1991 IHSA State Championship Tournament
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The 1991 Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championship Tournament was held at Lanphier High School in Springfield. It was the fifth State Championship Tournament in Illinois, sponsored by the IHSA.
Advancement
The state was divided into 16 areas, termed in Illinois as Sectionals. Each sectional hosted a tournament, the winner of which advanced to the State Tournament. The determination of these geographic boundaries was arbitrarily decided by the IHSA Office.
Tournament Format
Each round was comprised of 30 toss-ups and accompanying bonus questions. The sectional tournaments and State Championship Tournament were all single elimination. Teams were randomly assigned to positions in the bracket without regard for record or performance.
There was no third place match. The top two teams earned trophies and medals for team members, coaches, principals, and activities directors. The trophies were of the design smaller than that of the athletic trophies given out by the IHSA.
Octafinals
| Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan | 345 | Rockridge | 307 |
| Evanston | 314 | Herrin | 180 |
| Bloomington | 351 | IMSA | 276 |
| Cary-Grove | 283 | Notre Dame (Peoria) | 210 |
| Joliet Catholic | 382 | Homewood-Flossmoor | 232 |
| Wheaton North | 473 | Dixon | 111 |
| Centralia | 331 | MacArthur | 210 |
| Lanphier | 258 | Quincy | 245 |
Quarterfinals
| Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evanston | 329 | Sullivan | 251 |
| Cary-Grove | 318 | Bloomington | 237 |
| Wheaton North | 362 | Joliet Catholic | 164 |
| Centralia | 307 | Lanphier | 251 |
Semifinals
| Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cary-Grove | 329 | Evanston | 298 |
| Centralia | 417 | Wheaton North | 239 |
Finals
| Winning Team | Score | Losing Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centralia | 376 | Cary-Grove | 222 |
Notes
- This was the first State Championship Tournament not to be held at Mahomet-Seymour, and the first of three to be held at Lanphier.
- This tournament marked the end of the "Open Era" in Illinois Scholastic Bowl. Starting next year, Scholastic Bowl would award two State Titles.
- This would be the last state tournament to not feature a third place match.
- As of 2008, Centralia is the only team from southern Illinois (south of Springfield) to win either a championship in the Open Era or as a Class AA (big school) team.
- Bloomington became the first team to defeat IMSA at a State Championship Tournament. Only Stevenson in 2000 would ever claim the honor of defeating IMSA in the first round of a single elimination State Championship.
- This year marked the State Championship Tournament debut for Wheaton North and MacArthur. While Wheaton North would make several more appearances, this would be the last time they would finish in the top four until 2001.
- With the class system coming next year, Sullivan was the only future small school (class A) to reach the quarterfinals. This compared to 6 in 1987, 1988, and 1990, and 4 in 1989.
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