Aquin Chess--Off to State!
Another New Page in Aquin's History Book!
#Freeport Strong
Why are they meeting at Freeport High School?
At Aquin's home debut chess meet with Freeport a few weeks ago (shown above), the Freeport coaches offered to take the Aquin team on their bus. Additionally, they provided information on low hotel costs for our team, chaperones and coach. Kudos to Coach Flink and the Freeport coaches, Uli Dornhagen and Ed Schradermeier, for working so well together to make this historic trip a reality.
Meet Aquin's Chess Team 2017!
The Aquin Chess Team has many members, but unfortunately, due to prior commitments, some of the members are unable to make the trip to Peoria (and are absent from the picture above).
REPRESENTING AQUIN SENIOR HIGH AT STATE ARE:
Cooper Arndt . grade 11
Jonah Diemer . grade 11
Natelie Freedlund . grade 11
Daniel Guilliams . grade 12
Timothy Harrington . grade 12
Rhys Love . grade 9
TJ Martinez . grade 10
Lauren Miller . grade 11
Dennis Neary . grade 12 (sub for Cassie Martin . grade 11)
Jeffery Peterson . grade 11
Caleb Stovall . grade 12 (sub for Arja Kumar . grade 11)
Brock Theisen . grade 10
Follow The Team--and Learn!
As we move along in this inaugural season, we are all learning the many rules and regulations of the IHSA State Tourney. Here are just a few of the important points about how the tourney works and will progress over the next 2 days.
- Each team and each individual is ranked by the IHSA using a computer system which tracks and records the action throughout the tournament.
- In the first round, Aquin will play Palos Heights (Shepard). If Aquin wins, they automatically move up and take their #108 ranking. If Aquin loses, they will maintain their #147 ranking and play a team seeded below them.
- Similarly, each individual Aquin player will move up or down in the rankings based on the points they earn in each match.
- Aquin will compete in both days of the tournament, although there will be different players competing in day 2 as some players have prior commitments and have to come back to Freeport on Friday night.
- There are 149 teams competing in the 2017 IHSA State Tourney.
Click here to follow the action on Friday and Saturday.
Or follow @IHSAChess on Twitter for updates from the IHSA State Finals.
Round 1: Table #72
#108 Palos Heights (Shepard) V. #147 Freeport (Aquin)
But How Did This Happen?
Thanks to Coach Flink and his impressive efforts to bring the Aquin Chess team to life, Aquin is headed to the IHSA State Chess Tournament in Peoria on February 10 and 11. This is the final year that all teams who have competed in at least 3 meets automatically qualify for the State competition. Next year, the 156 team field will be broken into 2 classes and hold Sectional qualifying rounds to advance to State.
Click here to see the list of schools in the IHSA State Tourney.
GO DAWGS--WE ARE THE LITTLE SCHOOLS THAT CAN!