Bigger plays tall in SJO volleyball road win, SJO soccer takes another lump



Sports Book: September 30


Spartans hammer 18 kills on host Falcons
Emily Bigger play a sweat hand on Monday serving up four aces in St. Joseph-Ogden's 25-9, 25-10 win on the road against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley. The senior setter was credited with 20 assists and chipped in seven digs.

The Spartan used a balanced offensive assault with Katelyn Berry, Kennedi Burnett and Payton Vallee, all collecting six kills apiece. Burnett also had six digs.



Soccer team drops tough one
Hunter Ketchum had four saves in SJO's 1-0 loss to Judah Christian. The only ball that made it past him was a shot from the Tribe's Bobby Rodriquez with 16 minutes to play in the second half.

The Spartans host Unity tomorrow in an Illini Prairie Conference rivalry game at 4:30p.



* * * * *

Attention high school and junior high coaches: Please send game scores and stats to us. Send results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.

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.

Varsity soccer falls 2-0, Berry leads volleyball in loss to Maroons


Sports Book: September 10


SJO falls at home to Central
The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team picked up their second loss of the season after a 2-0 loss to visiting Champaign Central.

Katelyn Berry led the Spartans with seven kills and four digs in the non-conference match up. Jenna Albrecht contributed another five as the program's record moves to 4-2 on the season. Lacey Kaiser buoyed the team at the net with three blocks.

The Spartans host the Oakwood Comets tonight for another non-conference match before heading to the Mahomet-Seymour tournament this weekend.


Second half slide nips soccer team
Freshman keeper Hunter Ketchum had six saves in the Spartans' 2-0 loss to Fisher-GCMS at home last night. Bunnies Ethan Kasper scored the only two goals in the non-conference contest. His second came on a penalty kick less than ten yards from the posts.

SJO had a plethora of runs that could have resulted in scores, but could not put the ball in the net on their new field at the Sports Complex.

"I feel like we just lacking one part," said senior Kolton Batty. He is optimistic about the rest of the season and the current record is part of the process of maturing as a team. "Its just mental. I know we are a better team than we are."

The Spartans drop to 1-5-1 and play Oakwood at the Cornjerker Classic in Hoopeston on Friday. Match time is set for 4pm.


Blackburn first at Oakwood Invite
Ethan Blackburn ran a 12:53.66 at Kickapoo to finish first in the Oakwood-Salt Fork triangle meet. Tad Pettit finished the two-mile course, shorten from three-miles due to the extreme heat on Tuesday, at 12:56.66. Brandon Mattsey and Eric Poe cross the line six-seven to round out the top four SJO runners.




UPDATE: This article was updated 9/12/19 with boys cross country team results.

Grimsley leads golf team at Viking Invite, SJO football 2-0



Sports Book: September 6

Miller's defensive TD buoys SJO over Rantoul
Jaden Miller picked up a high bouncing ball and ran it into the end zone for a needed 6 points after a Rantoul punt was deflected off one of their own linemen. The senior defensive lineman's quick action help St. Joseph-Ogden defeat the host Eagles 22-8 on Friday.

"Freaking awesome," grinned Miller after the game. "First touchdown ever in high school. It sealed the game away."

Less than two weeks earlier, he said one of the things he would liked to accomplish this season was to post a defensive score for the Spartans. Earlier in the game, his younger sibling Coby scored a touchdown on a 15-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. Jarrett Stevenson plunged into the end zone on the two-point conversion to tie the score at 8-all.

Jarrett Stevenson led SJO with 99 yards rushing on 19 carries. Coby Miller chipped in 39 more to the help the St. Joseph-Ogden chalk up just 216 yards in the Week 2 Illini Prairie Conference contest.

The Spartans will host Bloomington Central Catholic on Friday at the SJO Sports Complex. The Saints (0-2), who start the season with back-to-back losses, fell in a one-point decision to Pontiac in their season opener and dropped their second league match to Prairie Central, 28-21.


Grimsley leads Spartans at the Viking Invitational
Payton Grimsley led the Spartans with 92 at last Friday's Viking Invitational held at the Turtle Run Golf Course in Danville.

Riley Myren shot a 96 and was chased by Joe Acton's 101 and Jacob Kern's 106. Jack Robertson finished they meet with a 121 and Maddux Carter left the course after recording 124 strokes.

