Photo of the Day - October 6, 2020

Hope Rajlich plays tennis at number 1 singles — Spartans' Hope Rajlich attacks a short ball during her match against Urbana's Sophia Solava during the St. Joseph-Ogden's road match against the Tigers on September 29. Playing number 1 singles against Urbana's top player, the junior, who started the sport competitively last month, dropped straights, 6-0, 6-0.
"I got to move my feet, stay low and get to the ball," Rajlich said after the match. Despite the loss she was upbeat. "It's fun to play. I've only been playing a month and feel like I am so much better already." Despite a strong, athletic showing, the Spartans lost the dual, 8-1 to the Tigers.
The team has two matches, both on the road, left in their inaugural season. On Friday, SJO travels to Watseka High School for a 4p engagement against Watseka. Five days later, the newly formed team will end their season against Schlarman at the Danville Tennis Center.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

XC runs solid in 2A races, volleyball 2nd at Mahomet-Seymour Invite

Sports Book: September 14

Volleyball finishes 2nd at Mahomet-Seymour Invitational

In a strong showing, the SJO volleyball team defeated all three teams, which included Peotone, Urbana, and Springfield South East, in the 'Gray' pool at the annual volleyball tournament in Mahomet on Saturday. They then beat Manteno in championship bracket semifinal to face a familiar foe, Mahomet-Seymour.

Knocking over Bulldogs on their home court with relative ease back on the last day of August just a few short weeks ago, St. Joseph-Ogden's title hopes - what would be a first under head coach Abby McDonald's reign - were extinguished. In their second meeting this season, M-S was much better prepared for the Spartans and defeated SJO after a 25-16 first set and 25-12 second for the championship trophy.

"We played really well throughout the whole day," said senior Rylee Stahl. "At the end we fell a little short. They (Mahomet-Seymour) were playing really well compared to the last time we played them."

Stahl tallied 28 digs and 1 ace on Saturday. Fellow senior Kennedi Burnett led the team with 35 digs and 31 kills. Katelyn Berry tallied 33 of the 159 the team collected over five matches.

Junior Payton Vallee agreed with Stahl adding that Saturday's Mahomet-Seymour team was not the same one they upset weeks earlier. While most of the Spartans on this year's squad participates in club tournaments between prep seasons, they generally play no more than three matches a day. Vallee speculated that the long day against tough opponents in pool play might have set her team back a step.

"It was a long day. We were all tired," said Vallee, who finished the tournament with 18 kills and 3 blocks on the day. "Mahomet came out and showed us something different than they did the game before."

The Spartans are now 10-3 after Saturday's tournament action.

Rajlich runs season best time

Hannah Rajlich finished 45th overall leading the St. Joseph-Ogden cross country team to a ninth place tie with Grayslake Central at the conclusion of Saturday's First to the Finish Cross Country Meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria. SJO competed in the 2A race this year and earned a total of 364 points with their top five runners.

Rajlich turned in a season-best time of 19:48.5 as the first Spartan to cross the finish line. The next four SJO runners, all within 32 seconds of each other, finished in the top 100. Ava Knapp (20:00.9) came in at 59th place, Ashlyn Lannert (20:18.6) was 80th, Ally Monk (20:20.9) 83rd, and Kailyn Ingram crossed at 20:32.2 in 97th place.

Hope Rajlich, Hannah Eastin, Addie Allen, Kendra Riddle and Malorie Sarnecki also competed in Saturday's race.

Vernon Hills won the 2A team title with 87 points. Latin finished second and Dixon scored 195 point for the bronze medal.

SJO Boys XC runs against 2A competition

The boys cross country team also ran in the 2A race at the First to the Finish. The collective efforts of the nine SJO runners resulted in a 24th place finish out of 59 competing teams with 702 points.

Brandon Mattsey ran a sub 17 minute race clocking in at 16:30.2 in 56th place out of a field of more than 400 runners. The next four runners all finished within 49 seconds of each other.

Eric Poe (117th), Elijah Mock (140th), Luke Stegall (176th) and Charlie Mabry (213th) ran three-mile times under the 18 minute mark on the state championship course.

Also competing under the Spartan banner on Saturday were Logan Wolfersberger, Lukas Hutcherson, Braden Clampitt and Ethan Blackburn.

Soccer team goes 1-2 at Cornjerker Classic

The Spartans defeated Oakwood-Cathlin in a 4-2 shootout after neither team scored during regulation time. Frosh keeper Hunter Ketchum was credited with five saves to compliment the defensive effort by SJO's backs.

