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2026 Bureau County Sports Hall of Fame: Teams · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Twenty twenty six Bureau County Sports Hall of Fame Teams
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  Speaker 1: Written by Kevin Hieronymus. This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. This is
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  Speaker 1: the third and final installment of the twenty twenty six
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  Speaker 1: Bureau County Sports Hall of Fame class with a look
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  Speaker 1: at teams being inducted. The Bureau County Sports Hall of
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  Speaker 1: Fame was formed in nineteen ninety five as part of
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  Speaker 1: the BCRs Tribute to Sports program. While the Tribute to
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  Speaker 1: Sports was discontinued in two thousand and five, the Hall
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  Speaker 1: of Fame was reinstituted in twenty sixteen. Fifty five individuals
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  Speaker 1: and twenty three teams have previously been inducted. Nineteen fifty
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  Speaker 1: three Hall Football Richard Nesty's Red Devils outscored their opponents
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and eight fifty four twenty three point one
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  Speaker 1: to six on the way to a perfect nine zero campaign.
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  Speaker 1: Nineteen fifty five, nineteen fifty six, nineteen fifty seven Bowlman Elites,
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  Speaker 1: New Bedford and the Bowman Elites became the fast fast
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  Speaker 1: pitch center of the world when they hosted the World
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  Speaker 1: Tournament in the tiny Bureau County village of ninety eight people.
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  Speaker 1: The hometown Elites placed third in nineteen fifty five in
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  Speaker 1: nineteen fifty six before reaching the championship game in nineteen
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  Speaker 1: fifty seven, finishing second in the world nineteen sixty nine,
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  Speaker 1: nineteen seventy, nineteen seventy one, nineteen seventy two. Manlea's football.
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  Speaker 1: Ken Borkian's Red Devils lost only one game in a
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  Speaker 1: four year span going January first, thirty four. Their only
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  Speaker 1: loss was a thirty six loss to Wyoming in nineteen
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  Speaker 1: seventy one, but they still beat conference champion Princeville. They
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  Speaker 1: had fifteen shutouts forty two percent of their games and
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  Speaker 1: were undefeated nine zero Blackhawk Conference champions in nineteen sixty nine,
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  Speaker 1: nineteen seventy and nineteen seventy two. Nineteen seventy three. Hall football.
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  Speaker 1: Kelly Cain's Red Devils finished nine zero one, ranked No.
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  Speaker 1: Number ten in the United Press Poll as the only
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  Speaker 1: small school to crack the top ten rankings. They played
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  Speaker 1: it one season before the ISSA implemented postseason play. They
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  Speaker 1: outscored their opponents three point fifty six forty three thirty
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  Speaker 1: five point six to four point three, including seven shutouts.
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  Speaker 1: While playing Geneseo to a fourteen to fourteen tie. Nineteen
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  Speaker 1: eighty Princeton State volleyball rita places Tigris's put Princeton on
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  Speaker 1: the map as the first volleyball team from Bureau County
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  Speaker 1: to reach the state tournament. They fell to Elmhurst Ic
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  Speaker 1: Catholic in the Classic quarterfinals, finishing at nineteen five nineteen
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  Speaker 1: eighty eight. Nineteen ninety th Hall Softball the Lady Devils
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  Speaker 1: reached the state tournament twice in three years, only to
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  Speaker 1: fall to eventual state champ Casey Westfield, both times in
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  Speaker 1: the state quarterfinals. Had it not been for an unfortunate
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  Speaker 1: base running error, Hall may have hoisted the state championship trophy.
