Photo Gallery: St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team crushes Danville in two

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Kennedi Burnett cheers after the Spartans score a point against visiting Danville High School during set one of their non-conference volleyball match. SJO picked up the win at home defeating the Vikings in straight sets, 25-10, 25-7. Burnett served up four aces and hammered six kills over the two-set match. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Shayne Immke (12) and her teammates celebrate a point for the Spartans during the first set. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO's Kennedi Burnett prepares to pound the ball over the net into the Danville Court. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Danville outside hitter Simone Atkinson passes the ball to her team's setter during first set action. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Spartan libero Hannah Fox passes the ball to a hitter in set one. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO student fans in the Maroon Platoon help a Danville player locate the ball between points during the first set. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Emma Ward, Madison Atwood and Shayne Immke cheer for their team in set one. SJO quickly jumped out to a 12-4 lead on the scoreboard and never looked back. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Vikings' libero Audriana Alvarez passes the ball to her team's hitters during a long, scrappy point. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Emmalee Trover bumps the ball over the net for the Vikings during set two action on Wednesday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Spartans' Shayne Immke goes up hoping to block a shot by Danville outside hitter Simone Atkinson. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO's Shayne Immke attempts to put the ball away for a point. The junior outside hitter finished the contest with four kills and one ace against Danville. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Prep Sports Notebook: SJO soccer, volleyball notch wins

Spartans roll over Lady Shoes

Shayne Immke goes up to block for SJO

St. Joseph-Ogden's Shayne Immke goes up to block a kill attempt by Teutopolis' Molly Pals. The senior outside hitter put away six kills and chalked up four aces in the Spartans' 2-0 win (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

ST. JOSEPH -- The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team evened-out their season-record on Thursday after defeating the visiting Lady Shoes of Teutopolis, 2-0. The Spartans, now 3-3, got six kills each from senior Shayne Immke and junior Addie Roesch.

After a few miscues at the start and Immke at the service line, SJO grinded out a five-point run to go up 7-3 in the first set. Their opponent later answered a five-point rally of their own to pull within a score 11-10 before the momentum shifted back to the Spartans's favor for the remainder of the game. Head coach Abby McDonald's team closed out the opening set with six consecutive points for a 25-16 win.

The Spartans' won the second set by an even wider margin, 25-12. The Lady Shoes called a timeout while nursing a 5-point deficit on the score board, 11-6. When the two teams returned to the floor, SJO took total control of the contest giving up just six points out of the last 20 exchanges.

Setter Taylor Hug tallied up 18 assists, and hammered an ace in the first set. Roesch led the team with five digs defensively. Meanwhile, Immke's four aces led the team's offensive effort.

Unity suffers soccer loss on the road

MACON -- Unity goal keeper Cole Saunders made four saves during his team's road match at Meridian High School. After an unassisted score from Hawks in the first half, the Rockets were unable to respond.

Dow celebrates Senior Day with a win

URBANA -- St. Joseph-Ogden senior Abbey Dow picked up a win at #1 doubles with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Watseka's Emma Simmons. She and five other seniors were honored at the tennis team's final home match of the season.

In doubles action, two other SJO seniors pulled out wins. Duo Hallie Harms and Katie Earley defeated Warriors' Annika Greene and Marisa Clarke on the #3 court, 6-2, 7-6.

The team's six senior members include Dow, Earley, Harms, Jessica Gadbury, Isabel Sexton, and Katie McDermott.

Cafarelli shoots a 40

RANTOUL -- Spartans' Ashten Cafarelli carded 40 strokes on the back nine holes at Willow Pond golf course, but it wasn't enough as the St. Joseph-Ogden golf team finished in third place in a three-team meet in Rantoul.

Monticello, with three players turning in scores lower than Cafarelli's, won the day with a 159. Rantoul slipped by SJO with a six-man score of 173.

Maddux Carter (43), Jacob Kern (45), McGwire Atwood (49), Jack Robertson (51), and Tyler Buss (51) rounded out the Spartans' top six players on Thursday who counted 177 strokes.

Lockhart scores game winner

ST. JOSEPH -- Freshman forward Ryker Lockhart second-half shot on the Hoopeston Area (3-2) goal found the back of the net to give St. Joseph-Ogden (3-1-1) their third win of the season. Hunter Ketchum, a senior, had 12 saves in the keeper position in the 1-0 thriller.

Cornjerker goalie Owen Root fended off eight solid attacks from SJO including one on a penalty kick.

Rockets' volleyball squad sweeps Tuscola

TOLONO -- The Unity volleyball team defeated visiting Tuscola in straight sets 25-21, 25-20.

Attention area high school coaches

Haven't seen the latest news or result about your program on OurSentinel.com? If you are a coach at Unity, Urbana Uni-High, Urbana High School or St. Joseph-Ogden, send us your box scores, statistical leaders for each game, and other info is via email to sports@oursentinel.com or editor@oursentinel.com.

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Prep Sports Notebook for last week of August 2022

SJO golf team improves to 7-0

Photo provided by Lori Kern

The St. Joseph-Ogden golf team preserved their unbeaten dual match record unblemished after cruising by the Danville Vikings by 33 strokes to a 170-203 finish on Wednesday.

Spartan Jacob Kern led the field, turning in a 38 on the front nine at Turtle Run in Danville. Teammate Ashten Cafarelli turned in the next best score on the course with a 43. McGwire Atwood finished one stroke behind Caferelli with 44.

The Vikings were led by Colin Lomex's 46 strokes and Cale Osborn's 48-stroke finish.

The Spartans are back on the links later today at Willow Pond in Rantoul to face the Monticello Sages.


