Senior spotlights with Braydon Rupert, Ginny Bytnar & Ross Booker

Ross Booker

Clubs & Activities

Football (1 year)
Maroon Platoon, FFA

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Older brother

Hobbies:
@orking on the farm, landscaping, working outside, and working on motors.

Favorite SJO memories:
During his freshman year, he started FFA and it was fun for Ross to get to know everyone. Two years later sometime during his junior year, he started to consider playing football at SJO. He followed through his senior year thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. He also really enjoyed all of the FFA events he participated in during high school.

Favorite classes:
Into to Ag, Consumers Ed, Ag Mechanics, BSAA, and all of his FFA and Agriculture classes.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Olson, Mrs. Mathis, Mrs. Max, and Mrs. Schoudel at PVO and Mr. Shawn Skinner, Ms. Pensinger, Mrs. Katie Duitsman, Mr. Marshall Schacht, Mr. Robert Glazier, Mrs. Jennifer Brooks, and Mr. Don Beckett at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
Parkland College, majoring auto mechanics with an emphasis in diesel mechanics.

Advice to future SJO students:
Do not take senior year for granted and to cherish every moment of high school because it is a fun and fast four years.

Ginny Bytnar

Clubs & Activities

Marching Band (4 years)
Spanish Club, Spanish Club Leader, We The People, Drama Club

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Hobbies:
Singing, reading, and hanging out with friends and family.

Favorite SJO memories:
Her favorite memory from high school is the Disney Showcase that she was a part of during her junior year. During her senior year, she really enjoyed the circle of memories band meeting for seniors this past fall.

Favorite classes:
Spanish, Physics, Economics, and all of her history classes.

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Dunn at St. Joseph Grade School, Mr. Risley at St. Joseph Middle School, and Senor Zak Sutton and Mr. Kevin Simondsen at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
University of Illinois majoring in Electrical Engineering

Advice to future SJO students:
Use your time well and to ask for help because the staff and teachers are nice.

Braydon Rupert

Clubs & Activities

Basketball (4 years)
Maroon Platoon

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Three older sisters

Hobbies:
Watching movies, listening to music, and hanging out with friends and family.

Favorite SJO memories:
Playing basketball all four years. He enjoyed being a part of the basketball team, as it was a great family of players.

Favorite classes:
Intro to Ag with Mrs. Katie Duitsman and Algebra II with Mr. Kiel Duval.

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Duval, Mr. Kevin Simondsen, and Mrs. Stacey Kietzman

College:
Parkland College majoring in Construction Management

Advice to future SJO students:
Be prepared and to work hard.

Text & photos provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Senior spotlights with Aubrey Kern, Cody Johnston & Kristen Costa

Aubrey Kern

Clubs & Activities

Volleyball (1 year)
Student Council, Maroon Platoon

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Older brother

Hobbies:
Hanging out with family and friends

Favorite SJO memories:
Going to all of the home games and Homecoming and Prom week.

Favorite classes:
All of her English classes and Biology

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Risley and Mrs. Kinney at St. Joseph Middle School and Mr. Kiel Duval and Mrs. Heather Lindenmeyer at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
Parkland College, Undecided major

Advice to future SJO students:
Have as much fun as you can and to not take anything for granted.

Cody Johnston

Clubs & Activities

Bass Fishing, Scholastic Bowl, We The People, Rube Goldberg Team, Marching Band, SADA

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Hobbies:
Fishing, riding motorcycles, and playing video games

Favorite SJO memories:
He earned first place in his We The People unit, and he also earned first place in percussion at one of his marching band competitions. Cody also enjoyed participating on the Rube Goldberg team.

Favorite classes:
Biology, Physics, U.S. History, Civics, and Calculus

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Risley at St. Joseph Middle School and Mrs. Jeanna Kerner, Mr. Robert Glazier, Mr. Marshall Schacht, and Mrs. Lianne Rash at SJO

College:
Parkland College, majoring in Engineering

Technical training:
Electrical Union Apprenticeship

Advice to future SJO students:
Pursue extracurricular activities and to do your homework.

