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.

Woodard leads Rockets to regional cross country title, SJO 4th

Unity's Erica Woodard crossed the finish line at the St. Teresa regional at 18:21 good for fourth place overall in a field of 89 runners. The Rockets' rising star was followed in by five teammates all finishing in top 15 places to secure the postseason title at Hickory Point Golf Course on Saturday.

Just 27 seconds over her best time in her short prep career on Saturday, Woodard turned in the best time of her prep career back on September 19 at Darcy Trails for the Shelbyville-Marshall-Unity triangle meet.

Caelyn Kleparski, Taylor Joop and Olivia Shike clocked in within a 16 second period 8-9-10, respectively, for 24 points. Malia Fairbanks rounded out the top five Rocket runners 13th overall at 19:33.9. Unity finished with a meet best of 40 points.

Unity along with St. Joseph-Ogden, who finished in fourth place with 104 points, advance to next Saturday's sectional meet to run on the same course.

The Spartans were led by junior Ava Knap and her season best time of 19.33.3.

Crusing in behind Knap for the Spartans was Helene Jones. A freshman, Jones went out for cross country when the fall volleyball season was put on-hold due to restrictions by the state in the effort to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Setting a new PR of 19:36.0, the first-time harrier shaved nearly three minutes off her initial three-mile time of 22:14.

Later, 22 minutes and 37 seconds after her race started Chloe Burkhalter was followed in by teammates Malorie Sarnecki and Ashlyn Lannert to pick up needed points to extend the Spartans' running season one more week.

Regional Results:
4. Erica Woodard (Unity) 18:21.0
8. Caelyn Kleparski (Unity) 19:13.8
9. Taylor Joop (Unity) 19:15.3
10. Olivia Shike (Unity) 19:29.4
12. Ava Knap (SJO) 19:33.3
13. Malia Fairbanks (Unity) 19:33.9
14. Helene Jones (SJO) 19:36.0
15. Elizabeth Hulick (Unity) 19:43.0
18. Caroline Bachert (Unity) 20:03.8
25. Chloe Burkhalter (SJO) 20:37.6
28. Malorie Sarnecki (SJO) 20:52.3
30. Ashlyn Lannert (SJO) 20:57.5
34. Kailyn Ingram (SJO) 21:02.6
38. Addie Allen (SJO) 21:16.9

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.

Baker sets hurdles PR, SJO girls snag 9 first at home meet

The St. Joseph-Ogden girls track team took first place in nine events in a home dual meet against Eureka last Thursday.

Haleigh Maddock turned in a 31.10 in the 200m Dash. She was followed over the finish line by teammates Yamilka Casanova (32.32) and Jayci Hayes (32.48) to secure the top three spots on the podium.

SJO's Malorie Sarnecki won the 400m Dash with at time of 1:07:53. The performance was prep personal record for the junior middle distance runner.

In the hurdles, Kaytlyn Baker set a new PR finishing the 100m hurdles at 18.10. In her first meet of the Spring 2021 season against Clinton, the sophomore turned in 18.51 in the event.

Baker also placed second the 300m Hurdles following Ashlyn Lannert over the line at 54.47. Lannert, a junior, won the event with a time of 53.47, just a little under her personal best in the race at 51.53.

The Spartans enjoyed first place finishes in two of the four relay events at the meet.

The Womens 4x100m relay quartet of Atleigh Hamilton, Payton Carter, Raegan Crippen and Macy Reed-Thompson finished more than two second ahead of the Hornets contingent at 52.18 to take first.

The same four Spartans joined forces for another first place finish, this time in the 4x200m relay. The foursome's combined efforts yielded a time of 1:53.13.

Reed-Thompson also earned another gold medal worthy finish taking the top honor in the High Jump. The freshman tallied first place points after her best attempt at 1.49m.

Also earning field event points for SJO, Carter cleared 2.9 meters in the Women Pole Vault for another first place Spartan finish.

Finally, it comes as no surprise that the winner of the Women's Long Jump was 2x Class 1A state champion was Atleigh Hamilton.

