It’s been a truly remarkable year for Columbia High School athletics, as the school this past weekend celebrated its fourth state title, demonstrating exceptional skill, determination and talent among its students and coaches.

The 2025 state success began early in the year as the CHS cheerleading squad coached by Robbie Walters soared in a way it hadn’t quite managed in 12 years, earning its highest-ever score of 92.30 in the IHSA small team state finals back in February. This added to IHSA titles won in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

More Eagles spread their wings in June, as the CHS girls soccer team coached by Jamey Bridges took the IHSA Class 1A state title thanks to an incredible 8-0 finals victory over Johnsburg in Naperville. It was the school’s second state title in that sport, the first coming in 2019.

With this fall sports season, the CHS boys soccer team – also coached by Bridges – followed the girls’ lead just over a week ago as they won the IHSA Class 1A state title with a 3-1 win over Mendota in Hoffmann Estates. It was the second state title for this program, the first coming in 2014.

And just this past weekend, the CHS volleyball squad coached by Kelly Landgraf bested Bloomington Central Catholic in the IHSA Class 2A state championship match at Illinois State University in three sets, capturing the school’s first state title in volleyball and filling out a nice collection of hardware for the calendar year.

Columbia Athletic Director Scott Horner offered his thoughts on what has been a tremendous year for the Eagles.

“Obviously it’s an exciting time any time you get one team to get to the position where you’re competing for a state championship,” Horner said. “And then to have four teams to not only compete but to win four is super exciting for the school, for the kids that are involved, for the student body that travels to watch the game, for our parents, our community, our businesses in town. It’s really awesome.”

Horner said these accolades are a testament to the staggering effort and number of hours CHS athletes and coaches pour into their sport.

“Our kids are really committed, and they put in a lot of time,” Horner said. “And so do our coaches. Our coaches have really made a commitment to tap into every resource they can to give these kids the best opportunity to win.”

In looking back on his tenure as athletic director and CHS head football coach, Horner couldn’t recall a period of athletic success that quite reached this point.

He hardly discounted the effort put in by other CHS teams past and present, however.

Horner particularly noted the cheerleading program’s success over the years – likewise with baseball and both soccer teams.

Reflecting on the success seen among CHS athletes this year, he remarked that – along with hard work – a lot of it has come down to luck, having some amazing individuals all come together to play at the same time.

“You can look at all of the surrounding schools around here, I don’t care who you look at, everybody has great athletes,” Horner said. “But to have five or six or seven or eight of them on the volleyball court that are all playing varsity sports at the same time in the same year… That’s really, I think, the fortunate and the lucky part of it for us. We just are getting these groups together right now that are all playing at the same time. You have to have many.”

Horner also had plenty of praise and appreciation to express for everyone who comes together to support the school’s athletes.

Naturally, he voiced special thanks to the coaches who play a vital role as they give so much of their time to oversee the teams, spending more time with other people’s kids than their own in the case of those with families.

He similarly thanked the parents of CHS athletes for not only showing their support and trusting the coaches but for fulfilling their own obligation, holding their kids accountable and building character at home.

Horner further noted the great support Columbia’s athletics program receives from district leadership.

“We don’t want for a whole lot of things at this school,” Horner said. “Our administration as well as the district and the board of education provide us with the resources that we need.”

With the recently released Illinois State Report Card showing excellent academic success among the Columbia School District last year, Horner also spoke to what goes into making sure the Eagles are great students as well as standout athletes.

He again noted the role parents play in helping their kids become the best they can be – though he also thanked district staff and faculty for making sure they are held to a high standard.

“It’s a really healthy combination of a lot of things,” Horner said. “Great kids come from great parents. That’s where it all starts at. They give them the foundation from a very young age to help them hold themselves accountable for what’s important.”

With the slate of CHS athletic success over the past 10 months, Horner had some personal success to celebrate as his daughter Ella was among the volleyball players who just won state.

He voiced pride in his daughter’s accomplishment and recalled how fun it’s been to watch her succeed alongside her friends who he’s come to know over the years.

“When you have the opportunity to share in your own kid’s success as an athletic director or a coach or whatever it might be – I had the opportunity to coach my two sons in football here through their high school career as well – anytime you have the opportunity to do that, it’s just super lucky and fortunate,” Horner said.

Among the high school’s administration, CHS Assistant Principal Amanda Bedard has been especially present for this athletic success, appearing for all of the recent state wins.

She, too, remarked on the exceptional performances she’s seen and commended CHS coaches for how they work with the student-athletes.

Bedard spoke to the teamwork she’s seen among each group, with the senior and junior athletes showing fine leadership skills when working with younger members of the team.

“They are really gelling together,” Bedard said. “They’re very deserving. They’re very hard-working kids.”

She also commented on the success of the school’s student-athletes, noting how CHS doesn’t tend to have many athletes who wind up being ineligible to play thanks to grades.

While staff and faculty strive to support these student-athletes, Bedard acknowledged their academic and athletic successes ultimately come down to them.

And they have not disappointed.

“As student-athletes, a lot of it begins at home,” Bedard said. “Our kids do care about our grades, and our parents care about our grades. All of that is on them. They’re hard-working on and off the court, and our teachers are here to support them in any way that we possibly can.”

Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode also offered his thoughts on the CHS athletic success in 2025.

“I’m just extremely happy and proud of our student population,” Grode said. “There’s been just wonderful and great things going on.”

He commended the students for representing the district so well, and also offered praise for how they excel in their schoolwork.

“The athletics comes with dedication and determination, as do your academics,” Grode said. “And the more effort you put into something, the more rewards oftentimes come from those things. Our students have been working hard, and our teachers and our coaches have been working with them hard, and it’s been very successful.”

According to IHSA Associate Executive Director Matt Troha, the accomplishment of four state titles in one calendar year is rare in Illinois.

He said Hinsdale Central High School, a Chicago suburb, won five sports state titles (boys golf, girls golf, girls tennis, boys cross country and boys soccer) in the fall of 2014. Hinsdale went on in 2015 to win boys swimming and boys tennis  titles to set the state record for most titles in a school year.

“HCHS (is) definitely an outlier that also likely had a lot more sports than CHS,” Troha said.