Midwest Central Middle School - Home of the Raiders

Jaina Butler and Reid Sidders represented Midwest Central today at the IESA State Cross Country Meet. Both runners are the first Midwest Central Middle School runners to compete at that level. Jaina and Reid ran respectively and competed with the best in the state. Jaina placed 152nd with a time of 14:37.5. Reid placed 190th with a time of 13:25.2. Congratulations to both in their accomplishments.

Hear ye, hear ye! Far Far Away is coming here! 👑💚 Our students have been rehearsing, dancing, and belting their hearts out to bring Shrek the Musical to life — and trust us, it’s going to be ogre-the-top fun! 🧅 Bring your family, your friends, and your fairy-tale spirit to support these incredible kids. You’ll laugh, you’ll cheer, and you’ll leave believing that “beautiful ain’t always pretty!” 🎭

Today is the end of our 1st 9 weeks!

On Saturday, Jaina Butler and Reid Sidders will compete at the IESA State Cross Country Finals. Both Jaina and Reid are the first Midwest Central Middle School athletes to compete at the state meet since the program started. Jaina will run at 10:45 and Reid will run at 11:30. The Raider Nation is proud of you. Good Luck Jaina and Reid!

Dinner Theater Tickets

Midwest Central High School will present “Shrek the Musical” on October 23, 24, and 25, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the Forman Center in Manito. Tickets will be sold at the door. The show is directed by Susan Frank and Heather Burks.
There are also a free remaining dinner theater tickets for Saturday's show on October 25 at 5:30 p.m. The dinner theater is available by advance ticket sale only. Please reserve your tickets through the Midwest Central High School office. Call 309-968-6766 for more information.

Pictured is the cast of “Shrek the Musical” at a recent dance rehearsal.
Front Row, L to R: Sabrina Martin, Hayden Garman, Ashe Miles, Jackson Smith, Kamden Garman
Middle Row, L to R: Liam Frank, Addison Burks, Jovie Page, Maci Coile, Avery Herrin, Cooper Garlisch, Eliza Junkin, Brooklyn Edenburn, Bryar Huff, Harper Gough, Kennedy Prather, Saije Peters, Avery Koontz, Paisley Schmitgall, Charli Byrd
Back Row, L to R: Addi Coffey, Abby Strong, Jodan Kraft, Lilla Simer, Eliya Sansom, Cozette Marte', Dylan Streitmatter, Lillian Danner, Ennea Witt, Trenity Oertle, Leyla Danner, Jaden Flores, Leelinn Danner.
Also in the cast, but not pictured: Madison Hony, Maya Reynolds, Khloe Provence

Happy Columbus Day, Raiders!

History was made today for the Midwest Central Middle School cross country program at the IESA Sectionals in Rushville.  Midwest Central will be sending their first girl and boy runners to the IESA State Meet next Saturday at Maxwell Park in Bloomington. Jaina Butler and Reid Sidders will both be competing for the Raiders. Both Jaina and Reid placed well enough at Sectionals today to advance them to the state meet. All our runners today ran respectfully and did what they needed to do today. Many times today our runners were seen passing other runners while they were going up inclines. This showed their drive and determination to place higher. Many of our runners set personal times today for the year. As a team, our boys team placed 8th out of 11 teams. Below are the times and places of our runners. It was a great day to be a Raider!!!!

Jaina Butler - 18th - 14:17.3
Iris McKenzie - 65th - 17:48.1
Kennedy Prather - 66th - 18:01.9

Reid Sidders - 18th - 13:05.2
Carson Campbell - 37th - 13:55.6
Nolan Bartolazzi - 52nd - 14:45.4
Liam Frank - 55th - 15:00.1
Remington Hollis - 63rd - 15:33.2
Tyler Vanderwulp - 78th - 16:58.5

Raiders MS Cross Country
📅 Saturday, October 11, 2025
🏃‍♂️ @ Schuy - Rush Park
🎴 IESA Sectionals
🚌 HS 7:00 AM
⏰ 9:30 AM
📌 Schuy - Rush Park , 8000 Schuy Rush Park Rd, Rushville

There will be no school for MC students on Monday, October 13th in observance of Columbus Day!

