5 area wrestlers win a title at the Unity Invitational

St. Joseph-Ogden's 106-pound wrestler Emmitt Holt after win over Oakwood's Steven Uden earlier this month. Holt, one of two seniors on this year's squad, won the Unity Invitational title on Saturday for his weight class.

Photo: PhotoNews Media

TOLONO - Eleven area wrestlers finished in the top three in their weight class at the Unity Wrestling Invitational on Saturday. The Rockets turned in a solid performance, with seven wrestlers finishing at or near the top of the podium. Meanwhile, St. Joseph-Ogden had four wrestlers who placed third or better.

Unity's title winners were Hunter Eastin at 190-pounds, Thayden Root at 175-pounds, and Abram Davidson at 157-pounds. Hudson DeHart (215 lbs), Kaden Inman (144), and Hunter Shike (132), earned silver medals for their efforts. Ryan Rink finished the day with a bronze medal in the 165-lb weight class.

Lightweights Emmitt Holt (106-pounds) and Holden Brazelton (132) won titles for the Spartans. Quincy Jones (215) and Coy Hayes battled to a third-place finish.

Unity Invitational Results

106 -
1st Place - Emmitt Holt, SJO
2nd Place - Charlie Flores, Hoopeston
3rd Place - Zane Stanley, Benton
4th Place - Braxton Tittle, Benton
5th Place - Pierce Bultmann, Rochester
6th Place - Noah Whiteside, Olympia

113 -
1st Place - Dylan Eimier, Olympia
2nd Place - Connor Carroll, Rochester
3rd Place - Cohen Sweely, Benton
4th Place - Travis McCarter, Unity
5th Place - Jackson Walsh, SJO
6th Place - Briggs Miller, Benton

120 -
1st Place - Austin Kisner, Olympia
2nd Place - Noah Pelletier, McNamara
3rd Place - Miles Carroll, Rochester
4th Place - Camden Getty, SJO
5th Place - Wyatt Strait, Prairie Central
6th Place - Brawnsen Bloodworth, Carterville

126 -
1st Place - Garrett VerHeecke, Unity Christian
2nd Place - Chase Stedman, Tremont
3rd Place - Mateo Martinez, Olympia
4th Place - Jack Zucco, Rochester
5th Place - Talan Nelson, Hoopeston
6th Place - Kaden Blades, Benton

132 -
1st Place - Holden Brazelton, SJO
2nd Place - Hunter Shike, Unity
3rd Place - Aiden Bell, Hoopeston
4th Place - John Traub, Prairie Central
5th Place - Matthew Flowers, Tremont
6th Place - Jake Kuhn, Charleston

138 -
1st Place - Mason Mark, Tremont
2nd Place - Anthony Hernandez, Benton
3rd Place - Cooper Phillips, Olympia
4th Place - Malachi Hutchinson, Urbana
5th Place - Taylor Finley, Unity
6th Place - Austin Winters, Unity

144 -
1st Place - Mason Tieffel, Benton
2nd Place - Kaden Inman, Unity
3rd Place - Micah Spinazzola, Peotone
4th Place - Drake Pfeiffer, Rochester
5th Place - Emiliano Bedello, Urbana
6th Place - Spencer Crotser, Carterville

150 -
1st Place - Bentley Wise, Olympia
2nd Place - Conor Pasch, Peotone
3rd Place - Ethan Fordham, Rochester
4th Place - Derek Wilkey, Benton
5th Place - Ethan Ziller, Prairie Central
6th Place - Caleb Berg, Unity Christian

157 -
1st Place - Abram Davidson, Unity
2nd Place - Ayden Larkin, Hoopeston
3rd Place - Coy Hayes, SJO
4th Place - Josh Heath, Unity
5th Place - Kelton Graden, Olympia
6th Place - Santino Izzi, Peotone

165 -
1st Place - Bowden Delaney, Tremont
2nd Place - Angel Zamora, Hoopeston
3rd Place - Ryan Rink, Unity
4th Place - Tiffin Kouzoukas, Benton
5th Place - Jacob Grob, Carterville
6th Place - Edwin Villagomez, Urbana