Match results:
St. Joseph-Ogden: Jacob Kern – 38, Ashten Cafarelli – 43, McGwire Atwood – 44, Maddux Carter – 45, Jack Robertson – 52, Connor Hale – 52. Team total: 170

Danville: Colin Lomex – 46, Cale Osborn – 48, Ryan Jaruseki - 52, Jordy Martinez - 57, Zach Spencer – 59

Rockets fall in second match of the season

The Unity soccer team suffered their first shutout of the season last Saturday with 7-0 loss to Argenta-Oreana. The Rockets looked to improve their 1-1 record in their next contest at Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond on the following Monday.

The 2022 squad will be back on their home pitch on Monday, September 5, against Warrensburg-Latham and again September 8 against Judah Christian.

Spartan volleyball falls at Mahomet

Despite Shayne Immke nine match-kills, the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball fell 2-0 to Mahomet-Seymour. SJO dropped both sets 25-22 in the non-conference road match.

Addie Roesch served-up three aces and contributed another four kills to the Spartan cause. Taylor Hug logged 14 assists and six digs. Mikayla Haley led the defensive effort with seven digs.

Immke also leveled five digs and three blocks during the evening. She and the SJO squad host Teutopolis this evening in the main gym at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Williams rains kills on St. Teresa

Payton Williams tallied ten kills in Monday's home volleyball match against St. Teresa.

Senior Taylor Hug led the team's serving attack with a pair aces. She scattered 18 assists as well as played a key roll in SJO's defensive effort with six digs.

Fellow senior Shayne Immke pummeled the Bulldogs with seven kills. Mikyla Haley contributed on ace and had eight digs across two sets.

Mabry sees action in the box

Carter Mabry recorded three saves at goalie in St. Joseph-Ogden's road soccer match at Schlarman Academy on Monday.

Jackson Greer scored two first-half goals after an earlier shot by Ryker Lockhart to put the Spartans up 3-0 before the mid-game break.

SJO kept the foot on the peddle, finding the net two more times with scores from Collin Thomey and then one from Logan Mills.

Starting keeper Hunter Ketchum recored four saves in the non-conference match as the Spartans improve to 2-1-1 on the season.

Five players, including Alex Acosta, Logan Mills, Spencer Wilson, Aiden Cromwell,and Will Childers, were credited with assists.

Thurman/Earley duo get tennis win at doubles

Teaming up at #3 doubles, Emma Thurman and Katie Earley earned St. Joseph-Ogden's only win at Monday's home match against Gibson-City-Melvin-Sibley.

After dropping her first set 6-2, McKennah Hamilton forced a third-set tiebreak after rallying back to win her second set, 6-4. She nearly pulled out a victory at #5 singles, falling in a 10-8 decision to her Lady Falcon's Kadence Crowley.

Meanwhile, one court over, SJO's Izzy Sexton battled tenaciously against GCMS' McKenna Crowley. Unable to get the breaks she needed fell in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.

Before starting their last home match of the season, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls tennis team will celebrate Senior Night at Atkins Tennis Center before taking on the visiting Warriors of Watseka High School.

Unity volleyball loses tough 3-setter on the road

After dropping the first set 25-14, the Unity volleyball team rallied back to take the second 26-24 on the road against Champaign Central. The Rockets fell in a hard-fought third set, 25-22.

Unity will try and rebound from the non-conference loss hosting Tuscola tonight starting with the freshman match at 5pm and the varsity main event after the JV match-up at 6p.

Attention area high school coaches

Haven't seen the latest news or result about your program on OurSentinel.com? If you are a coach at Unity, Urbana Uni-High, Urbana High School or St. Joseph-Ogden, send us your box scores, statistical leaders for each game, and other info via email to sports@oursentinel.com or editor@oursentinel.com.

Editor's Note .::.
9/2/22 - The brief "Spartan volleyball team slide by Bulldogs" - now Spartan volleyball falls at Mahomet - has been corrected. The Sentinel originally reported the Spartans prevailed in the road match 2-0, when in fact they lost in two sets.

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Photo-of-the-Day: January 3, 2022

Shayne Immke and Rachel Divan go up for a block
SJO volleyball season ends at sectionals
Spartans' Shayne Immke and Rachel Divan try to block a kill attempt by Pleasant Plain's Lauren Buxton during their sectional semifinal at Monticello High School on November 1. St. Joseph-Ogden (23-5) won the first set 25-17 but dropped the last two to the eventual state runner-up Cardinals (34-6), 25-20 and 25-21. The 2-1 loss ended SJO's 2021 run for the program's third state final four appearance. See more photos from this game.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Prep Sports Notebook: SJO, Unity posts volleyball wins

SJO's Shayne Immke tallied five kills on Monday against Hoopeston Area. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
Spartans deal aces
Hannah Fox and Kennedi Burnett slammed three aces apiece in St. Joseph-Ogden's home volleyball match against Hoopeston Area. The Spartans defeated the visiting Cornjerkers 25-11 in two sets.

Fox was also credited with eight digs and two assists. Burnett contributed another seven digs and led the team in scoring with nine kills. Senior Becca Steinbach had 19 assists and five digs while junior Shayne Immke tacked on another five kills.


Rockets knock off Clinton in straight sets
Emma Bleecher collected 12 kills in Unity's 25-19, 25-12 win over Clinton.

Macie Knudsen added another five kills to the book and had eight digs. Taylor Henry led the team defensively with 12 digs.


Uni falls 2-0 to STM
Uni-High gave up two first-half goals to fall 2-0 to visiting St. Thomas More. Goalkeeper Arjun Kala made three saves for the Illineks.


Unity soccer suffers road loss
Georgetown-Ridge Farm scored four unanswered goals to beat the Rockets, 4-0. Before hosting back-to-back home matches starting Thursday, Unity travels to Bloomington to take on Central Catholic today at 4:30.