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  Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety The Lady Devils appeared to have scored
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  Speaker 1: the game winning run with a base loaded walk, but
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  Speaker 1: Hall Runners failed to advance to their base in the
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  Speaker 1: midst of a mass celebration at the plate. Casey appealed
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  Speaker 1: for the out at first and went on to win
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  Speaker 1: six to two and nine innings as well as the
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  Speaker 1: state championship. The nineteen ninety Hall team was undefeated NCIC
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  Speaker 1: champions seven zero, finishing seventeen four nineteen ninety two Saint
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  Speaker 1: Bede baseball. John Bellino's Bruins won twenty two games in
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  Speaker 1: a row, was ranked fifth in the state, and played
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  Speaker 1: their way to the Class A Elite eight. The Bruins
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  Speaker 1: held a team batting average of point three one four,
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  Speaker 1: anchored by Neil Piacenti four thirty eight. Their pitching staff
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  Speaker 1: posted a three point one to seven er, with Piacenti
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  Speaker 1: nine to one and Joe Zelenski ninety two combining for
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  Speaker 1: eighteen of the squad's twenty four victories. The Bruins finished
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  Speaker 1: with a record of twenty four to six, losing to
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  Speaker 1: Harrisburg in the state quarterfinals. Nineteen ninety four Princeton State
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  Speaker 1: Volleyball the last of RITA Places three state squads. The
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  Speaker 1: Tigerses met old state foe Huntley, falling in three sets.
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  Speaker 1: The Tigerses finished July second twenty eight, nineteen ninety five,
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  Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six, nineteen ninety seven. Hall State Volleyball. The
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  Speaker 1: Lady Devils had an impressive three year run to state
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  Speaker 1: under two head coaches. The first trip came in nineteen
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  Speaker 1: ninety five, with Hall to fighting Low Point, Washburn and
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  Speaker 1: Mendota to win its own sectional and shared at the Supersectional.
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  Speaker 1: The Lady Devils fell to perennial powerhouse Wheat in Saint
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  Speaker 1: Francis in the Class A quarterfinals, finishing at thirty eleven.
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  Speaker 1: The Lady Devil's return to state in nineteen ninety six,
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  Speaker 1: this time under coach Lori polt They lost taught to
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  Speaker 1: eventual state champion Briefed Central and three sets in the
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  Speaker 1: state quarter finals, finishing thirty six five. The Lady Devils
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  Speaker 1: beat Newman and Serena at Sectional and host Riverdale at
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  Speaker 1: the Supersectional. The Hall hat trick was completed in nineteen
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  Speaker 1: ninety seven, with Poultes' Lady Devils thirty four seven, returning
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  Speaker 1: to state, falling to third place finisher Mount Pulaski in
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  Speaker 1: the state quarterfinals. The Lady Devils beat Henry Newman at
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  Speaker 1: Sectional and Orion at the Supersectional. Nineteen ninety six Hall
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  Speaker 1: State football, the Red Devils returned to the three Estate
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  Speaker 1: finals off the heels of the nineteen ninety five state championship,
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  Speaker 1: coming up short of a repeat with a twenty three
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  Speaker 1: to twenty loss to Carterville. They finished with a twelve
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  Speaker 1: to two record, including a twenty two to twenty one
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  Speaker 1: quarterfin final win over state power Addison Driscoll two thousand
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  Speaker 1: and one Bureau Valley Boys cross country, the Storm rode
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  Speaker 1: three all staters runner up Jason Bill, sixteenth place Richard Kraft,
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  Speaker 1: and twenty third place Dustin Marquise to a Class A
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  Speaker 1: state runner up finish. The Storm one seventy three finished
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  Speaker 1: second behind Powerhouse Eureka ninety one two thousand and four.
