Joliet Central Chess Advances to 2020 IHSA State Chess Tournament Finals

The Joliet Central High School Chess Team qualified to compete in the IHSA State Chess Team Tournament, which will take place on Thursday, February 13, 2020 and Friday, February 14, 2020 at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois. The team advanced to this competition by finishing second in the Andrew Chess Sectionals, out of twenty-one teams. This marks the first time in school history that the team finished as runners-up at the sectional and enters the state finals series seeded at a historical high of thirty-third in the state of Illinois, out of over one hundred and fifty competing schools.

The team is coached by Rodney Coatney Sr., and the team is led by a group of seniors that are determined, focused and strategically sound. The team members are as follows: Captain- Hunter Binder, Captain- John Linehan, DJ Morales, Sergio Zavala, Paige Overcash, Eduardo Alvarado, Vicky Keoborakot, Danny Keoborakot, Jose Mendieta, Matthew Budde, Tyler McDonald, Giovany Cruz, and Daniel Carter.