Difference between revisions of "Peoria Area League"
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*Spoon River Valley (London Mills) | *Spoon River Valley (London Mills) | ||
Revision as of 23:12, 29 November 2023
The Peoria Area League or PAL is a league of high school quiz bowl programs in Central Illinois. It is made up of two divisions - Varsity & JV, composed by schools from around Peoria, Woodford, & Tazewell counties of both classes and various athletic conferences.
Founded in 1997, the league historically was one of the more competitive circuits in Illinois scholastic bowl. Where a top finish in the league indicated potential playoff success, especially for Class A teams. IHSSBCA Hall of Fame coach & Robert Grierson Friend of Scholastic Bowl Award recipient, John Rathbun was the league director for many years. Dunlap coach, Aaron Barrington, is the current director.
The league competes over 5 weeks across January & February on Tuesday nights in triangular meets. Culminating in a tournament for the top placing teams. The league has usually recognized the top-10 scoring players in each division. In its earliest years the league was split geographically - a "West" & "East" division with the Illinois River as the boundary.
For many years, the Peoria Area League used house-written question sets composed of 20 toss ups & "IHSA"-style distribution. In the modern era this has become a point of contention despite many members also resisting adapting to contemporary styles of quiz bowl gameplay (ie powers, negs, no rebounds, etc.) Compounding attempts to modernize the league, the geographic size & overlap between athletic conferences has rendered moving to NAQT an unrealistic solution to this issue. 2023 saw the first to mirror an outside question set, resulting in stronger scoring across the board.
During the COVID-19 2021 season, the Peoria Area League was held over Discord.
Current Members
| School | Location | Mascot | County | Enrollment | IHSA Class | Masonic Class | Athletic Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limestone | Bartonville, IL | Rockets | Peoria | 930 | 2A | 3A | Mid-Illini |
| Brimfield | Brimfield, IL | Indians | Peoria | 221 | 1A | 1A | Prairieland |
| Canton | Canton, IL | Little Giants | Peoria | 683 | 2A | 3A | Mid-Illini |
| Dunlap | Dunlap, IL | Eagles | Peoria | 1287 | 2A | 3A | Mid-Illini |
| East Peoria | East Peoria, IL | Raiders | Tazewell | 985 | 2A | 3A | Mid-Illini |
| Elmwood | Elmwood, IL | Trojans | Peoria | 204 | 1A | 1A | Prairieland |
| Farmington | Farmington, IL | Farmers | Peoria | 410 | 1A | 2A | Prairieland |
| Illinois Valley Central | Chillicothe, IL | Grey Ghosts | Peoria | 610 | 2A | 2A | Illini-Prairie |
| Metamora | Metamora, IL | Redbirds | Woodford | 974 | 2A | 3A | Mid-Illini |
| Morton | Morton, IL | Potters | Tazewell | 961 | 2A | 3A | Mid-Illini |
| Pekin | Pekin, IL | Dragons | Tazewell | 1800 | 2A | 3A | Mid-Illini |
| Peoria Christian | Peoria, IL | Chargers | Peoria | 220 | 1A | 2A | Inter-County Athletic |
| Peoria Heights | Peoria, IL | Patriots | Peoria | 207 | 1A | 1A | Inter-County Athletic |
| Manual Academy | Peoria, IL | Rams | Peoria | 618 | 2A | 2A | Big 12 |
| Peoria High School | Peoria, IL | Lions | Peoria | 1217 | 2A | 3A | Big 12 |
| Notre Dame | Peoria, IL | Irish | Peoria | 729 | 2A | 3A | Big 12 |
| Princeville | Princeville, IL | Princes | Peoria | 236 | 1A | 1A | Lincoln Trail |
| Richwoods | Peoria, IL | Knights | Peoria | 1301 | 2A | 2A | Big 12 |
| Washington | Washington, IL | Panthers | Tazewell | 1369 | 2A | 3A | Mid-Illini |
Former Members
- Eureka
- Galesburg
- Peoria Heights
- Princeville
- Quest Academy
- Spoon River Valley (London Mills)
- Roanoke-Benson
- Woodruff †
Peoria Area League History (Varsity)
| Year | Tournament Champions | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place | Regular Season Champions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dunlap | East Peoria | Illinois Valley Central | Limestone | Dunlap |
| 2022 | Dunlap | Washington | Notre Dame | Illinois Valley Central | Dunlap & Illinois Valley Central |
| 2021 | Illinois Valley Central | Metamora | Dunlap | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
| 2020 | Dunlap | Washington | |||
| 2019 | Dunlap | Dunlap | |||
| 2018 | Dunlap | Dunlap | |||
| 2016 | Metamora | Dunlap | Illinois Valley Central | Richwoods | Illinois Valley Central |
| 2012 | Tournament cancelled due to winter weather. Awards based on regular season standings. | ||||
| 2007 | Washington | Illinois Valley Central | |||
| 2006 | Eureka | Illinois Valley Central | Morton | Woodruff | Morton |
Competitive Success
IHSA State Tournament
- 2017: Dunlap - 4th Place (2A)
- 2015: Peoria Christian - 2nd Place (1A)
- 2013: Peoria Christian - 1st Place (1A)
- 2012: Peoria Christian - 1st Place (1A)
- 2009: Peoria Christian - 4th Place (1A)
- 2006: Illinois Valley Central - 2nd Place (1A)
- 2005: Eureka - 2nd Place (1A)
- 1999: Eureka - 3rd Place (1A)
Masonic State Tournament
- 2013: Peoria Christian - 2nd Place, Elmwood - 4th Place (A)
- 2012: Peoria Christian - 1st Place, Peoria Heights - 2nd Place (A)
- 2011: Peoria Christian - 4th Place (A)
- 2009: Peoria Christian - 3rd Place
- 2006: Peoria Heights - 2nd Place, Elmwood - 4th Place
- 2005: Morton - 3rd Place
- 2004: Morton - 2nd Place
- 2002: Limestone - 2nd Place
- 2000: Eureka - 4th Place
- 1997: Woodruff - 1st Place