Kristen Costa

Clubs & Activities

Student Council-Class President, Student Council-Student Body President, AMP, Spanish Club, Maroon Platoon, NHS, Drama Club, We The People

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
One younger brother, one older brother, and one older sister

Hobbies:
Singing, donating her time for volunteer work, and hanging out with friends and family

Favorite SJO memories:
Her greatest memories involvement in Student Council. She was elected into the IASC (Illinois Association of Student Council), and she was the first ever SJO student elected to serve as Vice President of this organization. Kristen also really enjoyed planning out the Kickapoo District Convention for Student Council.

Favorite classes:
All of her Spanish classes and Biology

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Dassow and Mrs. Ford at St. Joseph Middle School and Senor Zak Sutton and Mr. Marshall Schacht at SJO.

College:
Illinois College, majoring Spanish education (K-12).

Advice to future SJO students:
Enjoy what you have when you have it, and do not take anything for granted.

Text & photos provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Big Picture: Spartan baseball team shuts out GCMS in road win

Today, the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team would have been playing for a regional title. Against who, it didn't matter. They would have won it. Though they never swung at a pitch this season, the Spartans will always be winners in the 2020 season.

On a windy, heavy overcast day on April 23 last spring, SJO tallied five runs in the final frame to blank Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley on the road, 11-0. The Spartans opened up firing on almost all cylinders taking an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Falcons could not muster enough bat to position themselves to challenge the Spartans in the remaining six innings.

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Sponsor this page and we'll remove the watermark from all the images on this page for the athletes, coaches and parents to save and share their memories for generations to come. In addition to removing the watermark on each photo, with your sponsorship, The Sentinel will add ten additional images from this game on this Big Picture page. Ready to sponsor? Click here . . .

Featuring the Class of 2020's Adamaris Fuentes, Ethan Hinrichs & Eliza Lewis

Adamaris Fuentes

Clubs & Activities

Spanish Club, Spanish Club Leader, Cheer (1 year), Drama Club, Maroon Platoon, Maroon Platoon Leader

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Hobbies:
Dancing, baking, and giving her time through volunteer work.

Favorite SJO memories:
Meeting new people, and she was thankful for all of the new opportunities each year at SJO.

Favorite classes:
Spanish with Senor Zak Sutton, PE with Mr. William Billman, and English with Ms. Susan Pensinger

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Risley and Mrs. Kinney at St. Joseph Middle School and Senor Sutton, Mr. Kevin Simondsen, and Mrs. Lianne Rash at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, Majoring in Pre-PA Biology.

Advice to future SJO students:
Do not take anything for granted.

Graduating from college with an undergraduate or advance degree? Let us know. Read more ...

Ethan Hinrichs

Clubs & Activities

Marching Band (4 years)
Track and Field (1 year)
Soccer (2 years)
Scholastic Bowl, Rube Goldberg Team, We The People

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
He has seven siblings: one older sister, two younger brothers, and four younger sisters.

Hobbies:
Reading and working

Favorite SJO memories:
Marching Band trip to Washington D.C. when he was a freshman and going to Chicago as a part of the We The People team. Ethan has also enjoyed spending time with his teachers throughout the years at SJO.

Favorite classes:
Physics, AP Chemistry, and all of his classes with Mr. Marshall Schacht and Mr. Jeff Kieffer.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. McDonald at St. Joseph Grade School; Mrs. Mabry and Mr. Steele at St. Joseph Middle School; and Mr. Schacht, Mr. Jeff Kieffer, Mr. Robert Glazier, and Mr. Kevin Simondsen at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
He will attend the Parkland Pathways program and will transfer to the University of Illinois to major in aerospace engineering.

Summer Plans:
After high school, Ethan plans to work two jobs over the summer.

Advice to future SJO students:
Be social and to get out more.

Eliza Lewis

Clubs & Activities

Cheer (4 years)
We The People, Spanish Club, Spanish Club Leader, Bible Club Leader, SADA, NHS, Drama Club

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
One older sister and one younger brother.

