by Daniel L. Chamness
Special to The Sentinel
CHAMPAIGN -- Based on their dominating performance all season, no one could doubt the Unity Rockets were going to win another Class 1A IHSA cross-country state title.
Heading into the Illinois High School Association sectional meet, the program did not lose a meet. Not one race to any team. The program has brought home state titles in 2021, 2017, and 2015. The Rockets also collected trophies in 2016 for second and third-place hardware in 2018 and 2019.
The path to the state finals included crushing it at the St. Joseph-Ogden Class 1A sectional meet held at Dodds Park on the campus of Parkland College back on October 29. The day was just one more chance to show just how dominant they were and had been all season.
The Rockets cemented the sectional title by 86 points, finishing with 40 points. Marshall took second with 126 points.
"Their performances were very impressive," said Kara Leaman, Tolono Unity's head coach of the Rockets' performance at sectionals. "They are excited. While we have won a state title before, we have never done it back-to-back. They want to be the first Unity Rocket team to do it."
Not only did they leave the sectional with the all-important team championship plaque, four of the scoring top five left with individual sectional hardware.
Emily Decker finished the 2.95-mile course in 18 minutes and 2.49 seconds. The sophomore was fifth. Mackenzie Pound (sixth), Erica Woodard (seventh), and Olivia Shike (10th) finished within 21 seconds of Decker. Pound finished at 18:11.21, while Woodard entered the chute at 18:12.55. Shike crossed the finish line at 18:22.89.
The fifth scorer, Reagan Stringer, clocked in at 18:51.59. Camryn Reedy and Josie Cler took 18th and 25th, finishing respectively at 19:25.71 and 19:47.82.
"This Saturday, my hope for every athlete is that they can walk away knowing they competed as well as they could," said Leaman.
While the Spartan girls did not qualify as a team, Savanna Franzen grabbed one of the individual qualifying spots, taking 13th in the sectional. She ended her race at 18:35.28.
"I tried to be controlled the first 50 percent of the race," said Franzen. "I was not feeling the best today. This course is not all that fast. I am looking forward to running at Detweiller, which is a very fast course."
She led the Spartans to a 10th-place finish, which scored 271 team points.
Hannah Mock (61st), Sydney Steinbach (69th), Sophia Kasper (82nd), and Kaytlyn Baker (93rd) rounded out the top five for the Spartans.
Mock, Steinbach, and Kasper, all freshmen, all broke the 22:00 barrier. Mock finished in 21 minutes and 09.72 seconds, Steinbach finished the course in 21:35.14, and Kasper finished at 21:58.25. Baker closed out the Spartan effort with a time of 22:26.77.
Prep Sports Notebook: Unity top in XC, SJO soccer post another win
Rockets take 4th place at Reed-Custer Lady Comets Classic
BRAIDWOOD -- Unity won one match, tied two, and lost two at the Lady Comets volleyball tournament on Saturday.
The Rockets fell 2-0 to Maroa-Forsyth and De La Salle in close contests. The Trojans prevailed 25-23, 25-14, and the Meteors from Chicago squeaked by UHS, 25-18, 25-20.
The team split sets against Putnam County, losing the first by three, 25-22, and storming back to take the second set, 25-18. Kaitlyn Schweighart, who finished the tournament with 18 kills and 58 digs, and the Rockets also split sets in their confrontation with the Momence volleyball program, 17-25, 25-16.
UHS' only victory on the five-match day was 25-23, 25-11, win over Mendota.
Junior Ruby Tarr had 33 assists and made 22 digs during the tournament. Meanwhile, Jayci McGraww booked 31 assists and five digs, and Julia Ping helped the team's defensive effort collecting 35 digs and nine assists.
The Rockets are back in action two days next week at the Rocket Center. Starting Monday, Tarr & Co. host the Bulldogs of St. Teresa and then play a conference showdown against the Monticello. The Sages are 0-2 in conference play with straight two-set loses to St. Thomas More and Paxton-Buckley-Loda this season.
