Izard scores 21 in Williamsville game

Chance Izard led St. Joseph-Ogden to victory with a 21-point performance in his team 50-22 win over Williamsville on January 7. Izard also snagged a game-high six steals for the Spartans in the non-conference matchup.

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Payton Grimsley slides across the floor after trying to scoop up a loose ball in SJO's home game against Williamsville. The senior was scoreless in the game but spearheaded a great defensive effort by the Spartans who held the Bullets to just ten points in the first half. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Ty Pence added another 15 points and five steals to the SJO effort. The Spartans' solo freshman player on the varsity squad this season was a threat both in the paint and from outside the arc.

When the game resumed after halftime, the two teams returned to the floor with SJO nursing a 12-point cushion on the scoreboard. Pence went on to tally an 11-point third quarter that helped pile on a huge 43-14 advantage over the Bullets.

Williamsville's Sam McCoy, also a freshman, led the Bullets in the scorebook with 10 points.

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Conner Hodge and Payton Cain fight for the ball

St. Joseph-Ogden seniors Conner Hodge and Payton Cain fight to keep the ball away from Williamsville's Brendon Bishop during first half action. Cain and Hodge combined for just six points in the SJO victory on January 7. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Senior Jordan Kelly brings the ball down the floor in the second half of the second home basketball game of the new year for the Spartans. So far in 2020, SJO has outscored opponents, 118-73. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Head coach Kiel Duval keeps an analytical eye on his team late in the fourth quarter as his Spartans pick up their second win of the year and advance to a 10-4 record for the season. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Despite Williamsville's 6-2 freshman Sam McCoy's attempt to block, Conner Hodge puts the ball back up strong after snagging a rebound during first quarter action. McCoy led the Bullets' scoring effort against the Spartans with ten points. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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With the bench players on the floor and the game well in hand, SJO seniors (left to right) Jordan Kelly, Payton Cain, Chance Izard, Payton Grimsley and Braydon Rupert flash winning smiles. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Box Score

St. Joseph-Ogden	8	14	21	7	- 50
Williamsville	6	4	4	8	- 22

Scoring

St. Joseph-Ogden: Beyers 2, Cain 4, Coursey 1, Hodge 2, Hutcherson 3, Izard 21, Kelly 2 and Pence 15.

Williamsville: Hyson 4, McCoy 10, Riley 4, Smith 2 and Walbert 2.

Spartans scrap Rockets - Cain scores 15 for SJO

In the opening quarter of their Illini Prairie Conference game, Chance Izard sank three treys to help St. Joseph-Ogden establish a first half 26-20 lead over Unity at the Rocket Center on Tuesday. He would swish one more in the third period before falling silent for the remainder game as the Spartans persevered, surviving a battle royale with rowdy Rockets, 54-46.

"It was really a hard-fought game," Izard said. The senior, who was 4-for-7 from three point range, finished the night with 14 points. "Toward the end, down the stretch, we took care of things and ended up getting the win."

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Conner Hodge tries to snag a defensive rebound for the Spartans. Hodge finished the conference win with eight of SJO's 32 rebounds. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Committing nine turnovers didn't help the Spartans' cause. In most instances the possession changes offered opportunities for Unity's Jared Routh, who posted 18 points, to put the ball through the net.

Izard said one of things that he and his fellow teammates need to focus on is ball possession. In particular, he pointed out turnovers.

"That's pretty obvious," he said. "Ultimately, we just have to be more prepared mentally."

When they needed him most, Payton Cain stepped up to lead the Spartan offense finishing the away game with one point more than Izard behind a 63.3% shooting effort. The senior guard also had six boards and four steals.

One thing for sure, Unity's 4-14 record did not match their resolve or effort against the Spartans.

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Ty Pence blocks a Unity's Nate Drennan. SJO's big man scored seven points. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Payton Grimsley drives to the paint during first half action. The senior finished the night with six points and five rebounds. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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A member of the SJO Dance team performs with her team and the Unity Rockettes during halftime. Both dance teams advanced out of the Effingham sectional to compete at this weekend's IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

"We knew they wanted it and they played like it," Izard said about the coveted W between the two longtime rival programs.

Routh, who like Izard finished the night with four treys, was proud the way his fellow Rockets brought their A-game to the hardwood against the Spartans.

"I think we all stepped up in a major way," said Routh, one of four Unity seniors this season. Despite the loss and having yet to post a win in 2020, he was happy with the strides his teammates have made since the start of the season. "I believe we all took it to the next level."

Spartan senior Conner Hodge lead all players in rebounds, aggressively hauling in seven defensive ones and one offensive board. Drew Coursey snagged another five for SJO.

