Meridian High School is a public four-year high school located in

Macon, Illinois Macon is a city in Macon County, Illinois, United States whose population was 1,177 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area and lies south of Decatur. History The city was named after Nathani ...

. It is located about nine miles south of

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. Its first year of existence was the fall of 1994, when it was formed by the merger of the Macon School District (1927–1994) and the Blue Mound School District (1917–1994). It is now part of the Meridian Community School District #15, which includes Meridian Middle School (grades 6-8) and Meridian High School (grades 9–12) in Macon, and Meridian Elementary School (grades Pre-K-5) in Blue Mound. The Meridian school district includes the towns of Macon, Blue Mound, Boody, Elwin, and some areas in the southern tip of Decatur. In 2011, with the help of a one percent sales tax increase for Macon County and a grant from the state of Illinois, Meridian residents decided to change the Macon and Blue Mound campuses. Meridian High School would become the new Meridian Jr./Sr. High School, housing grades 6–12. A new wing and gym would be added, and a new football and baseball field would be constructed. Meridian Middle School would be torn down (except for the gymnasium) and a new school constructed in its place which would serve as the new elementary school (Pre-K–5).

Sports

On June 4, 1971, the Macon Ironmen baseball team finished in second place at 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 F ...

Boys Baseball Championship Tournament. The story of this feat has been retold in a 2012 book titled “One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season” by

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

writer

Chris Ballard Chris Ballard may refer to: * Chris Ballard (American football) (born 1969), American football general manager for the Indianapolis Colts * Chris Ballard (journalist) (born 1973), American sports writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' * Chris Ballard (p ...

. Brian Snitker, a member of that team, would go on to win the

2021 World Series The 2021 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2021 Major League Baseball season, 2021 season. The 117th World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) c ...

as manager of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. In November 1986, the Macon Ironmen football team took second place in the IHSA Class 1A State Playoffs. In November 1999, the Meridian Hawks placed second in the IHSA 2A Football Championship. On May 27, 2006, Meridian Hawks' Rodney Oyler was the first individual IHSA Boys State Champion in the open 800-meter run. On March 14, 2009, Meridian Hawks won the IHSA Boys Class 1A Basketball Championship. On May 20, 2023, Meridian Hawks' Kaylin Moreland was the champion of the 100-meter dash at the IHSA 1A Girls State Track & Field Championships.

Notable alumni

* Dale Connelly, who succeeded

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

as co-host of Minnesota Public Radio'sbr>Morning Show
is a 1973 graduate of Macon High School *

Lauren Doyle Lauren Doyle (born February 23, 1991) is an American rugby sevens player. She won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games as a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team and represented the United States at 3 Olympic G ...

, represented the United States of America for

Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held over six days in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 Olympics was the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was last played at the 1924 games. The usual laws of ...

* Brian Snitker,

winning manager of the

, member of the 1971 Mod Squad, and a 1973 graduate of Macon High School * Toby Towson, NCAA Gymnastics Champion, coach and dancer, a 1965 graduate of Macon High School.Macon Class of 1965 roster

References

http://www.ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysTrackField/RecordsHistory.aspx

External links

Meridian High School’s Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meridian High School (Macon, Illinois) Public high schools in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1994 Schools in Macon County, Illinois 1994 establishments in Illinois