Junior Kolton Batty put the ball in the net for his first goal of the season against Iroqouis West. But, that was all the scoring the Spartans could produce as they fell 6-1 to the Raiders. Sophia Martlage and Jared Emmert also had shots on the goal but couldn't put the ball between the posts. Junior Mason Behrens was credited a pair of his own.

Later this afternoon, the SJO soccer team faces Monticello for a second time in four days in a Illini Prairie Conference show down. The Sages took 21 shots on the Spartan goal on Saturday and all but five were blocked by Ketchum in his 60 minute tenure defending the goal. Luke Cohen, Kolton Batty and Garrett Siems were held to just three shots on the Monticello goal in the 5-0 non-conference loss.

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

Prep Sports Notebook: Urbana falls in Thursday tennis, SJO wins

Madigan, Poungingal pick up victories

Eisla Madigan and Matika Pounginjai were the only two Urbana players to post wins in the singles competition in the Tigers dual match against Danville. After five singles and a pair of doubles matches, UHS fell 5-2 to the Vikings at the Danville Tennis Center on Thursday.

Madigan defeated Vikings' Lexi Foley 8-2 at #4 singles and Pounginjai won by default on the #5 court.

The Tigers return to competition next Thursday, September 30, to host Mahomet-Seymour at Blair Park.

Match Results:

Singles:
No. 1 - Lexi Ellis, DANVILLE def. Myra Stevens, URBANA, 8-0
No. 2 - Ava Towne, DANVILLE def. Hannah Null, URBANA, 8-0
No. 3 - Hannah Schroeder, DANVILLE def. Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA, 4-8
No. 4 - Eisla Madigan, URBANA def. Lexi Foley, DANVILLE, 8-2
No. 5 - Matika Pounginjai, URBANA def. N/A, 2-0

Doubles:
No. 1 - Lexi Ellis/Lexi Foley, DANVILLE def. Hannah Null/Eisla Madigan, URBANA, 6-3 , 6-4
No. 2 - Ava Towne/Hannah Schroeder, DANVILLE def. Matika Pounginjai/Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA, 6-0 , 6-0

Spartan win road match at GCMS

Abbey Dow and Claire Huffman won their matches on the singles courts to give St. Joseph-Ogden a 2-0 lead to start the team's final road match of the season. Double duos Abby Behrens & Hope Rajlich and Katie McDermott & Emma Rydell brought home wins to give the Spartans a 4-1 victory on Thursday.

SJO will play their final three regular-season contests at home starting next Wednesday when they host St. Teresa. The team will then close out the year with back to matches with Maroa-Forsyth on October 11 and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley in the finale on Tuesday, October 12.

Match Results:

Singles:
No. 1 - Abbey Dow, SJO def. Katie Steidinger, Gibson-City Melvin Sibley High School (GCMS), 8-7
No. 2 - Claire Huffman, SJO def. Audrey Iverson, Gibson-City Melvin Sibley High School (GCMS), 8-0

Doubles:
No. 1 - London Hixson/Lexi Darbutt, GCMS def. Jacey Lewis/Kelsey Martlage, SJO, 8-7
No. 2 - Abby Behrens/Hope Rajlich, SJO def. Syda Schlickman/McKenna Crowley, GCMS, 8-0
No. 3 - Katie McDermott/Emma Rydell, SJO def. Emily Hood/Kadence Crowley, GCMS, 8-3

Prep Sports Notebook: SJO soccer wins with buzzer beater

Spartan tennis earns first dual win

Head coach Kevin Martlage and the St. Joseph-Ogden girls tennis team pose for a photo after their dual match of the season on the road against Urbana on Tuesday. The two teams will square off again on August 31. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Urbana, IL - It was a hot time at Blair Park for the St. Joseph-Ogden and Urbana girls' tennis match on Tuesday. Despite a reported heat index of 106º, the two teams battled in the blazing heat with the upstart area program from SJO winning the dual match, 6-3.

Claire Huffman at #1, Abby Dow on the #2 singles court and Ashlyn Lannert on court 6 secured victories in their singles matches. Hope Rajlich and Kelsey Martlage paired up to win at #1 doubles. Meanwhile, Allison Kearney and Angie Chahine held off Urbana duo Eisla Madigan and Myra Stevens at #2 doubles. The Spartans also came out on top on the #3 doubles court with a victory by Katie McDermott and her partner Jacey Lewis.

The Tigers' won three single points with dominating performances from veteran Myra Stevens, Eisla Madigan and Alisa Tangmunarunkit.

