The blind drawing that determines the state final pairings in bracketed team sports was held at the IHSA Office on Thursday, September 20, starting at approximately 1:00 pm. This drawing covered the fall sports of boys soccer and girls volleyball. Boys football, which operates under a different system, will be paired on Football Pairings Night, October 20.
Visiting executives from several Midwestern state high school associations and the National Federation of State High School Associations made the drawings. Traditionally, the pairings are made by ordering the sites that feed into the state finals in alphabetical order and numbering them from 1 to 4. Then the numbered peas are drawn from a bottle. The number on the first pea drawn represents the site whose winner will occupy the first position on the bracket, and so on.
"The rolling of the peas" dates back to at least 1940.
Boys Class 1A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Lisle (Benedictine U.) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Peoria (P. Christian) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Raymond (Lincolnwood) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #1, Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #2, Lisle (Benedictine U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #3, Peoria (P. Christian) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #4, Raymond (Lincolnwood) Super-Sectional
Boys Class 2A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Burlington (Central) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Chatham (Glenwood) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Sterling (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #2, Chatham (Glenwood) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #1, Burlington (Central) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #3, Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #4, Sterling (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Boys Class 3A Soccer
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Barrington Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Bradley (B.-Bourbonnais) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of TBA Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, Romeoville (Lewis U.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, TBA Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Bradley (B.-Bourbonnais) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #1, Barrington Super-Sectional
Girls Class 1A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Elgin (Westminster Christian) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Lexington Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Nokomis Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Okawville Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #1, Elgin (Westminster Christian) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Okawville Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, Lexington Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #3, Nokomis Super-Sectional
Girls Class 2A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Beardstown Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of McLeansboro (Hamilton County) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Oregon Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Watseka Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #1, Beardstown Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Watseka Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #2, McLeansboro (Hamilton County) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #3, Oregon Super-Sectional
Girls Class 3A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Bethalto (Civic Memorial) Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Elmhurst (Timothy Christian) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Park Forest (Rich East) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Sterling (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, Park Forest (Rich East) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Sterling (H.S.) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #1, Bethalto (Civic Memorial) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #2, Elmhurst (Timothy Christian) Super-Sectional
Girls Class 4A Volleyball
Starting lineup:
Pea #1 represents winner of Bartlett Super-Sectional
Pea #2 represents winner of Gurnee (Warren) Super-Sectional
Pea #3 represents winner of Normal (Community) Super-Sectional
Pea #4 represents winner of Riverside (R.-Brookfield) Super-Sectional
Bracket drawing:
Semifinal bracket position #1: pea #3, Normal (Community) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #2: pea #4, Riverside (R.-Brookfield) Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #3: pea #1, Bartlett Super-Sectional
Semifinal bracket position #4: pea #2 ,Gurnee (Warren) Super-Sectional
Sectional Pairings
In both boys soccer and girls volleyball, some sectionals are seeded in their entirety ("sectional complexes") and some are seeded in two separate groups ("subsectionals"). The seeds are then distributed among four regionals for the first level of competition. In the sectional semifinals, the regional champions are paired as follows:
Sectional complex: The regional containing the #1 seed is paired with the regional containing the #4 seed, while the regional containing the #2 seed is paired with the regional containing the #3 seed.
Two subsectionals: The regional containing the #1 seed of subsectional A is paired with the regional containing the #2 seed of subsectional B, while the regional containing the #1 seed of subsectional B is paired with the regional containing the #2 seed of subsectional A. An exception to these pairings is made for the southernmost sectional in Class 3A boys soccer and Class 4A girls volleyball. In these sectionals, the two regional winners from the Metro-East area will play at a local site. The winners of the central Illinois regionals will play their semifinal at another site. The sectional championship game will be played at the sectional site.