News Progress

•December 31, 2025•

by E. Scott England

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) recently sent out a referendum ballot to the 802 member high schools. Twelve bylaw changes were on the ballot with all twelve being approved. Several proposed changes were a little controversial, with changes to the 2026 high school playoffs leading the charge.

Over 90% of the districts voted on the proposed change, with 377 voting yes, 252 voting no, and 96 choosing to abstain or not vote. The playoff expansion, set to go into effect next season, expands the number of teams per class from 32 to 48. Adding the additional sixteen teams per class raises the number of teams from 256 to 384 in the playoffs.

•December 31, 2025•

by E. Scott England

The Sullivan Redskins had five days off following their last game, a loss to Monticello. That was just enough days of practice and rest to get themselves prepared for the Dieterich Holiday Tournament. Play began the day after Christmas and continued through Saturday.

•December 24, 2025•

by E. Scott England

The Sullivan Lady Redskins continued their dominance of the Lincoln Prairie conference last week. They hold the top spot with a record of 4-0 in conference play. The first game of the week was against the ALAH Lady Knights. The week wrapped up on the road against the Unity Christian Lady Lions.

Home against ALAH

ALAH came to Sullivan riding on the heels of their victory against Heritage. A smaller team with not a lot of depth on the bench, the Lady Knights struggled from the start against Sullivan and their widely rotated roster. The Lady Redskins started strong with a full pressure defense that led to many pass deflections, steals, and blocks. They held ALAH to just three points in the first quarter and seven points in the second quarter.

The Sullivan Blue Dolphins traveled to Bloomington on December 6th and 7th to compete at the Bruce Walker Memorial Meet hosted by BNSC. It was a preliminary final meet where they had many swimmers make it to the finals. Podium place finishes top 8 in finals: Michaela Blickensderfer, Emily Crosier, Kinsley Eads, Aubrey Fultz, Charles Guyot, and Kylan Hall. Stella Perrot was the Eight and Under High Point Girl. 

•December 17, 2025•

by E. Scott England

Unfortunately, inclement weather last Saturday forced the cancellation of the Redskins Christmas Shootout. However, in the days leading up to that cancelled event, and coming off a couple of tough non-conference losses, the Lady Redskins were looking at getting back in their familiar spot in the win column. They did just that with two conference wins last week against two contrasting teams.

 Undefeated Hawks

The first game of last week for the Lady Redskins was a home contest against the undefeated Heritage Lady Hawks from Broadlands, IL. Stats from the game were not made available to the News Progress prior to the printing deadline. Sullivan did deliver Heritage their first loss of the season though with a final score of 45-33.