The senior cleared 5.23 meters, or 17 feet and 1.91 inches, of sand in her home pit to win the pit. Her best mark in the event, set at the 2019 state championships, is 5.68m (18' 7.75").

The Spartans will host their third meet of the season in a quad event featuring Shelbyville, Judah Christian and St. Teresa tomorrow at the Glenn Fisher Athletic Complex starting at 4pm.

SJO cross country schedule features five home meets

Logan Wolfersberger runs at the 2019 cross country meet — SJO's Logan Wolfersberger runs his first lap around the course at the 2019 IHSA State Cross Country State Finals. He is one of three seniors anchoring this year's Spartans.
(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

This year's St. Joseph-Ogden harriers have the pleasure of hosting five home meets this season.

After two road meets, the Spartans will debut the racing skills at home against visiting Oakwood and Armstrong on September 8. Eighteen days and a three-meet road campaign later, SJO will host four consecutive running events at home. The home stand kicks off with the Spartan Classic at 9a on September 26.

This year's boys squad is led by seniors Logan Wolfersberger, Brandon Mattsey and Lukas Hutcherson. The trio will lead a supporting cast with Aiden Armstrong, Freshmen; Ethan Blackburn, Sophomore; Braden Clampitt, Junior; Zach Dahman, Sophomore; Holden Jones, Freshmen; Charlie Mabry, Junior; Carson Maroon, Freshmen; Elijah Mock, Junior; Isiah Mock, Freshmen; Luke Stegall, Junior; and Spencer Wilson, Freshmen.

On the ladies' side, Hanna Eastin is the lone senior on the 2020-21 squad. Ava Knap, Kelsey Martlage and Ashlyn Lannert are the core runners of junior class of seven runners with the potential to win a state title in 2021. Malorie Sarnecki, who earned Most-Improved-Player recognition last fall returns along with Kailyn Ingram, Emma Parkinson, and Taryn Sexton to round out the eight upperclasswomen on the squad.

The sophomore class line-up includes sophomores Kaytlyn Baker, Teagan Miller, Katie Oehmke, Izzy Sexton and Lili Wentzloff. Newcomers Chloe Allen, Chloe Burkhalter, Maya Chahine, Helene Jones, and Lauren Lannert, all freshmen, joined the program this fall.

2020 Fall Schedule

08/28/2020 • Away
Unity, UniHigh
Location: Unity High School

09/05/2020 • Away
Charleston
Location: Charleston High School

09/08/2020 • Home
Oakwood & Armstrong
Location: St. Joseph Community Park

09/12/2020 • Away
Paxton-Buckley-Loda
Location: Paxton Buckley Loda High School

09/15/2020* • Away
Monticello
Location: Monticello

09/19/2020 • Away
St. Teresa Tri-Meet
Location: Decatur St. Teresa High School

09/26/2020* • Home
Spartan Classic
Location: St. Joseph Community Park

10/03/2020 • Home
Shelbyville, PBL, St.Teresa
Location: St. Joseph Community Park

10/06/2020 • Home
vs.Illini Prairie Conference Meet
3 COED open races at 4p/4:45p/5:30p
Location: St. Joseph Community Park

10/10/2020 • Home
IPC XC Meet
Girls: 9a/9:45a girls - Boys: 10:45a/11:30a
Location: St. Joseph Community Park

10/17/2020 • Away
Monticello IPC Meet
Location: Monticello High School

10/24/2020* • Away
IHSA Regionals
Location: TBA

Rockets runner-up at sectional cross-country meet, SJO finishes 5th

The top five places at Saturday's IHSA sectional cross country meet in Forsyth was dominated by the Illini Prairie Conference.

The Unity girls cross country team tallied 69 points for a second-place finish at yesterday's sectional cross country meet at Hickory Point Golf Course on Saturday. The St. Joseph-Ogden contingent placed 5th with 150 points. Monticello won the sectional title scoring 51 points.

