Spartans runners head to state

Both the boys and girls cross country teams at St. Joseph-Ogden will be in the running for this year's Class 1A IHSA State Finals on Saturday.

The men's squad finished third in the team standings after last Saturday's sectional meet in Effingham. SJO's top five runners accumulated 158 points behind Urbana U-High (96 points) and sectional champions Monticello with 42 points.

Junior Brandon Mattsey finished the course at 16.56 and Eric Poe clocked in at 17.16. Both runners turned in times nearly minute slower than their times near the end of September due to the muddy, marsh like conditions along the course.

"Our coach had us run without socks," said Poe, a second-year veteran. He was the 22nd runner to cross the finish line. "It made it much easier to run with just spikes."

Saturday will be a first Poe, who will be running in his first state cross country meet. He excited about the opportunity to run against some of the top runners in the state.

"Every team there, every runner is high quality," he said. "The quality of the runners that will be there, that's what I'm excited about."

The senior is glad he left football, he played his frosh and sophomore season, as his fall sport and jumped into the sport of cross country.

"I don't regret the decision," he said with pride. "I'm very thankful for the coach I have and my teammates who have been helping me along. It is not an easy sport."

Also running for the Spartans at the sectional meet was Charlie Mabry, who turned a time of 17.40. Three other runners - Elijah Mock (17.50), Logan Wolfersberger (17.52) and Luke Stegall (17.53) - finished under the 18 minute mark. Lukas Hutcherson was the last St. Joseph-Ogden off the course at 18.49.

The Spartans will run their final race of the season at Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday. The girls race starts at 9 a.m.. An hour later boys race starts at 10 a.m..

If you plan to head to Peoria for the state meet, here are the bib number of SJO runners to look out for: 702 — Ethan Blackburn (Fr.), 703 — Braden Clampitt (So.), 704 — Zach Dahman (Fr.), 705 — Lukas Hutcherson (Jr.), 706 — Charlie Mabry (So.), 707 — Brandon Mattsey (Jr.), 708 — Elijah Mock (So.), 709 — Taddy Pettit (Sr.), 710 — Eric Poe (Sr.), 711 — Josh Sexton (Sr.), 712 — Luke Stegall (So.) and 713 — Logan Wolfersberger (Jr.).

The SJO girls will be wearing the following numbers for their race: 253 — Addie Allen (So.), 254 — Kaytlyn Baker (Fr.), 255 — Sidney Davis (So.), 256 — Hanna Eastin (Jr.), 257 — Kailyn Ingram (So.), 258 — Ava Knap (So.), 259 — Ashlyn Lannert (So.), 260 — Ally Monk (Sr.), 261 — Jillian Plotner (Sr.), 262 — Hannah Rajlich (Sr.), 263 — Hope Rajlich (So.), 264 — Kendra Riddle (So.), 265 — Malorie Sarnecki (So.) and 266 — Taryn Sexton (So.).


Mattsey leads SJO at state meet, XC boys finish 18th overall

On the final day of the fall, two days before Monday's nasty snow and ice blanketed central Illinois, the St. Joseph-Ogden harriers ran to an 18th place finish at the Illinois High School Association's State Cross Country Finals at Detweiller Park last Saturday.

Junior Brandon Mattsey, SJO's top runner, completed his race in 15 minutes and 48.78 seconds earning 28 points with his 43rd overall place finish.

Helping the Spartans edge out 19th place Unity, was senior Eric Poe, Charlie Mabry, Elijah Mock and Luke Stegall who earned 421 points. The Rockets finished with 423 points in the team standings.

It was Poe's final cross country event with the Spartans. In the senior's first and only state run, he clocked in at 16.27.75, finishing in 100th place. Nineteen runners later, Mabry concluded his race 13 seconds later at 16:40.19.

Mock and Stegall finished ten runners apart. Coming in at 17:02.52, Mock crossed finish line seven seconds ahead of Stegall's 17:09.99.

Juniors Logan Wolfersberger and Lukas Hutcherson also ran in the season finale. Not in the top five finishers for the Spartans, their results did not count toward overall the team score. Wolfersberger was 175th overall at 17:28.50 while Hutcherson ran over the finish line at 17:46.59 for 184th place.

