Photo of the Day |Going fishin'

Under the dome of the State Farm Center in Champaign, Yahya Thomas and Baylor Fernandes wrestler for third place at the 2017 IHSA state wrestling meet.

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Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Lockport Township sophomore Baylor Fernandes wrestles Mt. Carmel's Yahya Thomas during their third place match at the IHSA Individual State Wrestling Tournament on February 18, 2017 at the State Farm Center in Champaign. After scoring on two first-period takedowns, Thomas, a senior, went on to win the match by way of a 7-2 decision over Fernandes.

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TAGS: Photo of the Day, Mt. Carmel wrestler Yahya Thomas, Caravan wrestler medals at state, Lockport wrestling, Baylor Fernandes finishes fourth at state wrestling tournament, Lockport sophomore Baylor Fernandes, IHSA state wrestling

Photo of the Day |Turn the other cheek

Mercer County's Justin Carey wrestles Illiana Christian's Isaac Lyzenga at the 2017 IHSA State Wrestling tournament in Champaign.

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Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

CHAMPAIGN - Mercer County senior Justin Carey (43-4) wrestles Illiana Christian junior Isaac Lyzenga (29-9) during their 182-pound Class 1A championship quarterfinal match at the IHSA Individual State Wrestling Finals. Up in points in the second period, Carey suffered a match-ending injury giving Lyzenga the win on Friday, February 17, 2017. Lyzenga, on the right, went on to finish sixth in the weight class. See more photo of the day features from The Sentinel weekly.

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TAGS: PhotoNews photo, 2017 IHSA state wrestling tournament, Sentinel photo of the day, Mercer County Eagles wrestling, Illiana Christian Vikings

Krutsinger MVP in Bishop Mac's tournament win over host Spartans

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

ST. JOSEPH - Bishop McNamara's Karter Krutsinger is denied an easy path to the paint by St. Joseph-Ogden's Ryker Lockhart during their Toyota of Danville championship game on Saturday. Krutsinger, who finished the game with 25 points, led the Fightin' Irish to a back-to-back tournament title after defeating the Spartans 62-49. B-Mac improved to 6-0 while SJO suffered their first loss of the season, dropping to 3-1. More stories and articles coming later this week from this year's tournament. Krutsinger was named as this year's All-Tournament Team MVP while Lockhart earned a spot on the All-tournament Team.

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Tags: St. Joseph-Ogden basketball tournament, TODC basketball tournament, Kankakee Bishop Mac, high school basketball tournament, SJO basketball tournament

Top central Illinois teams set for full day of action at Country Financial Girls Basketball Shootout

St. Joseph-Ogden will host eight central Illinois programs for the Country Financial Girls Basketball Shootout on Saturday. Pleasant Plains and Cissna Park open the showcase with a matchup of postseason contenders.

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ST. JOSEPH - With the annual Toyota of Danville Classic boys basketball tournament complete, it is the girls’ turn. St. Joseph-Ogden High School will host the 2025 Country Financial Girls Basketball Shootout on Saturday, featuring eight central Illinois small-school programs.

The shootout opens with a 1 p.m. varsity game between Pleasant Plains and Cissna Park, last year’s Class 1A third-place finisher, in a matchup of postseason contenders.

The Lady Timberwolves are 6-1 as of last week, with their only loss coming by three points to Deer Creek-Mackinaw. In their six wins, Cissna Park has outscored opponents by at least 20 points. Three of those victories came in dominant fashion against Illini Prairie teams: St. Thomas More (64-14), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (57-27) and Unity (52-23).

Pleasant Plains has also handled an Illini Prairie opponent. The Cardinals improved to 5-0 after defeating Bloomington Central Catholic 62-30. They opened the season with wins over Peoria, Normal West and Edwardsville, all schools with much larger enrollments. In a rematch of last year’s sectional semifinal, Pleasant Plains defeated Carlinville 61-21 before Thanksgiving.

Game 2 promises similar excitement. Paris (7-1) faces Eureka (5-1) at 2:30 p.m. in the teams’ first meeting since 2007.

Host St. Joseph-Ogden, off to a 5-0 start, will take on Watseka at 4 p.m. The Spartans feature a tightly bonded group of nine seniors on their varsity roster. The Warriors enter at 5-1. The two programs last met on Valentine’s Day in 2019, with SJO owning a 7-2 advantage in the series.