175 -
1st Place - Thayden Root, Unity
2nd Place - Cole Bauer, Olympia
3rd Place - Laith Abunijmeh, Peotone
4th Place - Peyton Robinson, Benton
5th Place - Jack Rathbun, Prairie Central
6th Place - Ian Eatock, Tremont

190 -
1st Place - Hunter Eastin, Unity
2nd Place - Darian Holloway, Olympia
3rd Place - Blaine Williams, Tremont
4th Place - Conner Broughton, Rochester
5th Place - Marcellx Boling, Charleston
6th Place - Dominic Mendez, Urbana

215 -
1st Place - Jared Lauwerens, Rochester
2nd Place - Hudson DeHart, Unity
3rd Place - Quincy Jones, SJO
4th Place - Jacob Balsimo, Tremont
5th Place - Nathan Galant, Benton
6th Place - Elias Rodriguez, Charleston

285 -
1st Place - Zechariah Miller, Carterville
2nd Place - Drake Spears, Benton
3rd Place - Stormy Hughes, Charleston
4th Place - Tucker Deck, Hoopeston
5th Place - Brayden Riblet, Olympia
6th Place - Yeshua O`Brien, Charleston

Five-Star point guard to call Illinois home, Destiny Jackson commits to Fighting Illini

URBANA - The Fighting Illini women's basketball program added another highly touted recruit to its roster last week with the addition of Whitney Young point guard Destiny Jackson. The 5'6" Chicago native will join the team next season after signing a Big Ten Athletics Scholarship Agreement during the National Signing Period.

Jackson knew immediately Illinois was the place for her.

"One or two weeks after she got the job, I heard from her (Shauna Green) and it was such a great connection from the start," Jackson told CPSAthletics.com. "They’re building something great. I feel like the impact that Coach Shauna has had, I feel like she’s going to continue the success and I can’t wait to help build on that."

Jackson is ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the Class of 2025, No. 6 at her position, and No. 1 in the State by 247Sports. She is also ranked No. 25 in ESPNW's HoopGurlz rankings.

As a junior at Whitney Young, Jackson was named 2023-24 AP First Team All-State and received AP All-State Honorable Mention her sophomore season. She has also been named First Team All-Conference in the Chicago Public League (CPL) three times.

Jackson is a member of the three-time Chicago Public League (CPL) champion Whitney Young team. She chose the Illini over offers from West Virginia, North Carolina, Baylor, and Arizona.

Jackson is known for her quickness, ball-handling skills, and ability to create scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates. She averaged 16.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game as a junior.

Head Coach Shauna Green praised Jackson's talent and work ethic, saying, "Destiny is a dynamic scorer, a dynamic point guard, who's going to be able to lead our team and someone that I know is going to develop into a great leader."

Jackson's commitment adds depth to an Illinois roster that includes current Illini Mia Zenere, who played with Jackson on the Example Sports club team in 2023. The Fighting Illini will look to build on their success from last season, when they reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013.

"I chose the University of Illinois because it felt like home from the moment I stepped on campus," Jackson said, who excited to play at the college level with a program she feels values her potential as a player and a person. "Growing up in Illinois, I wanted to stay connected to my roots, and Illinois gives me the perfect balance of familiarity and new opportunities."

KEYWORDS: Illinois Women's Basketball, Destiny Jackson, Big Ten Athletics, Whitney Young Magnet High School, Illini Basketball Recruit

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.

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.

Freshmen High Honor Roll

McGwire Atwood, Kaytlyn Baker, Olivia Baltzell, Maddux Carter, Yamilka Casanova, Ariana Chambers, Cale Coursey, Aiden Cromwell, Zachary Dahman, Emily Elsbernd, Leah Finley, Joselyn Frerichs, Alex Funk, Kennedy Greer, Andrew Guelfi, Mikyla Haley, Maya Hewkin, Taylor Hug, Emily Jeffries, Cameran Kelley, Jacob Kern, Aaron Lane, Aidan McCorkle, Kyle Meccoli, Teagan Miller, Jacob Newman, Allegra Pearman, Ty Pence, Ellen Place, Jack Robertson, Kirsten Schaefer, Johanna Schmitz, Jack Setterdahl, Paige Siegmund, Trinity Tapia, Taylor Voorhees, Alayna Wagle, Mallory Wagner and Maggie Ward.

