Editor's note: This is the English translation of the story. Para leer la traducción al español de la historia, haz clic aquí . Peoria played host to a soccer spectacle unlike any other that’s been seen in the city when Peoria City, the third-year USL League Two squad, welcomed some famed international visitors and thousands of fans who packed into Shea Stadium over the course of two days.

With five consecutive Class 1A State Finals appearances and two state championships since 2021, small-school softball in Illinois has been dominated by Illini Bluffs for the last few years. With many of the Tigers’ starters set to return next year, there’s no indication that that trend will stop anytime soon either.  An overcast, drizzly Saturday just happened to be the day where state newcomer Ridgewood broke through the clouds to take down Goliath in a 3-1 victory over Illi

The best boys track and field athletes in Central Illinois wrote the final chapter in their season on Saturday at the IHSA State Finals. There’d be enough of them to write a book.  When all was said and done, the book of Isaiah was Saturday’s bestseller, as Bloomington Central Catholic pole vaulter Isaiah Whitaker and Elmwood/Brimfield distance runner Isaiah Hill won Class 1A state championships and left nothing to doubt in a pair of dominating performances.  Morton’s senior-

The weather conditions for Dunlap’s Class 3A regional semifinal game against Geneseo on Tuesday were less than ideal, with howling winds blowing out to right field and the threat of severe storms on the horizon. Meanwhile, Dunlap’s star sophomore pitcher Sutton Centoni rolled through a 15-strikeout, one-hit performance to help the Eagles take an 11-1 win as the dark skies subsided. One couldn’t fault the storm front for not wanting to mess with Centoni either.  That performan

It’s often said that you can’t build a house without a sturdy foundation, and that’s what Peoria City did this offseason as they added over 50 years of experience to their front office. As former Bradley men’s soccer head coach Jim DeRose stepped into the role of Peoria City president, he brought along former Bradley Director of Event Operations Bobby Parker.  Now fully invested in the USL League Two side, the DeRose and Parker duo is set to be the strong backbone that the Ca

Sectional track and field meets can induce a lot of stress and worry.  It’s a unique sport where athletes know exactly what needs to be done – finishing in a certain time, throwing or jumping a certain length, or being one of the top two finishers in an event – to fulfill their dream and advance to the state’s biggest stage.  Many area athletes saw those goals fulfilled, and their anxiousness washed away in scenes of jubilation at the Class 2A Metamora Sectional on Thursday.

MORTON — Morton’s baseball team has made many in Potter Nation feel proud. The Potters carry a 21-5 record as of Wednesday morning while playing a challenging schedule and an 8-3 mark in Mid-Illini play, tied for the top spot in the conference. But there’s a few people who can feel extra proud of what the team, and specifically sophomore Collin Burns, has done.  Burns, a multi-sport athlete who also plays basketball, has played baseball “as long as he can remember”. He comes

Eureka High School’s track and field program has boasted some of the best runners in the state.  The Hornets have built and grown off one another, making Eureka into the machine that it has been and still is, as Eureka continues to be one of the top performing teams in the state with the postseason right around the corner.

“Down goes Frazier!” is an iconic line in sports lore, uttered by Howard Cosell when broadcasting a heavyweight boxing match between Joe Frazier and George Foreman in 1973.  But it’s not a line that you’ll hear often in regards to the 2024 Olympia Spartans softball team.  Senior Danika Frazier has proved to be one of the most valuable players that Central Illinois has to offer on the diamond and has helped Olympia punch far above its weight in terms of next-level talent on it

Sports can provide opportunities of a lifetime for anybody. That was the case when Washington High School welcomed four new students to its campus through their foreign exchange program this school year: Lydia Bokenblom, Natcharin Karasin, Pinsinee Pakdeesirikasem and Sohee Kyoung.

Walking into the Peoria Notre Dame gym on a stormy Thursday night, the Irish baseball team was going through their end-of-practice “mental toughness” drill, as head coach Jon Lowry called it.  The team split at both ends of the basketball court with their backs against the wall and completed eight minutes of wall-sits. In those eight minutes, each side yelled across the court at the other and created an intense team-building moment. Not a single player dropped to the floor.

Over the past few years, the usage of props on sidelines and in dugouts have become more and more common.  In college baseball, teams will use hats, jackets, and even traffic cones to recognize a player that just hit a home run or did something spectacular. In football, teams have used slot machines, tridents, and other wearable accessories to celebrate a touchdown or interception. Even Eureka High School's baseball team gives out a chain with a baseball attached to the end o

Only a very small percentage of high school and college baseball players are drafted by an MLB team. Even fewer are able to play their way through through the minor league system and step foot on a major league field.  Although for players on Tremont and Delavan, they got to see their lifelong baseball dreams come true on April 14 by getting the opportunity to play at Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals. Tremont utility player Brady Booth and every other member

It’s fairly common to see a high school athlete being named the player of the game, either by their own team or by the media. But Pekin girls soccer is an exception to the norm.

BRIMFIELD — Sports are all about overcoming obstacles. Whether it's overcoming a defense to score in basketball or a hazard to score in golf, obstacles are a part of what makes sports … well, sports. Brimfield’s Sawyer Drury doesn’t just have the obstacles her sports present her. She also has to overcome her own obstacle: hearing loss.

NORMAL — In the game of baseball, games are often won on the mound. Pitching will make or break any team across any level. They say that for this reason, you can never have enough pitching.

A large majority of IHSA tennis teams call the Chicago area home. Similarly, many state title winners hail from up near the Windy City. However, one of the state's loudest, most dominant, most successful tennis teams is located right in Peoria’s backyard and the Dunlap Eagles are gearing up for another run to state in Class 1A.

East Peoria softball has proven to be one of the most consistent teams on the softball diamond over the years. But the Raiders aren’t always just steady, they’re often very dominant.  They’ve had over a dozen 20-win seasons since the turn of the century, along with multiple regional titles and a Class 3A state runner-up in 2016-17 that have made them into a household name in Illinois.

Midway through the 2023 season, after coming out of its third game without a victory and a 3-1 loss to Belleville West, it was safe to say that Normal U-High girls soccer wasn't playing as good as they knew they could. “About halfway through the season, we weren't just quite clicking,” Pioneers head coach Hayley Sefton said. “Like you can see like glimpses, you can see we play really, really well and then we [don’t] play quite as well and it could be all in the same game with

When spring rolls around, the chirping of birds is a welcome sound of the season for many. When the “ping” of the bats and the pop of the glove is heard,  it signifies good things for East Peoria. The East Peoria Raiders baseball team is heating up and finding its groove with a 7-0 start and Matt Plummer, in his 22nd season as head coach of East Peoria, has the pieces to do something special this season.