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  Speaker 1: Two thousand and five b V football. The Storm made
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  Speaker 1: it to the three of state finals in two thousand
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  Speaker 1: and four undefeated before falling to Addison Driscoll thirty seven
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  Speaker 1: to fourteen. Finishing thirteen to one. The Storm beat two
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  Speaker 1: perennial playoff powers Bloomington Central Catholic twenty three to six
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  Speaker 1: and Hall fourteen on the way to Champagne. Despite a
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  Speaker 1: great turnover the next season, including a new coach and
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  Speaker 1: Dave Moore, who replaced Jason Kirby, b V finished as
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  Speaker 1: the perfect Storm at fourteen zero with a thirty four
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  Speaker 1: to seven win over Tolno Unity, capturing the two thousand
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  Speaker 1: and five state title. The playoff path led them to
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  Speaker 1: victories over Paxton Buckley Loda forty five to six, Rushville
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  Speaker 1: Industry twenty eight fourteen, Rova twenty two fourteen and Ducoin
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  Speaker 1: thirty three fourteen. Two thousand and five, Bureau Valley State
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  Speaker 1: volleyball Vicky Lytherland's Storm made school history by becoming the
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  Speaker 1: first and only volleyball team to reach state. The Storm
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  Speaker 1: lost to Columbia, the state runner up, in two sets
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  Speaker 1: in the Class A quarterfinals, finishing thirty two five. On
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  Speaker 1: the road to State, the Storm beat Weathersfield and Cherrard
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  Speaker 1: at Sectional and Camp Point Central at the Supersectional two
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  Speaker 1: thousand and five. Hall State Volleyball. Hall joined Bureau Valley
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  Speaker 1: at State in two thousand and five, placing fourth in class,
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  Speaker 1: defeating Jacksonville Route before falling to Columbia and Hartsburg Emden.
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  Speaker 1: Demi Salazar's Lady Devils defeated rival Princeton and Flanagan at
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  Speaker 1: the Sectional before upsetting Mount Asseci Academy at the Seneca Supersectional.
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  Speaker 1: They finished with a thirty three to ten record. Kayley
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  Speaker 1: Klein was the BCR Player of the Year. The Hall
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  Speaker 1: team was named as the bcr's volleyball Team of the Decade.
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  Speaker 1: Two thousand and six, Hall State Girls basketball with first
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  Speaker 1: team All stater Kaylee Klein twenty three point five ppg,
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  Speaker 1: leading the way, Pat Sinnat's Lady Devils reached state for
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  Speaker 1: the first time in school history. They beat rival Saint
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  Speaker 1: Bede for the school's first sectional title and Weathersfield at
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  Speaker 1: Super Sectional to punch their ticket to state, where they
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  Speaker 1: fell to Flanagan seventy five sixty two in the Class
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  Speaker 1: A quarterfinals, finishing twenty nine to four. Two thousand and
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  Speaker 1: six two thousand and seven Princeton girls state soccer Edie
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  Speaker 1: Young's Tigrises made their way to state for the first
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  Speaker 1: time in two thousand and six, shutting out Bloomington Central
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  Speaker 1: Cast for the sectional title before falling to Chicago Latin
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  Speaker 1: five to two in the state quarterfinals. They liked that
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  Speaker 1: so much, the Tigrises did it again in two thousand
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  Speaker 1: and seven, defeating Indian Creek one zero at Sectional to
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  Speaker 1: return to state. They lost to Hampshire one zero, finishing
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  Speaker 1: eighteen four on the year and thirty five eleven over
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  Speaker 1: the two year period. Two thousand and eight Princeton State
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  Speaker 1: volleyball State in zero eight was the battle cry for
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  Speaker 1: Andy Puck's Tigrises, who placed fourth in Class two A
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  Speaker 1: finishing November two twenty eight. They beat rival Hall on
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  Speaker 1: its home court for the regional title, Peoria Christian and
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  Speaker 1: Rockridge at the Bureau Valley Sectional in Wilmington at home
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  Speaker 1: for the supersectional title. Leah Shaw was the BCR Player
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  Speaker 1: of the Year. Twenty thirteen Saint Bete softball, the Lady
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  Speaker 1: Bruins advanced to state for the first time in school history,
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  Speaker 1: placing fourth in Class two A. Coached by Bill Procup,
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  Speaker 1: the Lady Bruins beat Mendota to capture their own regional title,
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  Speaker 1: defeated in Aloman and Stallman Valley to win the Oregon Sectional,
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  Speaker 1: and punched their ticket to state with a six to
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  Speaker 1: one win over Aurora Central Catholic. At the DECALB Supersectional,
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  Speaker 1: they finished eighteen to six. Pitcher Lane Schwikert was the
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  Speaker 1: BCR Player of the Year. Twenty fifteen. Saint Bede baseball.
