April 26 |On this day from the Sentinel

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Here is a digest of some of the OurSentinel.com stories we published on this day in the past.

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Knoll's 5th inning triple seals Rocket opening win

Unity's Damian Knoll is tagged out on a play at second base by a Hoopeston Area player during the Rockets' first game of the season. Later, the junior smacked a 3-RBI triple in the bottom of the 5th innning to make the score 11-1 and secured his team's first victory of the season.

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Delicious veggies and more, FFA plant sale starts on Monday

Looking flowers or vegetables for your garden this spring?

Tomorrow at 9am the next round of the St. Joseph-Ogden FFA Chapter will be open for business. Orders for available plants must be done online after it goes live tomorrow at https://my.cheddarup.com/c/st-joseph-ogden-ffa-chapter-greenhouse. Buyers can set a pick-up time to collect their purchase.

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When it comes to your health ask questions

You don’t have to stay in the nursing home if you don’t want to. If you can manage to get out and have a place to go then it’s your life. Even if you want to spend your remaining days crawling in the floor to the kitchen or the bathroom then it’s your God given right to live out your days in such a way.

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6 reason to consider a career in home healthcare

Photo:RODNAE Productions/Pexels

Over the past 13 months unemployment rates nearly doubled their pre-pandemic levels reported in February 2020, the prospect of starting a new career after age 50 may seem unrealistic. However, industry experts say that it’s actually a great time for those in this age bracket to consider making the leap.

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Are you ready for when your power goes out?

Photo: Artem Podrez/Pexels

More Americans suffered extended power outages in 2020 than any year since Superstorm Sandy struck the New York area in 2012, according to Generac, owners of Power Outage Central, a real-time outage tracking service that monitors outages throughout the United States.

Back in November of last year, power was out for about three hours in the south part of Champaign and another area covering Campustown.

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Baker sets hurdles PR, SJO girls snag 9 first at home meet

The St. Joseph-Ogden girls track team took first place in nine events in a home dual meet against Eureka last Thursday.

Haleigh Maddock turned in a 31.10 in the 200m Dash. She was followed over the finish line by teammates Yamilka Casanova (32.32) and Jayci Hayes (32.48) to secure the top three spots on the podium.

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Joining the tech workforce is easier than you might think

More than 12 million people are currently employed in tech-related occupations in the U.S., either as information technology (IT) professionals or employees of technology companies. Yet employer demand for tech workers is still strong in many markets and industries, including technology, financial services, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, government and education.

Tech jobs in Champaign County are plentiful at the moment. Technology Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is currently accepting applications for three positions on their Managed IT Services teams. Four days ago, Revature was seeking software developers and Niemann Foods advertised an opening for a Network Administrator with a starting pay at $40K annually.

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Storm's Macie Russell to further running career at EIU

Salt Fork's Macie Russell run the second lap around Detweiller Park in Peoria during the 2024 IHSA State Cross Country Meet. The senior signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her running career with Eastern Illinois University.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

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CATLIN - Salt Fork senior Macie Russell, a five-sport athlete during her time at Salt Fork High School, inked her commitment to run track at Eastern Illinois University on Sunday. The three-time state qualifier in the 800-meter run chose EIU over Heartland Community College, Indiana State, and Olivet Nazarene.

Macie Russell runs a lap at O'Brien Stadium during the 2023 state track meet. She finished 27th overall as a junior in the Class 1A division.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Russell, who owns five Vermilion County championship titles in track and cross country and six conference titles in the two other sports, looks to qualify a fourth time in her specialty for the IHSA Girls' State Track & Field finals in May.

During her junior year track season, she qualified for state in the 800-meter run and the mile. Russell missed the cut for a spot in the championship race at O'Brien Stadium by a mere two and a half seconds last May, turning in a 2:25.94. She also ran the qualifier for the 1600-meter run, finishing 27th in the prelims at 5:39.82.

At the state cross-country meet last November at Detweiler Park, Russell crossed the finish line 47th out of a field of 247 runners with a time of 18:49.51.

Russell is the daughter of Brian and Becky and has two siblings, Mackenzie and Morgan.