The St. Joseph-Ogden squad competed against eighteen teams for top honors. Normal Community, which carded a 305 to take the this year's team title, finished six strokes ahead of runner-up Edwardsville.

* * * * *

Attention high school and junior high coaches: Please send game scores and stats to us. Send results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.


Boys XC wins meet title, volleyball starts win streak

Luke Stegall runs to a sixth place finish in the Male 14 to 18 division at the 2019 SJO 5K. Stegall, a sophomore, finished in seventh place at the Doc Acklin Invite on Saturday to help the SJO boys cross country team win this year's team title. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
Sports Book: August 31


Plotner leads SJO at Doc Acklin Invite
Senior Jillian Plotner finished in third place overall at the 4th Annual Doc Acklin Invite in Paris on Saturday. Scoring points toward the team title Plotner, along with teammates Hannah Rajlich, Ava Knap, Ashlyn Lannert and Ally Monk tallied 34 points. SJO finished second behind Marshall, who finished the race with 28 points and ahead of Teutopolis with 98.

Plotner clocked in at 18:35.2 and Monk, the final scoring member, finished 11th overall at 21:11.7.

Other Spartan harriers running in the program's first race of the season were Hope Rajlich, Kailyn Ingram, Kendra Riddle, Hanna Eastin, Addie Allen, Malorie Sarnecki, Sidney Davis, Taryn Sexton, Teagan Miller and Izzy Sexton.



Spartans first at XC Invite
Brandon Mattsey and Eric Poe finished one-two to help the SJO boys cross country team to a first place finish at the Doc Acklin Invite on Saturday, August 31. Elijah Mock, Luke Stegall and Charlie Mabry were rounded out the top five scoring finishers to help the St. Joseph-Ogden place ahead of Marshall (second place), Cumberland (third) and Effinginham, who finished fourth.

Also representing SJO on Saturday in the race was Braden Clampitt, Lukas Hutcherson, Ethan Blackburn, Logan Wolfersberger, Taddy Pettit and Zach Dahman.



Varsity volleyball beats Bulldogs
Kennedi Burnett pounded nine kills and a pair of digs to help the Spartans to a Labor Day weekend win on the road at Mahomet-Seymour on Saturday. Emily Bigger was credited with 21 assist in the 2-1 non-conference victory. SJO rolled over the Bulldogs in straights 25-16, 25-12 largely due Lacey Kaiser, who played a solid defensive game responsible for five of the 20 recorded Spartan digs. After their opening loss to St. Teresa, St. Joseph-Ogden is enjoying a three-game win streak after improving to 3-1 in early season play.





* * * * *

Attention high school and junior high coaches: Please send game scores and stats to us. Send results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.

Sports Book: Bigger credited with 22 assist



Sports Book: August 29


Berry leads Spartans in kills
The Spartan volleyball team downed Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin 2-0 in a non-conference match on Thursday.

Emily Bigger was credited with 22 assists, nine digs and three kills leading the team to a 25-15 and 25-13 victory. Katelyn Berry notched nine kills to lift the program to 2-1 record. SJO will face a tough road test on Saturday at Mahomet-Seymour.



* * * * *

Attention high school and junior high coaches: Please send game scores and stats to us. Send results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.

Soccer team falls at Hoopeston, VB drops opener



Sports Book: August 27


Soccer suffers road loss
Keeper Mason Behrens fended off 9 of 12 shots on his goal in the SJO soccer team's 3-0 loss to Hoopeston on Tuesday. Senior Zac Seeley was unable to find net after booting three of the six SJO shots on the Cornjerker goal. Freshman Will Page played all 80 minutes in the team's first loss of the season. The Spartans look to bounce back against Uni-High tomorrow in their home opener at 4:30 p.m..

Volleyball falls 2-1 to St. T
After taking the first set 25-23, the St. Joseph-Ogden varsity volleyball team dropped the next pair, 25-15 and 25-21 in their home opener against St. Teresa. The Spartan play next at Mahomet-Seymour on Saturday. Match time is scheduled for noon.

* * * * *

Attention high school and junior high coaches: Please send game scores and stats to us. Send results and weekly stats to sports@oursentinel.com.


More Sentinel Stories



Photo Galleries


Monticello Basketball vs Seneca
January 11, 2025
30 Photos

January 11, 2025
37 Photos

January 11, 2025
31 Photos

January 4, 2025
42 Photos

December 14, 2024
39 Photos

December 7, 2024
27 Photos