On Saturday, January 28, IC Catholic Prep (ICCP) inducted its newest members into the 2017 Athletic Hall of Fame. Honored were Dr. Thomas Raspanti ’66 (football and baseball) and Donna Collignon Chambers ’84 (volleyball). In a presentation prior to the start of the boys Varsity Basketball game, Dr. Thomas Raspanti, along with his wife Cathy, were joined by Earl and Judy Collignon to receive their award. Donna Chambers was unfortunately unable to attend due to a prior work engagement. Friends and families of the honorees also took part in a celebratory Mass and Athletic Hall of Fame reception prior to the game.
In 2006, ICCP established the Athletic Hall of Fame Award, which is intended to recognize graduates whose achievements reflect the ideals of commitment, excellence, and service; and also gives witness to the heart and spirit of Catholic education, athletic integrity, and leadership. The award has been created to serve as a standard to which current student athletes can aspire.
Dr. Raspanti was a four-year varsity letter winner in baseball and a three-year varsity letter winner in football. He was an all-conference selection in both baseball and football during his junior and senior years, while also helping lead his baseball teams to two conference championships. Dr. Raspanti went on to play four years of football and three years of baseball for the Elmhurst College Bluejays, earning his Bachelors degree from Elmhurst College in 1970.
He went on to graduate from the Marquette University School of Dentistry in 1974. During a successful career as an oral surgeon, Dr. Raspanti served as the president of the Waukesha Dental Society and the Chief of Staff for Waukesha Memorial Hospital Dental Service before retiring in 2009.
Donna Collignon Chambers was a two-year varsity letter winner and standout in the IC volleyball program. As a sophomore, Chambers was moved up to the varsity team for the post season and earned a gold medal as a part of the 1981 IHSA Class A State Championship team. As a junior, she helped lead the Knights to a second place finish in the IHSA State Finals. And finally as a senior, Chambers was a WSCC All-Conference selection, Chicago All-Area selection, and earned All-State Second team honors while helping the volleyball team earn yet another trip downstate to finish in the Elite Eight.
Chambers went on to play volleyball at the University of Virginia where she competed in the ACC conference and was a starter for the team in all four seasons. She graduated in 1988 with a Bachelors in Commerce and eventually earned her Masters in Management from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management in 2006. She now works in marketing for Hewlett Packard.