It took the Rockets' Erica Woodard, who was The Sentinel area's top finisher, 38 seconds longer to complete the course she ran seven days earlier. The freshman standout crossed the finish line sixth place at 18:59.9. Meanwhile, senior Taylor Joop, the second Unity runner to finish, turned in a nearly identical time to last week's regional run at 19:18.5. Woodard was sixth overall and Joop was the 11 runner to end her prep cross country career.

Rounding out the Rocket's top three was another frosh harrier, Caelyn Kleparski, who circumvented the course in 19 minutes, 24.8 seconds good for 13th place.

The Spartans' top three finishers crossed in the same order as they did on their previous journey around the familiar course.

Junior Ava Knap led SJO's effort clocking in at 19:37.3 with only a four second difference between this and the previous weekend's performance. She finished 19th out the field of 117 runners.

Helene Jones (19:49.7) and Chloe Burkhalter (20:25.2) finished in 23rd and 36th place, respectively, for the Spartans.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there will be no IHSA state meet this season.

2020 St. Teresa Sectional Results -

6. Erica Woodard (Unity) 18:59.9, 11. Taylor Joop (Unity) 19:18.5, 13. Caelyn Kleparski (Unity) 19:24.8, 19. Ava Knap (St. Joseph-Ogden) 19:37.3, 21. Olivia Shike (Unity) 19:44.6, 23. Helene Jones (St. Joseph-Ogden) 19:49.7, 27. Elizabeth Hulick (Unity) 20:06.3, 28. Malia Fairbanks (Unity) 20:07.3, 29. Briana Ritchie (Unity) 20:10.8, 36. Chloe Burkhalter (St. Joseph-Ogden) 20:25.2, 38. Malorie Sarnecki (St. Joseph-Ogden) 20:32.2, 51. Kailyn Ingram (St. Joseph-Ogden) 20:53.5, 65. Ashlyn Lannert (St. Joseph-Ogden) 21:35.9, 70. Addie Allen (St. Joseph-Ogden) 21:47.1.

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.

Unity takes 2nd at conference meet, SJO girls 5th

Unity's Taylor Joop runs at 2019 state meet

Fourteen area long distance runners competed in this year's Illini Prairie Conference meet held Saturday at the Woodard Family Park and Sports Complex. By the time trodden grassy surface settled, the Unity girls cross country squad learned of their second place team finish via 45 points tallied in the team competition. Ninety-six points behind them, host St. Joseph-Ogden finished in fifth place with 136.

Individually, Rockets' Erica Woodard paced all area runners around the course closing out her race in 18 minutes, 18 seconds for a fourth place overall finish. Nearly a minute later, teammates Caelyn Kleparski (8th) and Taylor Joop (9th) crossed the finish line at 19:12 and 19:15, respectively.

Ava Knap let the Spartan contingent finishing the 3-mile course with a time of 20:19.21. She was followed over the line by Helene Jones and Chloe Burkholter to round SJO's top three finishers. Jones finished two spots behind Knap in 23rd place overall. Meanwhile, Burkholter ended her run 30th out of 56 runners on Saturday.

This year's meet champion was Monticello with 29 points. Olympia won third place honors with a score of 90 points.

Illini Prairie Conference meet results:

4	Erica Woodard	Unity	18:18.00
8	Caelyn Kleparski	Unity	19:12.99
9	Taylor Joop	Unity	19:15.09
11	Elizabeth Hulick	Unity	19:26.23
13	Olivia Shike	Unity	19:38.08
16	Malla Fairbanks	Unity	19:55.97
20	Ava Knap	SJO	20:19.21
22	Helene Jones	SJO	20:28.93
26	Audrey Remole	Unity	20:45.34
29	Chloe Burkholter	SJO	20:58.85
31	Malorie Sarnecki	SJO	21:03.39
34	Kailyn Ingram	SJO	21:11.77
35	Addie Allen	SJO	21:22.56
39	Ashlyn Lannert	SJO	21:49.06

Spartans runners head to state

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Area runners qualify for IHSA state cross country championship on Saturday

Sixty-eight individual runners qualified for the Illinois High School Association's state meet in Peoria this Saturday.