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Spartans start postseason run with a victory over the Cornjerkers

St. Joseph-Ogden's Peyton Williams tips the ball over Hoopeston Area's Tobi West during second set action of their Class 2A semifinal volleyball match at Bismark-Henning-Rossville-Alvin High School on Tuesday.
PhotoNews Media

BISMARCK -- The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team opened their postseason run with a 2-0 win over Hoopeston Area at the Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin Class 2A regional on Tuesday. SJO won the first set 25-18 and took the second by two points, 25-23.

Senior Shayne Immke barely missed posting a double-double for the Spartans tallying 11 kills and nine digs against the Cornjerkers. Addie Roesch posted nine kills and led the team on defense with ten digs.

Mikyla Haley and Peyton Williams contributed six digs a piece to help put SJO in the regional championship game against the host BHRA on Thursday. Senior Taylor Hug recorded 26 assist and two digs in the squad's first postseason contest.


Top left: SJO libero Mikyla Haley passes the ball to the front row during first set action against the Cornjerkers. Top right: Spartans' Addie Roesch attempts to put the ball away between Hoopeston Area blockers Kaitlynn Lange and Charissa Johnson. Bottom left: Shayne Immke takes a big swing at the ball for one of her 11 kills in the IHSA regional match through Cornjerkers' Logan Watson. Bottom right: Taylor Hug, Josey Frerichs and Peyton Williams wait for an HA player to serve during set two of their match. Photos: PhotoNews Media

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Prep Sports Notebook: Immke racks up points for Spartans

Spartan volleyball team improves to 2-0
Georgetown, IL - The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team posted their second victory of the season after a 2-0 win over host Georgetown-Ridge Farm on Wednesday. Coincidentally, the Spartans' dominant play also earned the varsity squad a 2-0 record.

Shayne Immke, a junior hitter, blasted the opposition tallying eight kills. Senior Kennedi Burnett added another six in SJO's 25-14, 25-3 finish.

Taylor Wells was credit with three blocks and chipped in another pair of kills for the Spartans. Junior setter Taylor Hug had 11 assists.

Next up, Immke and the Spartans travel to Bismarck-Henning High School on Thursday for the third of four road matches starting their 2021-22 campaign. After a few days to recoup, the volleyball team is back on the highway heading west for a showdown with St. Teresa in Decatur.


SJO tennis team steamrolls St. Teresa
Decatur, IL - Twenty-four hours after SJO's Angie Chahine and Allison Kearney won their doubles match against Urbana, the pair notched a second prep doubles win against the Bulldogs, this time each with a new partner. Chahine, along with partner Katie McDermott, bageled St. Teresa's Alexis Rayhill and Zia Boulier on the #2 court, 8-0. Meanwhile on court #3, Kearney, playing alongside Emma Rydell, also earned an 8-0 shutout besting Bulldogs' Alyssa Wicks and Emma Norton.

Thanks to the two victories in doubles along with the four from singles competition, St. Joseph-Ogden celebrated their second win of the season via a 6-3 decision over St. Teresa.

Abbey Dow, Hope Rajlich, Kelsey Martlage and Ashlyn Lannert delivered command performances on their individual courts on Wednesday. Together, the quad won 48 of the 51 games played.

Match results:
Singles:

No. 1 - Colleen Larry, St Teresa def. Claire Huffman, SJO, 6-0 , 6-0
No. 2 - Abbey Dow, SJO def. Katherine Combs, St Teresa, 6-0 , 6-0
No. 3 - Hope Rajlich, SJO def. Alexis Rayhill, St Teresa, 6-0 , 6-1
No. 4 - Kelsey Martlage, SJO def. Zia Boulier, St Teresa, 6-0 , 6-1
No. 5 - Joella Livingston, St Teresa def. Grace Schmitz, SJO, 2-6 , 6-3 , 11-9
No. 6 - Ashlyn Lannert, SJO def. Emma Norton, St Teresa, 6-1 , 6-0

Doubles:

No. 1 - Colleen Larry - Katherine Combs, St Teresa def. Jacey Lewis - Abby Behrens, SJO, 8-6
No. 2 - Angie Chahine - Katie McDermott, SJO def. Alexis Rayhill - Zia Boulier, St Teresa, 8-0
No. 3 - Emma Rydell - Allison Kearney, SJO def. Alyssa Wicks - Emma Norton, St Teresa, 8-0

Final score: SJO 6 - St. Teresa 3


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Prep Sports Notebook: Two volleyball teams advance, two fall in regional openers


Spartans blast past Blue Devils

Kennedi Burnett collected 11 kills and six digs in St. Joseph-Ogden's 2-0 win over Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin on Tuesday. The senior added a match-high five aces to her season stats and Shayne Immke pounded three of her own over the net in the two-setter.

Immke (5 kills, 1 block, 6 digs) and the Spartans advance to the regional title match against Decatur St. Teresa.

After nearly even play, SJO pulled away on the scoreboard in the first set with a six-point run reaching 10-5. BHRA, unable to sustain any momentum with Immke and Burnett on the other side of the net, lost the first set, 25-14.

"Our girls are playing confidently," said head coach Abby McDonald. "We're excited to be where we are at the end of October. Our goal was to be at our best at the end October."

The second set was much of the same with the Spartans jumping out to a 7-1 one lead. Taking their foot off the gas, SJO allowed the Blue Devils to erase a seven-point deficit to get within two at 11-9.

McDonald called timeout after the Blue Devils scored six unanswered points. When play resumed, Burnett notched another kill and rotated to the back line to serve. She promptly hit a well-placed ace to help her team go up 13-9 on the scoreboard. From that point on, the Spartans were firmly back in control of the reigns on their way to a 25-16 finish.