Freshmen Honor Roll

Hayden Henkelman, Tyler Burch, Canyon Alwes, Ethan Blackburn, Caleb Nemecz, Ava Northen, Peyton Jones, Carter Mabry, Emma Rydell, Sylvia Bills, Shayne Immke, Eleni Krall, Emma Ward, Abigail Dow, Collin Livesay, Haleigh Maddock, Jade Kelley, Blake Morgan, Alyssa Acton, William Page, Hunter Ketchum, Madison Adams, Isabel Sexton, Katharine Short, Katherine McDermott, Bryce Collins and Joseph Gherna.

Sophomore High Honor Roll

Addison Allen, Kailyn Anderson, Ella Armstrong, Madison Atwood, Abigail Behrens, Alanna Bensyl, Ella Besson, Andrew Beyers, Brandie Bowlin, Mara Burkhalter, Kennedi Burnett, Angela Chahine, Braden Clampitt, Anastasia Conerty, Deanna Cummins, Benjamin Cunningham, Sidney Davis, Zander Dressen, Ashley Eldridge, Jared Emmert, Hannah Fox, Mackenzie Fulk, Zella Fuqua, Brennan Haake, Liam Hamer, Lauren Harper, Claire Huffman, Payton Jacob, Ava Knap, Sophia McDade, Elijah Mock, Jessica Palmer, Hope Rajlich, JoLeena Reynolds, Kendra Riddle, Taryn Sexton, Alyssa Shoviak, Luke Stegall, Rebecca Steinbach, Mackenzie Trame, Ethan Vanliew and Taylor Wells.

Sophomore Honor Roll

Tyler Altenbaumer, Nicolas Anzelmo, Nolan Grindley, Alyssa Hamilton, Kailyn Ingram, KayLeigh Kamphaus, Alison Kearney, Olivia Klotz, Ashlyn Lannert, Jacey Lewis, Wyatt Loghry, Madelyn Mabry, Kelsey Martlage, Ava Meyer, Ava Miller, Coby Miller, Conrad Miller, Jett Morris, Keaton Nolan, Emma Parkinson, Jackson Place, Jonathan Poulter, Griffin Roesch, Colton Thompsen and Elijah Weinmann.

Junior High Honor Roll

Isabelle Brooks, Crayton Burnett, David Bytnar, Taylor Campbell, Kylie Duckett, Hanna Eastin, Nadirah Edwards, Emily Fisher, Dakota Franzen, Emily Froman, Isabella Getty, Atleigh Hamilton, Mariska Harshbarger, Emmyrson Houston, Lukas Hutcherson, Logan Ingram, Vania Kaenzig, Cailer Kellenberger, Shelby Kofoot, Spencer Lahners, Aiden Livesay, Madigan Loman, Alyssa Maddock, Tyson Madsen, Sophia Martlage, Flannery McCorkle, Garren Meeker, Abigail Moberg, Samantha Naylor, Alec Painter, Erin Patton, Aidan Roberts, Indira Robinson, Mazie Ronk, Jackson Rydell, Evan Schmitz, Max Shonkwiler, Tessa Smith, Payton Vallee, Nora Walden, Brayden Wendt and Logan Wolfersberger.

Ashlyn Lannert

SJO Honor Roll Students
Sam Wesley

Junior Honor Roll

Mason Behrens, Hunter Brooks, Brady Buss, Rylee Clements, Raegan Crippen, Makayla Duckwitz, Jacob Dwyer, Britney Evans, Alexandra Frerichs, Lucas Funkhouser, Izabellah Innes, Ethan Lane, Alyssa Lynch, Brandon Mattsey, Gunnar Olson, Brianna Reifsteck, AJ Wagner and Rachel Wilson.