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St. Joseph-Ogden Athletic Schedule March 11-17

St. Joseph-Ogden's Carson Maroon heads to the finish line at the IHSA Boys' Track & Field State Final in May 2023. Last week, the senior set a new school record in the 1600 meter run, raising the bar to 4:22.30. Look for SJO's top distance specialist to make his way back to O'Brien Stadium for the state meet again.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

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SJO Athletics the week of February 25 - March 2

Spartan Coy Hayes wrestles Richmond-Burton's Brody Rudkin during their first-round 150-pound wrestleback match at the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals on Friday. Hayes, a sophomore, lost the match 8-3. Look for the state-qualifier to return to the State Farm Center in 2025.

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RECENT HEADLINES:

• Area wrestlers earn All-Conference recognition

• Martinie leads SJO in post-season opener over Prairie Central

• Clash of the conference Titans; SJO outlasts Unity

• SJO dance team competes at state

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Urbana finishes 5th in relay prelims, squad gets a shot at the state title

May 20, 2022 - Charleston, Illinois - Tiarra Townsend-Cooper takes the baton from teammate Syniyah Quenga during their heat in the 4x200 Meter Relay at the IHSA Girls Track & Field Finals preliminaries. The Tigers' relay squad finished 5th overall in the prelims with a time of 1:44.97 and advance to Saturday's finals. Quenga, a freshman, will also represent Urbana in the 200-Meter Dash finals. See more photos from the girls' state track meet.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Photo-of-the-Day: January 24, 2022

State relay title dashed

Charleston, IL -- After a fumbled exchange, the baton floats between Unity's Steven Migut and Jackson Schweighart during their race in the Class 2A 4x200-Meter Relay finals on Saturday, May 26, 2018 at the IHSA State Track & Field Meet. The Rockets finished the Class 2A state finals tied in 10th place with St. Laurence and Dixon High School with 22 points.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Hamilton dashes by competition, SJO wins track sectional

Amassing 139 points, just five more than runner-up Salt Fork, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls track program earned their first post-pandemic sectional championship title last Wednesday.

It was a spectacular evening for two-time state Long Jump champion Atleigh Hamilton, who led the Spartans with three individual titles. The senior gave gold medal performances in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Later, she broke a long-standing school record of 59.2 in the 400-meter dash.

Hamilton also qualified for this week's state meet on Thursday in her signature event the long jump. The Illinois State University signee finished in second place behind Salt Fork's Gracie Jessup with her best attempt at 5.25 meters.

Meanwhile, Abby Behrens cleared 1.52 meters to win the High Jump competition. Teammate Macy Reed-Thompson finished third to help SJO rise to the top in the 14-team meet.

The Spartans also swept all three relay events.

Kailyn Ingram, Helene Jones, Malorie Sarnecki and Ashlyn Lannert combined for a time of 10:27.70 in the 4x800 Meter Relay besting squads from Urbana University High School (2nd), Clifton Central (3rd) and Milford.

The Spartans faced stiffer competition from Bismarck-Henning-Rossville and Uni High in the 4x200 Meter Relay. The SJO foursome of Payton Carter, Raegan Crippen, Grace Schmitz, and Hope Rajlich finished less than a second ahead of the Blue Devils with their time of 1:51.47. Uni High finished third at 1:55.59.

To close out the meet, Lannert, Ingram and Jones from the four-by-eight, along with Rajlich from the 200-Meter Relay squad punched their ticket to state with a 4:15.17 finishing ahead of Uni High and BHR.

Also turning in top-three finishes were Raegan Crippen, who finished third in the Triple Jump, Ava Knap clocked in at second place in the 1600 meter run

Grace Schmitz and Payton Carter finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively in the Pole Vault

Prep Sports Notebook: Unity softball wins 2, SJO baseball rebounds for a conference win

Unity's Joop and Jones earn All-Conference accolades

Unity's Taylor Joop and Logan Jones learned last week that they are All-Conference Scholar Athletes for the 2020-21 academic year by the Illini Prairie Conference. Both received recognition at luncheon held at Illinois State University on April 29.

