Bradley-Bourbonnais
| Bradley-Bourbonnais Boilermakers | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: Bradley, Illinois | |
| Coaches | Mike Dorsam |
| Program Status | active |
| School Size | 1951 |
| NAQT Page | link |
Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School is a public high school in Bradley, Illinois just outside of Kankakee and the south suburbs of Chicago. It competes in Class AA, the "large school" division, of the Illinois High School Association's (IHSA) State Championship Series. The Boilermakers also compete in the Southwestern Suburban Conference.
The Boilermakers are one of the older programs in Illinois Scholastic Bowl. The history of the program pre-dates back to the mid-1970's, when future IHSSBCA Hall of Fame Coach Gene Kruse created the team. During Kruse's tenure, Bradley-Bourbonnais was a force around local & state tournaments throughout the 1990's, culminating in two State championship appearances finishing 2nd in 1992 & 1994. One of its top players from that era, Greg Lindsay, played for Illinois, tried to write a Quiz Bowl article for Playboy, and is rumored to have beaten IBM's Watson at Jeopardy! Kruse & the Boilermakers were also key in organizing the South Inter-Conference Association (SICA), which would later become the Southwestern Suburban Conference. Kruse retired in 1995. Bradley-Bourbonnais continued their success into the mid-2000's under the leadership of Barb Amster, regularly challenging for Conference & Sectional titles. Amster was inducted into the IHSSBCA Hall of Fame in 2021. Giving the school the distinction of being one of the few to boast multiple Hall of Fame coaches.
Today the program is a shadow of their former glory residing as a midfield team. Since Coach Amster's retirement in 2013, the program has seen the emergence of Sandburg & Lincoln-Way East to challenge former rivals Homewood-Flossmoor.
Notable Team Accomplishments
- IHSA State Tournament: 1994 - 2nd Place (2A), 1992 - 2nd Place (2A)
- IHSA Sectional titles: 2010-2A, 2005-2A, 2004-2A, 1996-2A, 1994-2A, 1992-2A, 1987-2A
- IHSA Regional titles: (10) 2017-2A, 2013-2A, 2010-2A, 2009-2A, 2008-2A, 2007-2A, 2006-2A, 2005-2A, 2004-2A, 2003-2A
- Masonic State Qualifiers: 2013-AA, 2012-AA, 2008, 2004, 1998
- Southwest Suburban Conference Champions: 2014, 2013, 2006
Individual Awards
IHSSBCA All-Sectional Honorees
- 2023: Brandon Corona (2A)
- 2022: Dakota Gordon (2A)
- 2016: Nick Blanchette (2A)
- 2015: Robert Pearl (2A)
- 2014: Mitchell Almquist, Grant Cox (2A)
- 2013: Joshua Steele, Zach Themer (2A)
- 2012: Robert Rosene, Zach Themer (2A)
- 2011: Erik Lubben, Suraj Batish (2A)
- 2010: Jacob Barker, Molly Minas (2A)
- 2009: Ajay Haryan, Brian Ginn (2A)
- 2008: Jacob Blair, Ajay Haryani (2A)
- 2007: Thomas Basset, Jacob Blair (2A)
- 2006: Jimmy Hammond, Nikki Winn (2A)
- 2005: Tim Notton (2A)
- 2004: Amy Minas (2A)
- 2003: Amy Minas (2A)
- 2002: Daniel Bassett (2A)
IHSSBCA All-State Honorees
- 2008: Jacob Blair (Second Team) Class 2A
- 2004: Amy Minas (First Team) Class 2A
- 2003: Amy Minas (Second Team) Class 2A