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  Speaker 1: Bill Booker came over from crosstown rival lasal Peru to
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  Speaker 1: lead the Bruins to a fourth place state finish in
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  Speaker 1: Class two A in twenty fifteen. The Bruins played eventual
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  Speaker 1: state champ Rockford Christian to a two to one to
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  Speaker 1: nine inning loss in the semi finals before falling to
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  Speaker 1: Tudopolis four to one in the third place game. Finishing
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  Speaker 1: twenty three ten thanks to their famous hidden ball pickoff
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  Speaker 1: play was replayed over and over nationally, including ESPN's Plays
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  Speaker 1: of the Day. Booker said the Bruins left as rock stars.
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  Speaker 1: Twenty eighteen Hall State baseball champs. Tom Keegan's Red Devils
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  Speaker 1: put together the most successful baseball season in school history
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  Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen, capturing the class to a state crown
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  Speaker 1: by defeating two Topolis four to one. They finished with
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  Speaker 1: a sparkling thirty three record. They edged rival and host
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  Speaker 1: Princeton two to one for the regional title, slipped past
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  Speaker 1: Poplar Grove North Boon twelve eleven before rocking Allman twelve
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  Speaker 1: one for the sectional title at Fulton, and blasted Brimfield
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  Speaker 1: twelve zero in five innings to take the super Sectional
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  Speaker 1: at Augustana. Seniors Cam MacDonald, Brant Vannerman and ty Raibarcik
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  Speaker 1: and junior Jimmy DiAngelo were named as COBCR Players of
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  Speaker 1: the Year twenty nineteen. Saint Bede Softball. The Saint Bede
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  Speaker 1: softballers made their way back to state in twenty nineteen,
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  Speaker 1: placing third with a two to one win over Harden
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  Speaker 1: Calhoun to finish twenty nine. Rob Ruppert's Lady Bruins beat
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  Speaker 1: Earlville three zero to win their own regional, Marquette seven
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  Speaker 1: to one to win the Indian Creek Sectional, and Villa
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  Speaker 1: Grove five zero to capture the Bloomington Supersectional. Maggie Sons
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  Speaker 1: was the BCR Player of the Year. Twenty twenty three.
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  Speaker 1: Saint Bede's softball Sean Son's Lady Bruins used a strong
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  Speaker 1: dose of moudida to capture the Class one A state championship,
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  Speaker 1: defeating Elani Bluff's seven to six in the title game
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  Speaker 1: to finish July first, twenty six. Saint Bede junior catcher
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  Speaker 1: Bella Pinter explained that mudida means having the same amount
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  Speaker 1: of happiness for someone else as if you did it yourself.
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  Speaker 1: Saint Beide throttled its five postseason foes forty two to
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  Speaker 1: three on the path to Peoria. Juniors Ella Hermes and
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  Speaker 1: Reagan Stout were COBCR Players of the Year twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: three to twenty four. Saint Bede girls basketball. Stephanie Mickley
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  Speaker 1: coached at Saint Bede just one season, but made it
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  Speaker 1: a memorable one by taking the Lady Bruins to the
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  Speaker 1: ISA State Tournament for the first time, finishing fourth in
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  Speaker 1: Class one A. They edged Serena fifty forty eight for
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  Speaker 1: Saint Beide's second sectional championship in school history, and beat
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  Speaker 1: Skokie Eta Crown seventeen to fifty four for the super sectional.
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  Speaker 1: They fell to eventual won A champion Okauville in the
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  Speaker 1: state semifinals and Altamont in the third place game. Finishing
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  Speaker 1: twenty nine nine, Ali Bosnik was the BCR Player of
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  Speaker 1: the Year.