Match results:

No. 1 - Claire Huffman, SJO def. Hannah Null, URBANA, 8-3
No. 2 - Abbey Dow, SJO def. Jacie Owens, URBANA, 8-6
No. 3 - Myra Stevens, URBANA def. Grace Schmitz, SJO, 8-1
No. 4 - Eisla Madigan, URBANA def. Ella Armstrong, SJO, 8-0
No. 4 - Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA def. Abby Behrens, SJO, 8-3
No. 6 - Ashlyn Lannert, SJO def. Matika Pounginjai, URBANA, 8-1

No. 1 Doubles:
Hope Rajlich/Kelsey Martlage, SJO def. Hannah Null/Jacie Owens, URBANA, 8-6

No. 2 Doubles:
Allison Kearney/Angie Chahine, SJO def. Myra Stevens/Eisla Madigan, URBANA, 8-4

No. 3 Doubles:
Katie McDermott/Jacey Lewis- SJO def. Matika Pounginjai/Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA, 8-6

Wilson lifts Spartans with buzzer beater

St. Joseph, IL - With the score locked at two-all in the second half, sophomore Spencer Wilson scored his second goal of the contest with .2 seconds left on the clock to give the St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team a 3-2 advantage for win #2 of the season.

While goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum kept the visiting Argenta-Oreana shots out of the goal during the first half, SJO teammate Jackson Greer scored the first goal of the game on an assist from Will Page.

In the final half of SJO's home game, Greer fed Wilson the ball for the first of four second-half goals. The Bombers' Rylan Lawson and Landon Lawson added one goal apiece to later tie the score before Wilson spared both teams from a shootout.

Ketchum tallied eight saves for the Spartans.

Next up for Ketchum and Co., SJO will host Urbana University High on Thursday at 4:30p.

Missed opportunities sink Rockets

Tolono, IL - Fielding an inexperienced contingent this fall, the Unity soccer team opened their season with a 4-2 loss to visiting St. Teresa on Tuesday.

Nolan Remole, with the assistance of senior Grace Brock, nailed the Rockets' first goal of the season in the second half. Freshman Teaguen Williams added the team's second score after the Bulldogs clawed their way to a 3-1 lead.

"We gave up a PK and also did not score on a PK. Those slight differences can make a huge difference in the box score," said head coach Unity Michel Stringer. "As far as in the moment I thought that they played well."

Sophomore Mason Davis had eight saves while guarding the net for Unity.

"Our offensive is young, and for those who scored this was their first high school game so it is understandable that it took them a half to shake off the nerves and find the net," added Stringer.

The Rockets' next three matches are all at home on their new turf field. Unity starts the three-game homestand with Argenta-Oreana at 10a on Saturday. Two days later on Monday, the program hosts Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at 4:30p. Unity fans' last chance to catch the team at home until September 11 will be on Thursday, September 2 in a match against Meridian, also starting at 4:30p.

Prep Sports Notebook: Burnett tallies 4 aces, Urbana tennis nips Watseka

SJO's Kern, Carter top two at golf

In a triangle match with Tri-Valley and Fisher, the SJO golf team finished in first place with 180 points after the nine-hole competition at Indian Springs in Saybrook.

Jacob Kern shot a match-best of 40 strokes to lead the field on Thursday. Maddux Carter finished in second place with a 43 on the par-36 course.

McGwire Atwood (46), Logan Smith (51), Jack Robertson (50) and Andrew Beyers (64) contributed to the Spartans' ninth win of the season.

Uni-High blanks Arthur Christian

Teo Chemla collected a hattrick to help the Illineks roll over the Conquering Raiders, 7-1. The junior standout was also credited with two assists.

Uni-High scored five goals in the first half. Luca Zepeda-Flores, Henry Wang and Arya Thirodira put the ball between the posts along with Chemla's first two in the first 45 minute period. Noah La Nave (2 assists) added another goal at the 51-minute mark before the final score by Chemla.

Uni keeper Arjun Kala made six saves.

St. Joseph-Ogden tennis falls at Centennial, 9-0

The Spartan tennis team dropped all nine matches on the road against Champaign Centennial on Thursday. Doubles duo Hope Rajlich and Kelsey Martlage made a valiant effort for SJO at number one doubles against the Chargers' Sandhya Subbiah and Grace Kahler. Katie McDermott and Emma Rydell also made a strong showing for the Spartans at number three doubles.