On a scale of 1-10, McDonald said the team's effort was a 7.

"I always think we can play better," she said. "We will work on what we need to in practice tomorrow."

St. Joseph-Ogden's Becca Steinback was credited with 21 assists, a block and four digs.


Rockets continue to soar with win over Sullivan

Macie Knudsen led the Unity volleyball team's effort in their 2-0 regional semifinal victory on Tuesday over the 5-26 Red Skins.

The Rockets took the first set 25-10 and delivered a similar effort to take the second one, 25-13.

Knudsen delivered 10 kills and eight digs and Emma Bleecher added six kills and six digs of her own for the #1 seeded Rockets. Maddie Reed served up four aces and distributed 14 assists in the two-setter. Bleecher served three aces of her own against Sullivan.

Now at 33-3, the Rockets will face #5 Monticello tomorrow night. In their first meeting of the season a month ago, UHS prevailed by way of a 25-19, 25-16 victory.


Urbana volleyball seasons are over

Both Urbana and University High volleyball seasons came to an end on Tuesday.

U-High dropped their postseason opener to Salt Fork in the Class 1A bracket, 25-10, 25-3.

Meanwhile in Class 3A, Urbana suffered a 2-0 loss in their postseason opener at the Mahomet-Seymour Regional. Normal University ended the Tigers' season after a 25-7, 25-10, loss.

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Despite sloppy start, SJO volleyball team rolls past Unity

TOLONO -- The Unity volleyball team came out swinging against visiting St. Joseph-Ogden in the Illini Prairie Conference match on Tuesday. Unfortunately for the Rockets, the team was unable to maintain the intensity needed in the 2-0 loss to the Spartans.

It is rare that SJO head coach Abby McDonald calls a timeout early in a match, but four serves into the first set and down 4-0 on the scoreboard against Unity, she signaled to the referees for a brief halt as the Rockets' dominant play had her team out of sorts. After the action resumed, the Spartans struggled, but were able to methodically work brief moments of magic to keep the game in reach.

The two teams tied up the score five times in the first set until St. Joseph-Ogden's Shayne Immke's block put her team up 19-18. Firmly in system, SJO then won six of the next eight points to win, 25-20.

Emmalee Atkins tries to tip the ball over St. Joseph-Ogden's Peyton Williams

Unity's Emmalee Atkins tries to tip the ball over St. Joseph-Ogden's Peyton Williams. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Immke would finish the match with five kills and seven digs.

With the momentum squarely on their half of the court and Taylor Hug at the service line, the Spartans hammered out an 8-0 lead over their headlight-struck host to start the second half.

"Taylor has a very high volleyball IQ. She is the quarterback of our team." McDonald said. "She will do everything she can to win behind the service line."

Hug led the team's service effort with three aces. She was the game leader in assists with 14.

She added, with an appreciative smile, "She typically has a plan even if it is different than mine."

Hug and the Spartans, who were now firmly playing in system, continued to pile on points building a 15-point lead on the Rockets to go up, 20-5. The match ended with SJO up by 15, 25-10.

"We were not taking care of the ball," said Unity head coach Erika Yerry. "We need to work on consistency."

Junior outside hitter Addie Roesch putaway six kills and served two aces for the Spartans. Immke added another five kills and notched half of the 14 digs between her and Hug's defensive effort. Mikyla Haley tallied 10 digs and was credit with two of the team's seven aces.

"We played with a lot of confidence," McDonald said critiquing her team's second set performance. "When get our left side swinging early and our right, it really affects our opponents."

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Prep Sports Notebook: Softball and baseball teams notch wins

Alyssa Acton hits a foul ball against Olympia

Alyssa Acton hits a foul ball during SJO home game against Olympia. Today, in the Spartans' road game at Rantoul, the sophomore had 3 hits including a home run and 4 RBIs.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Spartans pick up 10th win of the season
Alyssa Acton put a shot over the fence in the fifth inning for a two-run homer to increase the St. Joseph-Ogden softball team's commanding lead over Rantoul, 11-4. In the next frame, Shayne Immke drilled a three-run, inside-the-park home run in the Illini Prairie Conference duel to put the Spartans up, 16-4.

Any hopes of an Eagles comeback was extinquished 1-2-3 by Acton, who was throwing heat from the circle. In her five-inning appearance, the sophomore slugger averaged just 12 pitches per frame to help the SJO pick up their 10th win of the season.

Emily Curtis, who gave up a pair of home runs and a double on 13 hits, earned the loss for the Eagles.

It was another superb outing also for Kelsey Martlage, who went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, Immke with 2 hits and 3 RBIs and Maggie Ward (2-for-3) with two of the team's 11 stolen bases and a pair of RBIs.


Unity shuts out IPC foe
Every Unity batter that stepped in the box in today's home game today against Pontiac booked at least one hit in win #8 for the Rockets after handing the visiting Indians a 9-0 shutout.

Pitcher Taylor Henry, now 4-0 overall for the season, struck out 14.

The Rockets enjoyed back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the third, first from freshman Ruby Tarr, who went 2-for-4 on the day, and then from Henry, the next batter in the lineup, on a 3-1 count.

Madeline Reed and Gracie Renfrow hit a double during one of their three trips to the plate. Reed scored twice and contributed an RBI. Renfrow's offensive contribution included a pair of runs and 2 hits. Elise Swanstrom hit a triple and put two runs over the plate.

Unity improves to 3-0 in conference play. Next up, the Rockets take on IVC at home on Saturday with the first game of the twin bill starting at noon.


Spartan baseball team rebounds
It is hard to keep a good team down.

After dropping a disappointing heartbreaker to Maroa-Forsyth one day earlier, the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team picked up their 13th victory of the season after beating Rantoul 8-7 on the road this afternoon.

