ATHLETICS
We located coverage on the IHSA website (
www.ihsa.org) for the the boys sports of football, basketball, and track for Olney High School. All three sports had some great moments.
Information is needed for the quick facts section above. We are searching for the Olney High School team nickname, uniform
colors, fight song, and other information that might be of interest to add to this page.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The highlight of the boys basketball program came in the 1929-30 season when the boys would finish THIRD and in the 1919-20
basketball season when Olney HS finished FOURTH in the state's one-class basketball tourney. Olney high would make one
other trip to the state finals, as well as bringing home five District titles, one Regional championship, and two
Sectional titles. The OHS basketball success, as found on the IHSA website, is listed below.
1911-12 3 - 4 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1912-13 4 - 0 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1913-14 7 - 3 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1914-15 6 - 5 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1915-16 7 - 5 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1916-17 14 - 4 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1917-18 16 - 4 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1918-19 18 - 4 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1919-20 23 - 6 FOURTH PLACE IHSA TOURNEY! Coach
Charles Van Cleve
District Champions
State Final's Qualifier (Sweet 16)
Beat Champaign 43 - 24
Elite 8
Beat Galesburg 33 - 22
Final 4
Lost to Canton 37 - 18
(Canton finished 2nd)
Third Place Game
Lost to Marion 29 - 20
1920-21 11 - 17 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1921-22 24 - 6 District Champions Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1922-23 20 - 3 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1923-24 21 - 4 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1924-25 12 - 12
Coach Howard "Slim" Beard
1925-26 13 - 12
Coach Howard "Slim" Beard
1926-27 17 - 8
Coach Charles Van Cleve
1927-28 25 - 2
Coach Charles Van Cleve
1928-29 21 - 7 District Champions
Coach Charles Van Cleve
1929-30 33 - 6 THIRD PLACE IHSA TOURNEY! Coach
Charles Van Cleve
District Champions
Sectional Champions
State Final's Qualifier
Elite
8
Beat Carbondale 21 - 18
Final 4
Lost
to Bloomington 33 - 23
(Bloomington placed 2nd)
Third Place Game
Beat Beardstown 27 - 18
1930-31 15 - 13
Coach Charles Van Cleve
1931-32 14 - 12 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1932-33 8 - 17 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1933-34 12 - 12 Coach
Charles Van Cleve
1934-35 17 - 11 District Champions
Coach Frank Newton
1935-36 25 - 5
Coach Frank Newton
1936-37 22 - 6
Coach Frank Newton
1937-38 23 - 7
Coach Frank Newton
1938-39 24 - 4 Regional Champions
Coach Frank Newton
1939-40 21 - 7
Coach Frank Newton
1940-41 19 - 10 Coach
Frank Newton
1941-42 27 - 5 ELITE 8 FINALIST IHSA Tourney! Coach Frank
Newton
Sectional Champions
Sweet 16 Finalist
Beat Quincy 47 - 40
Elite
8 Finalist
Lost to Freeport 29 - 24
(Freeport would finish 3rd)
1942-43 21 - 4
Coach Frank Newton
1943-44 10 - 12 Coach
Frank Newton
1944-45 21 - 10 Coach
Frank Newton
1945-46 14 - 12
Coach Forrest Sprowl
1946-47 22 - 7
Coach Forrest Sprowl
IHSA Basketball Records Held By Olney HS
#5 All-Time - Margin of Victory - Shutout - 49 pts (beat Oblong 49 - 0 in 1916)
#8 All-Time - Margin of Victory - 119 pts. (beat Albion 126 - 7 in 1919)
#23 All-Time - Wins in a Season - 33 (1929-30)
Great Coaches
Two Olney HS basketball coaches paved the way for the future teams of East Richland. Coach Charles Van
Cleve coach at Olney from 1911-12 through 1923-24. After a two year break he returned to the helm and coached
the boys from 1926-27 through 1933-34. Below is a breakdown of his accomplishments:
Coach Charles Van Cleve - Career Record at Olney - 324 - 149 (#224 in IHSA
History)
2 - IHSA Final Four Trophies Won
1 - 30+ games-won season
7
- 20+ games-won seasons
4 - District Titles Won
1 - Sectional Title Won
Coach Frank Newton coached the boys program from 1934-35 through 1944-45. His accomplishments
are as follows:
Coach Frank Newton - Career Record at Olney 230 - 81
1
- Appearance at IHSA Finals (Elite 8)
8 - 20+ games-won seasons (of 11 seasons total)
1
- District Title
1 - Regional Title
1
- Sectional Title
Overall the Olney High School boys basketball program had a record of 610 - 266 between 1911-12 and 1946-47!!