The Bloomington-Normal Sports Commission recognized the top athletes and teams from Bloomington-Normal and surrounding area during its annual banquet.

Some student athletes can taken advantage of the transfer portal to help their academic careers - in addition to athletics. Illinois Wesleyan University senior Cody Mitchell will pursue a masters degree at Roosevelt University in Chicago near his hometown.

One of the best high school punters in Illinois only started to play football a few years ago. Declan Duley is a senior at El Paso-Gridley High School. He's the highest rated punter in Illinois and has accepted a football scholarship at the University of Illinois.

Recent Illinois Wesleyan University graduate and academic All-American Ellen Gilbert is a nominee for NCAA Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Gilbert broke several school records as swimmer at IWU.

The Bloomington-Normal Sports Commission recently honored some of the top student-athletes in McLean County. In this edition of Beyond Sports, the honorees show how they balance life in the classroom and on the field of play — and excel at both.

An Illinois State University student who comes from a family of firefighters wants to find more people his age who want to pursue firefighting as a career.

Students at Bloomington, Normal Community and Normal West high schools aren't usually teammates on their field, but there's one exception. The three schools are part of a co-op lacrosse program.

An Illinois State baseball player has made his long-awaited debut, two years after he overcame cancer.

The first official high school girls state wrestling competition in Illinois will include several wrestlers from Bloomington-Normal who want to make history.

An Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball player took time to work on her other passion after she wasn't able to play basketball last year when the coronavirus pandemic shortened the season.