Belleville East Sports

Boys Basketball
The Belleville East Boys Basketball team finished the season with a record of 19-10.   With their wins over Belleville West and Althoff early in the season the Lancers became City Champs while achieving a 9-5 conference record which placed them 4^th in the always rugged Southwestern Conference. They placed 5th in the Collinsville Christmas Tournament and lost the Championship game of the Belleville East Tournament to a highly ranked McCluer squad from Missouri. They ended their season with a four point regional final loss to Belleville West.

Girls Basketball
The 2011-2012 Lady Lancer Basketball season went very well for the program. For the second year in a row we made it to the Regional Championship. The Varsity team finished with 19 wins and 11 losses, with a 3rd place finish at the Salem Tournament and the Consolation Championship at the Mascoutah Tournament. The team finished 3rd in the Southwestern Conference with a 9-5 record. They will be graduating 6 seniors with at least 4 of them will be receiving basketball scholarships to continue playing in college. In addition to winning on the basketball court, this group did an outstanding job in the classroom. At semester, the team earned 70 As, 40 Bs, and 10 Cs, while not having a single D or F on any grade check the entire season. Also, the girls made time during the season to do charitable work, raising money for Alzheimer’s Research and supporting the Pat Summitt Foundation, volunteering at Westhaven School for the girls basketball clinic, and running the 5K for Character at Belleville East. The future looks bright for Lady Lancer Basketball as our Junior Varsity team finished with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses and the freshmen team finishes with 19 wins and 6 losses.

BOWLING
Boys Varsity:
This team started the season by finishing sixth in the always tough Kahok Invitational and continued their dominance throughout the season culminating in their finishing third in the Southwestern Conference with a 10 and 4 record. They also finished second at the Bulldog Invitational in Harrisburg and tenth at the Panther Invitational. Unfortunately they did not qualify as a team for State, finishing fourth. The boys have represented the Southwestern Conference as a team at State in 4 of the past 9 years and have had individual participants in 3 other years. This year our team was led by Jon Reinheimer with a conference high 222 average closely followed by Jordon Hendricks with a 220 average. The four seniors on this year’s team; Jonathon, Mike, Brandon, and Jordon will be sorely missed as they have been the heart and soul of our team this coupled with their sheer determination in competition and positive attitude will be hard to replace. As their coach for the past four years I wish them all well in the future. The team has a bright future as they still have a lot of talent in Thomas, Sean, and Tyler as well as some very capable JV bowlers who will round out yet another very strong boys team.

Girls Varsity:
The team started off the season with a third place finish at the Kahok Tournament and a fourth place finish at the O’Fallon Panther Invitational. Their 7 and 7 record really is not indicative of their performance all season as we lost at least 4 matches by less than 30 pins. They showed their true colors with a third place finish at Sectionals where the team was over 200 pins back after the first game and fought their way back to within 30 pins of advancing to State. The girls were lead by Jessica Kowalski who finished first at the Sectional qualifying her for State with a 206 average. Jessica was not to be denied in her fourth and final trip to State she was determined to break into in the top 10 individuals. Her determination and hard work paid off. Her twelve and 218 average, resulted in a 10th place finish. To put this in perspective her 10th place finish is the highest individual qualifier placement in East Bowling history.

The four seniors, Jessica Kowalski, Sharon Ferri, Kelly Tolar, and Lacey Gill will be missed. As their coach for the past four years I wish them well in the future.

CHEERLEADING
The 2011-2012 Basketball cheerleaders have had a very successful year. The cheerleaders participated in the “Relay for Life” in July, helped organize and work the “Brooke Stonecipher Golf Classic and Silent Auction in August, attended the YMCA overnight campout in October, and held the “Little Lancers” Cheer Clinic and performance in February. The girls and guys started practicing over the summer twice a week on cheers and various skills, as well as attending tumbling and stunting one evening a week from June through January.

The Varsity Cheerleaders competed at a high level this year. Each year they have consistently shown improvement and this year was no different. The Varsity girls headed to the ILLINI CHALLENGE competition at the University of Illinois where they placed second in the Large Varsity Division. The next competition was the ICCA competition in Mt. Vernon, where they placed 1^st in the Large Varsity Division. The girls also did a fantastic job at the games and tournaments supporting our EAST Lancer Basketball team.   Great job girls and guys, you represented EAST very well this year.

The JV cheerleaders competed at the ICCA regional in Mt. Vernon, where they earned second place and qualified for a trip to the ICCA State competition in Springfield. They did a great job and finished 7^th at the State Competition. They also cheered all the JV basketball games throughout the season and did an amazing job.

DANCE
The dance team has competed with IDTA all year long and been successful in the areas of lyrical, jazz and hip hop. They will be attending the IDTA state contest on March 17th at U of I. Tara

WRESTLING
The Lancer Wrestling Team finished the season with a record of 13 wins and 10 losses. The team finished 3rd in the 24 team Quincy Tournament, 3rd in the Morton Tournament, and 5^th in the Wheaton Warrenville South Tournament. The team qualified two wrestlers to the IHSA Individual State Wrestling Tournament. Skyler Procasky placed 5th at the IHSA Individual State Wrestling Tournament, in the 138 pounds weight class. The team finished with a 1-6 record in the very competitive Southwestern Conference. The team had two first team all conference wrestlers, in Reggie Edwards at the 120 pounds weight class and Skyler Procasky at the 138 pounds weight class. The team also, had two 3rd team all conference wrestlers, in Deonte McNary at the 126 pounds weight class and Kyzen Smith at the 170 pounds weight class.