Hobbies:
Working, Bible journaling, drawing, watching YouTube, and hanging out with friends.

Favorite SJO memories:
Eliza’s greatest memories at SJO centered around the wonderful memories she made with friends at lunch time.

Favorite classes:
Geometry with Mr. Kiel Duval, Sociology with Mr. Jeff Kieffer, AP English III with Mr. Ryan Searby, Horticulture with Mrs. Darcy Nekolny, and Economics with Mr. Marshall Schacht.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Mabry at St. Joseph Grade School; Mr. Risley and Mrs. Lubinski at St. Joseph Middle School; and Mr. Kieffer, Mr. Duval, Senor Zak Sutton, Ms. Kelly Steffen, and Mr. Don Beckett at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
Judson University, majoring in Architecture and minor in Spanish and Christian Ministries. She will also be on the cheer team and the dance team.

Advice to future SJO students:
Enjoy your time in high school because high school is such a special time in your life.

Text & photos provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

The Big Picture: SJO baseball drops 2-1 decision to Centennial

On March 27, 2019, the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team hosted Centennial in a non-conference contest. The Spartans lost the pitchers duel in a close, 2-1 finish dropping to 5-4 in early season play.

Luckily, we captured a number of really nice action and feature photos of juniors and a few sophomores that were on the varsity roster last year. Over the next week or so, The Sentinel will publish the best six photos from each of the seven games in our photo archives with a special focus on the members from the Class of 2020.

Here is the first installment of The Big Picture, starting with this home game against the Chargers featuring five of this year's seniors.

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Shining stars of SJO, senior spotlights with Samantha Gonzales, Jenna Schaefer & Erin Bridgewater

Samantha Gonzales

Clubs & Activities

Marching Band (4 years)

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Older sister

Hobbies:
Flute and being around animals

Favorite SJO memories:
A memory that she will never forget is when the SJO Marching Band finishing in 3rd place at the University of Illinois Marching Band Competition. In fact, her best high school memories all revolve around band.

Favorite classes:
Band and Chemistry

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Dassow and Mrs. Mabry at St. Joseph Middle School and Mr. Kevin Simondsen and Mrs. Heather Lindenmeyer at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
Eastern Illinois University, double major in Music Performance and Criminology

Advice to future SJO students:
Participate in extracurricular events and to get your schoolwork done.

Jenna Schaefer

Clubs & Activities

Band (4 years)
Drama Club, Scholastic Bowl, Rube Goldberg Team, NHS, Spanish Club, We The People

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Younger sister

Hobbies:
Hiking, traveling, watching TV, and hanging out with family and friends.

Favorite SJO memories:
She has enjoyed everything about the SJO Marching Band. During her junior year, she enjoyed being a part of the musical and post-prom as well.

Favorite classes:
Spanish, Economics, Intro to Social Studies, PE, Algebra II, and Geography

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Kirk at St. Joseph Grade School; Mrs. Jeffers at St. Joseph Middle School; and Mr. Marshall Schacht, Mr. Jeff Kieffer, Senor Zak Sutton, Senora Nelson, and Mr. Kevin Simondsen at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
University of Illinois, majoring in Environmental Economics and Policy.

Advice to future SJO students:
Get involved, be a part of all of the offered activities, and be nice to all of your teachers.

Erin Bridgewater

Clubs & Activities

Band (4 years)
We The People, Drama Club, Art Club

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Hobbies:
Video games and learning Japanese

Favorite SJO memories:
Most center around her experience in the SJO Marching Band. During her senior year, the SJO Marching Band earned a 3rd place finish or higher in each of their six marching band competitions. This was a great achievement that she was a huge part of.

Favorite classes:
Band all four years of high school, Horticulture with Mrs. Duitsman, and all of her science classes.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Fitzsimmons at St. Joseph Grade School, Mrs. Jeffers at St. Joseph Middle School, and she has enjoyed classes with all of her teachers at SJO.