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Rockets' Taylor Joop puts the ball in play during her team's home game against Central Catholic. Joop, who plans to continue her academic and athletic career at Heartland College, scored the game-winning run in Unity's 5-4 win on Saturday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Knott sets new school record in the shot

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Hayden Knott raised the bar in the shot put setting a new school record with a throw of 17.14 meters on Saturday at the Rantoul Invite. The toss was also good enough to secure a first place finish in the event with throwers from Hersher, Danville and Pleasant Plains among the field of 17 competitors.

Knott also placed first in the discus throw beating his nearest competition by nearly 2 meters. His winning throw went 53.70 meters.

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Miller, Altenbaumer pile on RBIs

Together, St. Joseph-Ogden's Coby Miller and Tyler Altenbaumer tallied nine RBIs, four and five respectively, in the Spartans' 17-9 win over Monticello on Saturday.

Miller was 3-for-3 and Andrew Beyers (3 RBI) added a 3-for-5 performance from the batter's box.

Zach Martinie picked up the win for the Spartans while Monticello's Cole Dasher suffered the loss after the conference pairing.

SJO improves to 10-1 on the season following their 3-run loss to Mahomet-Seymour at home on Friday.

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Unity softball picks up second conference win

Unity Taylor Joop scored the winning, go-ahead run on a fly ball from Ruby Tarr in the bottom of the 6th innning in the Unity softball team's conference game against Central Catholic on Saturday.

Pitcher Taylor Henry had 3 hits and on RBI. Hailey Flesch secured one hit in four trips to the plate and delivered a pair of RBI.

Facing 29 batters, Henry gave up 9 hits and 4 runs after 104 pitches.

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Good Graces win for the Rockets

Grace Frye earned a pitching win after seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking one in a 6-2 softball decision over Newton.

Meanwhile, Gracie Renfrow was 3-for-3 and pushed 2 runs across the plate for the Rockets. She collected a triple on a fly ball to center on her third pitch in the bottom of the 3rd inning allowing Erica Steinman to score and homered two innings later on a solo shot to right field.

The win keeps Unity season untarnished at 6-0. Frye and Renfrow host Villa Grove on Monday at 4pm and have a game 2 rematch against Central Catholic on the road on Tuesday.

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Spartan track team win Invite title

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys track team tallied 178 points to win this year's Rantoul Invite title.

Monticello finished in second place with 162 points and host Rantoul collected 106 points for a third place finish. Unity finished 6th (77 points) in the 12-team field.

SJO's Brady Buss took second in the 200-meter dash, Brandon Mattsey clocked a 4:53.12 in the 1600-meter run for the meet title and Hayden Knott won both throwing event to lift the Spartans on Saturday.

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Unity baseball team drops first loss

After a dominating 2-0 start, the Rockets' baseball team fell 7-4 on the road to Illinois Valley Central (7-1) on Saturday.

Damian Knoll took the loss after a two-inning appearance scattering 4 hits and 3 walks.

Knoll (1 RBI) along with Blake Kimball scored one run apiece. Tyler Hensch, 1-for-3 from the plate, also had one RBI and double.

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3 Spartan homers crush Sages

Sandwiched between two home runs by Shayne Immke, St. Joseph-Ogden's Kaylee Ward went deep in the seventh inning for one of her own. Immke put the first of two homers out of the park in the 1st inning and repeated her effort with another in the fifth.

The hot bats, which helped SJO to improve to a 7-4 season, allowed the Spartans to easily win, 12-6.

Scoring in five of their seven innings, St. Joseph-Ogden tacked on a pair of runs in each of the last three innings of the game to pull away on the scoreboard.

Pitching duties were shared with Alyssa Acton, who earned the win after five innings, and Sophia Martlage closed out the game with 20 pitches in the last 2 innings.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Unity baseball wins opener, softball coach gets 100 wins

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Knoll RBI forces 11-1, 5 inning decision

Damian Knoll went 2-2 and drove in the game-winning run sealing Unity's 11-1 opening day win over visiting Hoopeston Area. The junior right-hander notched 3 RBIs in the Rockets' first game since 2019.

Tyler Hensch pitched 5 innings for Unity, giving up one hit and one run while striking out seven batters.

Dillon Rutledge, who scored the runs, along with Dylan Moore and Thomas Cler were also 2-for-2 for the Rockets.

