The Sentinel: 09/24/25

Unity girls golf team finishes 6th at first IPC golf conference meet

Unity placed sixth, led by Claire Zorns’ 99, their first conference golf tournament. Monticello set a school record to win the IPC Girls Golf Tournament at Wolf Creek with a 330.

The Sentinel's Illini Prairie Conference sports coverage

PONTIAC - The Unity Rockets girls golf team showed determination and grit at the Illini Prairie Conference Tournament on Tuesday at Wolf Creek Golf Course. Facing the league's toughest competition in their first conference meet appearance with 31 players ready to make their mark on the links, Unity finished sixth with a team score of 445.

Leading the Rockets was Claire Zorns, who carded a 99 to place 17th overall. Teammates Olivia Witheft and Olivia Styan each shot 113, with Haley Ennis (120), Ellery Merkle (122) and Addison Mohr (124) contributing to the team’s total. Each player gained valuable experience competing against some of the top golfers in the small school division.

While Monticello captured the team championship with a record-breaking 330 and junior Cate Sanders earned individual medalist honors with a 75, Unity’s focus remained on the progress of its own roster. St. Thomas More and Bloomington Central Catholic rounded out the top three teams, demonstrating the depth of the Illini Prairie Conference.

Final Team Standings

1. Monticello                  330
2. Bloomington Central Catholic 333
3. St. Thomas More             376
4. Prairie Central             403
5. Pontiac                     408
6. Unity                       445
7. Rantoul                     349

Top 10 Individual Finishers

1.  Cate Sanders, Monticello                  75
2.  Caroline Braucht, Central Catholic        76
3.  Sydney Braucht, Central Catholic          82
3.  Maddie Bradbury, Central Catholic         82
5.  Rachel Ross, Monticello                   84
6.  Isabella Beery, Monticello                85
7.  Taylor Wells, St. Thomas More             86
8.  Claire Foster, Monticello                 86
9.  Jenika Biggs, St. Thomas More             90
10. Ella Farrell, Prairie Central             92

Unity Results

17. Claire Zorns       99
27. Olivia Witheft     113
28. Olivia Styan       113
32. Haley Ennis        120
33. Ellery Merkle      122
35. Addison Mohr       124

TAGGED: Unity girls golf 2025, Illini Prairie Conference girls golf results, Monticello IPC golf champions, Wolf Creek Pontiac golf tournament, Unity Rockets golf team standings

Spartans blank Rockets 7-0, pushing season record to 17-0

St. Joseph-Ogden rolled past Unity 7-0 for its 17th straight win, extending its shutout dominance so far this season.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Hunter Cler settles the ball during the Spartans' home match on Saturday against IVC. Cler delivered two goals in St. Joseph-Ogden's game against Unity on Tuesday.

ST. JOSEPH - The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team rumbled to a 5-0 first half start against visiting Unity on Tuesday. Adding two more goals in the second frame, the Spartans defeated the Rockets 7-0 in Illini Prairie Conference play at Dick Duval Field.

Hunter Cler opened the scoring with a finish off a Lucas Stevens pass, and the goals came quickly after that. Tyler Hess buried one, Cler struck again—again with Stevens providing the setup—and Stevens himself joined the party with a goal of his own. Before halftime, Zach Harper dished an assist to Skyler Graham, who closed the first-half scoring with the Spartans up 5-0.

The second half played out much the same way. Harper found the net and later turned provider again, assisting Waylon Jones to close out SJO’s seven-goal shutout win.

The victory only added to a remarkable run under head coach Chris Stevens, who has led the Spartans to 55 wins against just 11 losses in his two and a half seasons at the helm. Ranked by both the Associated Press and MaxPreps, the Spartans are a perfect 17-0 this fall. For context, the Illinois high school record for consecutive wins belongs to New Trier, which strung together 88 victories between 2002 and 2005. While SJO isn’t there yet, the streak has put them in rare company.

Even more eye-catching than the win-loss column is the team’s defensive dominance. Tuesday’s clean sheet was their 12th of the season, and between August 29 and September 18 they stacked nine straight to enter the IHSA’s consecutive shutouts list. The Spartans have scored 98 goals so far this season while surrendering just seven—yes, you can still count them all on two hands.

The Sentinel's Illini Prairie Conference sports coverage

SJO’s schedule doesn’t slow down. They’ll host Georgetown-Ridge Farm-Westville on Sept. 27, face Danville in a non-conference match on Sept. 29, and return to league play Oct. 1 at St. Thomas More. Four more regular season games remain before the Spartans turn their focus toward postseason play.

For Unity, the night was another tough outing. The Rockets fell to 1-5-2 overall and 0-2 in the Illini Prairie. They’ll travel to Rantoul on Sept. 25 and then host Illinois Valley Central Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary
St. Joseph-Ogden 7, Unity 0

First Half
SJO – Hunter Cler (assist Lucas Stevens)
SJO – Tyler Hess
SJO – Hunter Cler (assist Lucas Stevens)
SJO – Lucas Stevens
SJO – Skyler Graham (assist Zach Harper)

Second Half
SJO – Zach Harper
SJO – Waylon Jones (assist Zach Harper)

Team Records
St. Joseph-Ogden: 17-0 (2-0 IPC)
Unity: 1-5-2 (0-2 IPC)

More sports news & photos
St. Joseph-Ogden Athletics | Unity Athletics | Illini Prairie Sports

TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden soccer 2025 season, Unity Rockets vs SJO soccer recap, Illini Prairie Conference boys soccer scores, Illinois high school soccer shutouts, unbeaten high school soccer teams Illinois

Advocates rally against repeal of roadless rule protecting Midwest forests by Trump Administration

Opponents say repealing the Roadless Rule would harm pristine forests, worsen climate change and endanger Midwest water supplies.

A stream runs through a forest area

Photo: Tienko Dima/Unsplash

by Judith Ruiz-Branch
Public News Service

CHICAGO - Environmental advocates are urging residents in Illinois and across the Midwest to oppose the Trump administration's proposal to repeal the Roadless Rule. The conservation policy safeguards more than half a million acres of undeveloped land in National Forests across the Midwest from road construction and logging.

Kelly Thayer, senior policy advocate with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said these lands have remained untouched for decades and represent some of America's most pristine wilderness. He stressed that cutting them down to allow logging, mining and roads would accelerate climate change and threaten the water source for many communities.

"So, ironically, the rule is preventing fires," he explained. "The Trump administration wants to repeal it in the name of fighting fires. The truth is that roads and people who use them are the greatest cause of forest fires."

Thayer added that the law includes flexibility for things like fire management, making the proposed repeal unnecessary. He emphasizes how critical it is for people to voice their concerns now given the U.S. Department of Agriculture only provided a 21-day public comment period which ends Friday. People can submit comments online at Regulations.gov.

The Roadless Rule was established in 2001. Thayer said after more than 600 public meetings and a record 1.6 million public comments, an overwhelming majority of people supported the protection of these natural lands. So far, more than 133,000 comments have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in response to the proposed repeal.

"We have some fantastic wild gems right in our midst," he said. "These areas are in our backyard and they can be lost, and lost forever if we don't stand up and take action now."

Those include Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin. Thayer stressed these wildlands would be at risk should the Department of Agriculture move forward with ending the Roadless Rule. Supporters of the rollback say more roads will help firefighters reach hard-to-access areas and provide economic opportunities through logging.

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Week 4 Scores

Bloomington 31, Normal West 27
Champaign Centennial 14, Danville 7
Peoria 76, Manual 6
Peoria Notre Dame 42, Richwoods 6
Champaign Central 46, Urbana 0
Normal Community 17, Kankakee 28