FOOTBALL CHEERLEADING

The East Football Cheerleaders had an excellent season that was very busy right from the start.  Try-outs were held in the spring and the girls jumped into a variety of activities.  They volunteered at Art on the Square, participated in Relay for Life at Belleville West and attended a three day camp held here at East.   When school started up, the girls cheered on the football players each week, participated in Homecoming assemblies and cheered on the soccer players at their senior night soccer game.  We had a wonderful turn-out at our cheer clinic we held for K-8^th graders.  The younger girls had a fantastic time as they cheered on the Lancers to a victory at the Belleville East vs. West game.  Our seniors are going to end their cheer career here at East with a trip to New York over Thanksgiving.  They will spend a fun filled week sightseeing, attending dance classes, seeing a Broadway play and lastly performing in the New York Macy’s Parade.  Please tune in Thanksgiving morning to watch the senior girls perform!

CROSS COUNTRY

The Girls and Boys Cross Country teams represented Belleville East in a total fourteen races this year. The highlight for the girl’s team year was qualifying as a team for the fifth year in a row for the IHSA Sectional meet. The top seven individuals for the girls this year were Seniors Amber Borges, Keanna McIntyre,   Juniors Gabi Lopez, Maddy Gaul, Sophomores Maggie Munie, Erin Kincaid, and Freshmen Meghan McCarthy.

The highlight for the boy’s team also was qualifying for the IHSA Sectional meet. The top seven individuals for the boy’s team this year were Seniors Joe Cheatham, Isaiah Hagood, Nathan Peters, Anthony Davis, Alec Jackson, Junior Dakari Franklin, and Sophomore Ray Schultz. Senior Joe Cheatham ran one of his best races of the year at the sectional meet and qualified as an individual for the State cross country meet in Peoria Illinois.

FOOTBALL

The Football team had a strong start to the year by beginning the season 5-1 with a thrilling overtime victory against Southwestern Conference rival East St. Louis. The team played through adversity to once again make the playoffs for the 5^th consecutive year. The Lancers refused to allow any seeding affect how they would approach the playoffs. They travelled to Waubonsie Valley H.S. and proceeded to knock off a number one seed in the Class 8A bracket.

BOYS GOLF

The Boy’s Golf Team finished the regular season with a 7-8 record. We placed fifth in the Southwestern Conference by tying for 4^th in the regular season head-to-head matchups and by finishing 5^th in the conference tournament. Team scores dropped a whopping 30+ strokes from the beginning to the end of the season. This showed definite progress and a strong commitment from all involved. Leading the varsity team this year were seniors: Drew Bridgeman, Josh Springer and Geoff Kemper. Juniors were Danny Snyder, Jack Hillebrand, Max Bennett and Sam Bassett. Sophomore Michael Fuehne and Freshman Matt Holl rounded out this year’s team.

GIRLS GOLF

The Girl’s Golf Team finished the regular season with an 8-4 dual meet record. The team finished 3^rd in the Southwestern Conference Meet, 2^nd in the IHSA Regional and advanced to Sectionals as a team. Miranda Lidisky advanced to the state tournament where she finished 51^st. She was also voted onto the 1^st team all conference and was voted All Area Player of the Year.

BOYS SOCCER

The Lancer Soccer Team finished with a 5-11-4 record for the 2011 season.  They competed very hard in every game, but struggled to put the ball in the back of the net when the game was on the line.  The team finished second in the Belleville East Invitational Tournament at the beginning of the season.  The Lancers also competed again this year in the prestigious Gateway City Soccer Classic in St. Louis.  With many returning players and strong JV and freshman teams this year, hopefully the team will improve for next year’s campaign.

GIRLS TENNIS

Although overshadowed at times by opposing teams in the Southwestern Conference, the East Tennis Team had an extremely successful season once again. While posting an 11-4 dual record against the best teams in the state, the Lancers also placed in the top 6 of every tournament they entered. All eight varsity starters achieved all-conference status, and 5 out of 6 possible players qualified for the State Tournament out of the tough Belleville sectional. The Belleville East family should be proud of all of their accomplishments!

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

The Lady Lancer Volleyball program had an impressive year. The team started off the first 1/3 of the season off with an eight match winning streak which included the Mascoutah Tournament for the first time in program history. The second third of the season saw the team play impressive volleyball against a tough nonconference schedule as well as the prestigious Mother McCauley Asics Preview. The last third of the season brought the Lancers their 20^th win for the regular season.

The 2010-11 winter season once again saw Belleville East student-athletes perform at the highest level. Some accomplishments include Belleville East Boy’s Basketball team finish the season with a 22-7 mark while being crowned champions at both the Alton Tip-Off Classic and the prestigious Schnucks Collinsville Holiday Tournament.

The girl’s basketball team finished with a record of 15-13 and continually improved throughout the season. Key wins in the conference helped the Lady Lancers to a tie for second place in the always competitive Southwestern Conference.