Box Score:

Singles:
No. 1 - Sandhya Subbiah, CENTENNIAL def. Abbey Dow, SJO, 8-1
No. 2 - Anna Park, CENTENNIAL def. Claire Huffman, SJO, 8-1
No. 3 - Grace Kahler, CENTENNIAL def. Grace Schmitz, SJO, 8-1
No. 4 - Yehyun Nam, CENTENNIAL def. Ashlyn Lannert, SJO, 8-1
No. 5 - Aastha Patel, CENTENNIAL def. Allison Kearney, SJO, 8-4
No. 6 - Sofia Hartmann, CENTENNIAL def. Ella Armstrong, SJO, 8-6

Doubles:
No. 1 - Sandhya Subbiah/Grace Kahler, CENTENNIAL def. Hope Rajlich/Kelsey Martlage, SJO, 8-4
No. 2 - Yehyun Nam/Anna Park, CENTENNIAL def. Jacey Lewis/Abby Behrens, SJO, 8-2
No. 3 - Kayleigh Cox/Tammy Marinichev, CENTENNIAL def. Katie McDermott/Emma Rydell, SJO, 8-5

Spartans rebound from loss

After dropping a dramatic three-setter to visiting Champaign Central 2-1 on Tuesday evening, the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team cruised past the Oakwood volleyball team, 25-7, 25-6 on Wednesday evening.

Addie Roesch led the Spartan attack with eight kills. Senior Kennedi Burnett pounded four aces and seven kills against the visiting Comets.

SJO got 10 digs from senior Hannah Fox. Burnett was also credited with 10 digs, Roesch with two, and setter Becca Steinbach, who had 18 assists, tallied six digs.

The Spartans host Hoopeston Area on Monday, and Danville High School on Wednesday next week.

Brown scores five goals for Cornjerkers

Hoopeston Area senior Ben Brown scored all five goals in his team's 5-0 shutout against Bismarck-Henning.

Hoopeston hosts the Conrnjerker Classic featuring teams from Monticello, Iroquois West, Grant Park, Bloomington Central Catholic, Oakwood-Salt Fork, and St. Joseph-Ogden. The championship and third-place games will start at 4:00p on Saturday.

Unity soccer team suffers Labor Day loss

The Urbana girls tennis team picked up another team win on the road at Watseka yesterday after a 6-3 decision.

Matika Pounginjai, Alisa Tangmunarunkit, Eisla Madigan, and Ashton Peters won their varsity singles matches against the Warriors' top players.

Box Score:

Singles:
No. 1 - Ashton Peters, WATSEKA def. Myra Stevens, URBANA, 8-3
No. 2 - Jacie Owens, URBANA def. Emma Simons, WATSEKA, 8-5
No. 3 - Eisla Madigan, URBANA def. Baler Rigsby, WATSEKA, 9-7
No. 4 - Ava Swartz, WATSEKA def. Hannah Null, URBANA, 8-6
No. 5 - Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA def. Moriah Pueschell, WATSEKA, 8-2
No. 6 - Matika Pounginjai, URBANA def. Tiffany Zhao, WATSEKA, 8-1
Doubles: No. 1 - Hannah Null/Jacie Owens, URBANA def. Ashton Peters/Baler Rigsby, WATSEKA, 8-4
No. 2 - Emma Simons/Ava Swartz, WATSEKA def. Eisla Madigan/Myra Stevens, URBANA, 9-8 (5)
No. 3 - Alisa Tangmunarunkit/Matika Pounginjai, URBANA def. Moriah Pueschell/Tiffany Zhao, WATSEKA, 8-4

Unity falls to Judah Christian

The Unity soccer team fell 8-2 on the road to Judah Christian on Thursday.

Nolan Romole and Teaguen Williams scored one goal each, but it was enough to hold off the Lions, who scored six unanswered goals in the second half of the non-conference contest.

Prep Sports Notebook: SJO volleyball cruises past T-Town, Uni knocks off Sages

Romole scores twice in first half

Nolan Romle scored two of Unity's four goals in their home soccer match against Meridian on Thursday. The freshman's two scores, bookending a strike from Gabe Pound, gave the Rockets a 3-all tie leading heading into halftime.

Later, Meridian striker Spencer Uphoff broke the tie with an unassisted goal in the second half, but the Rockets refused to lie down thanks to junior Andrew Mowrer notching a penalty kick to retie the score, this time at four goals apiece.

With his first goal already under his belt in the first half, Hawks Micah McCoy scored the game-winning goal handing Unity a 5-4 loss.

Mason Davis made 13 saves on the day for the Rockets.

Still looking for their first win of the season, Unity (0-4) will play their next game, the team's first road match, on Monday, September 6 at Warrensburg-Latham. Romole and Rockets then travel to Champaign to face the Tribe of Judah Christian on Thursday.