Allen 2nd, SJO boys share 3rd at Cow Chip Classic

Sports Book: September 7

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Ashlyn Lannert runs to a overall 84th place finish helping the Spartans to a Class 1A fifth place finish at the 2018 IHSA state cross country meet last November. Saturday, the sophomore placed sixth in the Number 4 Flight crossing the finish line at 22:15.28.
Allen 2nd in her flight
Addie Allen seized a second place finish in the Open Wave race at last Saturday's Cow Chip Classic. She ran a 21:13.55 crossing the line just 10 seconds behind Unity's Lillian Styan.

Other top 3 SJO finishers at the 38th installment of the girls' side of competition included Kailyn Ingram and Hope Rajlich. Ingram ran a 21:34.64 in the Number 7 Flight race to finish third. Rajlich, who took third place in the Number 6 Flight, finished with a slightly better time at 21:32.93.

The girls team walked away from the meet in 5th place in the team competition with 28 points.

SJO boys finish third at Cow Chip Classic
The St. Joseph-Ogden boys cross country team tied with Paxton-Buckley-Loda with 33 points to finish third at this year's Cow Chip Classic in Chrisman. Last year, the St. Joseph-Ogden boys cross country team finished in sixth place at the Cow Chip Classic.

Both Charlie Mabry and Lukas Hutcherson turned in top 3 performances in their respective flights. Mabry finished the three-mile course at 18:13.80, a little under his career best time of 17:21.0. Hutcherson, a junior, clocked in at 18:47.50.

Monticello, with 13 points, edged out Urbana U-High by one point to win this year's team title.

Next up, the Spartans will run against Oakwood later today in duo competition and travel to First to the Finish Invite on September 14.

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Attention high school and junior high coaches: Please send game scores and stats to us. Send results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.


Photo Gallery | SJO falls to a good Teutopolis team

Ty Pence drives to the lane around Teutopolis' Matthew Deters during non-conference game earlier this month. The Spartans suffered their worse lost of the season dropping the non-conference contest 69-48 to Wooden Shoes. Pence led all scorers with 29 points.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Wooden Shoes Evan Wermert screens out Spartan Andrew Beyers during a first quarter rebound. Beyers, who was credited with a game-high seven rebounds, finished with six points against a solid Teutopolis basketball team.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Lukas Hutcherson tries to dribble past Teutopolis' senior Evan Addis during first quarter action. Hutcherson, also a senior, contributed one field goal and a rebound in the Spartans' effort.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
With St. Joseph-Ogden head coach Kiel Duval looking on, Ty Pence denies Wooden Shoes' Evan Wermert to the opportunity to dribble past him during first half play. Wermert was one of three Teutopolis players to finish in double figures against SJO.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
While Teutopolis' Kayden Althoff towers unknowingly behind him, Spartan guard Hayden Brazelton prepares to take a shot under the basket. Making one of the two shots he took during the game, Brazelton chipped in two points for SJO.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
SJO's Nolan Grindley dribbles the ball down the court late in the game. The junior took just one shot during the contest. Sinking the three-point attempt, he finished the game with the trey in his game stats.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


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More than 260 SJO students named to third quarter Honor Roll

Last week St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the third quarter honor roll recipients. Two hundred and seventy-five students achieved honor roll recognition during the third quarter as the COVID-19 virus silently spread throughout the United States.

Honor Roll student Ty Pence in SJO's home game against PBL.
Freshman starter Ty Pence dives for a loose ball in the Spartans' home game against Paxton-Buckley-Loda in January. In addition to being a gifted athlete, Pence earned high honor roll recognition in the classroom in the the third quarter. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Students who earned 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 earned the added distinction a High Honor Roll student.

Click on the student's name to read more about their scholastic or athletic achievements.


Freshman

High Honor Roll
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, Maya Hewkin, Taylor Hug, Peyton Jones, Jacob Kern, Aaron Lane, Collin Livesay, Aidan McCorkle, Kyle Meccoli, Teagan Miller, Allegra Pearman, Ty Pence, Jack Robertson, Kirsten Schaefer, Johanna Schmitz, Jack Setterdahl, Paige Siegmund, Trinity Tapia, Taylor Voorhees, Alayna Wagle and Maggie Ward.

