Greg Fenza

Class of 1988 Greg Fenza, a pole vaulter at Ottawa Township High School, is the only OTHS graduate who was a national high school champion, accomplishing that feat by winning the pole vault competition at the Keebler Classic national meet in 1988. While at OTHS he also was a sprinter on the track team for four years, played two years of football, and one year of basketball. Also in the summer of 1988, he won the Golden West Classic in Sacramento, California and went on to place 4th at the World Junior Olympics. Greg Fenza won the Class AA (largest class) Illinois High School State Championship during his senior year at OTHS with a vault of 16 feet 0 inches, after placing second in the competition as a junior. During a regular season meet in 1988 he cleared 17 feet 0 inches to establish a state record in the pole vault, which still remains the third best high school vault of all time in Illinois. After graduating from OTHS he attended Purdue University where he was a two-time All American. He placed 5th and 8th in the NCAA outdoor national championship while at Purdue, and was the Big Ten Conference indoor champion and also outdoor champion in both 1989 and 1990. His vault of 18 feet 1 inch is the second best vault of all time at Purdue. The Ottawa Daily Times named Greg Fenza the best Ottawa Township High School Athlete of the 1980’s Decade.