Box Score -

First half: Meridian Egbert(Boehm), McCoy(UA), Unity Remole(Pound), Pound(UA), Meridian Boehn(UA), Unity Remole(UA)

Second half:Meridian Uphoff(UA), Unity Mowrer(PK), Meridian McCoy(UA)

Thomey buries two goals

When the bout was said and done, both the St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team and Hoopeston area would part ways with the identical season records of 4-1-1. Staring at recording their second loss of the season at the end of the first half, St. Joseph-Ogden bounced back to win their second road match of the season handing the Cornjerkers their first loss by way of a 3-1 advantage.

Hoopeston's Harrison Wood gave his team the early lead and their only goal of the contest despite 19 other attempts from his teammates. Teammate and goaltender Owen Root (6 saves) kept the ball out of his net during the first half play, but would later let three second-half Spartan shots slip by him in the final half.

SJO senior Jared Emmert earned his first of two assists feeding the ball to junior Aiden Cromwell to tie the game at one goal each. Emmert then set up the go-ahead score with a pass to Colin Thomey. Thomey, a freshman, sealed the victory with a follow-up goal with the help of Owen Baltzell.

Hunter Ketchum made 18 saves guarding the Spartan goal.

The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team returns to the pitch on Monday, September 6 at Bismarck-Henning. Hoopeston Area visits St. Anne today and plays another road match, this one close to home, at Schlarman on Tuesday, September 7.

Box Score -
First half: Hoopeston Woods

Second Half: SJO Cromwell (Emmert), SJO Thomey (Emmert), SJO Thomey (Baltzell)

Urbana's Jacie Owens lines up a shot over the net during the Tiger's home match against St. Joseph-Ogden last month. In Thursday's home match against visiting Centennial, Owens came up short in her battle against Anna Park. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Tigers fall at home

After avenging an earlier loss to St. Joseph-Ogden on Tuesday, the Urbana girls tennis team dropped their next home match to Centennial on Thursday, 8-1.

The Tigers' solo win came at #4 singles from Alisa Tangmunarunkit, who defeated the Chargers' Nicole Vozovoy, 8-4.

Next up, Tangmunarunkit and her teammates will host the St. Thomas More tennis team on Tuesday at 4pm.

Box Score -

Singles:
No. 1 - Sandhya Subbiah, CENTENNIAL def. Myra Stevens, URBANA, 8-3
No. 2 - Anna Park, CENTENNIAL def. Jacie Owens, URBANA, 8-4
No. 3 - Grace Kahler, CENTENNIAL def. Eisla Madigan, URBANA, 8-2
No. 4 - Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA def. Nicole Vozovoy, CENTENNIAL, 8-4
No. 5 - Yehyun Nam, CENTENNIAL def. Matika Pounginjai, URBANA, 8-1
No. 6 - Aastha Patel, CENTENNIAL def. Grace Coady, URBANA, 8-2 Doubles:
No. 1 - Sandhya Subbiah/Anna Park, CENTENNIAL def. Jacie Owens/Myra Stevens, URBANA, 8-2
No. 2 - Grace Kahler/Yehyun Nam, CENTENNIAL def. Alisa Tangmunarunkit, /Matika Pounginjai, URBANA, 8-2
No. 3 - Nicole Vozovoy/Aastha Patel, CENTENNIAL def. Zoe Johnson/Grace Coady, URBANA, 8-0

SJO golf finishes second at triangle

Jacob Kern, McGwire Atwood, Maddux Carter and Logan Smith combined for a four-man total of 181 strokes leading the St. Joseph-Ogden (7-1) golf team to a second-place finish in a three-school competition between Monticello and Rantoul-Paxton-Buckley-Loda varsity golf contingents.

Monticello finished first with 160 and Rantoul in third with 190 strokes.

Kern led the Spartans with 46 strokes on the Par 36 back nine at Willowbrook Golf Course. Atwood finished one stroke behind him with 47. Carter and Smith rounded out the top four scores with 43 and 45 respectively. Jack Robertson finished the course with 51 strokes and Talan Miller with 57.

SJO's Connor Hale shot a 59 and Tyler Buss 56 as varsity extras on Thursday.

St. Joseph-Ogden's Kelsey Martlage puts the ball back over the net during the Spartans' road match at Urbana on August 31. After winning that match, Martlage with partner Hope Rajlich defeated Watseka's Ashton Peters/Baler Rigsby 8-2 on Thursday.(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Dow notches four straight wins

After a win-less first season in 2020, the St. Joseph-Ogden tennis program picked up its third team victory after rolling over Watseka on the road, 7-2.

SJO dusted up the doubles courts taking all three matches and picked up four wins in singles to improve their team record to 3-2 on the season.