Spartans one win away from 10th
GEORGETOWN -- The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team rallied back from a one-goal first-half deficit with two goals to beat Georgetown-Ridge Farm-Westville, 2-1. The Buffaloes produced the only score in the first half despite numerous opportunities for SJO. A pass from freshman Ryker Lockhart gave Collin Thomey the opportunity to tie the game 1-all in the second half. Later, Lockhart put the ball between the post around the GRFW keeper to give the Spartans the go-ahead goal. Spencer Wilson got credit for the assist for the 9-3-1 Spartans. Senior Hunter Ketchum and backup keeper Jacek Slowikowski, each guarding the goal for a half, made two saves each. Luke Barney nailed the first goal of the game for the Buffaloes.Unity outscored, 2-0
Tolono -- The Rockets' soccer team fell 2-0 to visiting Illinois Valley Central Saturday morning. The Grey Ghosts improved to 1-4 in conference play after scoring a goal in each half of the Illini Prairie Conference match. Unity (2-13, 0-6) hosts Fisher on Monday at home. Opening kick is slated for 4:30p.SJO 4th, Unity 9th at cross-country meet
St. Joseph -- St. Joseph-Ogden's Jack Fisher turned in a team-best 16:10.32 finish to help the Spartans finish fourth out of 28 participating teams after running in the 50th installment of the Spartan Classic. The Rockets, who finished ninth in the team standings, were paced by Brendan Graven. He completed the 3-mile course in 16 minutes and 38.58 seconds Saturday morning. Urbana University High's Pieter Duursma led the Illinek's effort to the finish line, circumventing the course for a 34th overall finish at 16:51.57. The St. Teresa boys' team won this year's team title with 60 points. El Paso-Gridley finished in second place with 92 points, and third place went to Tuscola with 113 points.Unity girls when Spartan Classic title
St. Joseph -- The Rockets cross-country team finished first out of 27 teams at this year's Spartan Classic. Uni-High finished in third place with 149 points behind El Paso-Gridley's 97-point second-place effort. Unity's top-five runners finished the 3-mile course under 19 minutes or better for an impressive 38 points. The St.Joseph-Ogden harriers finished in seventh place in the team standings. Rockets' Erika Woodard, a junior, won the individual title crossing the finish line first for the ladies with a time of 17:12.28. Senior Kate Ahmari, who led the Illinek program around the course throughout St. Joseph, finished at 17:49.40 in 3rd place overall. The Spartans top runner, sophomore Savanna Franzen, clocked in at 18:02.08 for a 6th place finish overall.Attention area high school coaches
If you are a coach at Unity, Urbana Uni-High, Urbana High School or St. Joseph-Ogden, send us your box scores, statistical leaders for each game, and other info via email to sports@oursentinel.com or editor@oursentinel.com.Prep Sports Notebook: Area cross-country squads shine at Cow Chip
Four second-half scores gives SJO weekend soccer victory
Spartan Hunter Ketchum scored SJO's final goal of the game to seal a 4-1 win over Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin Saturday morning. Ketchum, the team's starting keeper also recorded seven saves.
Aiden Cromwell padded his stats with two assists, feeding the ball to Jackson Greer and Jacek Slowikowski in the final half. Riker Lockhart also put the ball between the post for St. Joseph-Ogden (4-1-1).
The Blue Devils scored first on a successful penalty kick from Bryson Lithgow in the first half with no response from SJO. In the second period, Greer tied the game for SJO's with the team's first score, followed by Ryker's go-ahead boot.
The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team returns to their home pitch on Thursday to face the Olympia Spartans.
