VIDEO: Davidsmeyer Honors West-Central Boys Basketball State Champions

HOUSE RESOLUTION 677

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the West Central Co-op [Winchester-Bluffs] boys basketball team, the Cougars, on winning the 2023-2024 Class 1A State Championship; and

WHEREAS, The Cougars defeated Mounds Meridian 62 to 43 in the championship game on March 9, 2024 at State Farm Center in Champaign to claim the first boys basketball state championship in the history of West Central; and

WHEREAS, The Cougars finished the season with a record of 36 wins and 3 losses, the most wins in a single season in school history; and

WHEREAS, The Cougars won all three of their regular season tournaments, the Beardstown Thanksgiving Tournament, the Waverly Holiday Tournament, and the 101st Winchester Invitational Tournament, as well as going undefeated in the Western Illinois Valley Conference Championship; and

WHEREAS, The Cougars' road to a state championship was not easy, and the team had to face many difficult opponents along the way, including the 46-42 win in the Class 1A Supersectional at the Jacksonville Bowl against the Illini Bluffs, a team with a historically successful basketball program that featured a division one recruit; and

WHEREAS, The Cougars' semifinal opponent was Aurora Christian; the team trailed for most of the game and was down by eight points with 3 minutes 59 seconds remaining, but the senior-laden squad did not give in and emerged with a 70 to 65 double-overtime victory; and

WHEREAS, The Cougars played against Mounds Meridian two days later in the finals and had a strong start, including an 8 to 0 run in the first quarter, and controlled the first half with a 33 to 19 halftime lead; when the final buzzer sounded, the team had earned a state championship victory; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the West Central Co-op [Winchester-Bluffs] boys basketball team, the Cougars, on winning the 2023-2024 Class 1A State Championship, and we wish them many more successful seasons; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be given to each member of the Cougars team, Varsity Coach Ryan Sichting, Assistant Coach Bill Jacquot, Assistant Coach Brady Slagle, Mason Berry, Carson Clevenger, Cameron Sievers, Nick Hamilton, Ryker Ford, Zac Howard, Zack Evans, Chance Little, Carson Brown, Blayne Sidwell, Gabe Howard, and Caden Meyer.