Lostant High School “Rams”

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Lostant High School
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Lostant, Illinois

The History of Lostant High School

Lostant (population 486) is located on IL Route 251, approximately 18 miles south of LaSalle in southwestern LaSalle County. The Conrail Railroad tracks make their way through town. The Little Sandy Creek runs by the west side of town, as does Interstate 39.

The village is named after the Countess of Lostant (actual name L’Ostende, eventually evolved to Lostant), who visited the community in 1861. Lostant has been about 500 residents since 1878. Unlike the “Great Chicago Fire,” Lostant residents did not get all excited about their fire in 1889, caused by a spark from a passing train. The “Pretty Big Lostant Fire” burned many of the downtown businesses and homes, causing about $50,000 in damage. But the Lostant residents didn’t feel the need to alert the world like their neighbors to the far northeast. They simply rebuilt and moved on…gotta love small town folks.

Lostant residents have a great history of education in their town. High school education dates back to 1893 when a freshmen year was added to the grade school. A sophomore class was added in 1899, junior year in 1904, and finally a senior year in 1914. The first graduating class became the class of 1915.

The community supported its own high school for several decades. In the late 1980’s-early 1990’s, there was talk of deactivating the high school. The deactivation eventually took place in 1993. The Lostant people kept their grade school for their town, providing education for grades K-8. The high-school aged students were given their choice of attending any one of four districts in the area (Fieldcrest, Putnam County, Streator, or LaSalle-Peru).

Lostant High School (current building built in 1936) still stands and is used as Lostant Elementary for grades K-8. Please e-mail us if you have any more information on Lostant High School.

Lostant High School Quick Facts

Year opened with freshmen only  1893

Sophomore class added:            1899

Junior class added:                    1904

Senior class added:                   1914

First four-yr graduation held:       1915

Year closed:                              1993

Enrollment last year:                  45 students

School nickname:                     “Rams”

School colors:                           Orange & Blue

School Fight Song:                    unavailable

Lostant High School
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Gymnasium
Lostant vs.Wenona – 1973-74 Regional Championship
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Lostant wins 64 – 60

Athletics

The Lostant Rams have a great history of success for both boys and girls sports.  The boys won IHSA hardware in basketball and track while the girls faired quite well in basketball and softball. The girls, however, faired extremely well in volleyball. The Rams competed in the Tri-County Confetrence which was formed in 1927. Other schools in the conference included Putnam, Hopkins, Swaney, Magnolia, Henry, Tonica, and Varna. The best seasons of the Lostant Rams and Lady Rams according to the IHSA web site (www.IHSA.org) are listed below.

Boys’ Track & Field

The boys track & field program had great success in the 1920s.  Two brothers, Raymond and Cletus Linder, each brought home two medals from the IHSA State Track Meet in the one-class system.  Both brothers accomplished this in the Shot Put. Raymond’s efforts came in 1926 (2nd!) and 1927 (5th).  His brother Cletus followed this in 1928 (2nd!), and 1929 (State Champ!). Cletus was joined in 1928 by Rolland Lippincott, who placed 4th in the 880 yard run. Their points earned placed Lostant 9th in the Illinois State Track Meet under the old one-class system. One other individual won IHSA hardware. Max Chasteen placed 4th in the high jump in 1944. The complete results are listed below.

1926    Raymond Linder       Shot Put            2nd Place

1927    Raymond Linder       Shot Put            5th Place

1928    Team Placed 9th Overall in State Meet

           (Also Tri-County Conference Champions)

          

           Individual Placers

          

           Cletus Linder                    Shot Put             2nd Place 

           Rolland Lippincott            880 Yard Run      4th Place 

           1928 Track Meet Final Team Standings

          

1.)  Chicago Tilden                          –    22

2.)  Urbana                                     –    17.5

3.)  Evanston                                  –    12

4.)  West Frankfort                          –    11

5.)  Carbondale                               –      9

Enfield                                     –      9

7.)  Chicago Hyde Park                   –      8

Oak Park – River Forest             –      8

9.)  LOSTANT                               –       6

10.) Nine teams tied with 5 points

1929    Cletus Linder        Shot Put                  STATE CHAMPION!!

1944    Max Chasteen       High Jump              4th Place

*A nephew of Cletus and Raymond Linder, Edward Linder, advises us that Raymond Linder went on to play football for the University of Colorado upon his graduation from Lostant High in 1927.  

