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Jul. 21—Consistent success has followed Welter every step of his coaching journey. Since he became the Sages' football coach in 2009, Monticello has never missed the playoffs. The Sages had to replace several key contributors off of its 2024 Class 3A state runner-up team and still produced an 8-3 record, nearly topping eventual state runner-up Unity before falling to the Rockets 21-20 in the second round of the 3A playoffs.
Champaign Central baseball
The all-time wins leader in Champaign Central baseball history isn't slowing down. The Maroons put together a 32-7 season this past spring that featured a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season title and a sixth straight Class 3A regional championship. All told, Staab is now 538-338 in his 25 seasons from the Central dugout, and has led five Central teams to at least 30 wins since 2013.
The second-year Rockets coach has kept the program near the top echelon in the area after the former Unity assistant coach replaced Aimee Davis before the 2024 season. Unity finished with a 28-8 record this spring that included a second consecutive Class 2A regional championship, a trip to the Sweet 16 and an outright Illini Prairie Conference championship. Reed is now 61-13 during his tenure leading Unity softball, with the Rockets showing no signs of slowing down.
It doesn't seem to matter whether it's in the fall with the Bulldogs' girls' program or in the winter with the Bulldogs' boys' program. O'Donnell and his group of swimmers and divers are giving programs with a much longer track record of success, like Centennial and Champaign Central, a push. Like when the M-S girls' program won its first sectional title this past November.
One standout athlete can essentially give a track and field program a chance to bring home a respectable finish at the state meet every year. But the body of work done throughout the course of a season can't be lost, either, and West helped Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin become a dominant force this spring by winning a Vermilion County title, a Vermilion Valley Conference title and a Class 1A sectional title in addition to a 10th-place finish at the 1A state meet.
Bozarth will enter his 10th season in charge of his alma mater this upcoming winter. If the pastis any indication, it'll be another season of success. Tuscola has consistently generated wins and IHSA hardware during Bozarth's tenure. That run continued this past season when Tuscola went 28-7 and won the program's fifth straight Class 1A regional title. Bozarth is now 210-74 leading the Warriors. Impressive.
For a school that has only had six coaches in this sport since its inception in 1967, Hutchison is already in elite company to begin with. But the Chargers have experienced success before, highlighted by a Class 3A state championship in 2009 and a trip to the 1984 Class AA state tournament. In only his second season, Hutchison led Centennial to an 18-15 record that featured a season sweep of Champaign Central and the program's first 3A regional title since 2021.
Schonauer has already proven his coaching chops on the sidelines during boys' basketball games, first at Paxton-Buckley-Loda and now at M-S, where he guided the Bulldogs to a 19-8 record this season. But he also undertook a new coaching responsibility, too, with the M-S girls' flag football program in a sport that seems bound to grow even more in the coming years.
The efforts the Vikings put forth during the IHSA Class 2A state meet on May 22-23 at O'Brien Field in Charleston are ones that future Danville teams will try to strive for. Bolstered by a pair of 2A state champions, with Jamia Esther taking first in the 200-meter dash and Samantha Brown winning the pole vault, along with runner-up finishes in two sprint relays, Danville finished second in the team standings and took home the program's best-ever state trophy.
10. Scott Davis
Champaign Central tennis
A round of applause to Davis, who is retiring after coaching with the Maroons for the past 42 years. Whether it was as the recent coach of the girls' and boys' tennis teams or as Central's boys' basketball coach who won 330 games from 1992 to 2013, Davis did it all. His last coaching endevaors helped Daniel Canivez and Sohum Gurrapu place sixth in doubles at the Class 2A boys' tennis state tournament.
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Champaign Central baseball
The all-time wins leader in Champaign Central baseball history isn't slowing down. The Maroons put together a 32-7 season this past spring that featured a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season title and a sixth straight Class 3A regional championship. All told, Staab is now 538-338 in his 25 seasons from the Central dugout, and has led five Central teams to at least 30 wins since 2013.
The second-year Rockets coach has kept the program near the top echelon in the area after the former Unity assistant coach replaced Aimee Davis before the 2024 season. Unity finished with a 28-8 record this spring that included a second consecutive Class 2A regional championship, a trip to the Sweet 16 and an outright Illini Prairie Conference championship. Reed is now 61-13 during his tenure leading Unity softball, with the Rockets showing no signs of slowing down.
It doesn't seem to matter whether it's in the fall with the Bulldogs' girls' program or in the winter with the Bulldogs' boys' program. O'Donnell and his group of swimmers and divers are giving programs with a much longer track record of success, like Centennial and Champaign Central, a push. Like when the M-S girls' program won its first sectional title this past November.
One standout athlete can essentially give a track and field program a chance to bring home a respectable finish at the state meet every year. But the body of work done throughout the course of a season can't be lost, either, and West helped Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin become a dominant force this spring by winning a Vermilion County title, a Vermilion Valley Conference title and a Class 1A sectional title in addition to a 10th-place finish at the 1A state meet.
Bozarth will enter his 10th season in charge of his alma mater this upcoming winter. If the pastis any indication, it'll be another season of success. Tuscola has consistently generated wins and IHSA hardware during Bozarth's tenure. That run continued this past season when Tuscola went 28-7 and won the program's fifth straight Class 1A regional title. Bozarth is now 210-74 leading the Warriors. Impressive.
For a school that has only had six coaches in this sport since its inception in 1967, Hutchison is already in elite company to begin with. But the Chargers have experienced success before, highlighted by a Class 3A state championship in 2009 and a trip to the 1984 Class AA state tournament. In only his second season, Hutchison led Centennial to an 18-15 record that featured a season sweep of Champaign Central and the program's first 3A regional title since 2021.
Schonauer has already proven his coaching chops on the sidelines during boys' basketball games, first at Paxton-Buckley-Loda and now at M-S, where he guided the Bulldogs to a 19-8 record this season. But he also undertook a new coaching responsibility, too, with the M-S girls' flag football program in a sport that seems bound to grow even more in the coming years.
The efforts the Vikings put forth during the IHSA Class 2A state meet on May 22-23 at O'Brien Field in Charleston are ones that future Danville teams will try to strive for. Bolstered by a pair of 2A state champions, with Jamia Esther taking first in the 200-meter dash and Samantha Brown winning the pole vault, along with runner-up finishes in two sprint relays, Danville finished second in the team standings and took home the program's best-ever state trophy.
10. Scott Davis
Champaign Central tennis
A round of applause to Davis, who is retiring after coaching with the Maroons for the past 42 years. Whether it was as the recent coach of the girls' and boys' tennis teams or as Central's boys' basketball coach who won 330 games from 1992 to 2013, Davis did it all. His last coaching endevaors helped Daniel Canivez and Sohum Gurrapu place sixth in doubles at the Class 2A boys' tennis state tournament.
Continue reading...