The wrestling team finished their season by qualifying four individuals for the IHSA State Meet. The season was highlighted by a top 8 finish in the 152 pound class by O’Shea Smith-Traylor. O’Shea now holds the Belleville East All time career wins record with 136 wins. (recognition and applause).

The bowling teams once again had outstanding season as the boy’s finished 3rd at the IHSA Sectional meet and were able to qualify two individuals for the state meet and the girls won the IHSA Sectional meet which qualified them as a team for the IHSA state meet.

The Dance team just returned from their IDTA state competition where they were crowned state champions in Jazz and Lyrical and 3rd place in Hip Hop.

The cheerleaders worked hard all year cheering for the boy’s basketball team. They also competed in The Illini Challenge at the University of Illinois on January 15th where they placed 3rd in the large varsity division. The team also competed at the ICCA competition and won 1st place in the large school division.

CROSS COUNTRY
The highlights for the girls team was there 2nd Place finish at the Mt. Vernon Invitational. City Champions for the third year straight year. Third in the Southwestern Conference and the 3A IHSA Regional qualifying for the 3A IHSA Sectional. The Girls team was lead by Seniors Maria Effinger and MacKenzie Otten. Maria was the city Champion and Southwestern Conference Champion for the third time. MacKenzie made the Second team all Conference. They both finished in the top ten at the 3A Sectional Maria 4th MacKenzie 9th and have just returned from competing in the State Cross Country Meet in Peoria for the second time in their careers.
The boys team worked hard and competed very well this year. They finished 6th in the Southwestern Conference and in the 3A Regional. Top individuals were Juniors Joe Cheatham, Isaiah Hagood, and freshman Ray Schultz. They all qualified for the 3A Sectional meet. Joe also made the Second Team All conference and he was the city meet champion this year.

BOYS GOLF
The varsity team had a successful year with 10 wins and 5 losses. The Lancer golfers finished tied for 3rd in the conference with a record of 5 wins and 2 losses. The team competed very well in their 6 tournaments finishing 2nd in the St. Clair County tournaments and winning the Centralia Best Ball Tournament out of a 16 team field. Andy Rains was the overall medalist in the St. Clair county tourney, and Ian Remelius and Kevin Ward were the winning 2-man team at Centralia. Ian Remelius was the first Lancer golfer in several years to make it to the state tournament where he battled through tough conditions finish in the top 100 of all 3A golfers in the state. Ian Remelius was named 1st team all conference and all area, and Andy Rains 3rd team all conference and 2nd team all area.

GIRLS GOLF
The Belleville East Lancer Girl’s Golf Team finished its 2010 season in third place in the Southwestern Conference Standings with a regular season record of 12-4. The Lancers reached the IHSA Sectional golf tournament as a team, but were unable to earn a berth to the State tournament series. The team was led by sophomore Miranda Lidisky, seniors Lauren Manville, Kamara Cox, Emily Hartman, and Lauren Markey, along with junior Hannah Prickett. Lidisky proved herself to be one of the dominant players in the area by winning three 18-hole tournaments. She was medalist at the Illinois-Missouri River Challenge, the Southwestern Conference Championship, and the Edwardsville Invitational. Lidisky and Manville earned postseason recognition by the Metro East Golf Coaches’ Association as Lidisky received 1st Team All Area accolades and Manville earned 2nd Team All Area accolades.

SOCCER
The varsity team had another great year with 14 wins 7 losses and 1 tie. 5 wins and 1 loss in conference to earn second place in the Southwestern Conference. The team won its bracket in the prestigious Gateway City Soccer Classic for the second year in a row. They also won the City Championship for the second season in a row. Travis Hoguet broke the goal scoring record with 30 goals and Alex Taylor broke the shut out record with 11 shutouts this season. The team competed very well and took O’Fallon to 3 overtimes in the regional. Ten seniors will graduate this year, but lancer soccer will continue to strive toward excellence.

GIRLS TENNIS
The girl’s tennis team had yet another season filled with impressive accomplishments. As a team, the Lancers finished 5th or higher in all tournaments they competed in across the State, including a 1st place finish at the Moline Invitational and the Carbondale Sectional. In duals, the lady Lancers had an 11-4 record. For the first time in 10 years, the Lancers advanced 5 players to the State tournament, finishing 27th out of 113 qualifying schools. Their 27th place finish this season was the highest team finish of any school outside of the Chicago area, and higher than any team from the metro-east. Congratulations on a great season!

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The Lady Lancers Volleyball team finished the year with a record of 19-17 having the most success the program has seen since 2004. The Lancers got off to a very strong start with a record of 12-4 and earned the respect that they finally deserved. They finished second in conference with a record of 6-1 and were led by senior captains Haylee Artinger, Taylor Boyer, Talyn Sands and Ashley Smith. This year’s team was resilient, determined, and aimed to surprise. They expected nothing but wins and have developed a name for themselves as well as lancer volleyball. The season ended with a difficult lose to West in the Regional Championship, but it is no reflection of how much success these girls had in 2010.

