2023 Quincy High School Hall of Fame inductee: Chris Adams

Editor’s Note: Quincy High School will hold its Hall of Fame induction ceremony at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games of the 52nd QHS Thanksgiving Tournament at Blue Devil Gym. Below is the biography used by the QHS Hall of Fame committee to honor one of this year’s inductees.

QUINCY — Speed set Chris Adams apart.

A potent quarterback and wide receiver for the Quincy High School football team as a junior and senior, Adams truly stood out on the track, where he was a record-setting and Western Big 6 Conference champion sprinter. That speed carried him to a scholarship and successful track career at Western Illinois University.

At QHS, Adams was the WB6 champion and sectional champion in the 400-meter dash as a junior and finished eighth at the Class AA state championships. He also helped the 4×400 relay team qualify for state. As a senior, Adams and the Blue Devils won the sectional championship as a team while also winning the 400 dash and the 4×400 relay. He qualified for the state meet in both events.

Adams set or tied three QHS track and field records during his career — the 100-meter dash, the 400 dash and 4×400 relay.

In football, Adams received second-team All-WB6 honors as a junior and first-team all-conference as a senior.

As a freshman at Western Illinois University, Adams helped the Leathernecks win the Mid-Continent Conference outdoor track championship as he took first in the 400 dash and fifth in the 200 dash at the conference meet. He also ran on the Mid-Con champion 4×400 relay team, and he was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year.

Over the course of his WIU career, Adams became a nine-time conference champion and a seven-time NCAA regional qualifier. He still holds one of the top 10 times in WIU history in nine different events and holds the school records for the indoor 400 dash and the indoor 600-yard run.

After graduating from WIU, Adams turned to coaching and was a highly successful mentor at the high school and collegiate levels, including at Ashford College, where he was the head coach for six seasons and produced 40 all-conference athletes and 10 NAIA All-Americans. He was twice named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year.

Adams and his wife, Audra, and their two children, Annalynn and Luke, currently reside in the Quad Cities.