02/07/2026
BOYS BASKETBALL: BROADMOOR EIGHTH-GRADERS MAKE A STATEMENT
The Broadmoor Junior High School eighth-grade boys basketball team has made it to the IESA Class 8-4A state finals.
Coach Jeff Walraven's Bruins (19-4), led by superstar Kellan Jones, will face O'Fallon Carriel (25-1) at 10 a.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals at Taylorville High School.
A victory for Broadmoor would send the Bruins to a 5 p.m. Saturday semifinal game against the winner of Park Forest Michelle Obama School of Technology and the Arts (20-3) vs. Matteson Colin Powell (27-0) quarterfinal matchup.
The third-place and state championship games will be played at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 at Taylorville.
Rockford Eisenhower (23-3), Quincy (18-5), Bolingbrook Brooks (20-2) and Minooka (22-6) also are in the eight-team state finals field.
Broadmoor has defeated Pekin Edison 44-22, Macomb 39-34, Dunlap Valley 41-33 and Normal Kingsley 37-30 to make it to state.
Jones, a 6-foot point guard, scored 29 points vs. Edison, 28 points vs. Macomb, 29 points vs. Dunlap Valley and 26 points vs. Kingsley.
Braydon Shemansky, Ethan Painter, Kyle Heaton, Oliver Moreno, Parker Cox, Rowan McKnight, Sully Riley, Trey Behrends, Zach Esken and Zeke Gutierrez also are on the Broadmoor roster.
Jake Norman is the team's assistant coach.
PHOTO
-- The Broadmoor eighth-grade boys basketball team shows off its sectional championship plaque after defeating Normal Kingsley.
(Photo courtesy Kevin Jones)