Next up, St. Joseph-Ogden hosts 18-5 Prairie Central on Friday. The Hawks suffered a snap in an eight-game win streak after losing to Pontiac on the road, 54-50. Tipoff for the conference showdown is scheduled for 7pm.

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Despite being knocked off his feet, Referee Keith Johnson keeps his eyes on the action during second half action between the Spartans and Rockets. Johnson quickly got back on his feet with no interruption to the flow of the game. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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While trying to slash his way into the paint, Payton Cain loses control of the ball with a little help from Unity's Blake Kimball. Cain led the SJO scoring effort with 15 points. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Box Score

St. Joseph-Ogden	12	14	14	14	- 54
Team 2	10	10	16	10	- 46

Scoring

St. Joseph-Ogden: Conner Hodge 3, Payton Cain 15, Jordan Kelly 5, Drew Coursey 4, Payton Grimsley 6, Chance Izard 14 and Ty Pence 7.

Unity: Blake Kimball 2, JP Bowers 3, Jared Routh 18, Nate Drennan 10, Jordan Clark 5 and Karson Ewerks 8.

Pence has career night, SJO improves to 6-0

Behind four treys from Ty Pence, the St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team cruised past Rantoul Township for their first conference win last night, 60-37. SJO remains undefeated improving to 6-0.

Pence commanded the floor with a season-high 22 points and was 4-for-5 from the free throw line. He, along with senior Conner Hodge with eight points, led the team on the boards with eight apiece.

In fact, the Spartans ruled the paint out-rebounding the visiting Eagles, 39-14.

In addition to the 16 from Pence and Hodge, Payton Cain (6 points, 7 rebounds) and Drew Coursey (2 points, 6 rebounds) posted season-high totals from their participation in the paint.

The Eagles were paced by 5-11 guard Kamrynnn Rome with 11 points and junior Jaxson Freeman with nine.

The Spartans hosts Tri-Valley this afternoon at 3:30p to finish a back-to-back game series this weekend. On Tuesday, SJO travel to Champaign to face the Maroons of Central in another non-conference contest before their State Farm Holiday Classic opener on December 26.

The JV boys’ basketball team also won their season opener crushing Rantoul in similar fashion, 75-38.

Box Score

Scoring

St. Joseph-Ogden: Conner Hodge 8, Payton Cain 6, Jordan Kelly 4, Drew Coursey 2, Payton Grimsley 7, Chance Izard 7, Ty Pence 22 and Luke Renfrew 4.

Rantoul: Buford 2, Freeman 9, Lee 3, Rome 11, Shaw 4, Space 3, Wilkerson 3 and Winston 2.

SJO knocks down Annawan for first win at State Farm Classic

Payton Cain stepped up with a team-high 10 points in the St. Joseph-Ogden boys' basketball team's first game at this year's State Farm Holiday Classic basketball tournament.

The Spartans defeated Annawan 47-42 after a strong second half on Thursday, the first day after Christmas.

Five other SJO players contributed offensively to the victory. Ty Pence finished with nine points while seniors Chance Izard and Conner Hodge collected eight points a piece to round out the top four scorers.

Braves' Ryan Goodman led all scorers with 16 points. Julian Samuels kicked in another 15 in the loss.

The Spartans advanced to face Rockford Lutheran in the championship half of the bracket with the hopes of advancing to the championship game on Monday for the first time since 2016.

Box Score

St. Joseph-Ogden	12	12	7	16	- 47
Annawan	11	14	6	11	- 42

Scoring

St. Joseph-Ogden: Conner Hodge 8, Payton Cain 10, Jordan Kelly 7, Payton Grimsley 5, Chance Izard 8 and Ty Pence 9.

Annawan: Ryan Goodman 16, Austin Earley 6, Mason Matney 2, Josh Sims 3 and Julian Samuels 15.

Spartans played their tails off, fall to Maroons after solid first half

For two quarters St. Joseph-Ogden dominated the floor in their road game against Champaign Central.

After holding the host Maroons (5-6) scoreless in the first quarter and forging a 24-18 halftime lead, the Spartans (6-2) fell 43-39 picking up their second consecutive loss in early season play.

Payton Cain gets a high-five from teammate Chance Izard in the first half. (Photo: PhotoNews Medial/Clark Brooks)

"When we got tired we made some mental mistakes," said head coach Kiel Duval in his first comments about the game. "We played our tails off on the defensive end."

SJO led by as many as ten until late in the third period when 6-4 guard Khailieo Terry buried six points and Diego Sanchez drilled a pair of threes to nudge Central past the Spartans by two, 33-31.

"He's a really good player," Duval said the Maroon's marquee player. "Terry takes all you attention every single possession."

After the lousy first quarter Terry said he had to adjust the way he attacked the rim.