The finale is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. between Unity (3-5) and Tri-Valley (6-1). The Vikings opened the season with a 5-0 run before falling 67-60 to Lincoln (7-1) last Wednesday.

Admission is $6 for adults and $3 for students with a valid student ID.

Junior varsity teams will play in the school’s small gym, beginning two hours before their corresponding varsity game.

The third installment of the girls’ shootout is sponsored by The Arteaga Group Country Financial Insurance Group.

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Girls high school basketball showcase central Illinois, St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball shootout preview, Cissna Park Pleasant Plains girls basketball matchup, Tri-Valley Unity girls basketball tournament coverage, Country Financial Girls Basketball Shootout SJO event details

Photo Gallery |St. Joseph-Ogden overpowers Oakwood at basketball tourney

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden's Parker Fitch releases a shot between Carsen Dudley and Alex Wallace in the first quarter of their Toyota of Danville Classic game on Friday. Picking up their third win of the season, the Spartans defeated the Comets 79-46 and advanced to Saturday's championship game against Bishop McNamara. Here are more photos from Friday's pool game.

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St. Joseph-Ogden's Kaden Wedig goes up to force the ball away from Oakwood's Ben Darling during second half action of their pool game on Friday.

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TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden basketball, Oakwood Comets basketball, Toyota of Danville Classic basketball tournament, SJO sports, high school basketball

St. Joseph-Ogden, Bishop McNamara rematch set for Toyota of Danville Classic title showdown

St. Joseph-Ogden and Bishop McNamara each swept their pool play games to reach the Toyota of Danville Classic championship. The full day of basketball begins with the seventh-place game between Cissna Park and Watseka. The night concludes with awards, including tournament MVP recognition.

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Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Oakwood's Xander Wilson tries to dribble around the defensive efforts of St. Joseph-Ogden's Tyler Hess in the final pool play game at the Toyota of Danville Classic basketball tournament at St. Joseph-Ogden High School on Friday. The Spartans defeated the Comets 79-46, improving to 3-0 on the season and securing their spot in today's championship game, a rematch against Kankakee's Bishop McNamara. Wilson and the Comets will play the third-place game agaisnt Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Hess led the Spartan offensive effort with 17 points.

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ST. JOSEPH - Host St. Joseph-Ogden (3-0) and Bishop McNamara won all three of their pool play games, earning the right to meet in this year's Toyota of Danville Classic championship. The Fightin’ Irish, last year’s champions, are 6-0 heading into the title match between the tournament heavyweights.

Seven hours of non-stop basketball action begins at 1 p.m. at St. Joseph-Ogden High School with the seventh-place game between Cissna Park and Watseka. Cissna Park struggled this week, dropping all three pool play games. The Timberwolves look to get back on track against conference foe Watseka, which finished with one win in Pool B behind Payton Schaumburg’s 30-point performance in a one-point victory.

At approximately 2:30 p.m., the only two teams in the annual tournament located south of Illinois Route 150 square off in the fifth-place game. Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond faces Charleston. The Trojans and Knights, both of whom defeated one of the teams playing for seventh place, lost two games in their respective pools.

The third-place game features an Illini Prairie vs. Vermilion Valley matchup between Oakwood and Paxton-Buckley-Loda in a contest that may be decided in the final quarter. PBL earned wins over Charleston and Cissna Park in pool play. Oakwood dropped a one-point heartbreaker to Watseka and fell to the red-hot Spartans by 33 points on Friday night.

The main event between the Spartans and the defending champion Fightin’ Irish will be an early season battle between two teams expected to make deep postseason runs. There is a sense of revenge for SJO, which, after winning three consecutive tournament titles since the pandemic, lost last year's championship to B-Mac in a physical 57-48 showdown.

After the championship game, the tournament director will present runner-up and championship awards and announce the Toyota of Danville Classic All-Tournament Team. A tournament MVP and the free throw percentage champion will also be recognized.

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students, covering all four games scheduled today.

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TAGS: Toyota of Danville Classic championship game preview, St. Joseph-Ogden vs Bishop McNamara basketball matchup, Illinois high school holiday basketball tournament schedule, Oakwood and Paxton-Buckley-Loda third place game analysis, Cissna Park vs Watseka placement game breakdown