Abbey Dow picked up another win at #1 singles besting the Warriors' Ashton Peters, 8-4. The Spartan now boasts four straight wins in singles competition.

Box Score -

Singles:
No. 1 - Abbey Dow, SJO def. Ashton Peters, WATSEKA, 8-4
No. 2 - Emma Simons, WATSEKA def. Allison Kearney, SJO, 8-6
No. 3 - Ava Swartz, WATSEKA, def. Ashlyn Lannert, SJO, 8-4
No. 4 - Claire Huffman, SJO def. Moriah Pueschell, WATSEKA, 8-1
No. 5 - Grace Schmitz, SJO def. Sarah Parsons, WATSEKA, 8-4
No. 6 - Olivia Getty, SJO def. Tiffany Zhao, WATSEKA, 8-6

Doubles:
No. 1 - Hope Rajlich/Kelsey Martlage, SJO def. Ashton Peters/Baler Rigsby, WATSEKA, 8-2
No. 2 - Abby Behrens/Jacey Lewis, SJO def. Emma Simons/Ava Swartz, WATSEKA, 8-6
No. 3 - Katie McDermott/Emma Rydell, SJO def. Moriah Pueschell/Sarah Parsons, WATSEKA, 8-4

Uni outlasts Monticello

Arjun Kala had six saves in Uni-High's 3-2 win over Monticello at home on Thursday.

Noah La Nave had a hand ... er, leg in all three Illinek scores with his first coming via a pass from junior Teo Chemla 13 minutes after Monticello scored their first goal of the game.

Early in the second half, La Nave delivered a righteous pass for Arya Thirodira to sink the go-ahead score. The lead was short-lived as Monticello scored on a penalty kick near the halfway mark in the final half to tie the affair at two-all.

La Nave and Chemla teamed up again for the game-winner 70 minutes into the match for the final goal of the non-conference dual.

Box Score -

First half: Monticello, Noah La Nave (Teo Chemla)

Second Half: Arya Thirodira (Noah La Nave), Monticello, Noah La Nave (Teo Chemla)

SJO volleyball remains unbeaten

The SJO volleyball squad improved to 6-0 on the season after powering past visiting Teutopolis 25-20, 25-10 at home, originally scheduled to be played in T-town, on Thursday.

Becca Steinbach tallied 12 assists and senior Hannah Fox stood out defensively with seven digs on the Spartans home court.

Kennedi Burnett delivered five aces and pounded six kills in the rout. The veteran senior also had six digs.

Next week, the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team hosts Champaign Central on Tuesday, September 7, and Oakwood a day later on September 8.

Wolfersberger, Sarnecki earn cross country Most-Improved recognition

Twenty-eight St. Joseph-Ogden High School student-athletes earned varsity letters in cross country this fall. With the leadership of this year's six seniors, both the girls and boys programs competed at this year's Illinois High School Association state finals in Peoria.

Eric Poe heads to the finish line at state cross country

Senior Eric Poe races to the finish line at the 2019 IHSA state cross country meet at Detweiller Park on November 9. In addition to a varsityl letter, Poe was honored with the Rick Walden Most Consistent Award. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

The boys squad finished in 18th place with a score of 421 points. The top five scoring runners were Brandon Mattsey, Eric Poe, Charlie Mabry, Elijah Mock and Luke Stegall.

Earlier in the day at the state finals on November 9, senior Jillian Plotner led the SJO girls' to the program's fifth consecutive top ten team performance since 2014.

Nine members of both running programs received special team recognition at the end of the season.

Brandon Mattsey and Hannah Rajlich earned Most-Valuable-Player for their respective squads. Logan Wolfersberger was named the boys' Most-Improved Player and Malorie Sarnecki earned the same recognition for her efforts on the girls' squad.

Charlie Mabry received the Tim Mies Effort Award. Addie Allen won the Ashley Wright Effort Award. Eric Poe was the recipient of the Rick Walden Most Consistent Award and the Chelsea Blaase Most Consistent Award was given to sophomores Ava Knap & Ashlyn Lannert.

This year's varsity letter winners are seniors Ally Monk, Taddy Pettit, Jillian Plotner, Eric Poe, Hannah Rajlich and Josh Sexton.

Juniors: Hanna Eastin, Lukas Hutcherson, Brandon Mattsey, and Logan Wolfersberger.

Sophomores: Addie Allen, Braden Clampitt, Sidney Davis, Kailyn Ingram, Ava Knap, Ashlyn Lannert, Charlie Mabry, Elijah Mock, Hope Rajlich, Kendra Riddle, Malorie, Sarnecki, Taryn Sexton and Luke Stegall.