College:
Eastern Illinois University, majoring in Computer Information Technology.

Advice to future SJO students:
Take your classes seriously and to do all of your homework.

Text & photos provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Senior Spotlights with Anna Tranel, Konnor George & Nathan Maier

Anna Tranel

Clubs & Activities

Track and Field (4 years)
Maroon Platoon, Spanish Club

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Four siblings: one older brother, one younger sister, and two younger brothers.

Hobbies:
Running, writing with sidewalk chalk, and hanging out with friends

Favorite SJO memories:
She enjoyed going to all of the home football games and the powderpuff game before Homecoming during her senior year.

Favorite classes:
All of her math classes, U.S. History, Civics, and Advanced Biology.

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Risley and Mrs. Ford at St. Joseph Middle School and Mr. Marshall Schacht, Senor Zak Sutton, Ms. Kelly Steffen, and Mrs. Ashley Krisman at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
Parkland College or Augustana University, majoring actuary science

Advice to future SJO students:
Make the most of high school and enjoy it because you never know when it will end.

Konnor George

Clubs & Activities

FFA

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Four siblings: one older sister, two younger sisters, and one younger brother.

Hobbies:
His hobbies revolve around music. He really enjoys playing the guitar.

Favorite SJO memory:
Homecoming during his freshman year

Favorite classes:
World History and Geography with Mr. Kieffer, and U.S. History and Civics with Mr. Beckett.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Steele at St. Joseph Middle School and Mr. Jeff Kieffer, Mr. Shawn Skinner, Mr. William Billman, and Mrs. Alisyn Franzen at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Career Plans:
Plans to join the U.S. Army and possibly have a career in a law enforcement.

Advice to future SJO students:
Do homework and to stay on task.

Graduating from college with an undergraduate or advance degree? Tell us!

Nathan Maier

Clubs & Activities

Basketball (3 years)
Football (1 year)

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Two older brothers

Hobbies:
Reading books, working on his computer, practicing photography, filming, and hanging out with family.

Favorite SJO memories:
His positive times being a part of the boys’ basketball team as a manager during his junior and senior years. Nathan felt motivated to be a part of the basketball family, and he will always remember these moments.

Favorite classes:
Trigonometry with Mr. Kiel Duval and Spanish with Senor Zak Sutton.

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Jeff Kieffer, Senor Zak Sutton, and Mrs. Heather Lindenmeyer

College:
Parkland College, Business

Advice to future SJO students:
Always try to reach out if you need help because St. Joseph is such a welcoming community.

Text & photos provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Spartan Spotlight with seniors Brianna Dingman, Tia Pruitt & Andrea Cunningham

Brianna Dingman

Clubs & Activities

Chorus, FFA

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
A younger brother and sister

Hobbies:
Listening to music, drawing, watching TV, and practicing cosmetology.

Favorite SJO memories:
Her greatest memories at SJO revolve around her Chorus classes. She really enjoyed the ILMEA District Chorus Competition at Eastern Illinois University during her senior year.

Favorite classes:
Art, Chorus, and Sociology.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Bayles and Mr. Risley at St. Joseph Middle School and Mrs. Jennifer Brooks, Mrs. Mary Benoit, and Mr. Nicholas Wolf at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
Lakeland College, majoring in Cosmetology.

Advice to future SJO students:
Do your homework and stay caught up.

Andrea Cunningham

Clubs & Activities

We The People, Spanish Club

Hometown:
Royal

Siblings:
Older sister and younger brother

Hobbies:
Reading, writing, and art

Favorite SJO memories:
She remembers a funny moment in one of her science classes when a paper towel was caught on fire by accident during a lab. This happened so fast, and Andrea and her lab partner will not forget it. Andrea also enjoyed eating lunch and socializing with friends throughout her years of high school as well.

Favorite classes:
U.S. History, AP English 3, and all of her Social Studies classes

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Anderson at PVO and Mr. Don Beckett at St. Joseph-Ogden High School

College:
University of Illinois, majoring in Elementary Education

Advice to future SJO students:
Don't procrastinate and to participate in school events.