Down 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, SJO rallied back scoring five runs in the last two innings of the game for the win.

The key moment came on a one-out sacrifice fly ball from Andrew Beyers's in the top of the six that allowed senior Crayton Burnett to cross the plate from third for the go-ahead run.

The Spartans relied on three pitchers to get through their toughest conference game so far this season. Connor Hale was on the bump for two innings, Griffin Roesch saw action for just over an inning and Avian Gerdes three complete innings. The trio tossed 157 pitches and combined for nine strikeouts.

Hayden Brazelton and Isaiah Immke had two hits apiece. Ty Pence, Crayton Burnett and Keaton Nolan scored two times each for SJO.


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Prep Sports Notebook: Atwood paces SJO golf team, Spartan soccer team fall short

Atwood leads Spartans at triangle meet

St. Joseph-Ogden's McGwire Atwood hits a shot off the 5th tee at Willow Pond Golf Course. SJO finished just two strokes out of tie for first at the triangle meet on Thursday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

RANTOUL -- McGwire Atwood shot a 42 to lead the Spartan contingent during a triangle meet on Thursday at Willow Pond Golf Course. The Spartans finished second in the three-school event by just two strokes over Rantoul's combined score of 178.

Jacob Kern and Ashten Cafarelli carded 42 and 43 strokes, respectively. Meanwhile, Maddux Carter and Jack Robertson shot a 50, and senior Connor Hale rounded out the top six with a 62.

Judah Christian's Caleb McCullough lead all players as the day's medalist with a nine-hole best of 37 strokes. The Tribe finished in third place with 187 points on a beautiful fall day in Rantoul.

Spartan soccer team fall at STM

There was no shortage of effort or chances by the St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team during their road match at St. Thomas More. The Spartans played a tight 90-minute game yielding one unanswered goal in each half to the host Sabers to lose, 2-0.

Keeper Hunter Ketchum made four saves for SJO. The Spartan soccer team is just two wins a away from a ten-win season at 8-3-1.

Unity soccer shutout by Rantoul

The Rockets were unable to score in their Illini Prairie match against the Eagles. Rantoul managed to get four shots past the keeper to win 4-0 in their regular-season conference match.

Williams steps up for SJO

Junior Peyton Williams lodged a team-high eight kills against Pontiac during St. Joseph-Ogden's home match on Thursday. The Spartans improve to 13-4 on the season after taking down the Indians in straight sets 25-16, 25-14.

Addie Roesch, also a junior, and Shayne Immke contributed six kills apiece to maintain SJO's undefeated conference record, now 3-0.

The Spartans top four players tallied 30 digs. Setter Taylor Hug, who distributed 20 assists, led the team with 10 digs. Roesch and Williams had seven apiece, and Immke added another six digs to the total.

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team is off for six days, then resumes competition next Wednesday at Cissna Park. After the non-conference bout with the Lady Timberwolves, SJO is on the road again in search of a fourth Illini Prairie win on Thursday at Rantoul.

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Spartans unable to tarnish unbeaten Rockets

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden's Shayne Immke leaps above the net to try and block a kill attempt by Unity's Macie Knudsen. Immke and the Spartans fell on their home court after two sets, 25-13, 25-21.

"We struggled on defense. They did a nice job mixing up their offense getting us on our heels all night long," said SJO head coach Abby McDonald. "We were never in system from the beginning. Our defense wasn't there tonight."

"Defense wins ball games and it was a real struggle for us."

SJO falls to 10-4 on the season while the Rockets record continues on unblemished at 14-0.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Unity, St. Joseph-Ogden post senior night wins


Reed tallies 21 assists on Senior Night

After honoring seniors Maddie Reed, Gracie Renfrow, Taylor Wiersema, Emma Bleecher, Macie Knudsen, Taylor Henry, and Payton Kaiser, the Unity volleyball team added another tick in the win column after defeating visiting Rantoul 25-17, 25-21.

As she has done all season, Bleecher led the Rockets' offense with 10 kills and five digs. Knudsen supported her effort with six kills of her own and four digs.

Reed distributed 21 assists in Unity's last home match of the season. Renfrow took advantage of four of those passes to earn four kills for herself.

Wiersema rounded out the stat leaders in Tuesday night's match with eight digs and three aces.

The Rockets finish the final week of the regular season on the road at Olympia on Thursday. Hosting regional competition in the Monticello sectional, the squad returns to action on Tuesday as the #1 seed. The senior-laden team starts postseason play against the winner of the quarterfinal match between Paris (10-seed) and Sullivan (9-seed) on Monday.


Burnett leads SJO in Senior Night three-set thriller

After dropping the first set by two, the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team rallied back to defeat Paxton-Buckley-Loda 23-25, 25-21, 25-17.

Kennedi Burnett finished the final regular-season home match of her high school career with five aces, eight kills and 13 digs. The senior, who was honored before the start of the contest was also credited with two blocks and one assist.

Fellow senior Becca Steinback had 29 assists, 10 digs and one kill in the Senior Night match. Hannah Fox, also appearing in her last home match, delivered 13 digs, two assists and added another ace to the Spartans' effort.

Shayne Immke and the Spartans take the floor again on Thursday evening in Bloomington to face the Lady Saints of Central Catholic. Immke, a junior, had 11 digs and eight kills in SJO's three-setter on Tuesday.


Area Sports Scores


Soccer
2A IHSA Regional
Urbana 6 - Danville 0


Volleyball

Unity def Rantoul
25-11, 25-10

St. Joseph-Ogden def PBL
23-25, 25-21, 25-17

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Spartan volleyball team ace Sages at home match

Kennedi Burnett, Addie Roesch, and Shayne Immke combined effort produced 10 service aces to help the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball beat visiting Illini Prairie rival Monticello in straight sets 2-0 on Tuesday evening.