FOOTBALL CHEERLEADING
The East Football Cheerleaders had an outstanding season and a very busy one! After tryouts in the spring, the girls jumped right in to a variety of activities. They attended camp at the University of Missouri where they won a bid to Nationals and in addition, Maritza Soto was given the Leadership Award and Cheyenne Bauman was named to the All American Team. They participated in the Relay for Life Event at Belleville West in July. Along with cheering at the football games, and participating in Homecoming Assemblies, they also cheered at a soccer game on senior night. One highlight will be when some of our senior cheerleaders spend a fun filled week in New York over Thanksgiving, sightseeing, attending dance classes, seeing a Broadway play and performing in the New York Macy’s Day Parade. Lastly, the cheerleaders are looking forward to supporting the Football Team this Saturday in Minooka!

FOOTBALL
The Lancer Football team finished the regular season with a record of 7-2 which qualified them for the IHSA Class 7A playoffs. The team defeated O’Fallon in a first round game advancing on to again defeat Belleville West in an exciting 21-13 victory last Saturday. This marks the first time in school history the team has won two playoff games in the same season.
It also marks the first time in two weeks that we actually know who our opponent will be at least a week in advance! The team will travel to Minooka H.S. this Saturday to compete in a quarterfinal game. Game time is set for 6pm. Throughout the year we were ranked as high as 4th in the statewide AP poll. The team was led by 21 seniors whose hard work, dedication and commitment led the Lancers to one of the most successful football seasons in Belleville East history.

BASEBALL
The 2010 baseball team set very high goals at the start of the season and has worked extremely hard to accomplish them. They finished the regular season with a 23-5 record and finished 2nd in the conference with an 11-3 record. A few of the season highlights include walk-off wins over Edwardsville and Althoff, beating West 3 times and being City Champions for the first time in about a decade. This team will be remembered by the coaching staff as the team where 14 senior players committed themselves to putting Belleville East Baseball back among the elite teams in the area.

SOFTBALL
The softball team finished the 2010 season with a 27-9 record losing in the regional finals to O’Fallon. One of our most exciting games was against Belleville West in the regional semifinal, which we won 4-2 over a two day period. We finished third in the tough Southwestern conference with a 9-5 record. The 2010 softball team had a batting average of .340, strong pitching, and once again utilized our speed stealing 152 bases in 36 games We lose two seniors: catcher Jillian Boeschen and center fielder Kayla Wade. They are great players and will continue on to play college softball. We wish them the best of luck and are extremely excited about all the talent and experience coming back in 2011.

GIRLS SOCCER
The girls soccer team finished the season with a record of 10-10-1. The team matured a lot throughout the season. Led by 2 starting seniors, 3 starting juniors, 2 starting sophomore and 6 freshmen consistently playing and making an immediate impact on varsity, the girls stepped up and battled hard in every game this season. A lot of new faces saw playing time at the varsity level and will carry that experience over to next year. The highlight of our season was 5-1 win over Waterloo, a team that had been us early in the season. The season ended with a tough overtime loss in the first round of regionals. The girls will learn from this season and prepare for next year.

BOYS TENNIS
The boys tennis team finished the season with a 9-9 record. With only 1 senior and 1 junior in the top 12 along with 4 sophomores and 6 freshmen, the team went through some growing pains. Competing in one of the best conferences in the state and traveling to tournaments all over the state the younger guys got to see where they need to be next year. The high light of the season was a come from behind win over a tough Moline team, led by our fearless leader CJ Goldthree we won all 3 doubles matches to take a 5-4 win.

BOYS TRACK
The boys track team had another successful year. The team finished 1st at the Southwest Relays and 1st at the Palatine Relays. Several freshman, sophomore and varsity records were broken this year including the varsity 100m dash record and the high jump. The team qualified 1 relay and 2 individuals for the IHSA State meet. Daryl Rice qualified for the finals in the High Jump and placed 2nd in the state with a school record leap of 6 feet 9 inches.

GIRLS TRACK
The Girls 2010 track season was quite successful. We started off the season by setting four indoor school records. At this point we knew that this was going to be a fun season. The outdoor season was even better because a total of 10 school records were broken. As a team we finished in the top five in almost every meet. Notable team finishes were Third at the Belleville West Invitational, Second at the Centralia Invitational, first at the Lafayette Invitational, first at the Tiger Freshman/Sophomore Relays, In one of the most competitive Southwestern Conference Meet s ever we finished 2nd only a few points ahead of Edwardsville, and East St. Louis. We also had a very good sectional meet and qualified in six events. State qualifiers this year were Aniecia Brewster, Asia Cochran, Chante Mosby, Jessica McCaskill, Keanna McIntyre, Hadiya Harris, Maria Effinger, and Jasmine Jackson.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
The boys volleyball team had another outstanding season. Our team is made up of superior athletes who battled through thick and thin. We finished with a record of 17-7 and took 2nd place in the conference with a 7-3 finish. We won our first tournament in program history at Rockwood-Summit by defeating O’Fallon in the Championship Game. Additionally, we finished 2nd at the O’Fallon Tournament. The season ended sooner than we wanted it to by being defeated in the Regional Championship in arguably one of the toughest regional draws in the state.