Tia
Pruitt

Clubs & Activities

Cheer (3 years), Softball (1 year), Student Council

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Two younger sisters and a younger brother

Hobbies:
Hanging out with friends and family.

Favorite SJO memories:
She really enjoyed every part of the SJO cheer team her freshman, sophomore, and senior years. She also enjoyed being a member of the Student Council during her junior year.

Favorite classes:
Science and history with Mrs. Beth Beckett.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Manwaring at St. Joseph Grade School, Mrs. Mabry at St. Joseph Middle School, and Mrs. Beckett at SJO.

College:
Parkland College, majoring in nursing

Advice to future SJO students:
Keep pushing on even when school is tough.

Text & photos provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

SJO senior spotlights with Josh Sexton, Isaac Walden & Jackson Wooten

Jackson Wooten

Clubs & Activities

Band (4 years), Scholastic Bowl, Rube Goldberg Team, We The People

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
One brother and one sister

Hobbies:
Hanging out with family and friends

Favorite SJO memories:
During his freshman year, he marched with the SJO band in the Memorial Day Parade in Washington D.C. This is a moment he will never forget, including many other great memories he has had being involved with the SJO band. Also, Jackson enjoyed the Homecoming assembly during his junior year. He felt as if the whole school was connected during this assembly.

Favorite classes:
Band, and all of the classes he has he has taken with Mr. Marshall Schacht.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Pirtle at St. Joseph Grade School, Mr. Dassow and Mrs. Stone at St. Joseph Middle School, and Mr. Don Beckett, Mr. Jeff Kieffer, Mr. Marshall Schacht, Mr. Kiel Duval, and Mr. Robert Glazier at SJO.

College:
Plans to start at Parkland College and transfer to the U of I to major in Mechanical Engineering.

Advice to future SJO students:
Work hard, and to keep plugging away to be successful.

Josh Sexton

Clubs & Activities

Cross Country (4 years), Track & Field (2 years), Band, Chorus, Drama Club, Spanish Club, NHS

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
One younger sister

Hobbies:
Anything relate to theater.

Favorite SJO memories:
He has really enjoyed being a part of the SJO cross country team. This past winter, Josh was a part of the All State Musical at Illinois State University, which is an event he will never forget. Also, Josh really enjoyed attending the district band competition at Olivet Nazarene University. He will also remember everything that was theater-related at SJO as well. He is also very proud of signing up the SJO theater shows for the Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards.

Favorite classes:
Band and Civics

Favorite teachers:
Mr. Dassow and Mrs. Ford at St. Joseph Middle School, and Mr. Williams, Mrs. Heather Lindenmeyer, and Mr. Marshall Schacht at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
Illinois State University majoring in Music Education

Career Goal:
Earn a master’s degree and perform on Broadway.

Advice to future SJO students:
Do not underestimate yourself.

Isaac Walden

Clubs & Activities

Baseball (2 years), Maroon Platoon
Art Club

Hometown:
Ogden

Siblings:
Two older sisters

Hobbies:
Rollerblading, mini golf, and bowling.

Favorite SJO memories:
Going to the IHSA State volleyball games during his freshman year and senior year was fun. He also remembers a hilarious moment from his freshman year when, while practicing a "how to" speech, one of his classmates threw a paper airplane he was working on, which hit Mrs. Franzen in the face during English class. This was definitely an accident, but it was a quick, hilarious, spontaneous moment that he will never forget.

Favorite classes:
All of his history classes with Mr. Jeff Kieffer, Mr. Marshall Schacht, Mr. Don Beckett, and English with Mrs. Alisyn Franzen.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Pierce, Mrs. Stewart, and Mrs. Max at PVO; and Mr. Kieffer, Mr. Shawn Skinner, and Mr. Schacht at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
University of Illinois at Springfield majoring criminology.

Advice to future SJO students:
Get all of your homework finished.

Text & photos provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School.