Ashley Eldridge
Senior Ashley Eldridge pounds the ball for an SJO point during set one against Monticello. The Spartans took the first set easily, 25-7. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
The Spartans jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first set before Monticello used a timeout to regroup. Five points later, with the Sages looking at a ten-point deficit at 13-3, Monticello head coach Kim Allison called for another break.

Ranked 27th in Class 2A and 102 in the state by MaxPreps, SJO's defensive effort allowed just four more points in the 25-7 first set finish.

However, the start of the second set was not as pretty as the first set for the St. Joseph-0gden team coming off a 2-0 loss to Tri-Valley on Monday. Down 4-0 and plagued by inconsistent play, McDonald called timeout to allow her team to regroup.

When the set resumed, the Spartans carefully worked their way back into the game despite a streak of tenacious play from the Sages. The two teams would tie eight times, the last at 24-all. Two exchanges later, SJO prevailed 26-24 to win the match.

"It's been a bit of a rollercoaster. Some nights we're on. Some nights we've been off finding that leadership role, that determination to be able to finish and play consistent," said head coach Abby McDonald. "We hope that we are learning from these opportunities we've been given."

Roesch led the Spartan offensive effort with seven kills and two aces. Burnett added another four kills to the mix and led the team serving effort with five aces. Immke, with three aces, notched three kills and led the defense with 11 digs.

"I thought when the pressure was on they kept their composure," McDonald said. "That's something they have done well throughout the season. They don't get rattled. It was good for them to be able to finish in a tight set like that."

Despite a tough 25-14, 25-15, non-conference loss to the Vikings of Tri-Valley a little more than 24 hours earlier, McDonald was happy with how her team performed.

"We had a rough night last night," she added. "To be able to bounce back without practice and without time to really discuss some of the things we need to fix, I thought they did a nice job of finishing."

Becca Steinbach had 15 assists and was credited with three digs. Hannah Fox also delivered nine digs in the win.

"I am proud of the kids. There were a lot of distractions tonight and a lot of different emotions in this building," Abby McDonald said, referring to the Dick Duval scholarship fundraiser the team was also heavily involved in. An early estimate of $14,000 had been raised for the memorial scholarship to honor the former SJO educator and football coach. "I thought they handled themselves well, considering everything that was going on."

The SJO volleyball team plays again this week on Thursday against Salt Fork.

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Dominate play helps SJO roll Danville

(St. Joseph) - Kennedi Burnett served 15 consecutive points in set 2 of St. Joseph-Ogden's volleyball match against Danville on Wednesday. Behind the senior's pinpoint serving and a strong offensive team effort, the Spartans prevailed 25-10, 25-7, on their home court.

Abby Burnett celebrates a point for the Spartans.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
"It is good for her to go on those kinds of runs," said SJO head coach Abby McDonald, who pointed out Burnett delivered a similar performance against St. Teresa earlier in the season. "We talk a lot about what she can do for us offensively, but she provides a lot for us defensively in the back row as well. It is good for her to build confidence because there will be moments, hopefully in the postseason and as we get closer, that we will need her to be consistent behind the end line."

Burnett, who hit four aces and delivered six kills over the two-set match, left the backline after the Spartans built a 17-1 lead in the final set. McDonald's team would engineer 3 three-point runs for the remainder of the set for the 25-7 victory.

Earlier in the first set, taking advantage of a weak defensive response from visiting Vikings, St. Joseph-Ogden jumped out to an 11-3 lead before their opponents called a timeout in hopes of initiating a momentum shift. Fourteen exchanges later with the score at 20-8, both teams were back on the sidelines after Danville burned another timeout.

"Our goal was to make sure we stayed quick, offensively and defensively, no matter what our opponent was giving us," said St. Joseph-Ogden head coach Abby McDonald. "That was our goal tonight was just make sure we were staying quick and not playing to anybody else's tempo. I thought they did a nice job of that throughout the duration of the whole match."

Addie Roesch, also a senior, contributed five kills and junior Shayne Immke pounded four of her own. Roesch and Burnett were responsible for 10 digs for their team with four and six respectively. Immke also served up an ace for the Spartan cause.

After tonight's match with St. Thomas More, the SJO volleyball team will travel to Urbana on Monday and host Unity at home in the main gym on Tuesday. McDonald's Spartans will finish out the week on a long road trip to Pontiac for another Illini Prairie Conference match on Thursday, September 23.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Unity softball wins 2, SJO baseball rebounds for a conference win


Unity's Joop and Jones earn All-Conference accolades
Unity's Taylor Joop and Logan Jones learned last week that they are All-Conference Scholar Athletes for the 2020-21 academic year by the Illini Prairie Conference. Both received recognition at luncheon held at Illinois State University on April 29.



Rockets' Taylor Joop puts the ball in play during her team's home game against Central Catholic. Joop, who plans to continue her academic and athletic career at Heartland College, scored the game-winning run in Unity's 5-4 win on Saturday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Knott sets new school record in the shot
St. Joseph-Ogden senior Hayden Knott raised the bar in the shot put setting a new school record with a throw of 17.14 meters on Saturday at the Rantoul Invite. The toss was also good enough to secure a first place finish in the event with throwers from Hersher, Danville and Pleasant Plains among the field of 17 competitors.

Knott also placed first in the discus throw beating his nearest competition by nearly 2 meters. His winning throw went 53.70 meters.


Miller, Altenbaumer pile on RBIs
Together, St. Joseph-Ogden's Coby Miller and Tyler Altenbaumer tallied nine RBIs, four and five respectively, in the Spartans' 17-9 win over Monticello on Saturday.

