By the time their senior seasons concluded at the IHSA state finals at FMC Natatorium, Wade Pyle and Sam Grojean had done far more than qualify for state meets and break records. They changed the trajectory of the program. Over the last four years, Pyle and Grojean anchored the most successful...

That Downers Grove North game in 2024 at Redbird Arena felt different. The gym was alive. The noise was not occasional bursts but a constant roar that stayed the whole game. Every possession felt massive. Every bucket felt like a 10-point swing. That is what a strong student section can do. It...

After a record-setting 37-5 season that culminated in the program’s first state trophy in school history, the No. 2 state-ranked Ironmen enter 2025 hungry for more. Last spring, in his 20th year as head coach, Mr. Ryan Short appeared in his first state tournament with a star-studded lineup that featured...

When Miguel Patiño-Diaz walked onstage as Jack Kelly, he left himself behind. Before each performance, Patiño-Diaz reminded himself of one thing: “You’re not Miguel anymore.” “You’re a 17-year-old kid in the slums of New York who doesn’t know if he’s going to make it tomorrow,”...

This February, in honor of Black History Month, The Inkspot is spotlighting the contributions of lesser-known African Americans, history's hidden figures, whose ideas, inventions and courage helped shape our world. From breakthroughs that made everyday life easier to leadership that pushed communities...

The public vs. private debate is as old as high school athletics itself. And for good reason—take a look at the numbers and private schools appear to have an outsized edge in the IHSA playoffs. Over the last four seasons, 22 of 32 IHSA football state champions have been private schools. While private...

Let’s be honest: our feeds are engineered for brainrot—6-7, chopped chin, Nathaniel B videos that keep looping until our minds go numb. Our screens are flooded with the quick, the loud, the mindless—each swipe, each scroll offering a bite-size serving of dopamine. But entertainment doesn’t...

The Ironmen (7-2) head north to face Carmel Catholic (7-2) Saturday in the first round of the 2025 IHSA 7A Football Playoffs. After an elite eight appearance last fall and a semifinal run in 2022, Community, is aiming to extend a streak of five straight first-round wins.  First, they will have...

The Ironmen (7-1, 7-0) will look to secure a third-straight Big 12 Conference title outright when they travel to take on the Peoria Lions (6-2, 6-1) Friday.  The Lions enter Peoria Stadium looking to spoil the Iron’s chances at a third-consecutive undefeated season in league play and a guaranteed...

The 4-1 Ironmen will look to hand Bloomington its first loss of the season Friday in a showdown with Big 12 Conference title implications. The two rivals are the last unbeaten teams in conference play. Community’s only loss came in Week 4, a non-conference setback against Class 6A No. 4 Kankakee....

The Ironmen held a 10-0 over Kankakee after three quarters Friday night, but were outscored 21-0 in the game’s final eight minutes, falling to the Kays 28-17. Community led for all but the final 57 seconds of the game before Kankakee cornerback Cedric Terrell III sealed the comeback with a 33-yard...

The Ironmen football team put its undefeated record on the line Friday night, facing a Kankakee Kays team whose 1-2 start masks the caliber of its competition. Community (3-0) will welcome the Kays (1-2) to Dick Tharp Field in a non-conference showdown—a rematch of last season’s 26-12 Kankakee...

Crosstown bragging rights and Big 12 title hopes collide when the Ironmen meet the Normal West Wildcats in the annual Chili Bowl Friday. West, ranked No. 9 in the Class 6A AP poll, enters Friday’s matchup at 1-0 after a 34-14 win over Peoria Notre Dame. The Wildcats are looking to build on last...

The Ironmen open the 2025 season at home Friday against Peoria Richwoods, with new faces stepping into key roles across the lineup. At quarterback, junior Lucas Beaty takes over for his older brother Kyle, a three-year starter who led Community to back-to-back deep playoff runs and threw for 32 touchdowns...

When the Purple Iron Cats host the 4-7 Dunlap Eagles in the opening round of the IHSA Boys Lacrosse sectional on Wednesday, they’ll aim to advance past the first round for just the second time in program history. The co-op’s only postseason win came May 22, 2023, when Bloomington-Normal defeated...

When Illinois high school juniors sit for their required state assessment this year, the test will look different. Beginning with the 2024–25 school year, Illinois will replace the SAT with the ACT as the state-mandated assessment for high school juniors. The shift follows the expiration of the state’s...

It’s rare for three Division I-caliber baseball players to transfer from the same program in the same year—rarer still for all of them to land at the same school. But for juniors Max Heineman (committed to UIC), Gavin Michaels (Cincinnati) and Gavin Swartz (Indiana), leaving U-High for Community...

The year was 2007, and Mr. Dave Feeney  faced one of his toughest coaching decisions.  It wasn’t whether to call a timeout to stop the other team’s run; to switch from man to zone. It wasn’t whether to draw up a last-second sideline out-of-bounds play or let his players create in the moment....

A three-peat of the Big 12 Conference Tournament never looked in doubt for the Ironmen as the wrestlers outscored the second-place finishers, Peoria Richwoods, 225-152 on Jan. 25. Eight first-place finishes fueled the Ironmen’s conference victory, led by junior Gavin Capodice, who posted the tournament’s...

Landyn Corbin is set to compete in the IHSA Bowling Sectional in Alton on Saturday, Jan. 25, after posting a 1103-pin total across six games in last weekend's Taylorville Regional. Corbin advanced individually, making the cut by a single pin. The junior averaged 183.8 on the day, opening with his...

Savanna Siegrist competed in the IHSA Girls Class 2A State Tournament at Hickory Point in Decatur on Oct. 18-19. The junior finished 65th in a field of 114, shooting an 85 and 84, respectively. Siegrist, the first individual qualifier from Community in over half-a-decade, earned her place in the tee...