"Every time I drove they were looking to take a charge. I just had work around the perimeter a little more," he said. (I had to) get my buckets in transition. (I had to) push them. Make them hurt."

Despite the hurt, playing on fumes, the SJO contingent gave their all. Despite the majority of their shots falling short of the hole in the final quarter, they didn't let up on relentless attacks and slashes into the paint.

Payton Cain and Chance Izard could get in and penetration for otherwise easy shots while Ty Pence had nice open looks from the outside. Unfortunately, whenever the trio put the orange rock up, it missed.

"It seemed like we were short on every single shot," Duval said, sharing his fourth quarter observation.

Short on endurance for games like SJO's non-league game against the Maroons, he was adamant that his team needs to practice a little harder so they can go the distance in four-quarter sprint fests like Tuesday night's contest. "If you practice hard like that all the time, those shots start falling in the fourth quarter."

Conner Hodge nibbled at Central's five-point lead late in the last quarter of the game, narrowing it with a bucket from the paint. Later, Jordan Kelly delivered the team's last field of the game to make the score, 38-37.

With 9.3 left on the game clock, SJO still had an outside chance to at least tie up the game. Unfortunately, a clutch free throw from Reece Jacobson sealed the Maroons program's 1,736th win.

Izard emerged as the team's leading scorer with 15 points for SJO. Pence, who led his team in rebounding with five boards, finished with eight points. Cain also contributed eight points and was perfect from the free throw line make all four of his attempts.

Held scoreless in the first quarter, Central's Terry scored 15 of his 17 total points in the second and third quarters. The junior was credited with nine rebounds in first game back for the Maroons this season after a seven game hiatus.

Sanchez, who had four rebounds for the Maroons, finished with eight second half points, thanks in part to a pair of treys in the third quarter.

Box Score

St. Joseph-Ogden	8	16	7	8	- 39
Champaign Central	0	18	15	10	- 43

Scoring

St. Joseph-Ogden: Conner Hodge 2, Payton Cain 8, Jordan Kelly 4, Payton Grimsley 2, Chance Izard 15 and Ty Pence 8.

Champaign Central: Terry 17, Jacobson 4, Wagner 6, Marshall 3, Allen 2, Roosevelt 3 and Sanchez 8.

SJO boys open season with resounding basketball victory

If you missed the St. Joseph-Ogden boys basketball team's season opener at the Toyota of Danville Classic last night, then you missed one heck of a teaser for has the markings of an exciting year of SJO basketball.

Chance Izard goes up for a shot in the Spartans' Toyota of Danville Classic basketball on Tuesday. Izard finished with 19 points. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Entering his second season at the helm, Duval started four seniors and freshman. All five were familiar names over the PA during this year's football season.

Conner Hodge and Drew Course took to the floor as forwards. Chance Izard and Payton Cain started in the guard slots and 6-4 freshman Ty Pence got the season's first touch on the ball at center.

Almost two minutes past scoreless before Izard made a lay up with 6:10 left in the first quarter to give the Spartans the first lead of the game.

It was a relatively unproductive first quarter for both teams that ended at 7-4. Midway through the second one however, the Spartans shed most of their first-game jitters and started an 11 point run on GRF. Skipping second and third gear, jumping right into fourth, St. Joseph-Ogden continued the offense onslaught on their way to a 64-37 win over Georgetown-Ridge Farm on their home court.

"They've got some quickness. That's why we are trying to use our transition game and push the basketball," said head coach Kiel Duval. "Even our bigs can run. We don't have a slow guy on the team."

Leading the team with eight points at the half, Izard added another 11 to finish the night with a game-high 19 points.

"He did what we expect him to do," Duval said. "The things we're pushing Chance to do, push the basketball, move without the basketball ... he did a lot of those things. We've continually pushed him every day in practice."

Izard did not want to take full credit for his performance that puts his team with on the floor tonight in their second tournament game against La Salette at 8 pm with a 1-0 record.

"I've got to give a lot of credit to my teammates. They did a great job of keeping the pressure off me," he said. "We struggled at rebounding in the beginning. But, we picked it up in the second half and that created a lot of opportunities for me to get some buckets in."

Jordan Kelly, who was shot 50% from the free throw line, also drained a few buckets. The senior came off the bench to start his senior season with 12 points, all lighting up the scoreboard in the second half.

Leading by as much as 28 points in the fourth quarter, Duval rotated players in and out liberally.

Luke Renfew goes after a loose ball after instigating a turnover. The senior was essential player on defense. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

There are fifteen players on the Spartans roster this season. Ten of them contributed to their win over the Buffaloes.