Miller was 3-for-3 and Andrew Beyers (3 RBI) added a 3-for-5 performance from the batter's box.

Zach Martinie picked up the win for the Spartans while Monticello's Cole Dasher suffered the loss after the conference pairing.

SJO improves to 10-1 on the season following their 3-run loss to Mahomet-Seymour at home on Friday.


Unity softball picks up second conference win
Unity Taylor Joop scored the winning, go-ahead run on a fly ball from Ruby Tarr in the bottom of the 6th innning in the Unity softball team's conference game against Central Catholic on Saturday.

Pitcher Taylor Henry had 3 hits and on RBI. Hailey Flesch secured one hit in four trips to the plate and delivered a pair of RBI.

Facing 29 batters, Henry gave up 9 hits and 4 runs after 104 pitches.


Good Graces win for the Rockets
Grace Frye earned a pitching win after seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking one in a 6-2 softball decision over Newton.

Meanwhile, Gracie Renfrow was 3-for-3 and pushed 2 runs across the plate for the Rockets. She collected a triple on a fly ball to center on her third pitch in the bottom of the 3rd inning allowing Erica Steinman to score and homered two innings later on a solo shot to right field.

The win keeps Unity season untarnished at 6-0. Frye and Renfrow host Villa Grove on Monday at 4pm and have a game 2 rematch against Central Catholic on the road on Tuesday.


Spartan track team win Invite title
The St. Joseph-Ogden boys track team tallied 178 points to win this year's Rantoul Invite title.

Monticello finished in second place with 162 points and host Rantoul collected 106 points for a third place finish. Unity finished 6th (77 points) in the 12-team field.

SJO's Brady Buss took second in the 200-meter dash, Brandon Mattsey clocked a 4:53.12 in the 1600-meter run for the meet title and Hayden Knott won both throwing event to lift the Spartans on Saturday.


Unity baseball team drops first loss
After a dominating 2-0 start, the Rockets' baseball team fell 7-4 on the road to Illinois Valley Central (7-1) on Saturday.

Damian Knoll took the loss after a two-inning appearance scattering 4 hits and 3 walks.

Knoll (1 RBI) along with Blake Kimball scored one run apiece. Tyler Hensch, 1-for-3 from the plate, also had one RBI and double.


3 Spartan homers crush Sages
Sandwiched between two home runs by Shayne Immke, St. Joseph-Ogden's Kaylee Ward went deep in the seventh inning for one of her own. Immke put the first of two homers out of the park in the 1st inning and repeated her effort with another in the fifth.

The hot bats, which helped SJO to improve to a 7-4 season, allowed the Spartans to easily win, 12-6.

Scoring in five of their seven innings, St. Joseph-Ogden tacked on a pair of runs in each of the last three innings of the game to pull away on the scoreboard.

Pitching duties were shared with Alyssa Acton, who earned the win after five innings, and Sophia Martlage closed out the game with 20 pitches in the last 2 innings.

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Area softball players earn All-State recognition

Five area players were among over 400 athletes recognized with All-State titles by the Illinois Coaches Association this past spring.

Unity seniors Madeline Reed and Taylor Henry, members of this year's state Class 2A third-place team, and St. Joseph-Ogden junior Shayne Immke were three area players to earn First Team honors out of nearly 600 softball players nominated across the state.

Unity's Ruby Tarr, a sophomore, was named to the second team for her performance as an infielder.

Addy Martinie, from St. Joseph Ogden High School, rounded out this year's area's best also at the infielder position.

Despite exiting early in postseason play, Martinie and Immke helped the Spartans to an impressive 25-9-1 record.

Along with bringing home their second consecutive IHSA softball trophy, the Rockets finished the season with 27 wins against nine losses.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Schweighart 22 digs not enough, SJO soccer wins again

Rockets dip below .500 after road loss

The Unity volleyball team fell 2-1 on the road at Central Catholic in Bloomington.

The Rockets held their ground during the first set to win, 25-23. Battling fiercely in both the second and the tie-breaking third, Reagan Little's 11 kills for the night were not enough to pull Unity through in their first conference match of the season.

Kaitlyn Schweighart led the defensive effort for UHS with 22 digs. Julia Ping had 13 digs along with Little's eight, as the Rockets drop to 6-7 on the season. Schweighart also chipped in 5 kills, and Ping three assists in the Illini Prairie Conference loss.

Ruby Tarr, who had four digs, delivered 15 assists.

The Rocket volleyball squad will have a chance to rebound next Tuesday when they host the 10-4 Spartans from St. Joseph-Ogden at the Rocket Center.

SJO soccer sack Olympians

After 1-1 first half, the Spartans hit four unanswered goals to beat visiting Olympia High School, 5-1. The prolific scoring effort was led by Spenser Wilson, who netted the first two goals of the second half with assists from Logan Mills and then one from Collin Thomey.

Mills added another assist to his season stats on a feed to Jacik Slowikosky, who punched in the team's fourth goal of the contest. Zach Harper closed out the scoring effort with an unassisted score late in the half.

Back in the first 90 minutes, Olympia's Evan Deterding slipped the ball past SJO keeper Hunter Ketchum, who had five saves, for the first score of the contest. Ryker Lockhart fired up the host Spartans with a reply to remind his team was still in the game thanks to a pass from Jackson Greer before the midgame break.

The Spartans improve to 6-2-1 on the season, and host IVC at 10 am on Saturday.

SJO volleyball picks up 10th win

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team notched their first Illini Prairie Conference win after a 2-0 win over visiting St. Thomas More.

