Normal Community High School

Normal Community High School is a public high school located in Normal, Illinois that was founded in 1905. NCHS serves parts of Normal, Bloomington, and Towanda and is home to over 1,900 students (grades 9–12) with 150 faculty and staff.

The Chicago Sun-Times named it as one of the "Top 50 Public High Schools in Illinois." U.S. News and World Report has ranked NCHS as one of the top schools in the United States in Best Schools 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Academics and courses

NCHS offers a multitude of different courses in different departments. Most departments offer an AP class or multiple. There will be classes with several different levels of workload for students of different abilities. There are various honors classes offered by the science, mathematics, and English departments. They include Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, Algebra two, and English Literature.

Sports

The Normal Community High School Ironmen and Lady Iron have had much success in athletics. Some of the teams include:

Fall sports

Football, Boys Cross Country, Girls Cross Country, Boys Golf, Girls Golf, Boys Soccer, Girls Swimming, Girls Tennis, Volleyball, Cheerleading (Football)

Winter sports

Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Wrestling, Boys Swimming, Cheerleading (Basketball)

Spring sports

Baseball, Boys Tennis, Boys Track and Field, Girls Track and Field, Softball, Girls Soccer

Recent highlights for each sport (from 2000–present):

Softball: Four Regional titles from 2000–2003. Sectional Champions in 2000, 2001 and 2003. Qualified for the State Playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2003. 2nd place in state in 2001. State Champions in 2000 and 2007. NCHS's most recent success has come in the form of girls' softball. The Ironmen won the Class 2A State Championship in 2007. This makes Ironmen softball the only sport to win 2 state titles.

Football: Have qualified for the state playoffs 12 years in a row. Had a 114–36 record under former head coach Hud Venerable. Lost 3 games in the last 3 years which include a State Semi-Final Finish, a State runner-up, and the Normal Community Ironmen won the 6A State championship in 2006. The team is now coached by former defensive coordinator Wes Temples, who has been to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons as head coach. In 05', the team went to its first State Championship in nearly 30 years. In 2006, the football team won the class 6A State Championship.^[1]

Boys Cross Country: 3 straight Regional titles (2001–2003). Back to back Sectional Champions in 2002 and 2003. Has qualified for the state championship meet 3 times in the last 7 years.

Girls Cross Country: won 6 of the last 7 Regional titles(only not in 2008). 9 straight Conference titles. Sectional champions in 2002 and 2004. Qualified for the state championship meet 6 times in the last 7 years. Notable Alumni : Angela Whalen(Lewis University)'04, Stacey Turilli(Illinois State)'05, Megan Johnson(Carthage College)'05, Olivia Myers(Illinois State University)'07, Current School Record Holder Marie O'Leary (University of Missouri at Columbia)'10 17:17 (September 2009 at Detweiler Park)

NCHS Cross Country Link[1]

Boys Golf: Regional Title in 2000.

Girls Golf: Regional Title in 2001. Placed 7th in state in 2002.

Boys Soccer: Regional Titles in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Girls Swimming: Caitlin Hamilton '09 won the individual State championship in the 500 Freestyle in 2008.

Girls Tennis: 4 straight Sectional Championships (2003-2006).

Volleyball: 11 straight Regional Championships (1996–2006). 5 straight Sectional Championships (2001–2005). Placed 4th in the state in 2001 and 3rd in the state in 2002. Rachel Feldman, an NCHS alum, currently holds the University of Illinois volleyball record for most digs in an NCAA Tournament match with 26 in the win over Dayton.

Boys Basketball: Regional Champions in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Qualified for the state tournament in 2003 and 2011. Placed 4th in the state in 2011.

Girls Basketball: Regional Champions in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Sectional Champions in 2004.

Wrestling: Sent many athletes to the State wrestling tournament. They hold a record of 200–86 under current coach Dave Baeten.

Boys swimming: Sectional Champions in 2004 and 2005. 3 time Intercity champs.

Baseball: Went to state in 2004. http://www.ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysBaseball/RecordsHistory.aspx?url=/data/ba/records/series-index.htm

Boys Tennis: coached by Jim Boswell, The Ironmen Tennis team has sent players to the state tournament on numerous occasions.

Boys Track and Field: Sent many athletes to the State championships. Won 2004 Intercity title snapping a 9-year run by rival high school, Bloomington High School. Won Intercity again in 2005.

Girls Track and Field: Sends many athletes to regional, sectional, and State Championships every year under coaches Tom Patten and Shea Temples. The team placed 10 in State in 1997.

Girls soccer: Regional Champions in 2004. They have a record of 67-30-11 (wins-losses-ties) under current coach Matt Chapman.

Organizations

Drama Club: Students who have participated in the school's drama productions have gone on to study theater in various colleges.

Music: NCHS offers a range of clubs for musical interest including vocal, band, and orchestra.

Speech Team: The school Speech Team experienced a great deal of success during the early 2000s under the direction of Mike McManis and Eric Solecki. The team brought home many awards for the school, including 3 Speech Regional Championships (2002, 2004, 2006), with the highest number of state qualifiers being 6, accomplished in both 2004 and 2006. A total of 8 individuals placed in the top 6 at the state tournament during the 2000s.

Scholastic Bowl: The NCHS Scholastic Bowl team is coached by the "Scrumptious" Scott Froelich^[2] and is captained by the "Beastly" Lawrence Li^[3]. The team has experienced success in the past, both in local and state-wide competitions. The team won the Intercity title in 2010-2011.

Demographics

As of 2005 the NCHS student body is 81.4% Caucasian, 9.9% black, 4% Hispanic, 3.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 2% other.

See also

• Normal, Illinois
• Bloomington, Illinois
• Towanda,Illinois

References

1. ^ http://www.ihsa.org/activity/fb/records/xbyyr6.htm
2. ^ NCHS Handbook. p. 34
3. ^ NCHS Handbook p.34

External links

• http://www.unit5.org/nchs/
• http://www.ihsa.org/school/records/sum1420.htm
• http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/illinois/normal_community_high_school
• http://www.ihsa.org/activity/swg/index.htm