West Lincoln Broadwell wins 8th
grade state championship; Cross and Froebe dominate in 61-23 win
[February 13, 2026]
The West Lincoln Broadwell Wolverines dismantled the Kewanee
Visitation Giants 61-23 on Thursday night to win the 2026 IESA 8th
Grade Class 1A State Championship at Warrensburg-Latham High School.
Griffen Cross was just phenomenal on the court, leading West Lincoln
Broadwell with 28 points. Cross has improved a great deal even since
last season. It’s obvious he has worked very hard on his game. He
can do it all on the court. And he’s just smooth. His shot is really
beautiful. He’s got height in his favor and he knows how to use it.
He can move anywhere on that court and be dangerous, both on offense
and defense. He will be a terrific high school basketball player.
Kruz Froebe poured in 25 points and all you need to know about this
kid is he’s a Froebe. Basketball is in his blood and he lives for
these moments on the court. Froebe probably had seven or eight
steals in the game and he converted those steals into instant
offense nearly every single time. He’s quick and smart on the court
and a real true floor general. Word on the street is wait until you
see this kid on the football field. Froebe will also make a terrific
high school basketball player. Did the Froebe’s save the best for
last?!
At any rate, the future of Lincoln Railer Basketball continues to
look really good.
Before rolling into the game summary, it’s worth noting that this is
the third state championship for these WLB eighth graders. They won
the 7th grade state championship the previous two years in a row and
now an 8th grade state championship.
Upon some investigation, it appears that WLB is just the third
Lincoln school to win an 8th grade state championship. Lincoln
Junior High won the Heavyweight Class in 1970 and Carroll Catholic
won the 8th grade state championship in 1986.
Onto the game!
First quarter
The Wolverines completely shook the Giants up in the first quarter.
After allowing the Giants the first bucket of the game, Griffen
Cross and Kruz Froebe combined to score the next 22 points for WLB.
With Froebe tossing in twelve points and Cross adding ten points,
the WLB future win was a no-doubt with the Wolverines on top 22-2.
The first six minutes was filled with incredibly fast action. It was
basically a half court game because the Giants couldn’t get the ball
across half court consistently. There were too many steals and
turnovers for one person to keep track of as the WLB defense just
demolished the Giants starting lineup. This Giants lineup brought a
19-2 record to the state championship game.
Second quarter
Cross guided the WLB offense in the second quarter with nine points.
The Wolverines just continued to keep the fast pace up and the
Giants had to be thinking they were hit by a truck or a tornado or
both. The Giants finally scored a second time, this time on a three
at the 2:58 mark and their fans erupted in applause. Colby Bowman
would also score near the two minute mark and with just under a
minute to go, Cross hit a beautiful corner three to make the score
35-9. The Giants banked in a shot at the buzzer to give themselves a
confidence boost and the score was 35-11 at the half.
Third quarter
The big three of Cross, Froebe and Bowman kept the offense alive in
a big way in the third quarter. Froebe had eight points, Cross had
seven points and Bowman managed to score two buckets. Froebe’s steal
and layup at the buzzer to end the third quarter gave WLB their
biggest lead with a 54-16 score.
[to top of second column] |
The West Lincoln Broadwell Wolverines are the 2026 IESA 8th Grade
Class 1A State Champs! Photo by Teena Lowery
These boys have been pretty serious and focused these season....but
now look at these smiles! Photo by Teena Lowery
Fourth quarter
There would be a running clock in the fourth quarter and before the
big three exited the game, they each scored one more time. Froebe
hit a three and Cross and Bowman each scored a bucket.
While the bench players did not score, it was still really fun to
hear the WLB student section cheer them on. Every WLB player had a
smile on their face when the buzzer signaled the end of the game.
The Wolverines also most likely set a record with the largest margin
of victory in an 8th grade state championship game as the final
score was 61-23. And holding the Giants to just 23 points may be a
new record for the least amount of points given up.
All in all it was a very impressive and successful season for the
Wolverines, who suffered just one loss to a larger opponent earlier
in the season.
WLB Coach Curtis Conrady was happy and relieved to get this win in
the last game of the season.
“These boys have put in so much work the last four years,” said
Conrady. “They showed up everyday at practice and they worked hard.
This was our goal from the get-go, especially this last year. We got
killed last year by 18 points and it stung. All summer long we
talked about getting back here and winning State and getting this
monkey off our backs.”
“As a team we are dangerous because we’ve got Kruz who can shoot
anywhere on the court. Honestly, he has struggled at Warrensburg to
shoot. And Griffen has probably shot eighty-percent in these three
games combined. Even with Colby being sick we still found ways to
win. Everyone on this team knows their roles. They know what to
do.They’re unselfish and they don’t care who scores.”
On a final note, congratulations to Colby Bowman, who won the IESA
Sportsmanship Award for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines finished their spectacular state championship season
with a 29-1 record.
Congratulations, State Champs!
WLB 64
Cross 28
Froebe 25
Bowman 8
Kewanee Visitation 23
Vargas 12
Barron 4
Boston 3
Welgat 2
Campbell 2
[Teena Lowery] |