Unity girls cross-country team win Cow Chip title
All seven runners from Unity High School finished the annual Cow Chip Classic course in the top 20 on Saturday. The dominating team effort led to 64 points and this year's race title for the Rockets. Junior Erica Woodard led the field of Unity runners finishing with a time of 19:14.1 and 5th place overall. Sophomore Emily Decker was the next to cross the finish line ten seconds later at 19:24.4. Olivia Shike rounded out the top three in 18th place overall at 19:42.2. Teammates Mackenzie Pound, Camryn Reedy, Josie Cler, and Ashlyn Denney each finished the course in under 21 minutes and 45 seconds.Franzen leads Spartan harriers
Sananna Franzen finished third in Flight 1 at the Cow Chip Classic on Saturday. The St. Joseph-Ogden's top runner circumvented the course at the annual race in Chrisman in 18 minutes and 41.5 seconds. The Spartans, who finished 5th in the team standings, saw strong, early season effort from Chloe Burkhalter (20:48.5), Sophia Kapser (23:28.1), senior Kaytlyn Baker (23:28.4), Hannah Mock (23:53.1), and #7 runner Sydney Steinbach who finished at 24:49.9.University High XC girls take 4th
The Illinek running squad tallied 122 points earning a fourth-place finish ahead of St. Joseph-Ogden at the Cow Chip Classic. Senior Kate Ahmari finished the course with the second best time of day in the girls' division at 18:31.4. In addition to Ahmari, six runners contributed to Uni-High's top-four finish. Finishers included: Kara Mathias (20:38.1), Edie Hoganson (21:14.6), Shriya Nagaraj (22:55.7), Ella Ylagan (24:24.4), Clara Wood (24:31.0), and Bonnie Weaver (24:53.9).Richardson the real deal
Garrett Richardson's number was called 29 times during Unity's road game at Dick Duval Field on Friday. His five-TD, 239-yard performance against St. Joseph-Ogden was a stellar debut that will be hard to top for the rest of the season and his next two years of prep eligibility. The sophomore running back scored on runs of 40, 4, 60, 18, and 6 yards in the Week 2 game. Unity's only other ball carrier, quarterback Cale Rawdin, added insult to injury with 151 rushing yards, which includes an 83-yard touchdown run virtually untouched. Rawdin and the Rockets improved to 1-1 on the season after running the score up 50-7 on the Spartans.Sentinel area teams finish in the top 5
Cross-country runners from St. Joseph-Ogden, Unity, and University High were among the 26 teams competing at the Cow Chip Classic on Saturday. The Spartans, who missed winning this year's title by just seven points, finished in second place with 112 points. The Monticello Sages took this year's team title with 106 points. SJO's Lance Retz was of three runners who ran a sub-17-minute race. He finished second overall with a time of 16:48.1 behind Bryson Grant from Iroquois West, who finished with an impressive time of 16:03.6. The Unity contingent was led by senior Brenden Graven and his time of 17:43.0. The seven-runner squad accumulated 214 points to finish fourth in the team standings. Meanwhile, the young squad from University High finished in fifth place, two points ahead of Heritage High School. Sophomore Ross Kimme sped around the grassy course to finish with a time of 17:56.2. Saturday's finishers include: Lance Retz (St. Joseph-Ogden) 16:48.1, Jack Fisher (St. Joseph-Ogden) 17:21.2, Ethan Blackburn (St. Joseph-Ogden) 