After a 1-1 start, the Spartans took the lead after junior Addie Roesch's ace and relinquished it once, falling behind briefly at 5-6 in the first set. SJO then took control of the match and thwarted four concerted STM efforts to dominate on the scoreboard. Later, tied at 21-all, St.Joseph-Ogden won for of the last five points for the 25-22 win.

With the momentum clearly on their side of the net, the Spartans jumped out to an 8-0 lead against last year's Class 1A state champions to start the second set. Their strong defensive effort that never allowed the Sabers to threaten their dominance any closer than three points as SJO prevailed 25-20 behind the combined firepower from SJO's Shayne Immke and Josey Frerichs up front.

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Prep Sports Notebook: 3 Spartans commit, Urbana volleyball loses non-conference match at home

Three Spartan basketball players commit
Back in August, St. Joseph-Ogden basketball standout Taylor Wells announced her plans to continue her academic and athletic career at Mount Mercy University. The senior, who is making waves with the Spartan volleyball team this fall, joined the basketball program at the private institution of about 1,488 students.

The Mustangs are members of the Heart of America Athletic Conference and have made NAIA national tournament appearances six times since 1991. In the previous season from November through February during the Coronavirus pandemic, the program played 20 games and finished 7-13 overall.

On September 12, teammate Payton Jacobs announced on Twitter that she will pursue her dream to play college basketball at Illinois Wesleyan University. She is no stranger to the Shirk Center or the Bloomington-Normal area where she has played basketball at the State Farm Holiday Classic.

Late last week, a third Spartan announced a verbal commitment continue their basketball career. Senior Ella Armstrong join the Truman State University program in 2022. Located in Kirksville, Mo.. The Bulldogs finished the 2020-2021 season with a record of 17 wins and 5 losses. The Bulldogs are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.


Ben Brown delivers hat trick
Ben Brown scored three times in Hoopeston Area's home match against Unity. The senior was also credited with a pair of assists in the 8-0 shutout.


Spartans defeat Tigers, 2-0
The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team rolled past Urbana High School on the road in two sets, 25-11, 25-12.

Senior Kennedi Burnett led the offense with nine kills. Shayne Immke delivered another six while Ashley Eldridge contributed another five kills. Becca Steinbach was credited with 24 assist, seven digs and a pair of aces.

The Spartans host the Unity Rockets in what is expected to be a dramatic match between the two conference frontrunners.


SJO's Armstrong commits
St. Joseph-Ogden shooting guard Ella Armstrong announced her verbal commitment continue her basketball career at Truman State University located in Kirksville, Mo..

The Bulldogs finished their previous season 17-5 and are members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.


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Over 130 middle school students earn spot on quarterly Honor Roll

One hundred thirty-two students from St. Joseph Middle School achieved Honor Roll recognition this week.

Seventh grade students earning High Honors recognition are Logan Allen, Owen Baltzell, Payton Carter, Maya Chahine, Rachel Divan, Sadie Ericksen, Joseph Frasca, Addison Frick, Logan Haake, Chloe Harper, Rachel Harris, Annabelle Hueber, Tanner Jacob, Kya Jolley, Helene Jones, Tori Kibler, Quinn Lewis, Taylyn Lockhart, Addisyn Martinie, Isaiah Mock, Rowan Musselman, Macy Reed-Thompson, Addison Roesch, Nathaniel Roth, Daniel Santiago, Lucas Skelton, Logan Smith, Drew Thurman, and Peyton Williams.

Students in seventh grade who earned Honor Roll status include Chloe Allen, Luke Allen, Tyler Boggs, Halle Brazelton, Kyler Brown, Garrett Denhart, Cameron Dressen, Ashton Fonner, Holden Jones, Brock Kellenberger, Connor Little, Grace Mabrey, Carson Maroon, Seth McBride, Peyton McDougal, Ethan McElroy-Fitzpatrick, Shannon McMahon Jr., Carlina Patterson, Ave Pettit, Bella Santanelli, Aescton Slowikowski, Madison Stevens, Corbin Wells, Justice Wertz, Nicholas Wetzel, Spencer Wilson and Owen Yohnka.

Eighth graders meeting the criteria for High Honor Roll recognition are McGwire Atwood, Kaytlyn Baker, Olivia Baltzell, Tyler Burch, Ariana Chambers, Maddux Carter, Cale Coursey, Aiden Cromwell, Zachary Dahman, Andrew Guelfi, Hayden Henkelman, Maya Hewkin, Taylor Hug, Shayne Immke, Peyton Jones, Jacob Kern, Aaron Lane, Teagan Miller, William Page, Allegra Pearman, Ty Pence, Ellen Place, Jack Robertson, Robert Rowland, Kirsten Schaefer, Katharine Short, Paige Siegmund, Trinity Tapia, Taylor Voorhees and Margaret Ward.

The following eighth grade students earn a spot on this quarter's Honor Roll: Alyssa Acton, Emma Rydell, Canyon Alwes, Trenton Severins, Sylvia Bills, Isabel Sexton, Owen Birt, Garrett Siems, Cara Blanchard, Olivia Terven, Kaylee Brown, Mallory Wagner, Taylor Burch, Emma Ward, Payton Carter, Jackson Wetzel, Gwendolyn Chatterton, Bryce Collins, Madelynn Cook, Abigail Dow, Leah Finley, Alex Funk, Jessica Gadbury, Joseph Gherna, Jackson Greer, Kennedy Greer, Hunter Hinen, Mary Hinrichs, Emily Jeffries, Cameran Kelley, Eleni Krall, Ryan Kuchenbrod, Collin Livesay, Carter Mabry, Aidan McCorkle, Courtney Myren, Christopher Newman, Nicholas Nosler, Emma Rydell, Trenton Severins, Isabel Sexton, Garrett Siems, Olivia Terven, Mallory Wagner, Emma Ward and Jackson Wetzel.
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