BOYS BASKETBALL
The Boys Varsity Basketball Team finished with a 12 and 15 record this season. They finished 2nd in the Alton Tip-Off Classic and competed well all season. They posted quality wins over Belleville West, Collinsville, Vashon, Althoff, Edwardsville, and the number 2 ranked team in Missouri, McCluer North. They ended their season with an exciting upset bid against O’Fallon but fell just short. The effort that was displayed on the court during this season was greatly appreciated by the coaching staff.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Girls’ Basketball team had a season of ups and downs, but finished the season playing very good basketball. Our final record was 14 wins and 15 losses. We tied for 4th in the very rigorous Southwestern Conference with a record of 6 wins and 8 losses. Highlights of our season include placing 3rd at the extremely competitive Salem Thanksgiving Tournament, defeating O’Fallon in conference play after previously losing to them twice, winning the Consolation Championship at the Webster Groves Winter Challenge, and the 5 straight victories to end our regular season. This group of girls worked very hard throughout the entire season and emerged into a very talented basketball team. With all the young talent and the experienced gained this season, we are very excited for the future of the Lady Lancer Basketball team.

WRESTLING
The wrestling team finished the season with a 13-14 record. The team won the 16 team Murdale Tournament and finished 4th in the 24 team Quincy Tournament. They finish 12th in a very tough 24 team Granite City Tournament and won 4 out of 8 duals in the 16 team Fox Missouri Dual Tournament. The team also, finished 4th in the Southwestern Conference. The team will return 11 starters, out of the 14 weight classes for 2010-2011 season.

CHEERLEADING
The 2009-2010 Basketball cheerleaders have had a very successful year. They started practicing over the summer twice a week on cheers and various skills, as well as attending tumbling and stunting one evening a week from June through January. The seniors enjoyed their Thanksgiving trip to New York, where they performed in the Macy’s Day Parade.
The Varsity Cheerleaders competed at a high level this year. Each year they have consistently shown improvement and this year was no different. The Varsity girls and boys headed to the ILLINI CHALLENGE competition at the University of Illinois where they placed first in the co-ed division. They also earned a trip to Bloomington, where they competed in the IHSA STATE Finals for the first year ever. The girls/boys also did a fantastic job at the games and tournaments supporting our EAST Lancer Basketball team at every event. Great job girls and guys, you represented EAST very well this year.

BOWLING
Boys:
The boy Varsity team of met all our expectations. This team started the season by winning the always tough Kahok Invitational and continued their dominance throughout the season culminating in their winning the Southwestern Conference Title for the second straight year. They also finished third at the Panther Invitational. Unfortunately they did not qualify as a team for State, missing it by a mere 18 pins. The boys have represented the Southwestern Conference as a team at State in 3 of the past 8 years and have had individual participants in 2 other years. This year sophomore Jonathon Reinheimer qualified as an individual.
The four seniors on this years team; Tyler Bennett, Ryan Cassady, Josh Loesche, and Brandon Rice will be sorely missed as they have been the heart and sole of our team this coupled with their sheer determination in competition and positive attitude will be hard to replace. As their coach for the past four years I wish them all well in the future. We are looking forward to next season as we have some very capable bowlers on the JV squad itching to show us what they can do.
Girls:
The girls Varsity team served notice to the southwest conference that they were serious in the quest to make it to State. They started off the season with a second place finish at the Kahok Tournament and a fourth place finish at the O’Fallon Panther Invitational. They continued their success throughout the remainder of the season resulting in their second place finish in the conference with an 11 and 3 record. They continued their momentum with a second place finish at Sectionals where the team advanced to the State Finals in Rockford for the 8th time in the past 13 years, quite an accomplishment. The girls were lead by Jessica Kowalski who completed the season with a 198 average. Our two seniors, Cecelia Sauerwein and Nicole Cron, 3rd and fifth place finishes respectively at Sectional’s lead our team to State. The competition at State was tough and our girls 19th place finish was not indicative of their play over the weekend. Cecelia and Nicole will be missed, their sheer determination in competition and positive attitude will be hard to replace. As their coach for the past four years I wish them well in the future. With our only losing these two young ladies expectations are high for next season.

DANCE
The team has been competing all year through the organization IDTA. Over the last weekend the team won the IDTA Dance category and finished 3rd in the Lyrical category. Congratulations tothe Dance Team.

BOYS SOCCER
The lancers soccer team played very well this year. They started the season by winning the Belleville East Invitational tournament, where they defeated Belleville West 3-0 in the Championship game. They also won their bracket in the Gateway City Soccer Classic. The team was also City champions beating West and Althoff. They set many new records this year including The most shut outs in one season with 10. This year’s record is the best in Lancer History at 17 wins 4 losses and 2 ties. The team ended the season with a heartbreaking loss in the regional final 1-0 vs. O’fallon.

GIRLS GOLF
The 2009 East Girls Golf Team finished the regular season with a 15-2 dual match record. They were a perfect 6-0 in conference matchups this season and won the Southwestern Conference Tournament for a second straight season to solidify their spot as back-to-back conference champions. Five of the top 10 medalists from the Southwestern Conference Tournament were Lancers as Medals went to Kristi Tschudin, Miranda Lidisky, Kayla Wade, Lauren Manville, and Rachel McAngus.
They were 2nd in Class AA teams at the Alton-Marquette 24-team blastoff tournament, 2nd at the 14-team Yorktown invitational, part of a 1st place Illinois team defeating Missouri at the River Challenge held at Clinton Hill Golf Course, tied a school record for lowest team score on the front nine at Clinton Hill Golf Course, and saw Junior Kristi Tschudin compete at the IHSA State Finals in Carbondale, Illinois for third consecutive year. Tschudin finished in 28th place and was the lowest individual from the southwestern conference. The East Girls Golf Team has qualified an individual or an entire team for the IHSA State Finals in 7 of the last 8 seasons and look to continue that trend of success.

