The Sentinel: Unity Athletics

Decker going the distance, Unity senior in the running for state medals

Unity's Emily Decker competes in the 1600m run at state — **CHARLESTON** - Unity's Emily Decker runs her second lap of the Class 2A 1600m Run during the prelims at the 2025 IHSA Girls Track and Field State Finals on Friday. Decker advanced to the championship race after finishing seventh out a field of 30 with a time of 5:04.23. She will also run in 3200m Run and in the 4x800m relay for the Rockets on Saturday at O'Brien Field. .::. More IHSA state track photos and stories .::.

Tagged: Unity Athletics, Sports, IHSA Girls State Track Meet, High School Sports,

April 26 |
On this day from the Sentinel

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Unity relay squad finishes 5th at indoor championships

Unity 4x400 girls relay team — **BLOOMINGTON** - Members of Unity's 4x400 relay team pose after running their race at the Illinois Top Times Indoor Championships on Saturday. Running in the Class 2A race, the squad finished two seconds behind Normal U-High and Mt. Zion at 4:12.04 in fifth place. The quartet is composed with Josie Cler, Ashlyn Denney, Grace Wherely, and MacKenzie Pound. Cler, Denny, and Pound also ran in the 4x800 race taking the meet title.

Decker breaks school record at Illinois Top Times Championships

Unity Emily Decker breaks school record — **BLOOMINGTON** - Unity's Emily Decker keeps a steady pace in the 3200-meter run at the Illinois Top Times Indoor Championships on Saturday. The Ball State signee set a school record with a time of 10:57.37, placing fourth. She also finished fifth in the mile run.

Seven area players earn basketball all-conference recognition

URBANA - The Illini Prairie Conference presented its boys' basketball all-conference team this week. Teams members are selected by coaches from each of the member teams. St. Joseph-Ogden center Tanner Siems and Coleton Langendorf from the conference champion Unity Rockets received votes to earn First-Team status.

See the complete list below of this year's all-conference players.

Illini Prairie Conference Final Standings

1. Tolono Unity 8-1 / Overall: 23-9
2. Bloomington Central Catholic 8-1 / Overall: 22-12
3. St. Joseph-Ogden 7-2 / Overall: 21-9
4. Monticello 5-4 / Overall: 18-14
5. Pontiac 5-4 / Overall: 11-18
6. Illinois Valley Central 4-5 / Overall: 13-19
7. Rantoul 4-5 / Overall: 13-19
8. Paxton-Buckley-Loda 3-6 / Overall: 14-15
9. Prairie Central 1-8 / Overall: 8-24
10. St. Thomas More 0-9 / Overall: 11-20

First Team

Kayshaun Manney, Central Catholic, So
Ike Young, Monticello, Sr
DJ Davis, Rantoul, Sr
Tanner Siems, St. Joseph Ogden, Sr
Coleton Langendorf, Unity, Jr
Tyler Cole, PBL, Jr

Second Team

Trey Eller, Central Catholic, Sr
Coy Taylor, St. Joseph Ogden, Sr
Brady Ward, IVC, Jr
Cayden Masching, Pontiac, Jr
Dane Eisenmenger, Unity, Jr
Brayden Henry, Unity, Jr

Honorable Mention

Will Vogel, Central Catholic, Sr
Cole Yates, IVC, Sr
Simon Zimmerman, Prairie Central, Sr
Jayden Rice, Rantoul, Sr
Parker Fitch, St. Joseph Ogden, Jr
Owen Yeager, St. Thomas More, Jr
Johnson, Pontiac, Sr

Illini Prairie announces girls' all-conference basketball team

SJO's Addison Brooks earned a spot on the IPC Second Team her junior year.

URBANA - The Illini Prairie Conference presented its girls' basketball all-conference team this week. Teams members are selected by coaches from each of the ten teams. This year's IPC First Team is comprised of two outstanding freshman players. Two players from Central Catholic and two from IVC were named to the top team this season.

Bloomington Central Catholic won the league title, finishing with a perfect 9-0 record.

See the complete list below of this year's all-conference players.

Illini Prairie Conference Final Standings

1. Bloomington Central Catholic 9-0 / Overall: 24-9
2. Illinois Valley Central 8-1 / Overall: 20-11
3. Pontiac 6-3 / Overall: 15-17
4. Monticello 6-3 / Overall: 20-11
5. St. Joseph-Ogden 5-4 / Overall: 12-17
6. Tolono Unity 5-4 / Overall: 14-17
7. Prairie Central 3-6 / Overall: 12-21
8. Paxton-Buckley-Loda 2-7 / Overall: 4-27
9. Rantoul 1-8 / Overall: 4-26
10. St. Thomas More 0-9 / Overall: 5-24

First Team

Karissa Cook, Central Catholic, 9
Emme Hurie, Central Catholic, 11
Anna Foster, IVC, 10
Alayah Nelton, IVC, 9
Megan Allen, Monticello, 12
Trinity Miller, Pontiac, 11

Second Team

Logan Shanks, Central Catholic, 12
Kayt Miller, IVC, 10
Tanner Graham, PBL, 12
Jayla Hammond, Prairie Central, 10
Addie Brooks, SJO, 11
Emily Decker, Unity, 12

Honorable Mention

Kate Stolfa, Central Catholic, 10
Meg Uhren, Central Catholic, 12
Sarah Cresap, Monticello, 10
Ali Weidner, Monticello, 10
Grace Lanning, Pontiac, 11
Araceli Serna, Pontiac, 9
Josie Roseman, Rantoul, 11
Sara Kearney, SJO, 12
Ashley Wells, STM, 12
Claire Meharry, Unity, 11

Molina recovers after first match loss, Unity junior still in the hunt for top 3 finish

**BLOOMINGTON** - Unity's Phoenix Molina pulls Lockport's Rebekah Ramirez arm while looking for a takedown in their 235-pound match at the IHSA Girls' Individual Wrestling State Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena on Friday. Molina advanced to the division's consolation quarterfinal after pinning Ramirez in the first period at 1:04. She will face DeKalb's Aarianna Bloyd tomorrow for spot in the semifinals.

State Wrestling |
Maddux Anderson majors Unity's Hunter Eastin in quarterfinal bout at state

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

CHAMPAIGN - Orion's Maddux Anderson dumps Unity's Hunter Eastin to the mat during their Class 1A 190-pound quarterfinal match at the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals on Thursday. Anderson, who advanced to Friday night's quarterfinals won the match by major decision, 16-2. See more Sentinel state wrestling coverage here.