The first induction class for the Johnsburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame naturally is star-studded.

There are three Northwest Herald Athlete of the Year award winners (two female and one male), along with 10 Northwest Herald Player of the Year winners for their respective sports.

Don Bentz and Lora Jacobs, both three-sport standouts in the school’s first year, 1979, are in the first class, as is Jim Meyers, Johnsburg’s athletic director for its first 25 years.

The first team going into the Hall of Fame at Friday’s 6:30 p.m. ceremony, just before the Skyhawks host Richmond-Burton in boys basketball, did something extraordinary. Johnsburg’s 2003 boys basketball team was the only one from the McHenry County area to advance to the Class AA State Tournament under the IHSA’s two-class system.

When the IHSA adopted a four-class system for basketball in 2006-07, the Skyhawks’ place in local history was cemented. Johnsburg (30-2) lost to Glenbrook North, 47-24, in its quarterfinal, but with an enrollment of 781, the Skyhawks always were the area’s smallest AA school at that time.

Skyhawks athletic director Ted Juske expects all of the individual honorees to attend the ceremony, which starts with an open house at 5 p.m. Juske said many of the members of the 2003 team also planned to be there.

“You wonder what could have been with the classes we have now (and being in 3A),” said Brad Preston, the Skyhawks point guard in 2003. “You can say, ‘What if?’, but I think it’s more special because such a small school made it (to state) in the two-class system. That made it even more special, even though we didn’t win, but we made it down there.”

Cary-Grove came close in 2001, losing its Class AA supersectional to Moline in overtime. Dundee-Crown became the other large school to win a supersectional in 2009 when the Chargers advanced in Class 4A.

But the mighty Skyhawks, with a lineup of John Smith (6-foot-8), Shane Neiss and Mike Walsh (6-5), Adam Vesley (6-3) and Preston (6-2) were the first and only to reach the AA quarterfinals.

Johnsburg coach Ed Sennett ran a 2-3 zone defense that gave opponents fits. Preston and Vesley pressured opponents up front, while Smith waited for anyone who wanted to drive to the basket.

Smith averaged 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game and shot 63.9 percent from the field to become Northwest Herald Player of the Year. Neiss averaged 10.2 points and led the team with 51 3-pointers. Sixth man George Salminen averaged 8.9 points a game.

The Skyhawks were one of Sennett’s two teams in his Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame career to get him to the quarterfinals. His 1982 Herscher team finished third in the Class A State Tournament.

Meyers, who campaigned for years for class expansion, said he hoped that Lynn Sennett, Ed’s wife, might attend Friday’s ceremony. They live in Homer Glen, but Ed has experienced health issues in recent years.

“It was unique,” Meyers said. “We bordered on that Class A-Class AA threshold ever year, always waiting for that (classification) to come out. We knew we had a really nice team.”

Assistant coach Rick Bailey said the groundwork was laid two years before when the Skyhawks were 4-23, and Preston and Neiss were varsity starters. The next year, with Smith in the middle, they were 21-7.

“Ed and I knew the following season was going to be special,” Bailey said. “It turned out even better than we thought.”

The Skyhawks gained confidence as they extended their undefeated season by winning the Jacobs Tournament.

“That was a huge deal to play with those bigger schools,” Smith said. “We knew we were good. I had a good gauge from playing AAU (over the summer) that we could compete. Making state, we all knew it was possible. Our confidence kept growing and growing.”

Johnsburg’s only regular-season loss came against Round Lake, 54-53, on a last-second shot. Panthers guard Jim Nicoline hit eight 3s in that game.

“At the time it was a bummer, but in retrospect it wasn’t a bad thing to lose that game,” Bailey said. “It woke our kids up. We said, ‘It’s nonconference, no big deal, let’s move on.’ ”

The Skyhawks had close games in the Jeffferson Sectional, beating Prairie Ridge, 51-49, and knocking off Boylan, 60-53. The only problem they had with East Moline United Township in the supersectional was a cold bus ride.

Meyers said the driver didn’t know how to turn on the heat. Johnsburg smothered East Moline, 51-22, to advance to Peoria.

“We all knew our roles so well. That helped us jell so much,” Preston said. “It wasn’t a battle for who’s going to get the most points or who stood out the most. Adam was great defensively and got some garbage baskets. Shane was our 3-point shooter. I brought the ball down and ran the offense. Everybody accepted their roles and did that, and we won.”

Glenbrook North, led by big man Eytan Azaria and freshman Jon Scheyer, was way too much for the Skyhawks in the quarterfinals, winning, 47-24. Still, the Skyhawks made history, and not only for their school.

Smith went on to star on NCAA Division II Winona State’s team and played in three national championship games, winning two. He also was named D-II Player of the Year as a junior and senior and played two years professionally in Portugal, Holland and Austria.

“The ride (at Johnsburg) was absolutely fun,” said Smith, who also is being inducted as an individual. “That was such uncharted waters, going to state, especially with two classes. I knew we would be good. I heard a good amount of the guys will be back. It’ll be great (Friday). I’m totally honored.”

Here are the inductees for the inaugural class for the Johnsburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame:

• Don Bentz (Class of 1979): football, basketball and baseball, also coached many years at Johnsburg.

• Melissa Dixon (2011): Career scoring leader in basketball, Northwest Girls Basketball Herald Player of the Year 2010 and 2011.

• C.J. Fiedorowicz (2010): Played football, basketball, baseball and track. Northwest Herald Football Player of the Year (2009) and Male Athlete of the Year (2009-10). Plays tight end for the NFL’s Houston Texans.

• Paige Fiedorowicz (2007): Played volleyball, basketball and track. Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Player of the Year 2006 and 2007; Female Athlete of the Year (2006-07).

• Lora Jacobs (1980): Played volleyball, basketball and softball. Coached many years at Johnsburg.

• Michelle McDonald (2008): Played volleyball, basketball and softball. Northwest Herald Girls Basketball Player of the Year 2008; Female Athlete of the Year (2007-08).

• Katie Parker (1995): Northwest Herald Softball Player of the Year 1993, 1994 and 1995. Joins Harvard’s Cori Lagerhausen as only three-time winner.

• John Smith (2003): Northwest Herald Boys Basketball Player of the Year (2003). Two-time NCAA Division II Player of the Year.

• Jim Meyers, athletic director: Served as AD for the school’s first 25 years, also coached football, baseball and softball.

• 2003 boys basketball team: Finished 30-2 and advanced to the Class AA State Tournament quarterfinals with an enrollment of 781 students, one of the smallest AA schools in the state. The only area team to ever make the Class AA Boys Basketball State Tournament.