Sports are a big deal in the Galesburg-area, and 2023 delivered its share of big sports stories over the past 12 months.
Here’s a recap of the some of the top sports stories of 2023:
Massey Milestone – Mr. 1,000
Galesburg High School girls basketball coach Evan Massey recorded his first career victory some 45 years ago, but win No. 1,000 occurred in 2023.
The Silver Streaks defeated the United Township Panthers 55-46 before a packed crowd in a tiny gym Dec. 2 in East Moline, and for the 1,000th time in his career, Massey walked away the winner in a varsity girls basketball game.
Massey joined an exclusive four-digit win club that has been attained by just three other girls coaches in Illinois, and only four for boys and girls basketball combined. The only other Illinois girls basketball coaches to secure 1,000 career victories are both retired — Dorothy Gaters of Chicago Marshall with 1,153 wins and David Power primarily of Fenwick with 1,020 wins. Gene Pingatore of Westchester St. Joseph — with 1,035 career victories — is the only Illinois boys coach to reach the milestone.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, Massey becomes just the 16th girls basketball coach nationally with 1,000 career wins. Among active coaches, only five others nationally have more wins than Massey.
Massey’s mark of 1,000-390 translates into a career winning percentage of .719.
Gold for Gauge – Streaks Shipp a state champ
Galesburg High School was the home of a state champion wrestler in 2023.
Silver Streaks junior Gauge Shipp claimed the 138-pound Class 2A gold medal at the 2023 IHSA State Wrestling Championships at State Farm Center in Champaign.
PHOTOS: Galesburg wrestlers return from state to hero’s welcome
Shipp defeated Jake Hamiti of Joliet Catholic 15-0 by technical fall in the title bout to cap a perfect 50-0 season.
Shipp was only the third Galesburg High School wrestler to win an individual state championship and the first since Gene Denisar claimed gold at 154 pounds in 1963-64. Galesburg’s Gene Courtwright won the 115-pound title in 1944-45.
End of an Era – ‘Billtown Bob’ announces retirement
Bob Anderson, longtime boys basketball coach at his high school alma mater Williamsfield and for the last eight seasons with ROWVA/Williamsfield, retired after 45 years earlier this month. He made the decision Dec. 1.
A 1965 Williamsfield High School graduate where he starred for the Bombers before going on to a successful career at Western Illinois University, Anderson had coached varsity basketball since 1979-80.
‘I’ll miss it a lot.’ Here’s why Coach Bob Anderson called it quits after 45 years
He leaves behind a legacy of doing more with less and a resume that includes 732 career wins, an Elite Eight state tournament appearance and a plaque in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Anderson was 1-0 this season when he contracted COVID. It was that health issue, along with an growing difficulty of dealing with losses that led to his decision to call it a career.
During his career, Anderson’s teams won five regional championships — 1982, 1985, 1997, 2007 and 2015. And in 1997, Anderson guided the Bombers to a 28-3 record and their only state finals appearance, losing to Chicago St. Francis de Sales, 65-53 in the Class A Elite Eight.
Cougars crash the quarterfinals – ROWVA/Williamsfield goes deep in football playoffs
The ROWVA/Williamsfield football team gave its fans an extended ride in 2023, winning two playoff games before falling to Chicago Hope Academy 57-7 in the IHSA Class 1A state quarterfinals.
The co-op, which last advanced to the quarterfinals in 2005 as ROWVA-AlWood, finished the 2023 season with a record of 9-3 under Coach Grant Gullstrand.
The Cougars, which went 7-2 in the regular season, defeated Sterling Newman 28-14 in a first-round state playoff game. ROWVA-Williamsfield then defeated Lincoln Trail Conference rival Stark County 36-8 in a second-round game.
Knox to nationals — Prairie Fire advance to first-ever NCAA Division III
The Knox College women’s basketball team won their first ever Midwest Conference Tournament championship and earned their first NCAA DIII Tournament bid in 2022-23.
The 2022-23 season ended historically with Knox finishing with a program best 22-6 record. The Prairie Fire were 15-1 in the Midwest Conference and co-champions in the regular season before winning their first ever conference tournament.
The Prairie Fire dropped their NCAA Tournament matchup to No. 15-ranked Loras 68-56.
