These were the top Rockford-area high school sports performances of 2023

It was another exciting year for the Rockford area sports' teams and its stars, with standout performances in every sport at some point in 2023.

From basketball, wrestling and swimming performances for the ages to start the year, to running backs, quarterback and entire teams setting records on the football field to finish it off, it was a year to remember. Throw in some of the most powerful golf, soccer, baseball and softball efforts in a long time, and you have a year filled with performances that will stand out in the Rockford area for a long time.

So, as we head into 2024, here are our top performances from 2023.

'We want to get out and run': Ryan Tucker, Byron boys basketball sprint to tourney title

Entire Byron team finishes football run in record fashion

Led by a freshman quarterback (Andrew Talbert who had 154 yards on five carries with three TDs) and a sophomore fullback (Caden Considine, who rushed for 153 yards and two TDs), the Byron Tigers finished off arguably the most impressive state title run ever with the biggest blowout in state-final history. Byron chiseled out a 49-0 first-half lead and then rolled to a 69-7 state-title-clinching win over Mt. Carmel on Nov. 24 in the Class 3A championship game.

The Tigers finished as the highest-scoring team ever in the state of Illinois, with 823 points on the season, and they eclipsed the touchdown record that Lena-Winslow set last year, finishing with 108. The 56-point margin of victory was the largest in IHSA championship game history, surpassing Stillman Valley's 52-point win in the 2009 title game.

Gage Dunker sets NUIC single-season rushing record

Lena-Winslow's senior fullback Gage Dunker set an NUIC record during the third quarter of the Class 1A second-round playoff game with his 69th touchdown, and he wasn't done there. Dunker led Le-Win to a second-place finish in the state, and he finished with an NUIC single-season record of 2,604 yards on the ground and 41 TDs. And while it wasn't the kind of records the three-time defending state champs were aiming for, it was some pretty nice consolation prizes.

Du/Pec QB Cooper Hoffman slings it, runs it all over

Hoffman, the Rivermen junior quarterback who led the NUIC in passing (2,016 yards and 23 TDs) and was fourth in rushing (811 yards and 15 TDs) this season, threw for 138 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 203 yards and three more TDs during Durand/Pecatonica's dominant 50-19 playoff win over Stillman Valley on Nov. 4. That happened to be Du/Pec's first second-round playoff victory in program history.

Hoffman had other strong performances in 2023: including a Week 3 effort of 157 yards and three touchdowns through the air and 96 yards and two more scores on the ground; and a Week 5 effort of 214 yards and two TDs passing with 109 yards and three scores on the ground. But none on a bigger stage.

A record rusher

East senior Javius Catlin ran for 169 yards against Jefferson in his final game, giving him a NIC-10 record 3,619 yards rushing for his career.

Hot at the right time

Boylan senior Reese Schlichting led the area in goals with 28 this past boys soccer season, and he got really hot at a good time for the Titans. He had two goals in each of Boylan's first two playoff games, and while Schlichting and the Titans fell in sectionals, his early postseason spark was key.

As a Byron freshman, Macy Groharing shines

The Byron girls basketball team soared back to the state championship game early on this year, and while that's where its run finally ended, it was still an impressive, and somewhat improbable, run. Improbable in that the Tigers trailed early and often in its super sectional matchup with Chicago DePaul College Prep, but a freshman helped pull them out of the hole, and onto state. Byron steamrolled past Chicago DePaul 52-45 late, and freshman point guard Macy Groharing led all scorers with 21 points, six assists and four steals. But her poise late in the game is what really stood out.

Mason Peterson’s 3-point spree

Peterson made 13 3-pointers, tied for third-most in state history, in No. 2-ranked Pecatonica’s 79-71 loss to South Beloit in the Eastland tournament late in 2023. He finished with 39 points and had six 3s in the first quarter alone.

Breaking Olympic champ’s record

Camden Taylor would have made our year-end list for breaking the NIC-10 records in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke. That gave him all eight individual conference swimming records, which can only be set at the conference meet. As incredible as that is, Taylor topped that two weeks later, becoming the first NIC-10 boys swimming champion in 20 years and doing so in record fashion. The 6-9 Taylor’s time of 43.72 seconds in the 100 free broke the state record held by Olympic champion Ryan Held. He also finished a close second in the 200 free.

Dakota's Noah Wenzel wins state title at the buzzer

Wenzel, now a senior, won the state title at 195 as a sophomore and then took home the championship at 220 in dramatic fashion at the tail-end of the 2022-23 season. He claimed his last two matches by one point each, and in the finals, he trailed most of the way until a reversal earned him his second state championship in the final 10 seconds of the match.

Big man stands tall

Ross Robertson, a 6-8 sophomore forward, had 37 points, 24 rebounds and made a contested 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer to force a second extra session in South Beloit’s 60-57 double-overtime loss to eventual state runner-up Scales Mound in the Class 1A sectional semifinals.

Emma Pierson passes Levens

Belvidere sophomore guard Emma Pierson scored 40 points in a win over East, breaking the school record of 38 set 27 years earlier by Amanda Levens, who became a two-time All-Pac-12 player at Arizona State and is now the head coach at the University of Nevada. That started a streak of Pierson scoring more than 30 points four times in five games.

State final shooting display...

State runner-up Scales Mound trailed Waterloo Gibault 19-5 after one quarter in the Class 1A state title game. The Hornets came back to briefly lead early in the second half, mostly because of All-State junior guard Thomas Hereau. He scored 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-7 on 3-pointers. He scored 16 of his team’s 18 points in the second quarter.

...and winning a state golf title

Hereau also won a state title in golf in 2023, shooting a 70-73—143 at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington to win the Class 1A state boys golf title by two strokes. Earlier in the year, he led Scales Mound to a state runner-up finish in basketball. He joins Stockton's Trey Timpe in 2013 as the only NUIC state golf champions.

Classic pitching duel

Byron's Braden Smith and North Boone's Chandler Alderman might have been the Big Northern’s best two pitchers in the last decade. They went head-to-head in the regional finals, with Smith pitching Byron to a 3-0 win, striking out 11 and allowing only two runners to reach base. Alderman starred himself, striking out 12 and giving up just three hits in six innings, but he tipped his cap to Smith. “He shut us down,” North Boone’s Alderman said. “You can’t ask much more from him.”

Rylee Broshous shatters records

Broshous, one of four locals to make the Class 1A first-team all-state list, just took over the Forreston record books this season with a school-record eight home runs, a .621 batting average, 57 runs scored, 22 doubles, a .692 on-base percentage and a 1.109 slugging percentage this season. The senior had already set the school record with nine triples last year.

Supreme Muhammad bolts to title

Muhammad had a big day at the Class 1A boys state track and field meet last spring, winning the Class 1A 200-meter dash, placing second in the 100 dash, and anchoring the 4x200 relay team that placed fourth.

Winnebago's Amanda Gustafson soars

This senior rolled to first in the IHSA Class 1A state shot put competition with a toss of 12.05 meters, and she took ninth — one spot off the medal podium — in discus. She helped lead Winnebago to the 1A girls team title.

Maddux Hibbard deals

Hibbard, the NIC-10 player of the year, threw 6 ⅓ no-hit innings to lead Hononegah to a 3-2 victory over Algonquin Jacobs in the Class 4A sectional final, giving Hononegah only its second baseball sectional title in school history.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Top high school sports performances of 2023 in Rockford, Illinois area