December 8th in Carlinville
By Tom Emery
CARLINVILLE – Several area high school basketball teams will participate in a sixteen-team shootout that will benefit a beloved area radio broadcaster battling a severe form of cancer. The inaugural T. Todt Shootout vs. Cancer event will be held Saturday, Dec. 8 at Carlinvillle High School. The shootout is sponsored by Apex Network Physical Therapy. Metro East Lutheran, Carlinville, Gillespie, and Staunton are among the teams in the shootout, which features four boys’ and four girls’ games. The proceeds will help Terry Todt, the longtime sports director at WSMI Radio, who has suffered from a debilitating form of stomach cancer for several years. Todt, 62, has undergone several surgeries and endured expensive medical care as part of his fight. The shootout is organized by Tim Mize, one of Todt’s co-workers at WSMI, with assistance from Carlinville High School athletic director Darrin Deneve. All eight games will be broadcast on WSMI 106.1-FM and online at wsmiradio.com. “It’s always been Terry’s dream to put on some type of basketball shootout,” said Mize. “We’ve talked about it off the cuff at the radio station for years. This is a great opportunity to reach some of that goal. “The T. Todt Shootout vs. Cancer reflects Terry’s love for high school hoops, and will be a really fun day of basketball,” continued Mize. “A day of high school basketball with friends, it will be just awesome.” A popular fixture in youth and high school sports across the area, Todt is a member of several Halls of Fame, including the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and the Illinois Softball Coaches Association. Described by his many friends as genial and affable with a great wit, Todt and his wife, Brenda, live in Raymond and are the parents of two children. In future years, proceeds will benefit the Montgomery County Cancer Association, which is also assisting with the tournament. Todt served as honorary chairman of the association’s annual birthday party and Celebration of Life in 2016.
The shootout begins at 9:30 a.m. with a girls game between Litchfield and the Pawnee-Lincolnwood coop, followed by a boys game between Litchfield and Lincolnwood at 11 a.m. Todt is a 1973 graduate of Lincolnwood. The Staunton girls’ team will take on Nokomis at 12:30 before a Carlinville – Auburn doubleheader, beginning with the girls’ game at 2 p.m. and the boys’ game at 3:30. At 5 p.m., the Gillespie girls’ team will play Hillsboro. The 6:30 p.m. game will feature the Metro East Lutheran boys’ team taking on Hillsboro, while a boys’ game between Staunton and Nokomis will conclude the schedule at 8 p.m. For more information on the event, or to make a donation, call Mize at 217-324-5921.
Tom Emery may be reached at 217-710-8392.
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