Cain finished with eight points, Pence added seven in varsity debut and Luke Renfew chipped drain six in the opening half. Renfew's offensive put back in the first frame handed SJO a 5-4 lead from which the team never looked back.

One of four underclassmen on the roster, Pence said he tense before the start of the game.

"The hard part was adapting to the speed of the game," Pence said. "Before the game I was really nervous. The guys helped me out and helped me get into the flow of the game."

The Georgetown-Ridge Farm offense was led by Kaden Mingee with 15 points and ten points from Cale Steinbaugh.

The Buffaloes look to pick up a win over Schlarman in the second of three games on tap at St. Joseph-Ogden High School tonight.

Box Score

St. Joseph-Ogden	7	14	22	22	- 65
Georgetown-Ridge Farm	4	7	11	15	- 37

Scoring

St. Joseph-Ogden: Conner Hodge 2, Lukas Hutcherson 3, Payton Cain 8, Jordan Kelly 12, Chance Izard 19, Andrew Beyers 2, Ty Pence 7, Luke Renfrew 6, Braydon Rupert 2 and Hayden Brazelton 4.

Georgetown-Ridge Farm: Hayden Stal 2, Cale Steinbaugh 10, Kaden Mingee 15, Gavan Shelton 3, Jeremiah Smith 4 and Justice Arthur 1.

SJO defeats Cissna Park, 9 photos from the game

Jordan Kelly goes up for a first quarter shoot against Cissna Park

Spartan Jordan Kelly goes up for a shot on a fast break. The St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team went on to defeat Cissna Park 65-49 in there Toyota of Danville Classic game on Friday. Kelly, who missed on this lay up, finished with six points from two second quarter three-pointers. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Left: Chance Izard takes the ball up on a fast break in the second half. Izard finished the game with a game-high 18 points. Above: Drew Coursey tries to put the ball back up in SJO's Toyota of Danville Classic game on his way to a season high 10 points.

(Photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Fans talk during a timeout in the first quarter. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Lukas Hutcherson and Conner Hodge celebrate a big play in the second half for the Spartans. Hutcherson finished the night with nine points. Hodge snagged five of SJO's 34 rebounds. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Left: Chance Izard takes a shot in the first half of his team's game against Cissna Park. Right: Drew Coursey reacts to a foul call drawn by teammate Ty Pence. Pence, a freshman, finished his third varsity outing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. (Photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

SJO student fans sport ugly Christmas sweaters

SJO's Maroon Platoon members sport their Christmas sweaters while cheering on the boys basketball team on Friday. (Photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

SJO cheerleaders perform a stunt during a timeout in the second half. (Photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Down but not out, SJO stumbles against Unity

St Joseph-Ogden head coach Shawn Skinner

Spartan head coach Shawn Skinner talks to players after his team's 21-0 loss on the road at Unity.

"I thought our defense played stout. I thought that we had some plays that were designed to be good. We just had one breakdown here and there. Unity wasn't going to allow us any breakdowns."

Head coach Shawn Skinner

On beautiful September evening, St. Joseph-Ogden fans fill the visiting team bleachers and wait for the week four game to start. A win victory would have kept the Spartans tied for first in the Illini Prairie Conference. The shutout drops SJO into a five-way tie with Unity, Monticello, Prairie Central and Olympia for second place.

Crayton Burnett throws a pass against the Unity Rockets

"We are going to learn from this. I'm a big believer you can learn as much from win as a loss. I don't think you got to lose to learn." ~ Coach Skinner

Above: Crayton Burnett makes a pass during first half action against the Rockets. Not having enough time in the pocket to throw the junior signal caller threw for 66 yards, completing 10 of 20 attempts.

Left: Keaton Nolan makes a catch while playing on kickoff return for the Spartans. Nolan was held to just 23 yards of rushing on offense after eight touches.

Below: Senior Jaden Miller blast his way past two Unity blockers while playing defense in the second quarter.

All photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Jaden Miller, senior, fights his way past Unity offensive linemen.

A Spartan fan takes photos from the stands prior to the start of the football game against Unity. There will be a lot more photos of players next week as SJO hosts the Pontiac Indians (1-3) for their homecoming contest this Friday.

Sam Wesley yells instructions to teammates before the snap

"It was a hostile environment. We came out and gave our best effort. You can't fault us (for) that."

~ Sam Wesley, Senior, Linebacker

Above: Senior running back Brayden Weaver finds open turf in front of him during a carry in the first half. Weaver finished the game with just 13 all-purpose yards in the week four game against the Rockets.

Right: Sam Wesley shouts out instructions and adjustments to teammates before the Rockets snap the ball during second half action.

Below: Conner Hodge blocks nose to nose with a Unity lineman.

All photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO 7-0 in conference play, Izard pounds 29 in Rantoul road game

While the girls' team survived a nearly awkward scare on their home court from a hungry Tuscola team in their regional opener, the St. Joseph-Ogden boys team picked up conference win number seven after defeating Rantoul on the road, 66-53.

The Spartans improve overall to 19-6 on Tuesday thanks largely to a huge scoring effort by Chance Izard.

The senior, who spend 30-1/2 minutes on the floor for SJO, dropped a magnificent 29 points behind a 52% shotmaking effort against the Eagles in the Illini Prairie matchup.

Ty Pence logged another double digit output, his fifth in SJO's last six games, to finish the evening with 14 points. Like Izard, he did not miss a shot from the free throw line. The frosh star made all four of his attempt.

Izard made all five of his shots and fellow senior Drew Coursey closed out the game with perfect free throw shooting going 2-for-2.

Under the rim, Conner Hodge and Jordan Kelly led the Spartans with five rebounds apiece.

The Eagles scoring effort was led by Kamryn Rome, who mustered 14 points as his team dropped to 2-4 in the conference and 5-19 with season coming to a quick conclusion in a few weeks.

Rantoul's Lorenz Lee added another eight points to his team's effort and Colin Wilkerson contributed another seven. Bryant Shaw led all rebounders with seven boards.

Spartans are back in action this Friday night at home to face Illinois Valley Central for senior night. It will be an oh-so-gooey, sweetheart of a deal for Izard and the other nine seniors on Valentine's Day with a win over the Grey Ghosts. The 'W' will all but guarantee outright ownership the 2020 conference title.

Tip-off for the varsity game at the high school is slated for 7pm.

Box Score

Scoring

St. Joseph-Ogden: Payton Cain 5, Drew Coursey 2, Payton Grimsley 7, Chance Izard 29, Jordan Kelly 9 and Ty Pence 14.

Rantoul: Kamryn Rome 14, Marcus Lee 3, Jamari Buford 2, Ke Jaun Caradine 6, Lorenz Lee 8, Bryant Shaw 6, Deonta Space 5, Colin Wilkerson 7 and Ethan Winston 2.

75 SJO seniors named to 3rd quarter Honor Roll

St. Joseph-Ogden's Dillon Uken provides protection on the line of scrimmage in his team's first-round game against Monticello on October 27 during last fall's IHSA football postseason playoffs. Uken was one of 75 SJO seniors who made the third quarter Honor Roll. (PhotoNews File Photo/Clark Brooks)

Seventy-five seniors, 67 juniors, 57 sophomores and 69 freshmen earned recognition for academic excellence in the third quarter at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Students named to the High Honors earned GPAs of 3.75 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Those attaining GPAs of 3.25 to 3.74 are recognized as Honor Roll students.

High Honor Roll

Seniors: Gage Atwood, Cassidy Bagby, Erin Beyers, Kaylee Blanchard, Rebecca Campbell, Sarah Chahine, David Cummins, Emmy Daniels, Liam Davis, Abigail Dunham, Avery Edwards, Nathan Emmert, Emory Ericksen, Jasmine Febus, Emilie Fox, Adam Frerichs, Rachel Gherna, Zachary Hill, Kalli Ingram, Kenneth Lahners, Hannah Lewis, Nathan Logan, Erinn Miller, Caroline Moore, Eve Owens, Angela Palmer, Benjamin Reitmeier, Adam Rose, Madison Rubin, Abigail Schlueter, Elizabeth Schluter, Samantha Schmidt, Benjamin Setterdahl, Jacob Shaw, Kaitlin Shoviak, Grant Siegmund, Rylee Sjuts, Brianna Suits, Maclayne Taylor and Nathan Walden.

Juniors: Lindsey Aden, Jenna Albrecht, Mallory Ames, Taylor Barnes, Katelyn Berry, Emily Bigger, Kaylee Blackburn, Ginny Bytnar, Payton Cain, Trevon Carr, Kristen Costa, Drew Coursey, Kathryn Cramer, Andrea Cunningham, Faith Dahman, Hannah Dukeman, Asjah Fonner, Jaiden Freeman, Robert Gebbink, Payton Grimsley, Lucas Grindley, Erica Guelfi, Emily Hardimon, Chance Izard, Cody Johnston, Lacey Kaiser, Danielle Kelso, Eliza Lewis, Nathan Maier, Sara Milioli, Ava Mills, Carson Mills, Alivia Norem, Nolan Peacock, Taddy Pettit, Eric Poe, Dyllan Price, Hannah Rajlich, Lexi Ribbe, Jenna Schaefer, Joshua Sexton, Rylee Stahl, Kenly Taylor, Stephanie Trame, Anna Tranel, Isabelle Vliet, Madie Warfel, Brayden Weaver, Sam Wesley, Zoey Witruk and Jackson Wooten.

