Unity, St. Joseph-Ogden headline IPC All-Conference basketball selections

Area standouts from Unity, St. Joseph-Ogden, St. Thomas More, and Rantoul earn recognition on IPC all-conference basketball teams.

Unity's Brayden Henry takes a shot at state tournament.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Unity's Brayden Henry goes up for a shot during the Rockets' state third-place game on March 12. Henry was one of nine area players who earn all-conference recognition.

URBANA - The Illini Prairie Conference released its boys basketball All-Conference teams last week, recognizing nine area athletes for their performance during the 2025-26 season.

Unity, which finished third in Class 2A this winter, led all conference programs with five selections, all seniors. Brayden Henry and Coleton Langendorf earned First Team honors after anchoring the Rockets’ postseason run, while Dane Eisenmenger was named to the Second Team. Tyler Henry and Tre Hoggard also received recognition from league coaches, both landing on the Honorable Mention list.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

LEFT: Central Catholic's Keshaun Manney goes up for a rebound during the Saints' road game at St. Joseph-Ogden. He was is one of two BCC players who earned all-conference recognition this season. RIGHT: SJO's Parker Fitch goes up for a shot in the Spartans' home conference game. Fitch was the Spartans' only first-teamer this season.

St. Joseph-Ogden placed two players on the all-conference roster. Senior Parker Fitch secured a spot on the First Team, and junior Nolan Franzen was named to the Second Team following a strong campaign for the Spartans.

Rounding out the area honorees were St. Thomas More senior Owen Yeager and Rantoul junior Iysean Autman, who each received Honorable Mention recognition.

The annual selections reflect the vote of conference coaches and highlight the depth of talent across the Illini Prairie Conference this season.

2025-26 Illini Prairie All-Conference Basketball Team

1st Team

Keshaun Manney, Jr, Central Catholic
Grady Read, Sr, IVC
Amazin King, Jr, Pontiac
Parker Fitch, Sr, St. Joseph-Ogden
Coleton Langendorf, Sr, Unity
Brayden Henry, Sr, Unity

2nd Team

Crayton Schnierle, Jr, Central Catholic
Brady Ward, Sr, IVC
Tyler Cole, Sr, PBL
Cayden Masching, Sr, Pontiac
Nolan Franzen, Jr, St. Joseph-Ogden
Dane Eisenmenger, Sr, Unity

Honorable Mention

Nolan Buehnerkemper, Sr, Monticello
Matthias Rudolph, Jr, Monticello
Evan Wolf, Jr, Pontiac
Bryson Gadberry, Sr, Prairie Central
Easton Friedman, Sr, Prairie Central
Iysean Autman, Jr, Rantoul
Owen Yeager, Sr, St. Thomas More
Tre Hoggard, Sr, Unity
Tyler Henry, Sr, Unity

TAGS: Illini Prairie Conference all conference basketball 2026, Unity Rockets basketball all conference players, St Joseph Ogden basketball all conference selections, Illinois high school basketball conference honors IPC, area high school basketball players all conference Illinois

Wayback Wednesday |
Rodgers lands two spots in state title races

Lockport's Derrius Rodgers and Sandburg's Ayo Abiona run in the 100-meter dash

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

CHARLESTON — Lockport's Derrius Rodgers flies alongside Sandburg's Ayo Abiona during their Class 3A 100-meter dash prelim at the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Finals on Friday, May 29, 2015. The Porter sprinter successfully advanced to Saturday's championship race after turning in a time of 10.68 seconds. He also later qualified in the 200-meter dash. Rodgers, a junior, also ran with the Porters' 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relay squads. Both relay teams did not qualify to advance. Meanwhile, Abiona, a sophomore, also ran in the 200-meter dash. Neither his 10.80 time in the 100 nor his 22.33 in the 200 qualified him for a spot in the final on Saturday.

TAGS: IHSA track and field meet, 2015 state track meet, Sandburg sprinter Ayo Abiona runs at state, state track photo history, sprinter Derrius Rodgers qualifies for two spots at state

Trippin' Tuesday |
Chargers faced Generals in conference pitch battle

Photo:PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

CHAMPAIGN - On a chilly, overcast April 1, 2006, the Centennial Chargers and Decatur MacArthur Generals met on the pitch for an early season Big Twelve conference match in Champaign. The athletes in these PhotoNews photos are 20 years older now — maybe coaching youth teams of their own, or watching their kids chase a ball on a Saturday morning.

While the photos survived, the rosters and final score didn't make it with them through time to today. Recognize a player, played in this game, or remember the final score? Drop us a note at photos@oursentinel.com.

