Winnebago

Location: Winnebago, Illinois
Winnebago Indians
Coaches	Les Fay
State Championships	1993 IHSA, 1995 IHSA, 1994 Masonic
National Championships	1994 Scholastic Showdown
Program Status	Unknown
School Size	Unknown
NAQT Page	link

Winnebago High School in Winnebago, IL, is home to one of the oldest Scholastic Bowl teams in Illinois history. The team was started in 1981 by Karen Niemeier, who served as head coach until 2010.

1981-1987

1987-1991

1992-1996

Winnebago's biggest run of success came in the mid-90's, as the team won the 1993 and 1995 IHSA Class A State Championships, the 1994 Masonic State Championship, and the 1994 Scholastic Showdown.

1997-2000

2001-Present

The team entered a resurgent period in 2001, with a series of good teams led by some old and new names. The team made its first return to state since the mid-90's in 2001. The 2003 team featured seniors Adam Crandall and the last member of the Boeke family, Sara, as well as junior BJ Houlding, but was overshadowed in conference by eventual state champions Stillman Valley and upset in Regionals by Pecatonica. In 2004, a senior class led by Houlding, Ryan Bland, Mindy Milosch, Jimmy Smith, and Josh Ryan won the Big Northern Conference title and a Regional title but narrowly lost in Sectionals to Galena. The 2005 team was led by the last member of the Visel family, Edward, and junior Brad Fischer - both players would make All-State. The team won the Winnebago Invitational, Big Northern Conference, and a second straight Regional championship, but would lose Sectionals to Woodstock Marian by less than 20 points. The 2006 season would see Winnebago attend their most tournaments in a year, including the first attendance at Earlybird, Loyola Ultima, and New Trier Varsity. Captain Brad Fischer placed in the top 4 at Scobol Solo and led the team to their third straight Conference and Regional titles. Bago finally got over its two year streak of underperforming at Sectionals with a commanding win over rival Byron to advance to State. At State, the team defeated Alton Marquette and Fairfield but lost by one question to Latin School in pool play, then defeated Decatur Lutheran to take third place. In 2007, captain Kristin Strey and junior Madeline Dillner led the team to their fourth straight Regional championship before being upset by Morrison at Sectionals. In 2008, Dillner, senior Graham Johnson, and junior Kyler Carlson led the team to another Regional title before falling to Byron, eventual State Runner-Up, at Sectionals.

Noted Team Accomplishments

Big Northern Conference Varsity Titles (?): ?, 2004-06
Big Northern Confernce Fresh-Soph Titles (?): ?, 2004
IHSA Regional Titles (7): 2001-02, 04-08
IHSA Sectional Titles (8): 1989, 92-96, 2001, 06
IHSA Championship Tournament Champions: 1993, 95
IHSA Championship Tournament Third Place: 1994, 2006
Masonic State Championships: 1994

Team Captains

1981-2002: incomplete
2003: Sara Boeke
2004: Ryan Bland, BJ Houlding
2005: Edward Visel, Alec Hill
2006: Brad Fischer
2007: Kristin Strey
2008: Madeline Dillner
2009: Jen Sojka, Kyler Carlson
2010: Aaron Mitchell

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: Adam Crandall
2002-03: Adam Crandall, Brent Houlding
2003-04: Brent Houlding, Ryan Bland
2004-05: Brad Fischer, Edward Visel
2005-06: Brad Fischer
2006-07: Madeline Dillner, Kristin Strey
2007-08: Madeline Dillner, Graham Johnson
2008-09: Diedra Hong
2009-10: Aaron Mitchell

All-State Honorees

2001-02: Adam Crandall (1st team)¹
2003-04: Brent Houlding (1st team)
2004-05: Brad Fischer (1st team), Edward Visel (2nd team)
2005-06: Brad Fischer (1st team)
2007-08: Madeline Dillner (1st team)
2008-09: Diedra Hong (1st team)

Notable Alumni

Notes

Adam Crandall is (as of 2008) one of three players to be named All-State before their senior year, and then not be named All-State subsequently. Crandall lost time from competition in the 2002-03 season due to a ski accident, and participation in other activities. His numbers were far below his junior year, and several other players eligible for All-State honors that year.