17:28.4, Brenden Graven (Unity) 17:43.0, Aden Armstrong (St. Joseph-Ogden) 17:44.3, Ross Kimme (Uni-High) 17:56.2, Camden Fairbanks (Unity) 18:12.0, Holden Jones (St. Joseph-Ogden) 18:32.0, Eli Crowe (Unity) 18:40.1, Joe Griebat (St. Joseph-Ogden) 18:47.2, Felix Lee (Uni-High) 18:48.4, Kelby Svendsen (Uni-High) 18:54.5, Carter Tiemann (Unity) 18:54.8, Mason Guido (St. Joseph-Ogden) 18:58.4, Isaac Ruggieri (Unity) 18:59.2, Walter Kraetz (Uni-High) 19:10.0, Bruce Tang (Uni-High) 19:13.0, Luke Fahnestock (Uni-High) 19:17.3, Matthew Ulozas (Uni-High) 19:28.3, Collin Graven (Unity) 19:39.0, and Alex Mowrer (Unity) 20:14.4.SJO volleyball wins tournament title
The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team won four matches and lost one at the Mattoon Invitational volleyball tournament on Saturday. The Spartans' solo loss was courtesy of the host Green Wave in a thrilling three-setter that ended 17-25, 25-18, 14-15. In the final match of the day, the two teams squared off again in the tournament's championship match, but this time the Spartans prevailed, 2-1. Taylor Hug was credited 107 assists across 13 sets. She also scraped up 29 digs and served five aces. Fellow seniors Emma Ward and Shayne Immke had six aces apiece, with Immke leading the team in kills (44). Addie Roesch, who led the team with 38 digs for the day, hammered 40 kills of her own for the Spartans. Peyton Williams contributed 21 kills and 33 digs to the cause, while Mikyla Haley's 34 digs also helped the Spartan defensive effort. SJO defeated Pana, 25-19, 25-21; Mt. Vernon 25-9, 25-11, Taylorville 25-20, 15-25, 15-14; and Mattoon 25-10, 20-25, 15-12.SJO football falls to Unity at home
After the convincing debut in their season-opener on the road at Monticello, the St. Joseph-Ogden (1-1) football team took one on the chin with a 50-7 loss to the Unity Rockets (1-1). The Spartans netted just 18 rushing yards on offense. Alex Funk and Tyler Burch had 7 yards apiece, Coy Taylor picked up 5, and quarterback Logan Smith finished the game with 2 yards. SJO's passing attack faired much better against the Rockets, with Taylor's five catches for 38 yards and Ty Pence's 18-yard total. Pence's spectacular 10-yard catch in the east end zone and Joe Frasca's PAT summed up the team's point production. Today, the Spartans prepare for their next contest on Friday at Prairie Central. The Hawks (2-0) are at the top of the Illini Prairie Conference after defeating Unity a week earlier, 34-12, and thrashing Pontiac last Friday, 55-13.Photo-of-the-Day: December 22, 2021
Focusing on the finish line less than 15 yards ahead of her, St. Joseph-Ogden's Emmy Houston is passed by Gibault Catholic's Brooke Biffar at the 2017 IHSA Cross Country State Final. Finishing her race at 18:38, Houston was the fourth SJO harrier to cross the finish line to help the team to a second place finish her freshman year. The Unity Rockets' girls team edged out SJO with a two-point advantage to take home the championship trophy. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Photo Gallery |Area runners give all at state cross country meet
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden's Savanna Franzen runs in the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. Franzen, a freshman, finished in 6th place over all at 17:51.72 to help the Spartans to a fourth-place finish in the girls Class 1A division.