BOYS GOLF
Even after losing three key seniors from last year’s squad, the boy’s golf team came through this season with a winning record of 9-7. Additionally, of the 7 losses the young group suffered, 5 of them were by less than 5 strokes! The Lancer Golf Team finished 4th in the conference, with a record of 3 wins and 4 losses. After placing 5th as a team in the IHSA Regional Golf Tournament, juniors Kevin Ward and Andy Rains advanced to the IHSA Sectional Tournament in Pekin, Illinois, where the boys golf season came to a conclusion. With three returning Southwest Conference All-Conference selections in juniors Kevin Ward and Ian Remelius, the Lancers Boys Golf Team is looking forward to yet another successful season in the fall of 2010!

GIRLS TENNIS
The girls’ tennis team completed yet another successful season in the tough Southwestern Conference. The Lancers finished with a 10-4 dual record, and had six top-4 finishes in tournaments across the state. There were many highlights of the season, including winning the 16-team Bloomington Invitational and having 7 players named to the all-conference team. However, the most exciting moments included beating rival Belleville West in a dual for the first time in 22 years and capturing the Southwestern Conference title for the first time since 1987. Lauren Bradley, Michelle Gaas, and Miranda Lopez topped off the season by earning state bids in singles and doubles.

CROSS COUNTRY
This year the boys and girls cross country teams had an outstanding year. Both were City Champions. For the first time in school history, the boys were Champions of the Mt. Vernon Invitational. The girl’s team finished 2nd in both the Southwestern Conference and the Granite City Regional and Qualified as a team for the Sectional. The boy’s finished 3rd in both the Southwestern Conference and the Granite City Regional meet and also qualified for the Sectional.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The 2009 season was a year of learning, growth and development. The team was comprised of only three seniors Mia Bilotti, Lindsey Mandeville and Dominique Woodhouse. These seniors were the captains and led the team with heart and tenacity. Overall, we were a young team having 5 juniors, 5 sophomores and one freshmen; with only a few having Varsity experience. We started the year off by finishing 2nd in the Mascoutah tournament and we ended the year making huge improvements, before losing a heartbreaker to our cross town rival Belleville West. Our overall record is no reflection of how dedicated and hard working these girl’s are.

FOOTBALL
This past season the varsity football team finished with a 7-3. They started the season
5-0 and were ranked as high as 5th in the AP 8A state poll. The team finished in at tie for second in the conference with O’fallon. They were beat in the first round of the playoffs 22 – 21 by Roselle Lake Park.

FOOTBALL CHEERLEADING
The Belleville East Football Cheerleaders had a great season. During the NCA Summer Camp, they won two Superior trophies along with the Camp Traditions Award, and numerous ribbons for their cheers and dance routines. At the end of camp, several cheerleaders were named as NCA all stars.
Aside from supporting our great football team at games and assemblies, and the Soccer Team on Senior night, they participated in the Channel 4 News Segment when the city of Belleville was highlighted, and they worked the children’s booth at Art on the Square. They also assisted with Freshmen Orientation, the Red Ribbon Rally, and “Cheer for the Cure.”
One special highlight will be when our senior cheerleaders spend an exciting week in New York City culminating with being a part of the Macy’s parade on Thanksgiving day.

GIRLS SOCCER
The Varsity team played hard all season long. The lady Lancers won fourth place in the Alton tournament. The team finished the season at the O’fallon regional. The Lady Lancers would like to thank Coach Lasley for all his years as the girls soccer coach. Thank you to a great senior class, all seven played hard all four years.

BOYS TRACK
The boys track team had its best year in school history. The team had 8 1st places. at Southwest Relays, O’fallon Relays, Belleville West Invitational, St. Clair County Meet, Collinsville Invitational, Springfield Invite, and for the first time in school history won the Southwestern Conference Meet and the IHSA Sectional Meet. We qualified 9 events for the state meet and had 4 events qualify for the finals. The 4×100 relay finished 4th, the 4×200 relay finished 5th and Forrest Knight was 4th in the 110HH and was crowned a State Champion in the 300 Intermediate Hurdles. The team finished 6th overall in the team standings.

GIRLS TRACK
This years Girls Track team competed all season against some of the top teams in the State of Illinois. Top team finishes were 3rd Place at the Belleville West Invitational, Lafayette Invitational, and Orphan Annie Invitational. 4th Place at the Southwestern Relays and St. Clair County Meet, 5th Place at the Tiger Relays, Southwestern Conference, and O’Fallon 3A Sectional.
Varsity School Records Set This year:
The Lady lancers did have a great showing at he sectional meet and qualified in six different events for the state track meet.
4 x 800 Relay team (Maria Effinger, Keanna McIntyre, Mackenzie Otten, and Sarah Collins),
4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relay teams (Jessica Johnson, Hadiya Harris, Debra Gunn, and Chante Mosby),
100 Meter High Hurdles (Jessica McCaskill)
1600 Meter Run – (Maria Effinger)
Triple Jump – (LaTia Jefferson)
Of course the High light of the State Meet was LaTia Jefferson bringing home a Gold Medalist as a State Champion in the Triple Jump.