Honor Roll
Alyssa Acton, Madison Adams, Sylvia Bills, Owen Birt, Ethan Blackburn, Gwen Chatterton, Bryce Collins, Aleah Dial, Leah Finley, Grace Flessner, Jessica Gadbury, Joseph Gherna, Kylie Greer, Connor Hale, Hallie Harms, Hayden Henkelman, Jonas Hutcherson, Shayne Immke, Emily Jeffries, Cameran Kelley, Hunter Ketchum, Carter Mabry, Haleigh Maddock, Katherine McDermott, Blake Morgan, Courtney Myren, Jacob Newman, Ava Northen, William Page, Emma Rydell, Isabel Sexton, Katharine Short, Mallory Wagner and Rebekah Weinmann.


Sophomores

High Honor Roll
Addison Allen, Tyler Altenbaumer, Kailyn Anderson, Ella Armstrong, Madison Atwood, Abigail Behrens, Ella Besson, Andrew Beyers, Brandie Bowlin, 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.

Honor Roll
Nicolas Anzelmo, Alanna Bensyl, Allison Burnett, Mackenzie Fulk, Avian Gerdes, Caitlyn Holzinger, Kennedy Hudson, Kailyn Ingram, KayLeigh Kamphaus, Olivia Klotz, Jacey Lewis, Braden McElroy, Ava Meyer, Ava Miller, Keaton Nolan, Jonathan Poulter, Griffin Roesch, Grace Schmitz, Anna Snyder, Regan Uden, Ethan Vanliew and Elijah Weinmann.


Juniors

High Honor Roll
Isabelle Brooks, Crayton Burnett, David Bytnar, Taylor Campbell, Kylie Duckett, Jacob Dwyer, Hanna Eastin, Nadirah Edwards, Emily Fisher, Dakota Franzen, Atleigh Hamilton, Emmy Houston, Lukas Hutcherson, Logan Ingram, Izabellah Innes, Cailer Kellenberger, Shelby Kofoot, Ethan Lane, Aiden Livesay, Tyson Madsen, Sophia Martlage, 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 and Logan Wolfersberger.

Honor Roll
Hunter Brooks, Rylee Clements, Raegan Crippen, Makayla Duckwitz, Britney Evans, Alex Frerichs, Emily Froman, Isabella Getty, Spencer Lahners, Madigan Loman, Alyssa Maddock, Brandon Mattsey, Jackson Rydell and Mitchell Whitlock.


Seniors

High Honor Roll
Lindsey Aden, Jenna Albrecht, Mallory Ames, Kendall Ayers, Taylor Barnes, Katelyn Berry, Emily Bigger, Kaylee Blackburn, Ginny Bytnar, Payton Cain, Trevon Carr, Payton Clements, Brendan Cooperider, Kristen Costa, Kathryn Cramer, Andrea Cunningham, Faith Dahman, Bailey Dowling, Hannah Dukeman, Jaiden Freeman, Payton Grimsley, Lucas Grindley, Erica Guelfi, Emily Hardimon, Cody Johnston, Danielle Kelso, Nathan Maier, Ava Mills, Carson Mills, Allison Monk, Nolan Peacock, Eric Poe, Hannah Rajlich, Jenna Schaefer, Rylee Stahl, Kenly Taylor, Stephanie Trame, Anna Tranel, Isabelle Vliet, Brayden Weaver, Sam Wesley, Zoey Witruk andJackson Wooten.

Honor Roll
Joseph Acton, Michara Allen, Kolton Batty, Ross Booker, Austin Carnes, Drew Coursey, Blake Dable, Asjah Fonner, Clay Frederick, Tristan Fuqua, Robert Gebbink, Brayden Grimsey, Ethan Hinrichs, Conner Hodge, Chance Izard, Lacey Kaiser, Aubrey Kern, Eliza Lewis, Keegan McCarty, Mason McLain, Alivia Norem, Taddy Pettit, Dyllan Price, Lexi Ribbe, Joshua Sexton, Joshua Vice, Karsyn Wetzel andJoel Wilson.


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

Chance Izard Drew Coursey celebrates
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
Chance Izard Ty Pence and Drew Coursey
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)


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






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