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BBCHS Scholastic Bowl team heading to state finals

The BBCHS Scholastic team won the sectional title on March 14, 2026. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Saloni Patel, Libby Johnson, Pine Kimery, Olivia Bray, Jiya Rana, and Emily Lyle. In the back row, from left, are Landon Eilers, Xavier Schultz, Jude Wood, Chris Urban, Oliver Munson, and Cameron Gross. Not pictured is Jack Schelling.

The BBCHS Scholastic team won the sectional title on March 14, 2026. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Saloni Patel, Libby Johnson, Pine Kimery, Olivia Bray, Jiya Rana, and Emily Lyle. In the back row, from left, are Landon Eilers, Xavier Schultz, Jude Wood, Chris Urban, Oliver Munson, and Cameron Gross. Not pictured is Jack Schelling. (Photo Provided by Mike Dorsam)

By Stephanie Markham

The Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School Scholastic Bowl team is advancing to the IHSA 2A State Finals for the first time since 2010.

The Boilers started last week by winning a regional competition at BBCHS, defeating Prairie Central, Herscher, and Coal City to win its second straight regional title.

BBCHS then hosted the sectional competition on Saturday.

After a narrow opening loss to Mahomet-Seymour, the Boilers bounced back to beat Normal U-High and Urbana Uni to go 2-1 on the day.

Mahomet-Seymour and Uni also finished 2-1, creating a three-way tie, which was broken by total points scored among tied teams.

Mahomet-Seymour scored 730; Uni had 760; and Bradley-Bourbonnais scored 810 to claim the sectional championship.

Sophomore All-Sectional player Xavier Schultz paced BBCHS with a sectional-best 30 correct tossups in the three matches. Seniors Libby Johnson and Emily Lyle added 5 tossups apiece.

“I could not be more proud of our kids. We overcame a tough opening loss and kept battling, just as we have all season,” said Michael Dorsam, teacher-librarian and Scholastic Bowl coach, in a statement. “Our kids never quit, and they’ve beaten a lot of outstanding teams to earn the right to compete among the top eight teams in the state. Saturday was another great team effort, and I’m proud of each and every one of our players.

The team is now 56-14 on the season and will compete in the IHSA State Finals this Saturday, March 21, at Heartland Community College in Normal.

The Boilers will play Sandburg at 10 a.m., followed by matches against Dixon and Stevenson.

The team will also be competing in the PACE National Scholastic Championship in Rosemont in June.

BradleyLocal NewsNewsBourbonnaisBradley-Bourbonnais Community High School District 307Education

Stephanie Markham

Stephanie Markham joined the Daily Journal in February 2020 as the education reporter. She focuses on school boards as well as happenings and trends in local schools. She earned her B.A. in journalism from Eastern Illinois University.