SOFTBALL
The 2009 Lancer softball team ended the season 21-11 with seven of our losses coming by one run. The team fought hard in the regionals but fell 2-1 to Belleville West. The team loses six seniors in Karly Brown, Erin Butler, Kiira Eversman, Julie Jouglard, Katie Schickedanz, and Jessica Schmittling. These girls have been a big part of Lancer softball for four years and will be missed. Four of our seniors will continue on to play softball in college next year. The 2009 team faced adversity with a preseason injury to the #1 pitcher, but Brittni Chapman and Karly Brown pitched great to give us a chance to win every game. Other players also stepped up, including many underclassmen, to ensure we had a successful season. Five players earned All-Conference honors this season. Speed was once again one of our team’s best attributes as we stole 139 bases in 33 games.

BASEBALL
The Lancer Baseball team finished up with a record of 15 wins and 14 losses. The season was highlighted by wins over O’Fallon and a 12 inning win over Marion, both who are regional champions. This team will always be remembered for its comraderie and work ethic. These guys always seemed to have fun and got along so well. They also were responsible for the coaches missing numerous dinners because they would stay after practice to extra work.

BOYS TENNIS
The boys tennis team finished the season with a 14-5 record. They played in a total of 10 tournaments throughout the state. In those 10 tournaments they had 2 second places, 3 thirds, 2 fourths and a 1st at sectionals. They qualified 3 players to state Steven Hayworth,Corey Stumne and Drew Feder. Corey and Drew finished 7th at state in doubles and earned 1st team all-state honors. Drew wrapped up his career at East earning 1st team all-state honors 3 years in a row and goes down as the best tennis player ever to wear a Lancer uniform. Congrats on a great year!
-Coach Skaer

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
The inaugural Belleville East Boys Volleyball season was very successful. Our players worked hard and were quick learners of the game. We started off with a thrilling win over Althoff, whose program has been in competition for six years. There were three other new teams in the area and we lost only one match out of eight to the new teams. We advanced to the semi-final game in our first tournament and took third place in the O’Fallon tournament. Last week, we defeated Belleville West and Althoff to win the regional. Out of 173 teams in IHSA competition, we were one of only 32 remaining before losing to O’Fallon in the sectional semi-final match on Friday. We finished with an overall record of 15 wins, 7 losses, and 2 splits.

BOYS and GIRLS BOWLING
Varsity Boys finished with an 11 and 3 records which earned them the co-championship of the southwest conference. The boy’s season was filled with highs, they finished second in the Kahok tournament, third in the Panther invitational and second at Sectionals as a team and advanced to the state tournament. The JV Boys captured the Southwestern Conference Championship with a 12 and 2 record.
The Girls Varsity finished the season with a 7 and 7 record good for fifth in the conference. They finished 6th at the Kahok tournament and 9th at the Panther invitational, and third at Sectionals. Jessica Kowalski was our lone qualifier for State and she finished 23rd individually with a 203.3 average for 12 games. The JV Girls finished the season with a 10 and 4 record good for third place in the Southwest Conference.

BOYS BASKETBALL
The Varsity boys team finished on a strong note with a win at Granite City which clinched a share of first place in the Southwestern Conference. They finished with a regular season record of 18-8. On Friday night as many of you witnessed what was arguably one of the best high school games in state history they clinched the Regional Championship in 4 overtimes to advance to the Scetional Semi-finals tomorrow evening at 7:30 at Collinsville High School

GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Lady Lancers completed the year with a record of 8 wins and 21 losses. The team battled great adversity due to injuries and sickness with a positive attitude. .

WRESTLING
The Wrestling Team finished the season with a record of 9 wins and 9 defeats. Highlights for the season include a 2nd place finish in the 16 team Carbondale Wrestling Tournament and a 4th place finish in the 24 team Quincy Tournament. Out of the 14 varsity weight classes only two senior starters. They will greatly be missed. The coaching staff hopes the seniors experience tremendous success in their future endeavors.

CHEERLEADING
The 2008-2009 cheerleading season has been very busy. The girls started off the cheer year by attending a three day Super CDA camp in the summer to help prepare them for the upcoming season. They also worked out at a local gym to improve their tumbling and stunting skills over the summer. At the beginning of the cheer season, our seniors participated in the Thanksgiving Macy’s Day parade in New York City. They arrived home on Friday night after Thanksgiving and were on the sidelines at the Varsity Basketball Tournament in Alton on Saturday. The season is full of practice for games and competitions. The Varsity girls competed in the IHSA and ICCA competitions this year and placed 2nd at the ICCA Mt. Vernon Regional. This is the first year Belleville East has had double down twists from their stunt groups and the first year for 5 complete stunt groups in competition. Their skills have improved immensely this year, which is a credit to their work ethic and commitment.

DANCE
I would also like to recognize the Dance Team who competed in IDTA in pom dance, dance and lyrical categories. They qualified for South Super Sectionals at O’Fallon HS and over the weekend they advanced to state in all three categories.

