The Top 10 BCR Sports Stories for 2023

2023 was abound with state champions and record-setting seasons and accomplishments in the BCR sports year. Here are the top 10 sports stories for the year:

1) St. Bede softball wins state

The St. Bede softball team played its way to the Class 1A state championship, upending two-time defending champ Glasford Illini Bluffs in Peoria.

The Bruins rallied from a 3-0 deficit and got the game-winning hit by senior Madaleyn Torrance to win the title with a 7-6 victory.

The state championship was the first for a girls team in school history and the first in Bureau County since the 1990 Princeton volleyball team.

“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Torrance said.

“It feels amazing. It’s everything I ever imagined. The fans and the team, it just feels so good to do this with everyone,” junior first baseman Maddy Dalton said.

A win that helped propel the Bruins to state and brought much delight was a 3-1 win over Biggsville West Central for the championship of the St. Bede Sectional, avenging the sectional finals loss from a year earlier.

You just may see the Bruins back in the same place next spring with a wealth of talent returning, including aces Reagan Stoudt and Ella Hermes, the BCR Co-Players of the Year.

2) Davis, Resetich go Big 10

Two players from Bureau County signed to play Big 10 football — Princeton’s Teegan Davis (Iowa) and Hall’s Mac Resetich (Illinois).

Davis was an all-state QB/DB for the Tigers’ 3A quarterfinalists. He’d committed to Eastern Illinois, but opened up his recruitment when the Hawkeyes expressed interest.

He said the “tradition at Iowa, its fan base and community and all of its great coaches” are what sold him most on the Hawkeyes.

Davis was the first Princeton product to sign with a Big 10 school since Eric Foresman and Bud Kittler signed with Illinois in the early 1980s. Previously, PHS’s Jim Howard (’70) played for Indiana.

Davis, however, never had a chance to play, sustaining a devastating knee injury in the triple jump during indoor track season. He continues his rehabilitation from a second surgery and made the trip with the Hawkeyes to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

Resetich planned all along to play college baseball. But after a record-setting senior season at Hall in which he ran for 2,227 yards and 30 touchdowns, coach Bret Bielema and the Illini football team threw him a curveball by offering him a full-ride scholarship late.

“You never know what can happen. Anything can happen at any given moment. I had no idea. I’m just shocked as everybody else, I guess,” Resetich said. “I’m definitely excited. I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t sleep the other night. It’s a big deal, makes me super happy.”

Resetich played in 11 games for the Illini, making seven tackles and intercepting a pass. He is the first Bureau County product to play for Illinois since Hall/DePue’s Mike Suarez in the early 1990s.

3) Clippers sail to state title

The Amboy football co-op brought back a state championship to the Bureau County towns of LaMoille and Ohio, the first for either town in any sport.

The Clippers sailed to a 13-0 season, dismantling Ridgewood 74-22 for the 8-man state championship in Monmouth.

There were two players from Ohio — Troy Anderson and Vincent Zembrzuski — and seven from LaMoille — Cody Winn, Ed Fry, Ian and Tate Sundberg, Brayden Klein, Gio Gatza and Evan Flanagan — on the Amboy roster.

It was Amboy’s first state championship since 1984.

4) Tigers basketball rises to No. 1

The Princeton Tigers basketball team was a high-wire act, running and gunning and dunking its way to the No. 1 ranking in the state for the first time in school history.

The Tigers won their first 24 games of the season behind the talents of all-staters Grady Thompson and Teegan Davis, Korte Lawson, Kolten Monroe and Noah LaPorte, the best start in school history.

They finished 32-3, reaching the Sweet 16 before falling to Rockridge in the sectional finals to match the school-best record set by the 1954-55 fourth-place state team.

5) Thompson breaks Ruklick’s record

Grady Thompson shattered the 68-year-old school scoring record held by the legendary Joe Ruklick, finishing with 1,468 career points. Ruklick, who was a prep and collegiate All-American (Northwestern) and went on to play in the NBA, where he scored 1,306 career points.

Thompson averaged 21.8 ppg, becoming the first Tiger to be named First Team All-State since Ruklick in 1955.

6) Princeton football continues success

While some outsiders may have doubted the Princeton Tigers football team, which not only lost Davis, an all-state quarterback, but had to overcome a mid-season loss of senior lineman Bennett Williams to injury, the Tigers never wavered.

With the emergence of sophomore running back Casey Etheridge and the stellar play of all-staters Payne Miller and Noah LaPorte, the Tigers won their sixth straight Three Rivers East division championship and made their fourth straight quarterfinals appearance.

7) Darcy Kepner resigns

Darcy Kepner led the Princeton girls basketball team to its best two-year stretch (48-7) with two Three Rivers East Division championships.

She coached the Tigresses throughout the summer season, but just weeks before the start of official practice she suddenly resigned.

“I’m sad to say I’m stepping away from basketball this year to focus on my own mental health and to spend more time with my family,” she said. “Although this was an incredibly difficult decision, this needs to be my priority right now.”

Tiffany Gonigam, who previously coached at PHS from 2016-2021, returned as head coach.

8) No ‘Minor’ achievement

The Spring Valley Minor League softball team dominated the state tournament, outscoring its five opponents 31-1. The Spring Valley All-Stars defeated Evergreen Park 5-1 in the title game at St. Mary’s Park in La Salle.

There is no advancement beyond state at the minor league level.

9) Tigers throw their weight around

The Princeton boys track team didn’t just send one thrower to the Class 2A state finals, it sent all four of them — sophomore Cade Odell and junior Payne Miller in the shot put, while sophomore Ian Morris and junior Bennett Williams did so in the discus.

The Tigers landed two medals, with Miller placing fifth in the shot and Williams sixth in the discus. Odell (12th) just missed a medal by one spot in the shot.

10) Hall baseball wins sectional

The Hall Red Devils baseball team made its deepest run in the postseason since its 2018 state championship, reaching the Elite 8 before falling to Joliet Catholic 14-4 in the Geneseo Supersectional.

Along the way, the Red Devils beat Three Rivers rivals Rockridge (12-2) and Riverdale (6-5) for the regional title and the Cuba co-op (1-0) and Sherrard (12-7) for the sectional championship.

Other top headlines included: Princeton senior wrestler Augie Christiansen set school single-season record with 50 wins (50-6), placing third at state at 145 pounds; BV senior Elijah House medaled at state track in 800 meters; St. Bede left Three Rivers Conference, returning to the Tri-County and joining Chicago Prairie Football League; Bureau Valley announced it will leave the Three Rivers to join the Lincoln Trail; City of Peru names baseball field at Washington Park after hometown/St. Bede product and retired MLB pitcher JA Happ; Logan Junior High girls basketball teams swept SRC; the district football proposal was voted down for the second time; the Logan softball team makes state.