Here's a look back nearly 20 years ago at the athletes who represented one of Champaign County's best soccer programs.

PHOTO GALLERY

Click thumbnails to see a larger view

TAGS: Champaign Centennial girls soccer, Trippin' Tuesday photo page, Centennial Charger sports team, Champaign County sport history

Manual 60 - QND 55 |
Determination and destiny fulfilled

All photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Top left: Manual's Joshua Humbles guards Quincy Notre Dame's Jace Allensworth as he attacks the basket during first half action in their Class 2A championship game on Saturday. Allensworth, a senior, led the Raiders with 21 points, four steals, and two blocks. Humbles, the Rams' second leading scorer, finished with 14 points, three steals and four boards. See more photos of Allensworth or Humbles.

Top middle: Rams' Reginald Postlewaite passes the ball during the second half.

Bottom left: QND's Robbie Reed and teammates celebrate a big play in the fourth quarter as the Raiders close the scoring gap late in the game. Reed scored seven points in his 28 minutes, providing his team with three of their 21 rebounds and two of nine steals in the 60-55 loss.

Right: Raiders' TJ Togarepi reaches around Manual's Postlewaite who takes the ball to basket for two points with less than five minutes left in the game. Postlewaite scored on the play extending the Ram's lead by seven, 46-39.

All photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

(Left to right) Reginald Postlewaite, Dyerekiss Shumate, Johnny Ray Sims-Rickmon, and Jaemel Shipp celebrate with fans before the Rams received their championship medals and the first IHSA state title trophy since 1997.

All photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Left: Raiders' Beau Eftink fires a shot in the first half. The senior finished the game with seven points and went 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

Top right: QND's Jace Allensworth tries to block a shot from Manual's Tahj Tolliver in the second half. Tolliver chipped in eight points and distributed eight assists in the Rams' title victory. Allensworth delivered 21 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Middle: Jaemel Shipp and Ladon Carter celebrate their team's win. Carter, a junior, didn't see any playing time in the title game, while Shipp went 2-for-2 from the field and nabbed to two steals in his 20 minutes on Lou Henson Court. Want to see more photos from this game? Click here.

Bottom right: Sharing the moment, Manual student fans cheer for their team after the trophy presentation.

TAGS: Manual High School wins state basketball title, Rams are state champions, Manual defeats QND at state, QND falls to relentless offense from the Rams

Jaquan Brown leads Manual Rams to their first state title since 1997

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

CHAMPAIGN - Manual's Jaquan Brown poses for a selfie with his auntie Ebony White after the Rams' won their Class 2A championship basketball game against Quincy Notre Dame. Rams defeated the Raiders 60-55 behind Brown's game-high 23 points. The title win was the first for the storied program since 1997 under former Bradley University standout turned head coach Wayne McClain.

TAGS: Manual High School wins state basketball title, Rams are state champions, Manual defeats QND at state, QND falls to relentless offense from the Rams

State Basketball |
Manual wins Class 2A title

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

CHAMPAIGN - Manual's Reginald Postlewaite, Joshua Humbles, and Jaquan Brown celebrate their Class 2A state title game victory on Lou Henson Court at the State Farm Center. The trio scored 44 points combined in their 60-55 win over Quincy Notre Dame. The Rams, who finished fourth in last year's state tournament, finish the season with 23 wins and nine losses. Recap and more photos from this game coming soon.

Box Score

FINAL: Manual 60 - Quincy Notre Dame 55

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Manual	15	21	16	18	60
Quincy Notre Dame	15	8	6	26	55

TAGS: Manual High School wins state basketball title, Rams are state champions, Manual defeats QND at state, QND falls to relentless offense from the Rams

SJO Pep Band keeps State Farm Center hoppin'

St. Joseph-Ogden Keeping the atmosphere exciting and electric, the St. Joseph-Ogden Pep ban performed Friday night at the IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals.

CHAMPAIGN - The St. Joseph-Ogden Pep Band was the featured entertainment at the IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals on Friday. The band filled the stadium with fun, high-energy music from oldies to popular dance melodies between quarters and during timeouts. Here is a look at band members performing at the State Farm Center at halftime under the direction of music director Nathan Waterson (pictured above).

Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Lawrenceville	7	12	5	23	47
Goreville	15	9	12	19	55

TAGS: Lawrenceville Indians play at state, Goreville wins semifinal and advances to championship game, Zander Cessna gives all at state for Indians, Southern Illinois schools play for state title

Unity, St. Joseph-Ogden headline IPC All-Conference basketball selections