Swimming

Stephen Decatur High School

Class of 1994

Inducted October 2021

Chiligiris was a star on the youth circuit for the Decatur Swim Club and carried that on to high school, winning six medals at the state swimming meet, including two state titles as s senior.

As a sophomore, Chiligiris took seventh in the 200-yard freestyle and eighth in the 100-yard backstroke, then was eighth in the 500 free as a junior and third in the 200 freestyle. As a senior in the 1994, he won state titles in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle.

As a senior, Chiligiris was also the male performer of the year at the Illinois Senior State Championships. He posted a pair of fifth-place finishes at the US Junior Nationals and emerged as the sixth-fastest high school swimming in the country in the 100 and 200 free.

Chiligiris went on to compete at Kansas University, and narrowly missed making the Greek National Team — Chiligiris has dual citizenship — in 1996.