14-03-2025
Fans travel in bunches to watch local high school basketball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WMBD) — Two Peoria high schools had boys basketball teams in the IHSA state semifinals, and many fans and family made the almost hour-and-a-half trip to see them play.
Both Peoria Christian High School and Manual High School played in their respective boy's basketball semi-final games on Thursday at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
Students at Peoria Christian had the day off so they could travel to cheer on the team. Parents and fans made the trip on Thursday to root them on.
This was the first time in 21 years that the Chargers had made the playoffs, and the crowd showed up in full.
The Peoria Christian student body has grown up with each other since grade school. A testament to the community they've built, Senior Quinton Hynek speaks on that bond.
'Just watching these guys, hanging out with them, I'm close with a lot of the guys on the team, so just being close to them, being able to talk to them after every game,' He said.
Senior Rosemary Roat has a similar estimate on the tight-knit community.
'I think it says a lot about our community, especially the Christian community, rallying around each other and the fellowship we have together,' she said.
The students even had a black-out theme, and the student section for Peoria Christian dressed in all black for the game.
'The PCS community is so awesome; we rally around each other, and it's so incredible to see all of these students here cheering for us, all dressed in black for a blackout,' said senior Carson Cilson.
While the students showed up in full, many parents also showed up to root for the hometown team — and their children.
One parent who showed up was Elizabeth Persinger, who not only has a son on the team, but her husband is the team's head coach.
'There's so many emotions, sometimes it's easier to be a coach and be on the sideline than be a parent and so it's a little more stressful as a parent,' she said
Another parent, John Zimmerman, described the joy it brought him to see his son and his teammates compete.
'Just a joy to watch Myles and the boys compete on the court, obviously, but off the court, the friendships go super deep, so I'm just super happy for him, and so we're playing with house money at this point,' he said.
Manual High School also got a lot of love from the hometown fans in their first state run in three years.
Their rowdy student section made the trip to Champaign for their state-semi final. Parents and fans and several proud alumni were also in attendance
For some of the students, this is their first year cheering on the team, but for manual alums they're familiar with this program playing under the bright lights.
'It's great to see them back in Champaign. I think I've come every time they've been downstate, so it's been a great season to come back and watch the younger group come back and repeat like they used to,' said Dorothea Gulley, a Manual alum.
Someone who is new to the scene and got to watch their first Manual playoff run was Freshman Talia Fuller.
'I love Manual. This is my first year, so I got a lot to learn how manual works and everything, but I'm ready. I just love watching them play because they're so electric and fun to watch,' she said.
Both teams will be facing off in the IHSA third-place match on Friday at the State Farm Center in Champaign, with Manual playing at 11:15 a.m. and Peoria Christian at 9:30 a.m.
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