Girls’ Volleyball

The Lostant Lady Rams had an outstanding string of success in their volleyball program. Led by Coach Mary Nicholson, the Lady Rams won an incredible seven straight Regional Titles in the 1980’s, including at least four seasons of more than 20 wins. Coach Nicholson had a hand in the team’s success from its inception, guiding the Lady Ram netters beginning with the first team in 1974. The records of the many great teams and Regional champs of LHS are listed below.

1973-74   10-  2       (good record)                Coach Mary Nicholson

1974-75   11-  2       (good record)                Coach Mary Nicholson

1975-76   13-  2       (good record)                Coach Mary Nicholson

1976-77   14-  1       (good record)                Coach Mary Nicholson

1977-78   11-  4       (good record)                Coach Mary Nicholson

1979-80   13-  8       District Champions        Coach Mary Nicholson

1982-83   13-  5       (good record)                Coach Mark Haberkorn

1983-84   22-  5       Regional Champions    Coaches Nicholson & Haberkorn

1984-85   25-  2       Regional Champions    Coaches Nicholson & Haberkorn

1985-86   22-  6       Regional Champions    Coaches Nicholson & Haberkorn

1986-87   22-  6       Regional Champions    Coaches Nicholson & Haberkorn

1987-88   N.R.A.      Regional Champions    Coach Mary Nicholson

1988-89   N.R.A.      Regional Champions

1989-90   N.R.A.      Regional Champions

NICE JOB LADY RAMS!!

Boys’ Basketball

The Lostant Rams boys’ basketball teams also won IHSA hardware. This includes a Regional Championship against the much larger schools of the area in 1944.  Coaches names and team records are not currently available. The teams won Tri-County Conference tournaments in 1927-28-44-91. The school enrollment during the 1973-74 Regional Championship run was 84 students….Excellent Job Lostant Rams!!

1926-27            Tri-County Tourney Champions

1927-28            Tri-County Tourney Champions

1928-29            Tri-County Tourney Runner-ups

1939-40                                                                             Coach Dean Short

1942-43            District Champions

1943-44            District/Regional Champions

                        Tri-County Conference Champs 

1963-64            District Champions                      

1973-74  17-10  Woodland HS Regional Champs              Coach Jeff Hacker

                       Cons. Champs Chatsworth Holiday Tour.

                       Lost 63-59 to Kewanee Wethersfield

1st Round of Wenona Sectional

     Coach Hacker Named LaSalle-Peru Area “Coach of the Year”

1974-75            Tri-County Tourney Runner-up                      Coach Howard “Jack” Roemer

**Coach Roemer also had very successful seasons at other small schools listed on this site–Sheldon HS and Griggsville HS.

1980-81            Tri-County Tourney Runner-up                      Coach Mark Haberkorn

1985-86            Tri-County Tourney Runner-up                      Coach Mark Haberkorn

1990-91            Tri-County Tourney Champions                Coach Mark Haberkorn

One of the best players to grace the hardwood of Lostant High School was John Freeman. His 50 points scored in a game against Cornell on February 24, 1987 is the school record. Freeman later went on to play at nearby Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby and helped lead the school to a third place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s national finals in 1989.

Girls Basketball

The Lady Rams won a Regional title, too. The team’s record and name of the coach is not available.

1983-84      Tri-County Conference Champions

1984-85      Tri-County Conference Champions

1985-86      Tri-County Conference Champions

1986-87      Regional Champions

                  Tri-County Conference Champions

Girls Softball

Must have been a talented bunch of ladies in the mid-1980s at Lostant High. They also picked up a Regional championship in Softball. The coach’s name and team’s record are not available.

1985-86        Regional Champions

Great Coach

Mary Nicholson  –  Girls Volleyball

                              5 Regional Champions (possibly 7)

                              176 – 38 (possibly better yet)

                              May have coached other sports at Lostant High School

Need Your Assistance

If you have any further information regarding the Lostant High School accomplishments, and not just in athletics, please write to us so we may share it with others. We especially enjoy photos of the great teams and individuals. You can e-mail these items to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or write to us at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago, IL  60631                         

Lostant vs. Kewanee Wethersfield
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1973-74 Sectional – 1st Round

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