Evan Massey is a regular contributor to WGIL. He is the former girls basketball coach at Galesburg High School, retired as one of the most successful coaches in Illinois history. He writes history features and a weekly Time Capsule column for WGIL.
This week the Galesburg High School Class of 1976 is celebrating their 50th Reunion.
In looking back at ’76, one of the highlights was the basketball team’s trip to Champaign. The Streaks made it to the Elite 8. This was Galesburg’s 24th State Appearance, which was an IHSA record at the time.
It was not just the basketball team going to Champaign. Galesburg’s outstanding cheerleaders helped to fire up the crowd. As with Galesburg’s previous trips to State, the GHS cheerleaders wowed all the fans.
The fabulous Streaks Band under the direction of Sally Rynott was selected to play at State. Under Rynott, the Streaks Band was considered the best in Illinois. The Streaks Band played the Friday night session, which just happened to be when the basketball team was playing. The William Tell Overture rang through the Assembly Hall.
Here is information from the IHSA files and tourney program.
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