Abingdon-Avon junior James Shuey’s run at the IHSA Cross Country State Finals in Peoria on Saturday brought an end to the fall sports season for the A-Town Tornadoes. Shuey placed 151st out of 260 total runners. Shuey is the first A-Town cross country runner to make the IHSA finals for head coach Barry Mink.
The A-Town football team went (8-3) and made a run to the second round of the IHSA playoffs under head coach Rick Quinn.
The Tornado volleyball team won 3 more matches than they did in 2025 and showed marked improvement with a young squad under head coach Ramona Tinkham.
Sean Foster’s Tornado soccer team was (10-11) and was knocked out in the playoffs by the eventual state runner-up Alleman.
Abingdon-Avon High School Athletic Director Reid Kelso hopes to take all the momentum from the fall sports season right into the winter sports schedule. Both the boys and girls basketball teams are expected to have yet another winning season. The Tornado boys went (29-4) last winter under head coach Cory Link. The boys team will return several starters.
The A-Town girls have had preseason hype around the program for the last 3 years under head coach Brent Dugan. Much of that hype has been centred around senior standout, Kennedy Quinn. Kennedy announced recently that she will continue her academic and basketball career at DePaul University. Opponents of the Tornadoes this season will have much more than Kennedy Quinn to contend with. Kennedy’s cousin, Kaydin, has also announced that she will continue her schooling and basketball career at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield.
A-Town wrestling numbers have continued to climb in the early stages of that program. There are expected to be four female wrestlers this season, along with a large contingent of boys.
Kelso says he’s looking forward to the winter sports season.
The A-Town boys bowling squad will be the first Tornado team to crank it up. The Tornadoes will host West Central and Canton at Abbe Lanes tonight.
The A-Town Winter Sports Meet the Teams Night is scheduled for this Friday night at Abingdon-Avon High School. A free-will spaghetti dinner will start at 5:00. Meet the Tornadoes begins at 6:00. All the winter sports teams and cheerleaders will be announced, followed by the A-Town 4th grade girls and 6th grade boys basketball teams.
For the full interview with AD Kelso, go to the SPORTS PODCAST section.
