Alton

Alton Redbirds
Location: Alton, Illinois
Coaches	Chris Ford
State Championships	none
Program Status	active
School Size	1971
NAQT Page	link

Alton Senior High School is a large public high school in Alton, Illinois located near St. Louis. It competes in Class AA, the "large school" division, of the Illinois High School Association’s State Championship Series. The Panthers also compete in the Southwestern Conference & Metro East Quad League. Along with rivals, Granite City & O'Fallon, the Redbirds are one of the more competitive large schools in the Metro-East region.

Under the leadership of coach, Chris Ford, Alton's scholar bowl team has seen a resurgence in recent years. During the 2019-2020 season, the Redbirds won the IHSSBCA Kickoff Tournament, going 11-0, while twice beating their chief rivals of the Metro East Quad League, Carbondale. Later that year, the team won its Sectional and made its first trip to Masonic State in over fifteen years. Their main varsity players were Kieran Favazza (Science, Social Science, Philosophy), Ethan Plate (Literature, Fine Arts), Thomas Gehrig (History), Billy Yinger (Mythology, Religion, Geography), and Olivia Gehrig.

Notable Team Accomplishments

• IHSA Sectional titles: 2021-2A, 1998-2A, 1992-2A
• IHSA Regional titles: 2023-2A, 2022-2A, 2021-2A, 2019-2A, 2017-2A, 2015-2A, 2004-2A, 2003-2A
• Masonic State Qualifiers: 2020-3A, 2006
• Metro East Quad League Champions: 2021, 2020, 2018
• IHSSBCA Kickoff Champions: 2019
• IHSSBCA Turnabout Champions: 2023, 2022

Individual Awards

IHSSBCA All-Sectional Honorees

• 2023: Tucker Gehrig (2A)
• 2020: Kieran Favazza, Ethan Plate, Thomas Gehrig (2A)

IHSSBCA All-State Honorees

• 2024: Tucker Gehrig (Second Team) Class 2A
• 2023: Tucker Gehrig (Second Team) Class 2A