Unity's Malia Fairbanks runs her second lap around Detweiler Park during the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. The veteran senior harrier was the fifth runner from the Rockets to cross the finish line at 19:04.82 to secure the team title with 126 points. The victory secured Unity's sixth consecutive cross country state trophy in over the past six seasons.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
University High School junior Kate Ahmari heads to the finish line on her way to a second-place Class 1A finish on Saturday. The Illineks finished in ninth-place with at team score of 320 behind #7 IC Catholic (246pts) and Wheaton Academy in 8th place with 289 points. Ahmari crossed the finished line at 17:29.24.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
SJO's Ava Knap runs the last thirty yards to the finish line in her 3-mile race at Detweiller Park. The Spartans' top finisher clocked in 17:48.51 in fifth-place.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Incoming Storm
Salt Fork runner finishes in top 25
Oakwood-Salt Fork runner Macie Russell heads to the finish line in the Class 1A race. The sophomore earned All-State status after coming in 16th place. A student at Salt Fork High School, she ran the 3-mile course in 18 minutes and 21.94 seconds.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Urbana University's Stefania Dzhaman runs to the finish line behind Eureka's Meika Bender in the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. Dzhaman, a senior, finished her run at 19:42.85.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Pulling away from her nearest competitor, Unity's Harper Hancock closes in on the finish line. The Rockets have won the state title two other times since the 2015 season (2015, 2017). The program was runner up in 2016 and finished in third-place in 2018 and 2019 in Class 1A. Hancock, a senior, finished in 30th place with her time at 18:39.30. Follow link to view more photos of Unity cross country runners on Saturday.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
With a few more strides to go to finish his race, St. Joseph-Ogden's Luke Stegall leans forward in preparation to cross the finish line during the boys' Class 1A race. Stegall, a senior, finished the last cross country race of his prep career at 15:52.49. The Spartans finished in sixth-place in the boys team standings.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Pushing himself the last eight yards of his race, Urbana University's Henry Laufenberg runs to a 15:58.37, placing 46th place overall.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Champaign Central's Maaike Niekerk runs in the Class 2A girls' race. The senior clocked in at 19:05.30 in 86th place on Saturday.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Celia Barbieri and Northside's Allison Feeney runs in the Class 2A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. The solo runner representing the Tigers at state finished 111th overall at 19:19.22.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
With about 10 yards left in their race, Urbana's Brian Allison and Julio Angrave along with Champaign Central's Nick Bonn continue their final kick to the finish line during the Class 2A race.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Hudson Coady and Champaign Central's Enrique Bueschlein run through a shaded area of the Detweiller Park course on their second lap in the Class 2A race. Coady finished 220th oveall at 17:28.15, while Bueshlein crossed over 13 seconds later for a time of 17:41.80 in 227th place.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Sam Lambert closes in on the finish line in the Class 2A race. The senior harrier for the Tigers finished just one place away from making All-State status in 26th place at 15:25.63. Earlier in the season, Lambert won the Big12 Conference title for UHS. See more photos of Urbana's cross country athletes here.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Ahmari wins Spartan Classic girls' title, Rockets take home team honors
St. Joseph - University High Kate Ahmari turned in the top time in the women's race at the 2021 Spartan Classic on Saturday. The junior's time of 17:25.70 helped the Illinek cross country team finish 5th in the overall team standings. The sub-18 minute time was a new PR for Ahmari and ranks as the 19th fastest time in the state this season.
It was an Illini Prairie Conference sweep of the top three places in the team standings. Unity, who had six runners finish in the top 20, won the girls' title with a score of 56 points off the efforts of the first five. Monticello finished second with 66 points and host St. Joseph-Ogden rounded out the top three places with 87 points.
It was a day of outstanding running performances for Unity on the three-mile course. Erica Woodard led the Unity squad finishing in 5th place. She was followed by Olivia Shike (18:38.04), Malia Fairbanks (18:41.58), and senior Harper Hancock (18:44.42) who finished 14th overall. Caelyn Kleparski's 17th place finish at 19:02.25 cemented the Rockets' dominant performance on Saturday.
Shike, Harper, and Kleparski turned in career-best times. Meanwhile, Woodard's time of 18:03.62, along with Fairbanks, and Reagan Stringer who clocked in at 18th place (19:02.27), gave season-best performances.
St. Joseph-Ogden enjoyed notable performances from freshman Savanna Franzen and senior Ava Knap. Franzen finished in third place with a time of 17:57.82 and Knap, who followed her over the finish line five seconds later, stopped the clock at 18:02.03 in fourth-place. Both times were personal records for each runner.
Spartan Kailyn Ingram, who PR'd at 19:48.7 last week at the Richard Spring Invitational in Peoria, shaved off another 48 seconds off her three-mile time to 19:00.26.