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Unity coach gets 100th win

Head coach Aimee Davis picked up career win 100 after her Rockets beat visiting Mt. Zion on Saturday in their season opener, 13-3. The milestone happened a year later than anticipated thanks to COVID and the resulting gameless season last year. Davis, now in her sixth season at the helm, and the Unity softball team started the season with a #7 Class 2A preseason ranking by the Illinois Coaches Association.

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SJO softball holds off Fisher's 7th innning rally

SJO pitcher Maggie Ward

Maggie Ward earned yesterday's win after the St. Joseph-Ogden softball team held off a seventh inning momentum shift from the Fisher Bunnies to win 5-3. The pitcher surrendered three runs on nine hits over seven innings, striking out six and walking zero. Ward allowed three runs on nine hits while going the distance in the circle.

Striking out six batters and allowing not a single walk in the non-conference road game for SJO, Ward recorded 79 strikes out of the 118 pitches she put across the plate.

The Spartans put 11 hits in the book. Kennedy Hudson, Peyton Jones, Shayne Immke, Kelsey Martlage, and Audrey Short had two apiece and Alyssa Acton rounded out the offense with one of her own.

SJO improves to 5-3 on the season and faces Villa Grove at home on Wednesday.

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Knott wins two of four firsts for Spartans

Last Thursday, field event specialist Hayden Knott won both throwing events in dual meet competition against Eureka.

Knott won the discus throw by just over 10 meters throwing the platter 47.93 meters further than runner-up Brock Trimble. The senior won the shot put competition with his best throw at 16.56 meters.

The Spartans also received first place performances from Brandon Mattsey in the 1600-meter run and Logan Wolfersberger in the 800.

Mattsey completed his four laps in 4 minutes and 43.62 seconds, moving closer to achieving the all-elusive sub-four-minute mile. Teammate Carson Maroon finished behind him second at 4:48.94.

Wolfersberger set a new personal record in the 800, finishing the two loops around the track in 2 minutes and 8.65 seconds.

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SJO dedicates athletic complex to long-time supporter

Former St. Joseph-Ogden Athletic Director and head football coach Dick Duval speaks during the dedication of school's athletic complex to district long-time employee and volunteer Glenn Fisher. A close and respected friend of Fisher for 32 years, Duval regaled stories of his extraordinary dedication in the caretaking of school's athletic fields, scoreboards and facilities.

"He has wired every scoreboard here, inside and out, and the controls and the power for them. He installed play clocks. He installed locker room clocks. He installed the lights around the basketball backboards," Duval told spectators before the start of SJO final home football game of the 2020-21 season. "Glenn has done it all because he loved SJO. He loved doing things to benefit the kids, no matter what it took."

Fisher passed away at the beginning of the year on January 7.

Duval also underscored Fisher's humility.

"Glenn is up there in heaven shaking his head at us because he did not want this," he said, relating a story about the moment he and the group shared with his old friend the school board's decision to name the facility after him. "In my 32 years of knowing Glenn, I never heard him swear until that day. He swore at me. He didn't think he deserved it. He didn't want it."

"I told him tough," Duval said. "It's already done. It's gonna happen."

The athletic complex includes the track and football field, the football practice field and the gym as well as both the softball and baseball fields located on the school grounds.

Prep Sports Notebook: SJO volleyball wins at home, spring sports fires up today

Spring sports season gets underway

Today was the first official day of baseball, softball and track for area high schools. The spring season, which is off to a late start, will conclude on June 19.

Last month, there was a bit of good news for athletes in these three sports. The IHSA said that "all tournaments are currently expected to conduct all rounds of competition, including a State Final. State Final qualifiers in some individual sports may be modified to better meet gathering mitigations."

Unity soccer

Fighting back valiantly from a 2-0 first half deficit, the Unity soccer team posted a 4-2 conference loss against Illinois Valley Central this afternoon.

The Rockets netted two goals, one from senior Zach Ohlsson and another from junior midfielder Grace Brock, on their home field in the second half.

The Grey Ghost also scored twice in second half to seal the Illini Prairie Conference win.

Vallee pounds 9 kills in SJO win

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team notched a 2-0 win over visiting Urbana tonight behind 9 kills Payton Vallee. The senior's defensive effort yielded seven digs in the non-conference victory.

