Fall and Winter Sports Wrap Up

The CM athletes have had another great year! Being a student athlete takes hard work, dedication, and time management. All CM athletes show true sportsman attributes both on and off the field and deserve all the accolades they receive over their respected season. In no particular order, this is a wrap of the 2023-2024 fall and winter sports. 

Cross country, coached by Jacob Peal, had a very successful season. The boys team won county at Granite, first at conference, and sent many boys to state. The girls team made it to regionals, and Shelby Quick made it to sectionals. 

The girls golf team saw a large increase in players this year, as many freshmen joined the team. Coached by Jane Middelton, the team had a very solid 2023 season as they won most of their matches and did well at regionals. Peyton Phillips got a 32, the best score of the season at the CM home course. The team mostly played at Spencer Tee and Clover Leaf. Boys golf had a similarly great year as the coach Jay Walters coached the team to state. They also mainly played at Spencer Tee. 

Girls tennis had a very triumphant season. Abigail Harms and Emma Davis put up quite the fight for their opponents as they got 2nd in their doubles flights and went on to get 1-2 at IHSA state. Senior Avery Wilson got 3rd in the 4 singles and the previously mentioned sophomore Abigail Harms got 2nd in the 3 singles. Their season ended with a 12-6 record for all team matches. They were coached by Margaret Welbourne. 

Volleyball, coached by Kristie Ochs, Katie Wooldridge, and Shari Verdun had a great year as they made it to the first round of regionals. They began practice in the summer and the season went from August to October. Boys soccer had a similarly great season as they finished 5th in the conference and ended with a 14-10 record. They were coached by Derek Jarman. Varsity football had an ending record of 2-7 for the 23-24 season. They were coached by Rick Reinhart with assistant coach Luke Meyer.  

Boys bowling got 3rd at regionals, went to sectionals, and had one teammate, sophomore Kale McMichael go to state. The boys were coached by Shane Stille and the girls were coached by Jessica Vahn. The varsity boys basketball team was coached this season by Lee Green, Andy Dreith, and Christian Burnet. Their final record was 11-21 and they went 2-9 in the conference. 

Competition cheer had a very victorious season! The team got third at Highland High School and there qualified for ICCA state. They went on to win ICCA state in Springfield, which had not been done since 2007. They won sectionals in Mt. Vernon which had not been accomplished by the team since 2009. They went to IHSA state and overall had an extremely successful season that exceeded all expectations. They were coached and led to these victories by Jenna Daniels and Kyleigh Heflin. 

Scholar Bowl played 30 matches over their season and went 18-12. They were coached by Mr. Phillips. The ESports winter season competed in Fortnite, Overwatch 2, and Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The Fortnite team made it to the IHSEA state playoffs and finished 25th out of the state. The Overwatch 2 team finished 5th in our division. The coaches were Zachary Hearn, Bradley Phillips, Jacob Book, and Mason Jerman. 

The season for girls basketball began on October 31st with their first practice and ended on February 12th. Their season was finished by losing the first round of regionals, and they ended with a 22-10 record. Sophomore Marley Durbin said that, “We were a very close knit team and it was very fun to play all season.” Mike Arbthunot, Jeff Durbin, Taylor Bedar, and Mackenzie Sutton were the coaches. 

Pazzazz, the school’s dance team, competed three times in regional IDTA competitions with one pom routine. They were coached by Jenny Spurgeon, Tatum Darr, Kat Wilson, Kaityln Depping, and Joy Brueggerman. 

Wrestling had another extremely successful season and had another IHSA state winner with senior Bryce Griffin. Senior Caleb Scott won third place at state and accomplished his 100th high school win. The girls wrestling team had their first tournament at Granite City and finished top 7 as a team at the first ever IHSA girls wrestling regional. Their season began in October and ended in February. The teams were coached by Chad Young, Ryan Griffin, Brendan Snyder, Mikey Smith, Todd Hamaford, and Jeremy Christeson. 

Civic Memorial had great fall and winter seasons for sports, and we can only hope that next year will be even better. GO EAGLES!