Lincoln-Way Central High School, LWC, or Central is a public four-year high school about 3.5 miles south of

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

near the intersection of Schoolhouse Road and

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

New Lenox, Illinois New Lenox is a village in central Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago and an eastern suburb of Joliet. The village population was 27,214 as of 2020. New Lenox has schools like Lincoln-Way West High School ...

, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the original school of Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210, which also includes

Lincoln-Way East High School Lincoln-Way East High School or LWE, is a four-year public high school located approximately three miles south of Interstate 80 near the intersection of Colorado Avenue, U.S. Route 45 (La Grange Road) and U.S. Route 30 (Lincoln Highway) in Frankfo ...

and

Lincoln-Way West High School Lincoln-Way West High School or LWW, is a public four-year high school located about 1.5 miles south of Lincoln Highway near the intersection of Gougar Road and Illinois Highway in New Lenox, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in ...

. Lincoln-Way Central and Lincoln-Way West are located in

New Lenox New Lenox is a village in central Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago and an eastern suburb of Joliet. The village population was 27,214 as of 2020. New Lenox has schools like Lincoln-Way West High School ...

, Lincoln-Way East is located in Frankfort. Effective since the 2016–2017 school year, Lincoln-Way North High School, in Frankfort Square, closed due to financial troubles and the district is now a three school district. District 210 offices are located at Lincoln-Way Central.

History

In June 1952, another election provided for the approval and construction of Lincoln-Way High School. The new high school district would draw students which until then had been attending

Joliet Township High School Joliet Central High School is a public secondary school located in Joliet, Illinois. Central is part of Joliet Township High Schools, along with Joliet West and Joliet East (now defunct). Before the opening of Joliet East and West, the school wa ...

Bloom Township High School Bloom High School is a public school in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is part of Bloom Township High School District 206. The school was founded in 1900. A second Chicago Heights high school, Bloom Trail, was established in 1976 to offset overc ...

Carl Sandburg High School Carl Sandburg High School, Sandburg, or CSHS, is a public four-year high school located at the intersection of La Grange Road and Southmoor Drive in Orland Park, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part ...

, and Peotone High School. The cornerstone was ceremonially installed on October 25, 1953, after construction had begun. Lincoln-Way opened its doors to students on September 7, 1954. The name of the school was selected by one Mrs. Florence Pittman and the board of education officially adopted it as "Lincoln-Way". The charter members of the student body voted to have red and black as their school colors. Lyrics to the Lincoln-Way Central school song were written by Robert Taylor and Betty Tryon, set to the tune of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

pep song. Bond issues for additions to the original building were approved in 1957, 1960, 1962, and 1969. The 1969 bond issue approved a ninth grade building which was built north of the main building. In 1971 the north building opened up, accommodating 700 students. In 1994, a field house was added to the campus. Then in 1998, citizens of District No. 210 approved a $60 million building bond referendum to split the existing high school freshmen-sophomore / junior-senior configuration into two separate four-year high schools while adding to the existing two schools an academic wing with 50 classrooms at each campus, olympic-sized swimming pools, as well as the addition of a fine arts auditorium and music classrooms at Central. The changeover became official for the 2001–02 school year as the Central campus opened as Lincoln-Way Central High School. Lincoln-Way Central is known as simply “Lincoln-Way” by area residents because it is the original of the four high schools, rich in over sixty-five years of tradition and history. Students here are noted for their exceeding pride. Phrases such as "We are Central", "Once a Knight, Always a Knight", and "Knight Pride" exemplify students' school spirit.

Music

Lincoln-Way Central's Music Department consists of multiple extracurricular music groups, including the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Concert Bands, two jazz ensembles, (Jazz I and II), pep band, orchestra, guitar studio, piano, multiple choirs, including Madrigal Singers, and the school's marching band, the Marching Knights. The Marching Knights consisted of 101 student members as of the 2012–2013 season. The group marched in the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Parade. The band has been in existence since 1954. In 2017, the Marching Knights combined with the three other Lincoln-Way area High Schools to form the Lincoln-Way Marching Band. Notable Music Department events include: * 2020 –

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

(postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19) * 2019 – Tournament of Roses Parade * 2012 – Trip to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

(Big Bay Balloon Parade) * 2010 – Trip to Orlando, FL (

Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...

Parade) * 2008 – Trip to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

* 2007 – Opening Ceremony for

I-355 Interstate 355 (I-355), also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway, is an Interstate Highway and tollway in the western and southwest suburbs of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. Like most other toll roads in the northeastern portion of th ...

* 2007 – Guitar studio and orchestra tour of

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

* 2005 – Presidential Inaugural Parade Participants * 2000 – Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade * 1999 – ISU State Champions * 1996 – WGI – Percussion Scholastic World Class – 4th Place * 1995 – WGI – Percussion Scholastic World Class – 2nd Place (Silver Medal) * 1994 – WGI – Percussion Scholastic World Class – 1st Place (Gold Medal) * 1993 – WGI – Percussion Scholastic World Class – 2nd Place (Silver Medal) * 1987 – Performance at the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

South Bend, IN South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

* 1984 – Orange Bowl Parade and Field competition, Miami, FL (3rd place National Field Show competition) * 1982 – Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade * 1974 – Marching Knights formed * 1968 – Opening Ceremony for

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

Athletics

Lincoln-Way Central competes as a member of the Southwest Suburban Conference. The school is a member of the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fed ...