Top 20 Spartan Classic Times 1. Kate Ahmari 17:25.70 Urbana University
2. Mabry Bruhn 17:29.41 Monticello
3. Savanna Franzen 17:57.82 SJO
4. Ava Knap 18:02.03 SJO
5. Erica Woodard 18:03.62 Unity
6. Hadessah Austin 18:18.98 Seeger
7. Estella Miller 18:26.80 Monticello
8. Sylvia Miller 18:32.69 Monticello
9. Aleigha Garrison 18:34.61 Champaign (Judah Christian)
10. Trixie Johnson 18:37.24 Paxton-Buckley-Loda
11. Olivia Shike 18:38.04 Unity
12. Jennifer Romero 18:40.84 Seeger
13. Malia Fairbanks 18:41.58 Unity
14. Harper Hancock 18:44.42 Unity
15. Nellie Melick 18:49.39 El Paso-Gridley
16. Kailyn Ingram 19:00.26 SJO
17. Caelyn Kleparski 19:02.25 Unity
18. Reagen Stringer 19:02.27 Unity
19. Macie Russell 19:02.37 Oakwood
20. Rachel Koon 19:05.64 Monticello
Unity's Malia Fairbanks runs her first lap around the course during the 2019 IHSA Cross Country State Finals. Fairbanks finished 13th overall at Saturday's Spartan Classic in St. Joseph.
Top 20 Spartan Classic Times 1. Kate Ahmari 17:25.70 Urbana University
2. Mabry Bruhn 17:29.41 Monticello
3. Savanna Franzen 17:57.82 SJO
4. Ava Knap 18:02.03 SJO
5. Erica Woodard 18:03.62 Unity
6. Hadessah Austin 18:18.98 Seeger
7. Estella Miller 18:26.80 Monticello
8. Sylvia Miller 18:32.69 Monticello
9. Aleigha Garrison 18:34.61 Champaign (Judah Christian)
10. Trixie Johnson 18:37.24 Paxton-Buckley-Loda
11. Olivia Shike 18:38.04 Unity
12. Jennifer Romero 18:40.84 Seeger
13. Malia Fairbanks 18:41.58 Unity
14. Harper Hancock 18:44.42 Unity
15. Nellie Melick 18:49.39 El Paso-Gridley
16. Kailyn Ingram 19:00.26 SJO
17. Caelyn Kleparski 19:02.25 Unity
18. Reagen Stringer 19:02.27 Unity
19. Macie Russell 19:02.37 Oakwood
20. Rachel Koon 19:05.64 Monticello
Prep Sports Notebook: Stegall leads Spartans in XC victory
SJO boys win 2021 Cow Chip Classic title
Three seniors turned in 3-mile times under 18 minutes at the annual Cow Chip Classic in Chrisman on Saturday to power the St. Joseph-Ogden cross country team to a first-place meet finish.
Luke Stegall finished the course in 17:00.1 and in fourth place in the race's top flight. An SJO runner finished first the remaining six flights. Charlie Mabry clocked 11.6 seconds slower time than his teammate Flight #2 and Elijah Mock crossed the finish line at 17:36.4.
Sophomore Carson Maroon, juniors Ethan Blackburn and Peyton Wendell, and soph Aiden Armstrong placed first in each of their flights.
Behind the Spartans in the team standings, Monticello finished in second place, Tuscola in third and Unity took fourth to round out the top four places.
SJO squad plces third at the Cow Chip
Collecting 145 team points on Saturday, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls cross country squad brought home third-place honors from the Cow Chip Classic at Chrisman.
Newcomer Savanna Franzen, a freshman, led the Spartans' effort finishing her race in the #1 Flight in 19 minutes and 50.5 seconds.
A senior-dominated team, the seven runners' total time added up to 2:29:12.2 at the early season race. Ava Knap (19:55.8), Kailyn Ingram (20:31.4), Chloe Burkhalter (21:49.9), Addie Allen (22:09.9), Taryn Sexton (22:24.6), and Maddison Clampitt (22:29.9) represented SJO at this season's meet.
