Auburn (Rockford, IL)

Auburn Knights
Location: Rockford, Illinois
Coaches	Linda Greene (1993-pres)
State Championships	2008 Masonic; 2008 IHSA; 2008 NAQT, 2009 NAQT 2010 NAQT
Program Status	Unknown
School Size	Unknown
NAQT Page	link

Auburn High School is a public high school located on the west side of the city of Rockford, Illinois. In addition to being a public high school, it also is home to a gifted Academy which serves all of the Rockford public schools. It is this academy from which the quizbowl team controversially draws many of its top players.

The Knights currently compete as a member of the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC-10). It also competes in Class AA, the "large school" division, of the Illinois High School Association's (IHSA) State Championship Series. The current coach is Linda Greene.

History

There's been a team at Auburn at least since the early 90's. In the new milennium, Auburn's team has been one of the most consistently good teams in Illinois, finishing in the top four at state for eight straight years, from 2002-2009. Highlights during this period include a triple crown of state championships (IHSA, Masonic, and NAQT) in 2008, an NAQT state championship in 2009, and a 7th place finish at the 2009 HSNCT.

Noted Team Accomplishments

• IHSA Regional Titles (11): 1998-2000, 2002-10
• IHSA Sectional Titles (8): 2002-10
• IHSA Championship Tournament Champion: 2008
• IHSA Championship Tournament Runner-Up: 2003, 2009-10
• IHSA Championship Tournament Third Place: 2004-07
• IHSA Championship Tournament Fourth Place: 2002

IHSSBCA Individual Awards

The following were honored by the Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association (IHSSBCA) for outstanding play through their All-Sectional/All-State Program. Each sectional comprises roughly 24 geographically concentrated teams, and thus roughly 125 starting players. Through the 2006-07 season, the top ten players were recognized in each sectional,(starting with 2007-08, the number was raised to 15) with teams restricted to no more than two nominations (three nominations starting in 2007-08). There are twenty All-State awards given each year (10 First Team, 10 Second Team) in each of Illinois' two classes.

All-Sectional Honorees

• 2001-02: Nabeel Ahmed, Nick Mann
• 2002-03: Peter Brooks, Chad Casarotto
• 2003-04: Chad Casarotto, Tyler Kerr
• 2004-05: Tyler Kerr, Colleen "Danger" Powers
• 2005-06: Tyler Kerr, Colleen "Danger" Powers
• 2006-07: John Brown, Siva Sundaram
• 2007-08: John Brown, Michael Jiang, Siva Sundaram
• 2008-09: Zahed Haseeb, Michael Jiang, Siva Sundaram
• 2009-10: Jordan Hoffman, Lloyd Sy, Zahed Haseeb

As of the 2007-08 season, Auburn's 15 All-Sectional honorees is the most of any school in the state, tied with New Trier.

All-State Honorees

• 2001-02: Nick Mann (1st Team)
• 2002-03: Chad Casarotto (2nd Team)
• 2003-04: Chad Casarotto (1st Team)
• 2004-05: Tyler Kerr (1st Team), Colleen "Danger" Powers (2nd Team)
• 2005-06: Tyler Kerr (1st Team), Colleen "Danger" Powers (1st Team)
• 2006-07: Siva Sundaram (1st Team), John Brown (2nd Team)
• 2007-08: John Brown (1st Team), Siva Sundaram (1st Team), Michael Jiang (2nd Team)
• 2008-09: Michael Jiang (1st Team), Siva Sundaram (1st Team)
• 2009-10: Lloyd Sy (1st Team), Zahed Haseeb (1st Team)

Through the end of the 2007-08 season, Auburn players have earned more First Team All-State, and more overall All-State awards than any program in Illinois, both records tied with Wheaton North. Additionally, in 2007-08, Auburn became the first school to place three players on the All-State Team. This was the first year that a team could have three players nominated for All-State honors.

Playing for Team Illinois

• Tyler Kerr (2005, 2006)
• John Brown (2008)
• Siva Sundaram (2008)
• Lloyd Sy (2010, 2011)

IHSA State Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
New Trier	2008	Carbondale

Illinois Masonic State Tournament Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
Maine South	2008	Carbondale