Who were the top high school sports teams in 2025?
With 2025 drawing to a close, it’s a good time to look back on another successful year for the area’s high school sports programs.
This edition of the High Five honors the top prep teams from the 2025 calendar year.
5. Hinsdale Central boys swimming
The Red Devils dominated like few teams before during the state meet in Westmont.
They tallied 338 points to win the program’s 21st state championship and third straight. Hinsdale Central outdistanced second-place Marmion by 148 points for one of the largest victory margins in IHSA history.
Brothers Matthew and Luke Vatev combined for six state titles including their part with Henry Guo and Josh Bey on the 200-yard medley relay team that set an NFHS record. The quartet swam the race in 1:26.75, breaking the previous record set in 2022 by .13 seconds.
4. Barrington girls cross country
The Fillies won a second straight Class 3A championship. Big deal, right?
It was actually a huge deal because junior Mia Sirois, who led Barrington to last year’s state title with a record run of 15:53.4 at Detweiller Park, missed virtually the entire season with an injury.
The Fillies responded with a remarkable title defense. Sophomore Victoria Tarara finished eighth, but overall depth pushed the team to a 144-159 victory over second-place Downers Grove North.
Angelica Hil and Ashleigh Forbes also posted all-state finishes for Barrington.
3. Stevenson girls water polo
Stevenson’s dynasty in the pool showed no signs of waning during another unbeaten run to a state title — the Patriots’ sixth championship in eight seasons.
The run includes a pair of three-peats, and last season’s 36-0 record was the Patriots’ third unbeaten romp since 2015. But the title match was far from easy. Stevenson edged Lyons Twp. 6-5 after trailing 4-2 heading to the fourth quarter.
Olivia Spieth scored 3 goals, pushing her to 156 for the season, including the go-ahead and insurance goals in the final 4:13. Victoria Duncan scored twice and Jillian Carlson also tallied.
2. Montini and St. Francis football
We’re batching these teams together even though they took wildly different paths to achieve state championship goals.
While the Broncos beat Rochester 47-33 for the Class 4A title on a Friday, a snowstorm pushed St. Francis to a 39-35 win over Providence in 5A on the following Tuesday.
Quarterback play powered both victories. Montini’s Israel Abrams, one of the state’s top junior recruits, overcame inconsistency to throw for 418 yards and 4 touchdowns. He ran for 46 yards and a fifth score.
St. Francis senior Brock Phillip threw for 226 yards and a touchdown, but his main impact came on the ground. He rushed for 144 yards and 4 scores, including the game-winner on fourth down with just 11 seconds left.
1. Benet boys basketball
The Redwings got over the hump with a 55-54 win over Warren in the Class 4A final to claim the program’s first state title.
After a third-place finish in 1979 and runner-up finishes in 2014, 2016 and 2023, the Redwings did it behind 32-minute performances from Blake Fagbemi, Daniel Pauliukonis, Michael Doyle and Colin Stack, 27 minutes from Jayden Wright and key bench minutes from Edvardas Stasys.
Since the IHSA tournament began in 1908, Benet became just the 12th area program to win a boys basketball state title.