Photo of the Day - February 3, 2021
Lyons has a banner day, set new PR
(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
2020 Senior Spotlight on Eric Poe
Eric Poe runs to the finish line during the 2019 SJO 5K. Heading into his senior year at SJO back in July, he finished the race in 18 minutes and 11.5 seconds to finish third in the 14-18 year-old age division. Below, Poe runs to the finish line four months later at the IHSA Cross Country State Finals in Peoria. He finished the course at 100th overall with a time of 16:27.75 to help the Spartans to a 18th place team finish. (Photos: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks)
"I don't regret the decision," Poe said about making the switch from football to cross country two years ago. Days later back in November, he and the boys' cross country team ran at the IHSA state meet in Peoria. "I'm very thankful for the coach I have and my teammates who have been helping me along. It is not an easy sport."
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Eric Poe
Clubs & Activities
Track and Field (4 years)
Hometown:Cross Country (2 years), Football (2 years) Spanish Club, Spanish Club Leader, NHS, We The People, Advisory Mentoring Program St. Joseph Siblings: One older brother Hobbies: Hanging out with friends and family, running, and anything related to his extracurricular schedule. Favorite SJO memories: His greatest memories at SJO include all of his track and field and cross country athletic events throughout the years and when he qualified for IHSA State in cross country this past fall. Favorite classes: All of his history classes and specifically Economics, Civics, along with U.S. History with Mr. Schacht. Favorite teachers: Mr. Risley at St. Joseph Middle School and Senor Zak Sutton and Mr. Marshall Schacht at St. Joseph-Ogden High School College: United States Naval Academy Advice to future SJO students: Work hard because high school is really not that bad. 
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Mattsey, Poe lead SJO cross country at invite
The SJO boys cross country squad finished 54th out of 63 teams at the Peoria Notre Dame Richard Spring Invitational on Saturday. This was a single division race with St. Joseph-Ogden competing against 2A and 3A large high school programs like St. Charles East, who won the meet, Loyola Academy, York and Carl Sandburg.
The Spartans were led to the finish line of the 3-mile race by Brandon Mattsey. The junior finished his run at Detweiller Park in 16 minutes and 42.7 seconds, just 18 seconds off his career best time of 16:42 and 12 seconds slower than his time a week earlier at the First to the Finish on the same course.
Senior Eric Poe, was the second SJO finisher crossing the circumventing the course four seconds behind Poe good for 198th place with a time of 16:46.
The next three scoring runners were Logan Wolfersburger (340th) at 17:56, Lukas Hutcherson (358th) at 18.05 and Taddy Pettit clocking in at 19:26, 409th out of the 446 runners on Saturday.
Meanwhile in the Freshman/Sophomore division, the young harriers turned a 27th place team finish. There were 53 teams made up of 359 runners.
The top five runners included Charlie Mabry and Elijah Mock, who ran sub-18 minute times, Braden Clampitt, Ethan Blackburn and Zach Dahman. Mabry, who finished at 17:10, nearly matched his career best to pace the underclassmen and Stegall concluded his effort at the 17:59 mark.
The Spartans were led to the finish line of the 3-mile race by Brandon Mattsey. The junior finished his run at Detweiller Park in 16 minutes and 42.7 seconds, just 18 seconds off his career best time of 16:42 and 12 seconds slower than his time a week earlier at the First to the Finish on the same course.
Senior Eric Poe, was the second SJO finisher crossing the circumventing the course four seconds behind Poe good for 198th place with a time of 16:46.
The next three scoring runners were Logan Wolfersburger (340th) at 17:56, Lukas Hutcherson (358th) at 18.05 and Taddy Pettit clocking in at 19:26, 409th out of the 446 runners on Saturday.
Meanwhile in the Freshman/Sophomore division, the young harriers turned a 27th place team finish. There were 53 teams made up of 359 runners.
The top five runners included Charlie Mabry and Elijah Mock, who ran sub-18 minute times, Braden Clampitt, Ethan Blackburn and Zach Dahman. Mabry, who finished at 17:10, nearly matched his career best to pace the underclassmen and Stegall concluded his effort at the 17:59 mark.
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.