Freshmen: Kaytlyn Baker, Ethan Blackburn, Mary Hinrichs, Teagan Miller and Izzy Sexton.

173 students earn High Honor Roll honors at SJO

St. Joseph-Ogden's Justyn Frisby earns second quarter High Honors.

St. Joseph-Ogden's Justyn Frisby moves the ball down the field during his team's home game against St. Thomas More on September 13, 2018. Frisby was one of 173 SJO students to be recognized for their scholastic achievement during the second quarter of this academic year. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

One hundred and seventy-three students received recognition for their exceptional scholastic achievement at St. Joseph-Ogden High School this week. Forty freshmen, 39 sophomores, 48 juniors and 46 seniors made the High Honors list after the second quarter this academic year.

Students recognized for high honors earned GPAs of 3.75 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

Another 98 students from the combined four classes secured GPAs of 3.25 to 3.74 to be listed on this quarter's honor roll.

St. Joseph-Ogden High School was one of 22 Illinois school districts was named to the 9th Annual AP District Honor Roll. The District Honor Roll is awarded to school districts that increase the number of students and advanced placement classes in combination with student performance on AP Exams. More than 370 schools in the United States and Canada were named to this year's list.

High Honor Roll

Freshmen: Addison Allen, Kailyn Anderson, Madison Atwood, Abigail Behrens, Ella Besson, 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, Brennan Haake, Liam Hamer, Lauren Harper, Anthony Hoang, Claire Huffman, Payton Jacob, Alison Kearney, Ava Knap, Kelsey Martlage, Sophia McDade, Coby Miller, Conrad Miller, Elijah Mock, Nathaniel Nosler, Jessica Palmer, Emma Parkinson, Hope Rajlich, Taryn Sexton, Alyssa Shoviak, Luke Stegall, Rebecca Steinbach and Mackenzie Trame.

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

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, Bode 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, Allison Monk, Alivia Norem, Taddy Pettit, Eric Poe, Hannah Rajlich, Lexi Ribbe, Jenna Schaefer, Joshua Sexton, Rylee Stahl, Kenly Taylor, Stephanie Trame, Anna Tranel, Isabelle Vliet, Madie Warfel, Brayden Weaver and Samuel Wesley.

Seniors: Sullivan Alwes, Gage Atwood, Cassidy Bagby, Erin Beyers, Nicholas Boggs, Joel Branson, Brooke Butorac, Rebecca Campbell, Kayla Cañas, Daniel Carlson, Sarah Chahine, David Cummins, Emmy Daniels, Liam Davis, Abigail Dunham, Avery Edwards, Nathan Emmert, Emory Ericksen, Jasmine Febus, Michael Foreman, Emilie Fox, Adam Frerichs, Justyn Frisby, Rachel Gherna, Mikayla Harshbarger, Zachary Hill, Kalli Ingram, Kenny Lahners, Hannah Lewis, Nathan Logan, Caroline Moore, Eve Owens, 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.

Honor Roll

Freshmen: Tyler Altenbaumer, Ella Armstrong, Alanna Bensyl, Andrew Beyers, Allison Burnett, Zella Fuqua, Hailey Gaines, Avian Gerdes, Alyssa Hamilton, Kailyn Ingram, KayLeigh Kamphaus, Olivia Klotz, Ashlyn Lannert, Jacey Lewis, Madelyn Mabry, Braden MeElroy, Ava Meyer, Jett Morris, Keaton Nolan, Jackson Place, Jonathan Poulter, JoLeena Reynolds, Kendra Riddle, Griffin Roesch, Grace Schmitz, Ethan Vanliew, Karsten Wayland and Taylor Wells.

Sophomores: Haven Atwood, Brady Buss, Raegan Crippen, Sarah Dow, Makayla Duckwitz, Jacob Dwyer, Nadirah Edwards, Bella Getty, Carter Huffman, Cailer Kellenberger, Spencer Lahners, Alyssa Lynch, Brandon Mattsey, Brianna Reifsteck, Jackson Rydell, Lauren Trankina and Mitchell Whitlock

Juniors: Kendall Ayers, Kolton Batty, Hailey Birt, Ross Booker, Erin Bridgewater, Brendan Cooperider, Bailey Dowling, Clayton Frederick, Tristan Fuqua, Ethan Hinrichs, Conner Hodge, Julia Kaiser, Keegan McCarty, Mason McLain, Nolan Peacock, Dyllan Price and Brodie Sullivan.