(IHSA), which governs most athletics and competitive activities in Illinois. Teams are called the "

Knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

". The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

, soccer,

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

and

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

. Young women may compete in

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, poms, and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, while young men may also compete in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. Now recognized by the IHSA, the school's athletic department also oversees

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

teams for young men and women. The following teams have won or finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournament or meet: * Badminton: 2nd Place (2007–08, 2008–09) * Bowling (Boys): 3rd Place (2007–08, 2017–2018) * Cross Country (Boys): 3rd Place (1968–69, 1990–91); 4th Place (1997–98) * Football: State Champions (1997–98); 2nd Place (1996–97); Semifinalists (1999–2000, 2000–01) * Golf (Boys): 4th place (1984–85) * Gymnastics (Boys): State Champions (2005–2006, 2010–2011); 2nd place (1996–97) * Soccer (Boys): 2nd Place (1999–2000, 2000–01); 3rd Place (2001–02); 4th place (1992–93) * Soccer (Girls): 2nd Place (1998–99, 1999–2000); 4th Place (1997–98, 2004–05, 2006–07) * Softball: State Champions (2007–08) * Track & Field (Boys): 3rd Place (1996–97) * Track & Field (Girls): 4th Place (1973–74) * Volleyball (Boys): 4th Place (1998–99) * Wrestling: 3rd Place (2007–08) * Water Polo (Girls): 2nd Place (2012–2013)

Activities and clubs

* AFJROTC Drill Team *Adventure Challenge Club * Art Club * Book Club * Chess Club & Chess Team * Class Officers * Color Guard * Computer Technology Club * Creative Writing Club – Calliope * Environmental Action Club (EAC) * Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) * Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) * Future Educators of America (FEA) * Future Farmers of America (FFA) * Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) *

Interact Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

* International Club * Intramurals * Jazz Band * Junior Classical League (JCL) *

Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. As a student-led organization, Key Club's goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. Key Club International is the hig ...

* Leadership, Education, and Opportunity Club (LEO) *

Literary Magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

* Madrigals * Marching Band – Marching Knights * Mathletes * Men's Choir – Singing Knights *

Mu Alpha Theta Mu Alpha Theta () is the United States mathematics honor society for high school and two-year college students. In June 2015, it served over 108,000 student members in over 2,200 chapters in the United States and in 20 foreign countries. Its main ...

* National Honor Society (NHS) * Newspaper * Nursing home visits – Noble Knights * Orchesis * Peer Helpers * Peer Mediators – Link Crew * Peer Mentors * Pep Band * Pi Sigma Pi * Robotics and Engineering Team * Scholastic Bowl * Science Club * Skills USA * Snowball * Speech Team * Spirit Club – Knightmares/Red Rush * Spring Musical * Student Ambassadors * Student Council * Student Athletic Training * Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) * Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) * Television Club – LWCTV * Theatre Company * Tri-M National Music Honor Society * Vocal Jazz Ensemble * Welcoming committee * Winter Guard * Women's Choir – Treble Makers * Yearbook

Notable alumni

James Augustine James Augustine (born February 27, 1984) is a retired American professional basketball player who played as a forward. During the career he played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini before being drafted 41st overall in the 2006 N ...

(2002), former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

' 2005 NCAA tournament runners-up who played for the NBA's

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

(2006–08). *

Christopher Bear Christopher Bear (born July 19, 1982) is a drummer and multi-instrumentalist member of the Brooklyn-based indie-rock group Grizzly Bear. Bear joined the group with singer Ed Droste for contributions on their first record, '' Horn of Plenty''. ...

(2000), drummer for the band Grizzly Bear. *

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

, rock band *

Tony Cingrani Anthony Michael Cingrani (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to playing professionally, he playe ...

(2007),

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher who is currently a free agent; previously pitched for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. *

Karla DeVito Karla DeVito (born May 29, 1953) is an American singer and actress. Early life and education DeVito was born in suburban Chicago in Mokena, Illinois. She attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena and Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox. She ...

, singer, actress, and voice artist. *

Ned Grabavoy Ned Grabavoy (born July 1, 1983) is a retired American professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He is the technical director and lead soccer operations director for the Portland Timbers. Career Youth and College Grabavoy playe ...

(2001),

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

(2004–16); helped

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

win

2009 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2009 was the 14th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS). The soccer match took place on November 22, 2009, at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington, and was contested between the Los Angeles Galaxy a ...

with kick in 5-4 penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw. * Kevin Lynch (1984), vice president of technology,

Apple, Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

Rob Ninkovich Robert Michael Ninkovich (born February 1, 1984) is a former American football outside linebacker who played eleven seasons in National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Purdue as a defensive end and was drafted by the New Orle ...

(2002),

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

(2006–17) for Super Bowl champion

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, played in

Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

XLIX 49 (forty-nine) is the natural number following 48 and preceding 50. In mathematics Forty-nine is the square of seven. It appears in the Padovan sequence, preceded by the terms 21, 28, 37 (it is the sum of the first two of these). Along with ...

and LI, winning twice; also played for

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. * Casey Paus (2001), former

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

quarterback * Cory Paus (1998), former quarterback for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Johan Reinhard Johan Reinhard (born December 13, 1943) is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. He is also a senior research fellow at The Mountain Institute, a visiting professor at Catholic University, Salta, Argentina, an honorary p ...

, author and explorer-in-residence with the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

. He has studied the lands and people of the

Andes Mountains The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

and

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in addition to other areas. *

Mark Suppelsa Mark Eugene Suppelsa (born June 25, 1962 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a retired journalist, who worked as an anchor and investigative reporter for WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois. Suppelsa served as the co-anchor of the "WGN Evening News" from 5–7 p.m ...

(1980), radio and television

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WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Public high schools in Illinois Schools in Will County, Illinois