Lady Raiders MS Basketball
📅 Thursday, October 9, 2025
🏀 @ Broadmoor
🎴 Regular Season Game
🚌 3:30 PM
⏰ 4:30 PM
📌 501 Maywood Ave. Pekin, IL 61554

Lady Raiders MS Basketball
📅 Tuesday, October 7, 2025
🏀 @ South Pekin
🎴 Regular Season Game
🚌 3:40 PM
⏰ 4:30 PM
📌 206 Main St. South Pekin, IL 61564

6th Grade Spotlight: Karter Gordon

Karter is an extremely hard worker who always does his best! He always makes sure his fellow peers are included in everything from gym class activities to group work in the classroom. Karter has a bright smile for everyone he sees and has been an amazing example for those around him. Way to go, Karter!

The MS cross country wrapped up their regular season today in Delavan. They did not disappoint their fans today. The best way to gauge success in cross country is to compare times on two different dates on the same course. This is the best way to show growth and improvement. Every runner that ran the first meet of the season in Delavan and todays meet, dropped their times. This shows the work that they have put in this season and their efforts.  Below are their places, times today, times on 8/19/25 and their improvement. Next Saturday they will compete at the Rushville Sectionals. Good work Raiders!!!


Name                          Place       10/4/25 Time       8/19/25 Time      Difference

Jaina Butler                 58th             13:58.9                17:16                - 3:18.9

Taylen McLaughlin     129th            17:53.7                22:54                - 5:00.3

Iris McKenzie             132nd           18:05.3                21:08                - 3:02.7

Kennedy Prather        136th            19:15.3               27:05                - 7:49.7

     

Reid Sidders               83rd             13:32.7               DNF 

Carson Campbell       101st            14:05.5               14:51                - :45.5

Nolan Bartolazzi        116th             15:05.0                20:19             - 5:14

Remington Hollis       127th            15:32.1                 20:55               - 5:22.9

Tyler Vanderwulp      136th             17:11.9                20:13               - 3:01.1

Noa Stage                 137th            17:13.9                20:35               - 3:21.1

Raiders MS Cross Country
📅 Saturday, October 4, 2025
🏃‍♂️ @ Delavan
🎴 Delavan Dare Classic
🚌 HS 7:15 AM
🚌 MS 7:30 AM
⏰ 9:00 AM
📌 907 Locust St. Delavan, IL 61734

Monday, October 6th is National Bullying Prevention Day.

Join us in saying NO to bullying in our school! We invite our Raiders to wear BLUE to school on Monday and show your support!

The Lady Raiders split with Dee-Mack on Thursday evening in Mackinaw.

The 7th grade girls found themselves down 31-14 early in the 2nd half and the lead seemed to be insurmountable. But, they went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to seven late in the 3rd quarter. These ladies got as close as six but couldn't make up any more ground as they fell to the Braves 43-30. Kynlie had the hot hand for the Raiders with 17 points, Emma had 6 and Libby pitched in 5 hard earned points. Alice also knocked down a nice jumper from the right wing.

The 8th grade Lady Raiders jumped out to a lead within the first five seconds of the game and they never surrendered it. The relentless ball pressure led to nineteen Dee-Mack turnovers in the game with Angel & Peyton both securing four steals a piece. Leading 13-4 early in the 2nd quarter, the Raiders went on a 20-0 run to set the cruise control the rest of the way. Peyton led with 18 points while Nora was a beast inside with 14 points and a team high 8 rebounds. Sophia had another nice night with 5 points and 3 blocks, while Angel, Zoey & Kate each added two points in the 43-16 lopsided victory!

These ladies host Tremont at HOME on Monday night at 5:30! See you there!!