Year in review: Top sports stories in Kankakee County for 2024

Whether inside or outside the lines, high school or professional, boys or girls, the greater Kankakee area continued to make waves in the sports scene in 2024. From historic firsts to the ending of unforgettable prep careers, there was no shortage of local, state and even some national sports news that was made by local stars.

IHSA adds girls flag football; Bradley-Bourbonnais makes inaugural State Finals

On Valentine’s Day, the IHSA, with help from the Chicago Bears, announced that girls flag football would be added to its portfolio of official sports in 2024-25. Two local schools, Bradley-Bourbonnais and Kankakee, embarked on the state’s maiden girls flag football voyage. The Boilermakers, who were crowned the first-ever All-City champions, wound up as one of the state’s top teams. They qualified for the inaugural IHSA State Finals, where they finished fourth. Kankakee was also a regional champion.

Former Boiler Markanich makes soccer history

There wasn’t a professional soccer player in America that scored as many goals as 2018 Bradley-Bourbonnais graduate Nick Markanich did this year. Markanich scored 28 goals for the United Soccer League’s Charleston Battery, the most of any player in any American professional league. The league MVP set the USL’s single-season scoring record with his 28 goals. He will head to Spain Wednesday to join CD Castellon of Segunda Division, also known as LaLiga HyperMotion.

Momence girls basketball wins in emotional return

Unimaginable grief struck the Momence community Jan. 25 when freshman Amari Crite died after collapsing during a JV girls basketball game. As her teammates, friends and family grieved her loss, the program took an extended break before returning to play Feb. 5 for a JV/varsity home doubleheader against Momence. After taking the floor with four players to start the game — Crite was the fifth — the JV team started on a 21-0 run to earn a 31-16 win. In the varsity game, a late comeback afforded the team a 37-28 win to cap off a night in Crite’s honor.

Trio of local wrestlers win state championships

More local girls sports history was made in February when Peotone’s Kiernan Farmer became the first local student-athlete to win an IHSA Girls Individual Wrestling State championship, winning the 170-pound championship. She was one of three local wrestlers to earn a first-place medal last season. On the boys side, Coal City’s Landin Benson won the Class 1A 165-pound state championship. Manteno’s Carter Watkins also won a Class 1A title, winning the 175-pound division.

Kays, Boilers make furthest combined football run ever

One year after Kankakee and Bradley-Bourbonnais won first-round playoff football games in the same year for the first time in 25 seasons, the programs combined to up the ante in 2024, as the Kays and Boilermakers reached the IHSA quarterfinals in the same year for the first time ever. The Kays went 10-2, winning back-to-back Southland Athletic Conference titles on their way to a spot in the Class 6A quarterfinals, their third trip to the quarters in four years. The Boilermakers finished the season at 9-4 and made their first appearance in the Class 7A quarterfinal field since 2015.

Wilmington native Brown part of another Indy 500 winner

Caitlyn Brown, a 2017 Wilmington graduate, continued to experience success with Team Penske in INDY Car, serving as an over-the-wall member of the winning Indianapolis 500 driver for the second year in a row. Brown was over the wall for Josef Newgarden, who repeated as the race-winner. She was the first-ever woman to serve as an over-the-wall member for the race winner in 2023, and was on the first-ever all-women’s team for the 2021 race. In addition to working for the winning driver in 2024, Brown and the Pit Crew Challenge, making Brown the first woman to serve on the winning team.

Several basketball teams have historic seasons

On both the boys and girls sides, the 2023-24 prep basketball season yielded unprecedented seasons for multiple programs. On the boys side, Beecher was the only team in the state to finish the regular season without a loss, ultimately seeing the best season in school history end in the IHSA Class 2A Super-Sectionals. The Bobcats went 34-1, winning the most games in school history and earning the program its first-ever sectional title. Kankakee also set a school record for wins in a season (27-5), with the boys and girls both winning regionals. On the girls side, Peotone won its first-ever sectional in Class 2A, with a 27-5 record that gave the Blue Devils a third straight season of 25-plus wins. In Class 1A, Cissna Park also won a sectional and earned 27 wins for the second straight season. Manteno saw both the boys and girls teams make history. The boys went a program-best 27-5 and snapped a 17-year regional drought while the girls snapped a streak almost twice as long, winning their first regional in 33 years and a school-record 18 games.

Eastside Bulldogs make unprecedented changes

The Kankakee Eastside Bulldogs continued to field a youth football team over the fall, but this year’s Bulldogs were much different than they were for over 65 years. The Bulldogs, a longtime Kankakee pillar for youth football and cheer, did not field boys tackle football teams due to low participation. But they did form the area’s first youth girls tackle football program to fill the football void, while also expanding on community outreach initiatives to continue serving as one of Kankakee’s largest youth programs.

McNamara’s Rich Zinanni Stadium renovation begins

Bishop McNamara’s football home of 65 years, named Rich Zinanni Stadium since 2019, will look much different once year 66 rolls around. The stadium, named after the hall-of-fame coach who won five state championships and 371 games while coaching the Fightin' Irish for 48 seasons. The new stadium, estimated to cost $1.2-1.5 million, will keep its namesake as the Irish usher in a new generation. The same week the stadium was torn down, Greg Youngblood was hired as the new head football coach.

BBCHS' Zirbel concludes legendary prep swimming career

Bradley-Bourbonnais senior Savannah Zirbel put an end to undoubtedly the most dominant girls swimming career in school history when she earned four medals in her fourth straight trip to the IHSA State Finals last month. Zirbel, who lost most of her left leg and part of her left arm in a childhood accident, broke her own IHSA Athletes with Disabilities 100-yard breaststroke record to earn her 11th career IHSA gold medal, adding four total medals this season, giving her 16 for her career.

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