Allen 2nd, SJO boys share 3rd at Cow Chip Classic
Sports Book: September 7
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Ashlyn Lannert runs to a overall 84th place finish helping the Spartans to a Class 1A fifth place finish at the 2018 IHSA state cross country meet last November. Saturday, the sophomore placed sixth in the Number 4 Flight crossing the finish line at 22:15.28.
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Allen 2nd in her flight
Addie Allen seized a second place finish in the Open Wave race at last Saturday's Cow Chip Classic. She ran a 21:13.55 crossing the line just 10 seconds behind Unity's Lillian Styan.
Other top 3 SJO finishers at the 38th installment of the girls' side of competition included Kailyn Ingram and Hope Rajlich. Ingram ran a 21:34.64 in the Number 7 Flight race to finish third. Rajlich, who took third place in the Number 6 Flight, finished with a slightly better time at 21:32.93.
The girls team walked away from the meet in 5th place in the team competition with 28 points.
SJO boys finish third at Cow Chip Classic
The St. Joseph-Ogden boys cross country team tied with Paxton-Buckley-Loda with 33 points to finish third at this year's Cow Chip Classic in Chrisman. Last year, the St. Joseph-Ogden boys cross country team finished in sixth place at the Cow Chip Classic.
Both Charlie Mabry and Lukas Hutcherson turned in top 3 performances in their respective flights. Mabry finished the three-mile course at 18:13.80, a little under his career best time of 17:21.0. Hutcherson, a junior, clocked in at 18:47.50.
Monticello, with 13 points, edged out Urbana U-High by one point to win this year's team title.
Next up, the Spartans will run against Oakwood later today in duo competition and travel to First to the Finish Invite on September 14.
Attention high school and junior high coaches: Please send game scores and stats to us. Send results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.
Stevenson, Berry are Sentinel's 1st Spartans of the Week
Week 1 Spartan of the Week: Jarrett Stevenson
Stevenson averaged 8.6 yards per carry in the Spartan football team's home opener against St. Thomas More. The senior running back was good for 173 yards and scored four touchdowns in SJO's 36-8 win over the Sabers.
Honorable Mentions: Mason Behrens (Soccer), Drew Coursey (Football), Brandon Mattsey (Cross Country), Eric Poe (Cross Country), Zac Seeley (Soccer), Brayden Weaver (Football),
Week 1 Lady Spartan of the Week: Katelyn Berry
Before the month of September, Berry led the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team with six aces and is second in the hitting stats with 26 kills. On the road against Mahomet-Seymour, she was credited with one block, three assists and hit six winners in the team's 25-12, 25-16 non-conference victory on Aug 31.
Honorable Mentions: Emily Bigger (Volleyball), Kennedi Burnett (Volleyball), Emily Elsbernd (Soccer), Jillian Plotner (Cross Country) and Hannah Rajlich (Cross Country).
Attention high school coaches: Help us recognize our area prep athletes each week. Please send game scores and stats to us for freshman and junior varsity as well as varsity games. Send game, race and match results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.
Memory Monday: 2012 SJO 5K
Above: With 15 yards to go, Beau Barber (left) and Dean Meyer go all out as they approach the finish line at the 2012 SJO 5K. Barber, who held on to his ultra thin lead, crossed over a split second ahead of Meyer. Barber was 30th, while Meyer finished 31st in their Chariots of Fire like sprint to the finish line. See more than 300 additional photos from the 2012 race here: 2012 SJO 5K photo gallery. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
Left: Aiden Meyer runs to a 90th place finish at the 2012 SJO 5K. Meyer, who graduated from St. Joseph-Ogden High School in May and signed a national letter of intent to play football at St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa, before that back in February, completed the course that day at 25:06. Right: Brenda Hixson runs to a 120th place finish. She finished the race in 26 minutes, 38 seconds. Below: Sara Wolfersperger heads to finish line to clock in at 26:22, good for a 113th place overall. (Photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
On this day in 2017
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