Sophomores: Isabelle Brooks, Crayton Burnett, David Bytnar, Taylor Campbell, Kylie Duckett, Hanna Eastin, Nadirah Edwards, Emily Fisher, Dakota Franzen, Atleigh Hamilton, Emmy Houston, Lukas Hutcherson, Logan Ingram, Cailer Kellenberger, Shelby Kofoot, Spencer Lahners, Ethan Lane, Aiden Livesay, Alyssa Maddock, Tyson Madsen, Sophia Martlage, Brandon Mattsey, Flannery McCorkle, Garren Meeker, Abigail Moberg, Samantha Naylor, Alec Painer, Erin Patton, Aidan Roberts, Indira Robinson, Mazie Ronk, Evan Schmitz, Max Shonkwiler, Tessa Smith, Payton Vallee, Nora Walden, Brayden Wendt, Rachel Wilson and Logan Wolfersberger.

Freshmen: Addison Allen, Tyler Altenbaumer, Kailyn Anderson, Ella Armstrong, Madison Atwood, Abigail Behrens, Ella Besson, Andrew Beyers, Brandie Bowlin, Mara Burkhalter, Angela Chahine, Anastasia Conerty, Deanna Cummins, Benjamin Cunningham, Sidney Davis, Zander Dressen, Ashley Eldridge, Jared Emmert, Hannah Fox, Zella Fuqua, Brennan Haake, Liam Hamer, Alyssa Hamilton, Lauren Harper, Anthony Hoang, Claire Huffman, Payton Jacob, Alison Kearney, Ava Knap, Jacey Lewis, Kelsey Martlage, Sophia McDade, Coby Miller, Conrad Miller, Elijah Mock, Keaton Nolan, Jessica Palmer, Emma Parkinson, Hope Rajlich, JoLeena Reynolds, Kendra Riddle, Taryn Sexton, Alyssa Shoviak, Luke Stegall, Rebecca Steinbach, Mackenzie Trame, Ethan Vanliew and Taylor Wells.

Honor Roll

Seniors: Sullivan Alwes, Nicholas Boggs, Joel Branson, Makayla Buskirk, Brooke Butorac, Ripley Campbell, Kayla Cañas, Daniel Carlson, Amanda Craddock, Ashtyn Cromwell, Peyton Crowe, Chloe Duckett, Michael Foreman, Cole Franzen, Bryce Froeschl, Mikayla Harshbarger, Kaitlyn Hess, Michelle Jervis, Dylan Johnson, Shelby McElroy, Ryan Miller, Joel Orcutt, Karsyn Peters, Raymond Plotner, Kathryn Poulter, Hanson Rieches, Libby Rowland, Niko Russell, Clare Smith, Savannah Smith, Dillon Uken, Rylee Walsh, Jack Ward, Seth Wedig and Alyssa Whitlock.

Juniors: Kendall Ayers, Kolton Batty, Erin Bridgewater, Payton Clements, Brendan Cooperider, Bailey Dowling, Tristan Fuqua, Ethan Hinrichs, Conner Hodge, Keegan McCarty, Mason McLain, Allison Monk, Luke Renfrew, Brodie Sullivan, Anna Wentzloff and Karsyn Wetzel.

Sophomores: Haven Atwood, Hunter Brooks, Joshua Buttjer, Raegan Crippen, Jacob Dwyer, Alex Frerichs, Emily Froman, Carter Huffman, Hayden Knott, Brock Loschen, Alyssa Lynch, Gunnar Olson, Brianna Reifsteck, Lizzie Reitmeier, Jackson Rydell, Lauren Trankina, Kaylee Ward and Mitchell Whitlock.

Freshmen: Nicolas Anzelmo, Jaden Barton, Alanna Bensyl, Kennedi Burnett, Braden Clampitt, Mackenzie Fulk, Hailey Gaines, Avian Gerdes, Kailyn Ingram, KayLeigh Kamphaus, Olivia Klotz, Ashlyn Lannert, Wyatt Loghry, Madelyn Mabry, Braden MeElroy, Ava Miller, Jett Morris, Nathaniel Nosler, Jonathan Poulter, Isabelle Scott and Karsten Wayland.

79 freshman earn honor roll status, strong finish by 2020 SJO seniors

Seventy-six St. Joseph-Ogden High School seniors earned honor roll recognition in the final quarter of the year. Of that number, 50 students were awarded earned High Honor Roll status.

Students who earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on the school's 4.0 scale are recognized as Honor Roll students. Those whose GPA soared above 3.74 are receive High Honor Roll recognition.