Urbana High School's Celia Barbieri and University High School's Henry Laufenberg qualified as individual competitors. Laufenberg finished in 15th place with a time of 16:55.85 at the St. Teresa sectional last Saturday. Barbieri, a senior, made the cut running the Class 2A race on the same course in 20 minutes, 12.07 seconds.

The remaining 66 runners made of athletes from both St. Joseph-Ogden, Unity, and Urbana will represent their school programs at Detweiller Park.

Malia Fairbanks carries the team's IHSA sectional award

Unity cross country runner Malia Fairbanks carries the team 2021 cross country sectional plaque after the team was honored during halftime at Saturday's Unity home playoff game against Newton. "We're super excited about going to state," Fairbanks said. "It's crazy how fast the season has gone by." The Rockets' along with girls teams from St. Joseph-Ogden and Uni-High will race for a possible state title at 9am on Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden finished in second place on the mud-soaked course at Hickory Point golf club with 87 points in the 1A race. University High came in 10th place and Unity rounded out The Sentinel area schools in 11th place with 316 points.

It was nearly a clean sweep of the top three places with the three programs The Sentinel covers. The Unity girls team won the sectional title with four runners finishing under the 19 minutes and 47 seconds. The Rockets secured the title with a 13-point advantage over St. Joseph-Ogden, who finished in second place with 75 points. University High finished fourth in the final standings just one point behind Monticello 108.

In Class 2A action, the Urbana boys' team celebrated a fourth-place finish ahead of 14 other programs. Leading the Tigers' contingent over the finish line was senior Sam Lambert who was ninth overall at 16:35.75 and Park Mitchell 15 seconds later at 16:50.51 in 16th place.

Saturday's championship race schedule starts at 9am with Class A girls running first followed by the boys' race at 10a. The Class 2A race featuring Barbieri starts at 11am and the Urbana boys squad will race for the title at noon. The awards ceremonies will occur one hour after the start of the last race for that class.

Below is a list of our area qualifiers.

Boys 1A Qualifiers

Aiden Armstrong (SJO)
EJ Beckett (SJO)
Ethan Blackburn (SJO)
Braden Clampitt (SJO)
Jack Fisher (SJO)
Joe Griebat (SJO)
Mason Guido (SJO)
Holden Jones (SJO)
Charlie Mabry (SJO)
Carson Maroon (SJO)
Isiah Mock (SJO)
Elijah Mock (SJO)
Luke Stegall (SJO)
Payton Wendell (SJO)
Henry Laufenberg (Uni-High)

Girls 1A Qualifiers

Chloe Allen (SJO)
Addie Allen (SJO)
Kaytlyn Baker (SJO)
Chloe Burkhalter (SJO)
Madison Clampitt (SJO)
Savanna Franzen (SJO)
Kailyn Ingram (SJO)
Ava Knap (SJO)
Malorie Sarnecki (SJO)
Taryn Sexton (SJO)
Josie Cler (Unity)
Krystal Crossin (Unity)
Emily Decker (Unity)
Malia Fairbanks (Unity)
Harper Hancock (Unity)
Annabelle Jokisch (Unity)
Caelyn Kleparski (Unity)
Arianna Pruitt-LeFaivre (Unity)
Camryn Reedy (Unity)
Audrey Remole (Unity)
Olivia Shike (Unity)
Sophia Stierwalt (Unity)
Reagen Stringer (Unity)
Erica Woodard (Unity)
Kate Ahmari (Uni-High )
Marina Bowers-Wong (Uni-High)
Stefania Dzhaman (Uni-High)
Edie Hoganson (Uni-High)
Cadi Hu (Uni-High)
Madeleine Keenan (Uni-High)
Bridget Lu (Uni-High)
Kara Mathias (Uni-High)
Erin Smith (Uni-High)
Jeana To (Uni-High)
Grace To (Uni-High)
Maxine Van der donk (Uni-High)
Bonnie Weaver (Uni-High)
Clara Wood (Uni-High)