Senior High Honor Roll

Lindsey Aden, Jenna Albrecht, Mallory Ames, Kendall Ayers, Taylor Barnes, Katelyn Berry, Emily Bigger, Kaylee Blackburn, Ginny Bytnar, Payton Cain, Brendan Cooperider, Kristen Costa, Drew Coursey, Kathryn Cramer, Andrea Cunningham, Faith Dahman, Hannah Dukeman, Robert Gebbink, Samantha Gonzales, Payton Grimsley, Erica Guelfi, Emily Hardimon, Cody Johnston, Danielle Kelso, Ava Mills, Carson Mills, Allison Monk, Nolan Peacock, Taddy Pettit, Eric Poe, Hannah Rajlich, Jenna Schaefer, Joshua Sexton, Rylee Stahl, Kenly Taylor, Stephanie Trame, Isabelle Vliet, Brayden Weaver, Samuel Wesley, Zoey Witruk and Jackson Wooten.

Senior Honor Roll

Joseph Acton, Michara Allen, Kolton Batty, Hailey Birt, Samantha Blobaum, Ross Booker, Erin Bridgewater, Trevon Carr, Payton Clements, Blake Dable, Bailey Dowling, Asjah Fonner, Clayton Frederick, Jaiden Freeman, Brayden Grimsey, Lucas Grindley, Ethan Hinrichs, Conner Hodge, Chance Izard, Tyler Jones, Lacey Kaiser, Aubrey Kern, Eliza Lewis, Nathan Maier, Keegan McCarty, Mason McLain, Alivia Norem, Luke Renfrew, Lexi Ribbe, Anna Tranel, Anna Wentzloff and Karsyn Wetzel.

65 freshman make SJO 2nd quarter Honor Roll

Sixty-five members of the freshman class at St. Joseph-Ogden High School earn honor roll recognition during the second quarter. Forty-one of them earned High Honor Roll status.

In all, a total of 252 students made this quarter's academic list which was led by the Class of 2020 with 71 students who earned a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on the school's 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.

Freshman

High Honor Roll

Alyssa Acton, McGwire Atwood, Kaytlyn Baker, Olivia Baltzell, Maddux Carter, Yamilka Casanova, Ariana Chambers, Cale Coursey, Aiden Cromwell, Zachary Dahman, Emily Elsbernd, Leah Finley, Joselyn Frerichs, Kennedy Greer, Andrew Guelfi, Mikyla Haley, Maya Hewkin, Taylor Hug, Shayne Immke, Emily Jeffries, Cameran Kelley, Jacob Kern, Aaron Lane, Collin Livesay, Haleigh Maddock, Aidan McCorkle, Kyle Meccoli, Teagan Miller, Blake Morgan, Allegra Pearman, Ty Pence, Ellen Place, Jack Robertson, Kirsten Schaefer, Johanna Schmitz, Jack Setterdahl, Paige Siegmund, Trinity Tapia, Taylor Voorhees, Alayna Wagle and Maggie Ward.

Honor Roll

Morgan Cramer, Madison Adams, Canyon Alwes, Ethan Blackburn, Tyler Burch, Bryce Collins, Aleah Dial, Abigail Dow, Alex Funk, Hallie Harms, Jonas Hutcherson, Peyton Jones, Hunter Ketchum, Eleni Krall, Carter Mabry, Courtney Myren, Jacob Newman, Ava Northen, William Page, Emma Rydell, Isabel Sexton, Katharine Short, Mallory Wagner and Emma Ward.

Sophomores

High Honor Roll

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

Honor Roll

Nicolas Anzelmo, Alanna Bensyl, Mackenzie Fulk, Avian Gerdes, Alyssa Hamilton, Claire Huffman, Kailyn Ingram, Jacey Lewis, Kelsey Martlage, Ava Meyer, Ava Miller, Jackson Place, Griffin Roesch and Regan Uden.

SJO Honor Roll Student-Athletes
Atleigh Hamilton

Juniors

High Honor Roll

Isabelle Brooks, Crayton Burnett, David Bytnar, Taylor Campbell, Kylie Duckett, Hanna Eastin, Nadirah Edwards, Emily Fisher, Dakota Franzen, Emily Froman, Bella Getty, Atleigh Hamilton, Emmy Houston, Lukas Hutcherson, Logan Ingram, Vania Kaenzig, Cailer Kellenberger, Shelby Kofoot, Ethan Lane, Madigan Loman, Tyson Madsen, Sophia Martlage, 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.