GIRLS GOLF
The 2008 East Girls Golf Team finished the regular season with an outstanding 20-1 dual match record. This season’s team found itself in the hunt for a Regional title and a Southwestern conference championship. They were perfect in conference matchups this season and won the Southwestern Conference Tournament to solidify their spot as conference champs. They were 2nd in Class AA teams at the Alton-Marquette 24-team blastoff tournament, 2nd at the 12-team Yorktown tournament, part of a 1st place Illinois team defeating Missouri at the River Challenge held at Normandie Golf Course, 2nd at the IHSA Regional tournament, and saw Junior Kristi Tschudin compete at the IHSA State Finals in Makanda, Illinois. Tschudin finished in 30th place and was the lowest individual from the southwest region. Kristi Tshudin and Caitlin Combs were both elected to the Metro East Golf Coaches Association first team with Tshudin receiving player of the year honors.

BOYS SOCCER
The varsity soccer team was very competitive this season. They earned 2nd place in the Belleville Invitational Tournament. The final Game had to be decided by penalty kicks after 100 minutes of soccer. The rest of the season had some up and downs, but the lancers worked very hard and never gave up in any game. The Varsity team ended with a record of 7-11-1, and the Junior Varsity had another strong year with a record of 9-3-1.

GIRLS TENNIS
The girls’ tennis team completed yet another successful season in the tough Southwestern Conference. The Lancers finished 3rd in the conference with a 9-6 dual record, and had five top-4 finishes in tournaments across the state. The varsity team tied for 1st in the Sectional tournament and qualified 3 players for state. Earning state bids for the first time were Lauren Bradley in singles and Alana Hofmann and Michelle Gass in doubles.

CHEERLEADERS
The East Football Cheerleaders had an outstanding season and a very busy one! After tryouts in the spring, the girls jumped right in to a variety of activities. In addition to supporting the football team throughout the season, they participated in a summer camp, gave tours at freshmen orientation, helped organize assemblies and participated in the homecoming assemblies. They cheered on the morning talk show WIL, performed cheers at the Red Ribbon Rally, and supported other teams and events throughout the season including cheering at senior night for the soccer team. One upcoming highlight will be when our senior cheerleaders spend a fun filled week in New York over Thanksgiving, where they will be performing in the New York Macy’s Parade. Please look for them on TV on Thanksgiving Day!

CROSS COUNTRY
The boys team overall had one of the best seasons in the past thirteen years. Some of their Team accomplishments: third at the Mt. Vernon Invitational, second at the Alton Invitational, second at the St. Clair County Meet, third in the Southwestern Conference, and they were City Champions. Individual honors: Kip Kuldell City Champion. Sectional Qualifiers Kip Kuldell and Alec Jackson.
The girls team Team accomplishments: Third at Mt. Vernon, and Sectional Qualifiers by finishing 5th at the IHSA Regional. Individual honors: Maria Effinger City Champion, Conference Champion, and Regional Champion. We would also like to wish her luck this weekend as she will compete in the state cross-country meet in Peoria.

BOYS GOLF
The 2008 Lancer Boys Golf Team had a strong season. The varsity squad carried a match record of 13-4, finished third in the conference standings behind Edwardsville (who got 2nd in the state!) and Collinsville (who actually tied Edwardsville for first in the SWC). The Boys had two top-3 finishes in tournaments this season, as they took 3rd at the SWC Tournament, and they finished 2nd in the St. Clair County Tournament.

FOOTBALL
This season has had its ups and downs having to overcome injuries and adversity. We are obviously on a high right now coming off a first round playoff victory over Plainfield Central. The victory snapped a 20 year drought of losing first round games. We take on Chicago Brother Rice in the second round of the playoffs this Saturday at 7pm at Belleville West. We finished the season with a conference record of 5-2 and are currently 7-3 overall.

VOLLEYBALL
The lady Lancers had an exceptionally memorable season. They finished with a 15- 20 overall record. They were shy of the five hundred mark, but managed to finish 5-2 in the Southwestern conference with a very big win over the O’Fallon Panthers and a very good Alton Redbird team. They tied for second in the conference and had two players make the all tournament team. First team Cassie Murphy and second team Mel Duncan. This is the best finish the Lancers have had in several years, both conference and non conference game.
I would also like to recognize the Dance Team who competed in IDTA in pom dance, dance and lyrical categories. They qualified for South Super Sectionals at O’Fallon HS and over the weekend they advanced to state in all three categories. I would also like to recognize the Dance Team who competed in IDTA in pom dance, dance and lyrical categories. They qualified for South Super Sectionals at O’Fallon HS and over the weekend they advanced to state in all three categories. . . . . . . . .
This year the boys and girls cross country teams had an outstanding year. Both were City Champions. For the first time in school history, the boys were Champions of the Mt. Vernon Invitational. The girl’s team finished 2 in both the Southwestern Conference and the Granite City Regional and Qualified as a team for the Sectional. The boy’s finished 3 in both the Southwestern Conference and the Granite City Regional meet and also qualified for the Sectional.
This year the boys and girls cross country teams had an outstanding year. Both were City Champions. For the first time in school history, the boys were Champions of the Mt. Vernon Invitational. The girl’s team finished 2 in both the Southwestern Conference and the Granite City Regional and Qualified as a team for the Sectional. The boy’s finished 3 in both the Southwestern Conference and the Granite City Regional meet and also qualified for the sectional.