Boys 1A Qualifiers

Michael Allison (Urbana)
Brian Allison (Urbana)
Julio Angrave (Urbana)
Christian Berry (Urbana)
Hudson Coady (Urbana)
Feras Hamayel (Urbana)
Dereje Jahiel (Urbana)
Sam Lambert (Urbana)
Emmanuel Lokango (Urbana)
Asaph Lokango (Urbana)
Patrick Lyon (Urbana)
Park Mitchell (Urbana)
Jonathan Sanchez-Huanca (Urbana)
Parker Schroeder (Urbana)

Girls 2A Qualifiers

Celia Barbieri (Urbana)

Girls XC advances to Effingham sectional meet

Despite cold conditions and wet, rainy conditions, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls cross county team finished in third place behind Monticello (first) and Unity (second) as one of seven teams advancing to next Saturday's Class 1A sectional in Effingham.

Hannah Rajlich running at the Spartan Classic.

Hannah Rajlich runs during the Spartan Classic in September. The all-conference runner did not compete in Saturday's regional race. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

The Spartans finished the meet just two points ahead of St. Thomas More with a score of 85 points in arguably the state's toughest small school sectional qualifier.

Led by senior Jillian Plotner, SJO's scoring runners completed the course at Wimple Park in a strong formation of 9, 16, 19, 20 and 21.

Plotner circumvented the course in 19 minutes and 10 seconds for a ninth place overall finish. Ashlyn Lannert was the next Spartan to cross the finish line 33 seconds later at 19:43. Two runners and five seconds later, Ava Knap locked up 19th place.

Malorie Sarnecki rounded out the top 20 finishers with a time of 19:54 with teammate Ally Monk one second behind her at 19:55.

Sophomores Addie Allen and Kailyn Ingram finished their races under the 21 minute mark.

Boys XC wins meet title, volleyball starts win streak

Luke Stegall runs to a sixth place finish in the Male 14 to 18 division at the 2019 SJO 5K. Stegall, a sophomore, finished in seventh place at the Doc Acklin Invite on Saturday to help the SJO boys cross country team win this year's team title. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Sports Book: August 31

Plotner leads SJO at Doc Acklin Invite

Senior Jillian Plotner finished in third place overall at the 4th Annual Doc Acklin Invite in Paris on Saturday. Scoring points toward the team title Plotner, along with teammates Hannah Rajlich, Ava Knap, Ashlyn Lannert and Ally Monk tallied 34 points. SJO finished second behind Marshall, who finished the race with 28 points and ahead of Teutopolis with 98.

Plotner clocked in at 18:35.2 and Monk, the final scoring member, finished 11th overall at 21:11.7.

Other Spartan harriers running in the program's first race of the season were Hope Rajlich, Kailyn Ingram, Kendra Riddle, Hanna Eastin, Addie Allen, Malorie Sarnecki, Sidney Davis, Taryn Sexton, Teagan Miller and Izzy Sexton.

Spartans first at XC Invite

Brandon Mattsey and Eric Poe finished one-two to help the SJO boys cross country team to a first place finish at the Doc Acklin Invite on Saturday, August 31. Elijah Mock, Luke Stegall and Charlie Mabry were rounded out the top five scoring finishers to help the St. Joseph-Ogden place ahead of Marshall (second place), Cumberland (third) and Effinginham, who finished fourth.

Also representing SJO on Saturday in the race was Braden Clampitt, Lukas Hutcherson, Ethan Blackburn, Logan Wolfersberger, Taddy Pettit and Zach Dahman.

Varsity volleyball beats Bulldogs

Kennedi Burnett pounded nine kills and a pair of digs to help the Spartans to a Labor Day weekend win on the road at Mahomet-Seymour on Saturday. Emily Bigger was credited with 21 assist in the 2-1 non-conference victory. SJO rolled over the Bulldogs in straights 25-16, 25-12 largely due Lacey Kaiser, who played a solid defensive game responsible for five of the 20 recorded Spartan digs. After their opening loss to St. Teresa, St. Joseph-Ogden is enjoying a three-game win streak after improving to 3-1 in early season play.

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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.

St. Joseph-Ogden first quarter Honor Roll

Earlier this week, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced their list of students who earned high honor roll status during the first quarter.

To receive honor roll recognition at SJO students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.