Click on individual names to discover more Sentinel articles about each Honor Roll student.

High Honor Roll Freshmen

Alyssa Acton, McGwire Atwood, Kaytlyn Baker, Olivia Baltzell, Tyler Burch, Maddux Carter, Yamilka Casanova, Ariana Chambers, Cale Coursey, Morgan Cramer, Aiden Cromwell, Zachary Dahman, Emily Elsbernd, Joselyn Frerichs, Alex Funk, Kennedy Greer, Andrew Guelfi, Mikyla Haley, Hallie Harms, Maya Hewkin, Taylor Hug, Peyton Jones, Cameran Kelley, Jacob Kern, Hunter Ketchum, Aaron Lane, Collin Livesay, Haleigh Maddock, Aidan McCorkle, Kyle Meccoli, Teagan Miller, Allegra Pearman, Ty Pence, Jack Robertson, Kirsten Schaefer, Johanna Schmitz, Jack Setterdahl, Isabel Sexton, Paige Siegmund, Trinity Tapia, Taylor Voorhees, Alayna Wagle, Mallory Wagner and Maggie Ward.

Freshmen Honor Roll

Madison Adams, Canyon Alwes, Sylvia Bills, Owen Birt, Ethan Blackburn, Kaylee Brown, Taylor Burch, Payton Carter, Gwen Chatterton, Bryce Collins, Madelynn Cook, Aleah Dial, Abigail Dow, Leah Finley, Spencer Fitch, Grace Flessner, Jessica Gadbury, Joseph Gherna, Kylie Greer, Connor Hale, Hayden Henkelman, Shayne Immke, Emily Jeffries, Eleni Krall, Carter Mabry, Katherine McDermott, Blake Morgan, Courtney Myren, Jacob Newman, Ava Northen, William Page, Emma Rydell, Katharine Short, Olivia Terven, Emma Ward, Rebekah Weinmann and Jackson Wetzel.

High Honor Roll Sophomores

Addison Allen, Tyler Altenbaumer, Kailyn Anderson, Ella Armstrong, Madison Atwood, Abigail Behrens, Ella Besson, Andrew Beyers, Brandie Bowln, Mara Burkhalter, Kennedi Burnett, Angela Chahine, Braden Clampitt, Anastasia Conerty, Deanna Cummins, Benjamin Cunningham, Sidney Davis, Zander Dressen, Ashley Eldridge, Jared Emmert, Hannah Fox, Zella Fuqua, Brennan Haake, Liam Hamer, Alyssa Hamilton, Lauren Harper, Claire Huffman, Payton Jacob, Alison Kearney, Ava Knap, Ashlyn Lannert, Wyatt Loghry, Kelsey Martlage, Sophia McDade, Coby Miller, Conrad Miller, Elijah Mock, Jett Morris, Jessica Palmer, Emma Parkinson, Jackson Place, Hope Rajlich, JoLeena Reynolds, Kendra Riddle, Taryn Sexton, Alyssa Shoviak, Luke Stegall, Rebecca Steinbach, Mackenzie Trame and Taylor Wells.

Sophomore Honor Roll

Nicolas Anzelmo, Alanna Bensyl, Allison Burnett, Matthew Falls, Mackenzie Fulk, Hailey Gaines, Avian Gerdes, Nolan Grindley, Kennedy Hudson, Kailyn Ingram, KayLeigh Kamphaus, Olivia Klotz, Jacey Lewis, Braden McElroy, Ava Meyer, Ava Miller, Keaton Nolan, Jonathan Poulter, Griffin Roesch, Malorie Sarnecki, Grace Schmitz, Anna Snyder, Regan Uden, Ethan Vanliew and Cole Weinmann.

High Honor Roll Juniors

Isabelle Brooks, Crayton Burnett, David Bytnar, Taylor Campbell, Raegan Crippen, Kylie Duckett, Makayla Duckwitz, Jacob Dywer, Hanna Eastin, Nadirah Edwards, Emily Fisher, Dakota Franzen, Emily Froman, Atleigh Hamilton, Emmy Houston, Lukas Hutcherson, Logan Ingram, Cailer Kellenberger, Shelby Kofoot, Spencer Lahners, Ethan Lane, Aiden Livesay, Alyssa Maddock, Tyson Madsen, Sophie Martlage, Flannery McCorkle, Garren Meeker, Abigail Moberg, Samantha Naylor, Alec Painter, Erin Patton, Aidan Roberts, Indira Robinson, Mazie Ronk, Evan Schmitz, Max Shonkwiler, Tessa Smith, Payton Vallee, Nora Walden, Brayden Wendt and Logan Wolfersberger.