Senior hitter Kennedi Burnett added another seven kills of her own to help the #4 Class 2A ranked Spartans to take the first set 25-16 and prevail in the second 25-20. Burnett led team in service aces with four and had 12 digs.

Becca Steinbach was credited with 22 assists.

Next, SJO travels to Unity to take on the Rockets at the Rockets Center on Tuesday. The varsity contest is set for a 7pm start.

Unity ranked in preseason softball polls

The Unity softball program started practice today for the spring season and they did so with a #7 preseason ranking in Class 2A by the Illinois Coaches Association.

"It is really good for our program," said head coach Aimee Davis. "Having not played last year, it is a nice compliment to our program and the young ladies that make it special."

With just two seniors on the team this season, Davis said Summer Day and Taylor Joop's will lead a strong junior class.

"They know what it takes to win," she said about the duo. "Having those two return with a few other key players in Taylor Henry (junior), Maddie Reed (junior), Gracie Renfrow (junior), Grace Frye (junior) and Ally England (junior) all playing roles in our 2019 run, plus five other juniors and some underclassmen should be a good combo heading into this season."

She added that the players that wear the Unity softball uniform are a special bunch. "They work hard on and off the field. Being ranked in the preseason polls is a nice feeling, but we know there will be teams itching to play us and beat us."

While the pandemic and a canceled season may have left a scar on Davis and players, they are looking forward, not backwards, to heal the wounds.

"Last year was a big loss for our program, but we aren't unique in that situation, no teams played last year," she explained. "We have to compete everyday to own the vision we have for this program and this season."

Looking forward to late May, early June and the postseason, the coach with three regional titles under her belt in her five seasons at Unity does so with cautious apprehension.

"I am truly excited for our program to get the opportunity to showcase our talent, however, we are all too familiar with how quickly decisions can be made," she said referring the public health protocols that forced sports for nearly a year to cease in Illinois. "June is a bit too far away for me to get too excited. Once we get all of our girls back on the turf, the excitement will be there from coaches and players."

St. Joseph-Ogden was also listed in the preseason poll at #20 on the list.

Photo of the Day - January 28, 2021

Izard clocks 12.64

St. Joseph-Ogden's Frankie Izard tries to stay ahead of Camp Point Central's Zakila Wiskirchen and Chicago Christian's Rylei Jackson (left) during the 100-Meter Dash championship race during the 2016 IHSA Girls State Track Finals in Charleston. Izard, whose career PR was 10.65, finished in 7th place at 12.64. She also competed in the 60-Meter Dash, 200-Meter Dash, 400-Meter Dash, Long Jump and the Triple Jump during her prep track & field career.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

College Notebook | Crowe leads Cobras to 2-0 start

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Crowe shines in Parkland season opener

Peyton Crowe opened her sophomore season with the Parkland College with an 18-point performance against Jefferson College last Wednesday. The St. Joseph-Ogden grad now starting a starting five with the Cobras, led the team in steals with three in the 71-62 home win on January 20. Crowe is averaging 14 points per game after the first two wins for the 2-0 Parkland girls squad.

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Bree Trimble shoots a free throw in a home game againt Oakwood in 2018.

Photo by Clark Brooks

Trimble scores 13 at Parkland

Starting along side teammate Peyton Crowe, Bree Trimble went 2-for-2 from the free throw line to finish the night with 13 points in Parkland College's second home contest of the season. She led the Cobra with four of the team's 17 assists in the 71-64 victory on January 23.

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Baker captures two firsts

Last Saturday, Riley Baker, a junior on the Eastern Illinois University track team, set a new indoor facility record at the Indiana State John Gartland Invite in Terre Haute. The former Spartan hurdler and sprint specialist took first in the men's 400-meter run with a time of 50.00 in the new the state of the art Indoor Track & Field Facility that opened in 2018.

Later, as a member of the Panthers' 4x400 relay squad, along with teammates Damian Clay, Tadiwa Mhonde and Gregory Downs, he earned another first place award when his foursome led the field with 3:22.52 win the event.

Baker and the EIU men's track team are back in action again on February 12 at the Grand Valley Big Meet in Allendale, Michigan.