Seniors: Kaylee Blanchard, Makayla Buskirk, Ripley Campbell, Aiden Coon, Amanda Craddock, Ashtyn Cromwell, Peyton Crowe, Chloe Duckett, Cole Franzen, Katilyn Hess, Michelle Jervis, Jake Juday, Sally Manalo, Kyler Master, Keely McCorkle, Isiah McCune, Erinn Miller, Ryan Miller, Megan Mitchell, Joel Orcutt, Angela Palmer, Reid Patton, Raymond Plotner, Adam Porter, Kathryn Poulter, Joseph Rajlich, Annelise Rhoads, Libby Rowland, Clare Smith, Savannah Smith, Isabella Spisok, Dillon Uken, Jack Ward, Seth Wedig, Alyssa Whitlock and Cole Zaccarelli.

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.

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.

Hamilton dashes by competition, SJO wins track sectional

Amassing 139 points, just five more than runner-up Salt Fork, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls track program earned their first post-pandemic sectional championship title last Wednesday.

It was a spectacular evening for two-time state Long Jump champion Atleigh Hamilton, who led the Spartans with three individual titles. The senior gave gold medal performances in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Later, she broke a long-standing school record of 59.2 in the 400-meter dash.

Hamilton also qualified for this week's state meet on Thursday in her signature event the long jump. The Illinois State University signee finished in second place behind Salt Fork's Gracie Jessup with her best attempt at 5.25 meters.

Meanwhile, Abby Behrens cleared 1.52 meters to win the High Jump competition. Teammate Macy Reed-Thompson finished third to help SJO rise to the top in the 14-team meet.

The Spartans also swept all three relay events.

Kailyn Ingram, Helene Jones, Malorie Sarnecki and Ashlyn Lannert combined for a time of 10:27.70 in the 4x800 Meter Relay besting squads from Urbana University High School (2nd), Clifton Central (3rd) and Milford.

The Spartans faced stiffer competition from Bismarck-Henning-Rossville and Uni High in the 4x200 Meter Relay. The SJO foursome of Payton Carter, Raegan Crippen, Grace Schmitz, and Hope Rajlich finished less than a second ahead of the Blue Devils with their time of 1:51.47. Uni High finished third at 1:55.59.

To close out the meet, Lannert, Ingram and Jones from the four-by-eight, along with Rajlich from the 200-Meter Relay squad punched their ticket to state with a 4:15.17 finishing ahead of Uni High and BHR.

Also turning in top-three finishes were Raegan Crippen, who finished third in the Triple Jump, Ava Knap clocked in at second place in the 1600 meter run

Grace Schmitz and Payton Carter finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively in the Pole Vault

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.

Taylor, Hamilton earn track MVP recognition

Next spring, without Maclayne Taylor sporting the maroon and Columbia Blue, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls track team has some pretty fast shoes to fill.

The senior who was named the program's Most-Valuable-Player earlier this month was instrumental in the program finishing in the top three of all Class 1A schools the past three season. Back in the middle of last month, Taylor added four more state medals to her collection of seven earned in three seasons.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Maclayne Taylor runs to the finish line in the Class 1A 4x400-Meter Relay prelims at the Illinois High School Association's State track & field meet on Thursday, May 16. The senior was named the track team's MVP earlier this month. The SJO relay squad finished first in their heat with a time of 4:07.42 and went on to win the silver medal in Saturday's finals. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

During her three state appearances only once, and that was this past May competing in the four-by-one, did Taylor and her running mates cross the finish line lower than in second place in an IHSA state final event.

Like Taylor, Atleigh Hamilton is building quite a collection of her own. The sophomore received the team's nod as the Field Events MVP after winning her second IHSA state long jump title.

In addition to her gold medal in the long jump at last month's state meet in Charleston, Hamilton won a second in the 4x200 meter relay. She also picked up a medal for a 5th place finish in the four-by-one and a silver medal in the Class 1A 4x400 meter relay.

The track team bestowed Most-Improved-Player honors to junior Jillian Plotner. Senior Rylee Sjuts earned the Spartan Award.

This year's seniors earning varsity letters are Cassidy Bagby, Rylee Sjuts, Brianna Suits and Maclayne Taylor.

Junior letter winners are Lindsey Aden, Jenna Albrecht, Mimi Allen, Hailey Birt, Danie Kelso, Ally Monk, Jillian Plotner, Hannah Rajlich and Anna Wentzloff.

Ten underclassmen, two sophomores and eight freshman also awarded varsity letters.

Sophomores Atleigh Hamilton and Payton Vallee along with future SJO track stars Addie Allen, Abby Behrens, Angie Chahine, Kailyn Ingram, Ava Knap, Ashlyn Lannert, Hope Rajlich and Grace Schmitz won varsity letters this season.

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.