Ask Asmussen if football will be any better in 2010 here

The Top 10 area sports stories from 2009.

1

Super Chargers

Champaign-Urbana had produced only one boys' basketball state champion – in 1945-46 – until Centennial's cardiac Chargers completed an amazing Class 3A run with a 61-59 win against Oswego in Peoria. The title clincher came a day after the top-ranked Chargers stunned Chicago North Lawndale in the semifinals. "I'm on top of the world right now," senior James Kinney said. Kinney moved on to Ohio University, but the Chargers kept winning, extending their streak to 33 games.

2

Golden moment

C-U has a proud history when it comes to Olympic speedskating. Centennial product Katherine Reutter and Uni High product Jonathan Kuck have a chance to add a chapter in February at the Vancouver Games. Reutter made the cut at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in September, part of a dominating year on the short-track circuit. Kuck made the U.S. Long Track Team on Wednesday.

3

Going flat

Ron Zook's Illini appeared set to bounce back from a disappointing 2008 season, creeping toward the Top 25 in the preseason. Then the games started. A 3-9 debacle nearly cost Zook his job, decimated recruiting and left fans in a foul mood. "I think the easy way out is sometimes to just play to the fan base and make a change at the top," athletic director Ron Guenther explained.

4

Back on top

For the second time in four seasons, Tuscola won a state championship in football. Three regular season losses didn't deter the Warriors, who had Douglas County in a tizzy with a clutch playoff run. "I'm just tickled to death to come away with it, and I'm kind of numb right now," coach Rick Reinhart said after his Warriors beat Lexington 14-7 in the Class 1A title game at Memorial Stadium.

5

Fleet feet

In June, Angela Bizzarri won an NCAA title in track. That was only the beginning of a year to remember for the Illinois senior. In November, she joined Craig Virgin as the school's only NCAA cross-country champions. "It's a great way to end my senior season," Bizzarri said. In December, Bizzarri became the UI's first recipient of the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top collegiate female athlete in cross-country.

6

Back on the map

A return to the NCAA tournament, the arrival of the most-heralded recruiting class in Bruce Weber's tenure and a spot in the national rankings had Illini basketball fans digging through their closets for that Dee Brown headband. But a spotty start to the 2009-10 season tempered the enthusiasm. "We've just got to stay together and don't think about that freshman year (in 2007-08) when we were 16-19," junior Mike Davis said.

7

Year of the Cobras

Parkland College never has been better in sports, winning five conference titles and sending four teams to national tournaments. The highlight was the school's second national baseball championship, Matt Kennedy's Cobras taking it all in Enid, Okla. "This team set the tone from the very first meeting in the fall," Kennedy said. "We told them if you're in this room, you better believe you can win a national championship. Everybody bought into it."

8

State champs

Mahomet-Seymour's Andrew Brewer won the 171-pound Class 2A wrestling title; Fisher's Colten Unzicker won the 1A 160 title. M-S' Daniella Bunch repeated as the girls' 2A shot put champ. Central's Ian Wells won the boys' 400. Uni High won its seventh state chess title. Uni also captured the journalism team title and had one individual champ, Chris Yoder in sports writing. Urbana's Mandy Facer won in news writing.

9

McGill's thrill

Champaign's Tyler McGill got the hometown-hero treatment when he returned from Rome with the gold medal he won in the 400-meter medley relay at the World Swimming Championships. Rubbing shoulders with Michael Phelps helped. "The good thing about swimming with him is that there is an extra energy from the crowd," McGill said. "You're going to get the energy that you usually do, but you're going to get a whole lot just by him being in the race."

10

Spotlight performers

Not every Illini sport went the way of football. Mike Small's men's golf team nabbed a Big Ten title, Kevin Hambly's volleyball team spent much of the season ranked in the Top 10 and Daniel Ribeiro (pommel horse) and Paul Ruggeri (high bar, parallel bars) won NCAA titles in gymnastics to send retiring coach Yoshi Hayasaki out on a high note. "I feel very lucky to have been a part of it," Hayasaki said.