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Whatever the season or sport, the prep teams in the Daily Journal coverage area continue to find success. Over the 2024 calendar year, which includes winter and spring sports from the 2023-24 school year and fall sports from 2024-25, a total of 29 teams were crowned IHSA Regional champions, with 10 of those teams going on to earn sectional championships as well. A total of 14 teams qualified for the IHSA State Finals in their respective sports.
As the calendar flips to 2025, Daily Journal sports editor Mason Schweizer reflects back on the top 10 prep teams in the area over the last year.
Coal City wrestling reaches consecutive championship matches
After getting its long-sought team state championship at the 2022-23 IHSA Class 1A Team Wrestling State Finals, Coal City again made the championship match in 2023-24, finishing second overall. The Coalers saw six wrestlers win individual sectional championships, storming through the regional and sectional rounds at both the individual and team levels. They also got an individual gold, as Landin Benson was crowned the 165-pound Class 1A State champion.
Cissna Park girls volleyball makes it back-to-back state trips
Another team that made a consecutive state appearance, Cissna Park made it back-to-back IHSA Class 1A State Finals appearances in girls volleyball this fall. After a fourth-place finish in 2023, they bumped their finish up to third last November. Led by the back-to-back Daily Journal Girls Volleyball Player of the Year, Addison Lucht, and the rest of a deeply talented junior class, the Timberwolves went a combined 71-9 the past two seasons, including a 34-4 mark this season. The same group has also found success on the hardwood, where they were a game away from a state bid last winter.
Wilmington baseball rides winning streak to state
A little over six months after winning the IHSA Class 2A State championship in football, several of the same faces from the gridiron again went downstate, this time in baseball, where the Wildcats finished third in Class 2A. Led by the pitching and middle infield trio of Lucas Rink, Kyle Farrell and Ryan Kettman, the former of whom was the Daily Journal Baseball Player of the Year, the Wildcats went a wowing 28-2 on the year, including a 25-game winning streak that began at Reed-Custer March 25 and didn’t end until a 12-1 state semifinal loss to St. Anthony May 31.
Bradley-Bourbonnais girls flag football places at inaugural State Finals
The IHSA became the latest state high school athletics governing body to embrace one of the world’s fastest-growing sports when it added girls flag football for the 2024-25 school year. Bradley-Bourbonnais and Kankakee, the lone two area schools to take part in the first year, both won regional championships, with the Boilermakers earning an additional couple trophies. They made an improbable 42-22 comeback over Hillcrest in the Rich Township Sectional to make the first-ever IHSA State Finals, where they finished their 17-3 season with the state fourth-place trophy.
Beecher boys basketball makes a run for the ages
The list of IHSA boys basketball teams that went undefeated over the regular season last year is rather short. Beecher. That’s it. The Bobcats went 32-0 over the regular season, setting a new program single-season wins standard. They weren’t done there, as the Bobcats upgraded the trophy case with the program’s second-ever regional championship and first-ever sectional title to boot. Their lone loss came in the super-sectional round to eventual state champion Phillips. A core of four starting seniors led the way, including four-year starter Adyn McGinley, the two-time River Valley Conference Player of the year and consensus first-team Class 2A all-stater.
Wilmington, Coal City football make semifinal runs
The prep football season saw plenty of success in town, where Bradley-Bourbonnais and Kankakee both made the quarterfinals in the same year for the first time ever, but northwest of town, a pair of perennial playoff squads made the deepest pushes. Wilmington, moved up to Class 3A after winning the 2023 Class 2A title, pushed through to the state semifinals again this fall. The Wildcats went 9-0 in the regular season and finished 12-1 when eventual state champion Montini defeated them 42-12 in the semis. Coal City finished the season 10-3 and was a touchdown away from a state trip, falling 21-14 in the Class 4A semifinals to eventual state champion DePaul. Both teams rode the wave of their running backs, Kyle Farrell (Wilmington) and Landin Benson (Coal City), who both broke their schools’ career rushing records.
Blue Devils celebrate best-ever girls basketball season
Ever since Steve Strough took over as the Peotone girls basketball coach in 2008, the Blue Devils were always one of the area’s most consistently solid programs, but in his last season as head coach in 2023-24, they put together perhaps their best season ever. Guided by Daily Journal Player of the Year and two-time all-stater Madi Schroeder, the Blue Devils won their first-ever IHSA Class 2A Sectional last season, with senior guard Addie Graffeo’s game-winner sealing a thrilling 51-50 sectional title win over Watseka. The Blue Devils went 27-5 on their way to their first sectional crown, capping off a three-year stretch in which they went 84-12.
Beecher softball maintains standard of excellence
There’s perhaps no single athletic program amongst local high schools to have the success Beecher softball has had since Kevin Hayhurst took over ahead of the 2002-03 school year. Last spring, Hayhurst earned his 600th career win as the Bobcats went 32-2 and repeated as IHSA Class 2A Sectional champions. They were led by Daily Journal Player of the Year, all-state pitcher and Florida State commit Ava Lorenzatti, who will be back for her senior year this spring and looking to lead the Bobcats to their eighth state appearance under Hayhurst.
Manteno boys soccer kicks way to super-sectionals
With a large core of players who have been together for several years, Manteno’s boys soccer team knew it had potential for a special fall, and it’s safe to say the Panthers delivered. The Panthers won their fourth-ever sectional championship with a dramatic sudden death penalty kick victory over Chicago Christian in the sectional finals. Daily Journal Player of the Year and all-state midfielder Kash Goranson was the headlining talent for Manteno, but with six different players that scored at least 10 goals, the Panthers’ depth is what pushed them to the super-sectional round.
Beecher boys golf swings way to state
As area golf continues to ascend in recent years, an always-solid Beecher program has been able to keep itself at the top of the area pecking order, and the past fall was no exception. Led by IHSA Class 1A bronze medalist Peyton Serafin, the Bobcats won regional and sectional championships on their way to the Class 1A State Finals. It was the Bobcats’ third team trip to state in the past six seasons.
https://daily-journal.com/sports/year-in-review-top-sports-teams/article_20deb7b2-c70b-11ef-b796-a78e248ee5cf.html