Honor Roll

Hunter Brooks, Rylee Clements, Raegan Crippen, Makayla Duckwitz, Jacob Dwyer, Britney Evans, Alex Frerichs, Mariska Harshbarger, Camden Hesterberg, Spencer Lahners, Aiden Livesay, Alyssa Maddock, Brandon Mattsey, Flannery McCorkle, Jackson Rydell, AJ Wagner and Mitchell Whitlock.

Seniors

High Honor Roll

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

Honor Roll

Joseph Acton, Michara Allen, Kendall Ayers, Kolton Batty, Ross Booker, Erin Bridgewater, Payton Clements, Bailey Dowling, Asjah Fonner, Clayton Frederick, Jaiden Freeman, Sam Gonzales, Brayden Grimsey, Ethan Hinrichs, Conner Hodge, Tyler Jones, Aubrey Kern, Eliza Lewis, Mason McLain, Alivia Norem, Dyllan Price, Luke Renfrew, Lexi Ribbe, Joshua Vice, Anna Wentzloff and Karsyn Wetzel.

Prep Sports Notebook: Area cross-country squads shine at Cow Chip

Four second-half scores gives SJO weekend soccer victory

Spartan Hunter Ketchum scored SJO's final goal of the game to seal a 4-1 win over Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin Saturday morning. Ketchum, the team's starting keeper also recorded seven saves.

Aiden Cromwell padded his stats with two assists, feeding the ball to Jackson Greer and Jacek Slowikowski in the final half. Riker Lockhart also put the ball between the post for St. Joseph-Ogden (4-1-1).

The Blue Devils scored first on a successful penalty kick from Bryson Lithgow in the first half with no response from SJO. In the second period, Greer tied the game for SJO's with the team's first score, followed by Ryker's go-ahead boot.

The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team returns to their home pitch on Thursday to face the Olympia Spartans.

Unity girls cross-country team win Cow Chip title

All seven runners from Unity High School finished the annual Cow Chip Classic course in the top 20 on Saturday. The dominating team effort led to 64 points and this year's race title for the Rockets.

Junior Erica Woodard led the field of Unity runners finishing with a time of 19:14.1 and 5th place overall. Sophomore Emily Decker was the next to cross the finish line ten seconds later at 19:24.4. Olivia Shike rounded out the top three in 18th place overall at 19:42.2.

Teammates Mackenzie Pound, Camryn Reedy, Josie Cler, and Ashlyn Denney each finished the course in under 21 minutes and 45 seconds.

Franzen leads Spartan harriers

Sananna Franzen finished third in Flight 1 at the Cow Chip Classic on Saturday. The St. Joseph-Ogden's top runner circumvented the course at the annual race in Chrisman in 18 minutes and 41.5 seconds. The Spartans, who finished 5th in the team standings, saw strong, early season effort from Chloe Burkhalter (20:48.5), Sophia Kapser (23:28.1), senior Kaytlyn Baker (23:28.4), Hannah Mock (23:53.1), and #7 runner Sydney Steinbach who finished at 24:49.9.

University High XC girls take 4th

The Illinek running squad tallied 122 points earning a fourth-place finish ahead of St. Joseph-Ogden at the Cow Chip Classic. Senior Kate Ahmari finished the course with the second best time of day in the girls' division at 18:31.4.

In addition to Ahmari, six runners contributed to Uni-High's top-four finish. Finishers included: Kara Mathias (20:38.1), Edie Hoganson (21:14.6), Shriya Nagaraj (22:55.7), Ella Ylagan (24:24.4), Clara Wood (24:31.0), and Bonnie Weaver (24:53.9).

Richardson the real deal

Garrett Richardson's number was called 29 times during Unity's road game at Dick Duval Field on Friday. His five-TD, 239-yard performance against St. Joseph-Ogden was a stellar debut that will be hard to top for the rest of the season and his next two years of prep eligibility. The sophomore running back scored on runs of 40, 4, 60, 18, and 6 yards in the Week 2 game.

Unity's only other ball carrier, quarterback Cale Rawdin, added insult to injury with 151 rushing yards, which includes an 83-yard touchdown run virtually untouched. Rawdin and the Rockets improved to 1-1 on the season after running the score up 50-7 on the Spartans.

