Illinois Valley Central High School

High school in Chillicothe, United States

Illinois Valley Central High School

Address

1300 West Sycamore Street

Chillicothe

Peoria County

Illinois

61523

United States

Coordinates| 40°54′46″N 89°30′11″W﻿ / ﻿40.91286°N 89.5030°W﻿ / 40.91286; -89.5030
Information
Type| Comprehensive Public High School
School district| Illinois Valley Central Community Unit School District 321
Principal| Kenton Bergman
Faculty| 47.51 (FTE)[1]
Grades| 9–12
Enrollment| 647 (2022-23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio| 13.62[1]
Campus type| City
Color(s)|  Maroon, grey
Athletics| IHSA
Athletics conference| Illini Prairie Conference
Nickname| Grey Ghosts
Website| Illinois Valley Central High School

Illinois Valley Central High School (also known as Chillicothe IVC, IVCHS, or simply IVC) is a public four-year high school located at 1300 West Sycamore Street in Chillicothe, Illinois, a city in Peoria County, Illinois, in the Midwestern United States. IVCHS serves the communities of Chillicothe, Dunlap (small portion), Edelstein, Mossville, Peoria (small portion), and Rome.[2][3] The campus is located 15 miles northeast of Peoria, Illinois, and serves a mixed city, village, and rural residential community.

## Athletics

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Illinois Valley Central High School competes in the Illini Prairie Conference and is a member school in the Illinois High School Association. In the 2017–2018 school year, IVCHS joined the new Illini Prairie Conference following the merger of the Corn Belt Conference and Okaw Valley Conference.[4]

In the IHSA, IVC has appeared in the IHSA Final Four on five occasions, most recently in 2022.[5] IVC's first appearance in the IHSA Final Four was in the 2006 Class A Boys Basketball State Championship where the Ghosts fell to Seneca HS 44–47.[6][7] Later that year in May, IVC arrived back at the state finals this time playing for the Class A state title in boys baseball. This time IVC top Trenton (Wesclin) 8–3 for IVC's first and only state title to date. IVC returned to the Final Four in 2008 for the Class 2A Boys Baseball state championship where IVC fell to Olympia finishing 2nd.[8] IVC's next appearance in the IHSA Final Four was in Boys Baseball; however, IVC fell to Harrisburg 7–1 in the semifinal before finishing third against Elmhurst (IC Catholic) 6–4. In November 2022, IVC made the Class 2A girls volleyball state finals for the first time in program history. The Ghosts took third place, beating Freeburg, 25–16, 25–15, finishing 36–4.[9]

IVCHS co-ops with nearby Dunlap High School for some athletics (boys' and girls' swimming and diving).[2][10][11]

## Mascot

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Their mascot is the Grey Ghosts, with school colors of maroon and grey. Different theories exist regarding the origin of the mascot name, which up until 1940 was the Maroons.[12] The Grey Ghost was inducted into the ESPN nickname hall of fame in 1987.[13]

## Activities

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IVC has a wide range of activities to offer including a large fine arts department. IVC's music department offers marching band, a concert band, a wind ensemble, and two jazz bands. The music department also offers different levels of choral music including Chorale and various ensembles.

The IVC Marching Grey Ghosts have accumulated 15 state titles since 1990, most recently in 2019 at the State of Illinois Marching Invitational.[14] The Marching Grey Ghosts have participated in numerous national performances including the Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Citrus Bowl Parade, and the 2007 National Memorial Day Parade.

Over the years IVC has offered foreign language courses in Spanish, French, & German. Most notably, IVC has hosted a biannual GAPP exchange program with Max von Laue Gymnasium in Koblenz, Germany since 1980.[15]

## History

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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2010)

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Illinois Valley Central High School was formed out of the consolidation of Chillicothe High School in 1976. The name Illinois Valley Central was chosen after a naming contest was held shortly after the consolidation. The winning entry was submitted by Marianne Schaffner, a former resident of Chillicothe. Chillicothe High School used to be housed in what is now the elementary and junior high school. In 1977, they constructed a new school building which sits on the corner of Bradley Ave and Sycamore St. in Chillicothe.

## Notable alumni

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* Brian Garrison, Partner at Faegre Drinker a full-service international law firm and one of the 100 largest law firms in the United States.
* David Batstone, theologian, writer and ethics professor[16]
* David Julazadeh, U.S. Air Force general[16][17]
* Lance LeGault, film and television actor[18]
* Zach McAllister, Major League Baseball player[19]
* Johnston McCulley, writer and creator of the character Zorro[20]
* William Owens, U.S. Navy SEAL[21]
* Josh Taylor, television actor[22]
* Ron Taylor, football player and coach[23][24]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Il Valley Central High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
2. ^ a b "IHSA Illinois Valley Central High School". IHSA. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
3. ^ "Illinois Valley Central High School". Illinois Valley Central High School and Illinois Valley Central CUSD. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
4. ^ "Corn Belt Conference merger approved, Illini Prairie Conference created". Chillicothe Times. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
5. ^ "State Series Information & Results".
6. ^ IHSA. "Records & History". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
7. ^ "A shot at glory: IVC caps 2006 run with heartbreaking loss to Seneca". Journal Star. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
8. ^ IHSA. "Records & History | Boys Baseball | IHSA Sports & Activities". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
9. ^ https://www.ihsa.org/data/vbg/2Box3.pdf [bare URL PDF]
10. ^ "IHSA Illinois Valley Central High School Season Summaries". IHSA. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
11. ^ "IHSA Coop Teams". IHSA. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
12. ^ Hilyard, Scott (April 1, 2012). "High-school mascot defies explanation in Chillicothe". The State Journal-Register.
13. ^ "IVC Mascot". IVC High School and IVC CUSD. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
14. ^ "Illinois Marching Online". ilmarching.com. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
15. ^ Krokum, Karen (April 3, 1986). "German students arrive at IVC for classes". The Chillicothe Times Bulletin.
16. ^ a b Moewe, Karen (May 4, 2016). "District financially safe for next year". Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois: Gannett Co., Inc. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
17. ^ "IVC Bands Mission & History". Illinois Valley Central Bands. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
18. ^ Gillespie, Marianne (September 11, 2012). "Lance LeGault dies in California". Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois: Gannett Co., Inc. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
19. ^ "Journal Star All-Star Baseball Team". PJStar.com. Peoria, Illinois. Archived from the original on November 1, 2006. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
20. ^ "Four named Distinguished Alumni for 2013". Chillicothe Times-Bulletin. June 4, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
21. ^ Gregory, Ted (February 1, 2017). "Navy SEAL from Peoria killed in Yemen recalled for his drive, humor". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
22. ^ Vlahos, Nick (September 25, 2018). "Nick in the AM: Happy birthday, soap-opera star and ex-Chillicothean Josh Taylor". Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois: Gannett Co., Inc. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
23. ^ "1957 Chillicothe Football Team". Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
24. ^ "George Taylor". Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.

## External links

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* Illinois Valley Central High School
* Illinois Valley Central Community Unit School District 321

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

Geographic|

* NCES