Haberkorn, Katie Hudson, Lexi Koester, Allison Long, Sami Long, Janek Squibb, Madi Torry, Catherine Ward. 

 

Head Coach Von Edgar, Assistant Coaches Janna Cooper and Terry McDevitt, Athletic Trainer Jon Wiezorek

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