Sentinel area teams finish in the top 5

Cross-country runners from St. Joseph-Ogden, Unity, and University High were among the 26 teams competing at the Cow Chip Classic on Saturday. The Spartans, who missed winning this year's title by just seven points, finished in second place with 112 points. The Monticello Sages took this year's team title with 106 points.

SJO's Lance Retz was of three runners who ran a sub-17-minute race. He finished second overall with a time of 16:48.1 behind Bryson Grant from Iroquois West, who finished with an impressive time of 16:03.6.

The Unity contingent was led by senior Brenden Graven and his time of 17:43.0. The seven-runner squad accumulated 214 points to finish fourth in the team standings.

Meanwhile, the young squad from University High finished in fifth place, two points ahead of Heritage High School. Sophomore Ross Kimme sped around the grassy course to finish with a time of 17:56.2.

Saturday's finishers include: Lance Retz (St. Joseph-Ogden) 16:48.1, Jack Fisher (St. Joseph-Ogden) 17:21.2, Ethan Blackburn (St. Joseph-Ogden) 17:28.4, Brenden Graven (Unity) 17:43.0, Aden Armstrong (St. Joseph-Ogden) 17:44.3, Ross Kimme (Uni-High) 17:56.2, Camden Fairbanks (Unity) 18:12.0, Holden Jones (St. Joseph-Ogden) 18:32.0, Eli Crowe (Unity) 18:40.1, Joe Griebat (St. Joseph-Ogden) 18:47.2, Felix Lee (Uni-High) 18:48.4, Kelby Svendsen (Uni-High) 18:54.5, Carter Tiemann (Unity) 18:54.8, Mason Guido (St. Joseph-Ogden) 18:58.4, Isaac Ruggieri (Unity) 18:59.2, Walter Kraetz (Uni-High) 19:10.0, Bruce Tang (Uni-High) 19:13.0, Luke Fahnestock (Uni-High) 19:17.3, Matthew Ulozas (Uni-High) 19:28.3, Collin Graven (Unity) 19:39.0, and Alex Mowrer (Unity) 20:14.4.

SJO volleyball wins tournament title

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team won four matches and lost one at the Mattoon Invitational volleyball tournament on Saturday. The Spartans' solo loss was courtesy of the host Green Wave in a thrilling three-setter that ended 17-25, 25-18, 14-15. In the final match of the day, the two teams squared off again in the tournament's championship match, but this time the Spartans prevailed, 2-1.

Taylor Hug was credited 107 assists across 13 sets. She also scraped up 29 digs and served five aces. Fellow seniors Emma Ward and Shayne Immke had six aces apiece, with Immke leading the team in kills (44). Addie Roesch, who led the team with 38 digs for the day, hammered 40 kills of her own for the Spartans.

Peyton Williams contributed 21 kills and 33 digs to the cause, while Mikyla Haley's 34 digs also helped the Spartan defensive effort.

SJO defeated Pana, 25-19, 25-21; Mt. Vernon 25-9, 25-11, Taylorville 25-20, 15-25, 15-14; and Mattoon 25-10, 20-25, 15-12.

SJO football falls to Unity at home

After the convincing debut in their season-opener on the road at Monticello, the St. Joseph-Ogden (1-1) football team took one on the chin with a 50-7 loss to the Unity Rockets (1-1).

The Spartans netted just 18 rushing yards on offense. Alex Funk and Tyler Burch had 7 yards apiece, Coy Taylor picked up 5, and quarterback Logan Smith finished the game with 2 yards.

SJO's passing attack faired much better against the Rockets, with Taylor's five catches for 38 yards and Ty Pence's 18-yard total. Pence's spectacular 10-yard catch in the east end zone and Joe Frasca's PAT summed up the team's point production.

Today, the Spartans prepare for their next contest on Friday at Prairie Central. The Hawks (2-0) are at the top of the Illini Prairie Conference after defeating Unity a week earlier, 34-12, and thrashing Pontiac last Friday, 55-13.

More than 260 SJO students named to third quarter Honor Roll

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

Honor Roll student Ty Pence in SJO's home game against PBL.

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

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

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

Freshman

High Honor Roll