Junior Honor Roll

Makenzie Barron, Dylan Batty, Hunter Brooks, Brady Buss, Rylee Clements, Britney Evans, Alexandra Frerichs, Isabella Getty, Izabellah Innes, Madigan Loman, Brandon Mattsey, Jackson Rydell, Mitchell Whitlock, Rachel Wilson and Jonathan Wooten.

High Honor Roll Seniors

Lindsey Aden, Jenna Albrecht, Mallory Ames, Kendall Ayers, Taylor Barnes, Katelyn Berry, Emily Bigger, Kaylee Blackburn, Ross Booker, Ginny Bytnar, Payton Cain, Austin Carnes, Trevon Carr, Payton Clements, Brendan Cooperider, Kristen Costa, Drew Coursey, Kathryn Cramer, Andrea Cunningham, Faith Dahman, Bailey Dowling, Hannah Dukeman, Clayton Frederick, Jaiden Freeman, Bode Gebbink, Payton Grimsley, Lucas Grindley, Erica Guelfi, Emily Hardimon, Cody Johnston, Lacey Kaiser, Danielle Kelso, Nathan Maier, Ava Mills, Carson Mills, Allison Monk, Nolan Peacock, Eric Poe, Hannah Rajlich, Jenna Schaefer, Joshua Sexton, Rylee Stahl, Kenly Taylor, Stephanie Trame, Anna Tranel, Isabelle Vliet, Brayden Weaver, Samuel Wesley, Karsyn Wetzel, Zoey Witruk and Jackson Wooten.

Senior Honor Roll

Joseph Acton, Michara Allen, Kolton Batty, Erin Bridgewater, Blake Dable, Caleb Evans, Asjah Fonner, Tristan Fuqua, Samantha Gonzales, Brayden Grimsey, Bradley Harrison, Ethan Hinrichs, Conner Hodge, Chance Izard, Aubrey Kern, Eliza Lewis, Keegan McCarty, Mason McLain, Alivia Norem, Taddy Pettit, Dyllan Price, Lexi Ribbe, Joshua Vice, Anna Wentzloff and Joel Wilson.

Rajlich, Coursey Spartans of the Week

Week 3 Lady Spartan of the Week: Hannah Rajlich

Back in July, Hannah Rajlich ran to a second place finish with a time of 19:48.00 in the Female 14 to 18 division at the 2019 SJO 5K. Last Saturday in Peoria she nearly matched that time.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Senior Hannah Rajlich ran a season-best time of 19:48.5 at the First to the Finish cross country meet at Detweiller Park on Saturday. She finished 45th overall running against runners from 2A schools from around the state. Last year she ran the same course at the IHSA State Cross Country Finals turning in a time of 19:20.79, which helped the St. Joseph-Ogden to a fifth place team finish. Her prep career best time in the three mile race is 18:35.0.

Honorable Mentions: Lindsey Aden (volleyball), Ava Knap (cross country), Ashlyn Lannert (cross country), Sophia Martlage (soccer), Allison Monk (cross country), Rylee Stahl (volleyball) and Payton Vallee (volleyball).

Week 3 Spartan of the Week: Drew Coursey

Having never played a down of varsity football until this season, outside linebackerDrew Coursey has made a significant contribution to St. Joseph-Ogden's early 3-0 record. With his help, the Spartans look to extend their current win streak to four games and move one step closer to playoff eligibility tomorrow night at Unity. Coursey, who is not only growing more comfortable playing in the trenches physically, is building his football IQ exponentially.

"There's a kid who is getting more comfortable on Friday nights. His preparation is really good," said head coach Shawn Skinner. "He watches a lot of film and he is a smart kid."

Honorable Mentions: Kolton Batty (soccer), Mason Behrens (soccer), Crayton Burnett (football), Brady Buss (football), Blake Dable (football), Conner Hodge (football), Hunter Ketchum (soccer), Brandon Mattsey (cross country), Eric Poe (cross country).

Previous Spartans of the Week

Week 1: Jarrett Stevenson / Katelyn Berry
Week 2: Emily Elsbernd / Jaden Weaver

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Attention high school coaches: Help us recognize our area prep athletes each week. Please send game scores and stats to us for freshman and junior varsity as well as varsity games. Send game, race and match results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.

266 SJO students named to first quarter Honor Roll

On Tuesday, St. Joseph-0gden High School announced that 266 students earned Honor Roll status for their work during the first quarter of classes this academic year.

The senior class led in number of honors with 73 students achieving a 3.75 or higher average grade during the period. The sophomore and junior classes boast 42 high honor receipients, followed by the senior class with 41 honor roll students and the class of 2024 with 39.

Students named to the High Honors earned GPAs of 3.75 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Those attaining GPAs of 3.25 to 3.74 are recognized as Honor Roll students.