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Plotner makes college running debut

Freshman Jillian Plotner started her college cross country career with the University of Tennessee at Martin by helping her team to a third place finish at the Redhawks Invite held at Osage Centre Fields on January 23. Plotner, the fifth runner from the Skyhawks to cross the finish line, turned in a time of 20:05.6 in the 2020-21 season opener. UT Martin competed in a field which included regional foes Eastern Illinois, Memphis, SIUE and Southeast Missouri. The women's team finished with 74 points.

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Mabry #3 runner for EIU

Former St. Joseph-Ogden distance specialist Sam Mabry was the third runner to finish for the Eastern Illinois University Panthers at the Redhawks Challenge at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO.. EIU finished fifth in the women's 5k race. Mabry, a 2019 grad from SJO, who raced against former teammate Jillian Plotner (SJO '21), now at UT Martin, turned in a time of 20:34.8 to finish 29th overall.

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Know a Unity or St. Joseph-Ogden graduate playing at collegiate level? Let us know their name, sport(s) and where they are playing. An email or a link to their social media account for interviews is a big help, too. Send The Sentinel a message to us at sports@oursentinel.com.

Photo of the day: January 26, 2021

Quarter of the way to fourth

Sprinter Migee Kim takes the baton from teammate Ashley Shroyer during the 4x100m relay at the 2007 News-Gazette Honor Roll Meet at the University of Illinois track and field complex. The Rockets finished in fourth-place with a time of 52.61 thanks to speedy efforts of the duo.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media
Clark Brooks)

Photo of the Day - November 2, 2020

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Running in the rain

With less than 100 yards to go on a rain-soaked track, St. Joseph-Ogden's Josh Dees stay ahead of Tremont's Park Thompson as they approach the finish line in heat one of the 800-Meter run at the Illinois High School Association Boys Track & Field State Finals in 2009. Thompson overtook at the finish line to finish .29 of a second ahead of the SJO senior who clocked in at 1:58.81. Both runners qualified for Saturday's Class 1A championship race. Dees went on to finish seventh for the Spartans in the event.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Photo of the Day - October 14, 2020

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Up & Over

St. Joseph-Ogden pole vaulter Loren Brooks starts over the bar on her way to clearing 8'6" during Thursday's prelims at the 2012 IHSA Track and Field State Finals. Brooks, a sophomore, failed on this attempt but later cleared the bar. She failed to make the qualifying height in order to advance to Saturday's finals.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Plotner signs on to Skyhawk program, college running dream comes true

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Jillian Plotner announced on social media that she officially joined the University of Tennessee Martin running program yesterday.

The four-year cross country and track & field athlete is ecstatic at one of her dreams coming true.

"I am so blessed and excited to announce this! I want to take the time to thank all my wonderful friends, coaches, teammates, fellow competitors, and my family," she wrote in a Facebook post. "It’s been a crazy adventure but I’m so excited for the future!!"

Joining the Skyhawks is also a step in the right direction for Plotner, who wants to become a forensic anthropologist. In August, she will join the College of Education, Health, and Behavioral Sciences to work toward her degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in forensic science.

"I’m very excited to continue my running career to the college level!" she said via a Twitter interview. "It’s been a dream ever since I was younger. This opportunity has shown me that all my hard work does show off and that it is being seen."

Plotner said she was initially contacted by graduate assistant coach Karson Hahn and later meet with him and first-year head coach Kevin Mangan at the IHSA state cross country meet last November.

"They watched me compete and it was such an experience and I absolutely liked them both when I met them," explaining how she was recruited. "I honestly don’t know what I did to get on their radar but somehow it worked!"

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." Career Running Marks 400 Meter Dash 56.25 800 Meter Run 2:07.32 1600 Meter Run 4:51.87 3200 Meter Run 11:10.78 2 Mile 11:36.0 3 Mile 16:21.0 5k 18:11.0

Eric Poe Clubs & Activities Track and Field (4 years) Cross Country (2 years), Football (2 years) Spanish Club, Spanish Club Leader, NHS, We The People, Advisory Mentoring Program Hometown: 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.

In pursuit of a dream, Spartan Spotlight on SJO senior Jillian Plotner

Clubs & Activities: Cross Country (4 years), Track and Field (4 years), Maroon Platoon

Senior Jillian Plotner started her running career long before high school. She started running competitively in the fifth grade. The choice to commit to the sport was a difficult one but one smoothed over by her dad.

"I had such a hard decision since I was choosing to either continue cheerleading or start a new sport," she explained. "With my dad's love of running, I decided to go to a few practices and that’s how I started running!"

Today, when she isn't hanging out with family or friends she is focused on training for cross country or track.

She really enjoys the close-knit feeling of the community.

"We just don’t function as a school, we function as a whole community," said Plotner, who resides in St. Joseph with her mother and father. "It's so nice to share our accomplishments as a whole community!"

Plotner runs at the 2019 Spartan Classic cross country meet. She finished the race with a carrier best time of 18:29. (Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks)

"I enjoy the atmosphere of having teammates who I can proudly call my family," said Plotner, who made The News-Gazette All-Area second team this year. "They motivate me to be a better person and runner. I love them to death!"

While she enjoyed the atmosphere under the Friday night lights at St. Joseph-Ogden as spectator, her fondest memories from high school will be from one of many racing for the Spartans. At the top of the list was her role in helping her 4x800 relay squad win the state indoor title in the event in 2019.

"I helped my teammates get the lead we needed to win!" she said recounting the race her junior year. "I had a lot of spectators and teams intimidated with how I ran in that 4x800 relay! It was my peak point of showing I’m healthy again."

She added, "Another memory is just all day, everyday spending time with my teammates and coaches. It’s never dull with all of us around!"

Some of her best times include finish the 800-meter run in two minutes and 26.69 seconds and turning in a 18:29 on a three-mile course. She also ran the 1600 in five minutes and 26.33 seconds.

After graduation, in whatever form that may be due to social distancing measures in place due to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, Plotner will begin pursuing the title of Forensic Anthropologist this fall.

Forensic anthropologists analyze human remains, typically for criminal investigations, to figure out how the person died. Using various scientific testing procedures to consult forensic pathologists and coroners. Their work includes determining the age, sex, stature, ancestry and unique features of a victim as well as determining the type of trauma and how long ago it may have occurred.

"Forensic anthropology has been a dream career of mine since the 5th grade!" Plotner said. "It all started with the show 'Bones'. The show has a forensic anthropologist as the main character, Temperance, who I adored."

Plotner runs the second lap of the lead leg in 4x800 during last year's IHSA state track meet in Charleston. The junior, along with teammates Rylee Sjuts, Ashlyn Lannert and Hannah Rajlich, qualified for the finals with a time of 10:16.75. (Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks)

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Like the fictional character, Plotner wants to become the leading expert in the discipline.

"She was amazing at her job, and her job became a career I want to excel in!" she added.

When asked how she thought the coronavirus will change America, Plotner's message was one of hope.

"The COVID-19 will show America that many different opportunities can be taken away from someone and we just have to come back stronger than before," she replied. "Never lose hope!"

On a much more personal note, Halloween is Plotner's favorite holiday of the year.

"I LOVE HALLOWEEN! Even with being scared of scary movies, I love seeing children and even adults dress up in creepy and eerie costumes!"

Wayback Wednesday: 2007 Track Sectional

On May 11, 2007, back when IHSA track & field was a two-class system, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls track team competed for a chance to advance to the state meet the following week held at O'Brien Stadium at Eastern Illinois University.

The Spartans, led by alum Andy Derks, failed to place in the top six in the team standings at the meet. Junior Hannah Hogan was the only Spartan to advance state.

Since then SJO's running program has blossomed into a perennial small school track powerhouse. In the past decade, the Spartans have brought home state hardware on five occasions. The bounty includes one state title, one runner-up title and three third place IHSA trophies joining the second place trophy won in 1978 and a 2000 state championship award.

Here are three of our favorite PhotoNews photos from that meet. View the entire collection here . . .


Hannah Hogan runs to a second place finish in the 3,200 meter run. She finished her eight loops in 12 minutes, 22.75 seconds. Hogan was a three-time state finalist in cross-country for the Spartans. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



Hoping to qualify for state, Melissa Studinarz explodes out of the blocks in the 400m dash. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)



Senior Dayna Long runs the one-mile race on Friday. See more photos of Long in the PhotoNews Spartan archives here . . .