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.

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.

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

Prep Sports Notebook: Stegall leads Spartans in XC victory

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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.

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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.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Unity girls finish #1, boys take fourth

Unity girls meet champs!

Chrisman - The Rockets' girls cross country team clocked in a minute and 22 seconds ahead of fellow Illini Prairie Conference member Monticello to win the 2021 Cow Chip Classic team title. Seven runners, each running in an individual flight, turned in a consolidated time of 2:24:13.2.

Wearing bib number 938, Unity's Olivia Shike led the team with the shortest time in the 3-mile race crossing the finish line at 19:57.0. Shike was one of four sophomores who ran for the maroon and gray.

Also running in this year's race were seniors Harper Hancock and Malia Fairbanks, who finished the course at 20:38.4 and 20:48.9, respectively. Sophomores Raegan Stringer and Erica Woodard ran sub 21-minute times while Caelyn Kleparski missed the mark by .2 of second at 21:00.1. Meanwhile, freshman Emily Decker turned in a time of 20:49.7 running in Flight #6.

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Rockets boys finish in fourth place

Chrisman - Seven Unity harriers banded together to finish in fourth place at the Chrisman Cow Chip Classic on Saturday. Thomas Cler, Brendan Graven, Bryson Denney, Alex Mowrer, Nolan Miller, Clayton Jamison, and Isaac Ruggieri turned in a cumulative time of 2:16:06.0.

The St. Joseph-Ogden (2:04:33.4) boys squad took the team meet title with Monticello (2:08:56.4) in second and Tuscola (2:13:16.7) finish one spot ahead of the Rockets in third.

Cler was the top finisher for the Rocket boys squad with an individual time of 18:18.2.

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Spartans finish in top 3, Rockets in 4th at IPC meet

SJO's Brandon Mattsey runs during the 2019 IHSA state cross country meet. The senior, who finished 4th overall, led the Spartans to a third-place finish at this year's Illini Prairie Conference meet on Saturday.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Brandon Mattsey, Charlie Mabry and Carson Maroon completed their run within 18 seconds of each other for 21 team points at the 2020 Illini Prairie Conference Meet on Saturday. The combined effort secured the St. Joseph-Ogden boys cross country squad a third place finish on Saturday.

Twenty-five seconds off his personal best in the 3-mile race, Mattsey was the first Spartan to cross the finish line at 16:07.43. His fourth place finish coupled with Mabry coming in 8th place and Maroon in 9th less than three seconds apart provided a commanding lead over the rest of the field in the team competition.

Connor O'Donnell led Unity's first three runners over the line stopping the clock at 16:29.35 and was the 10th finisher in the varsity race. Teammates Jarrett Cox then finished three seconds later in 11th place and Benjamin Gravel ended his run on the course in 16th place at 16:54.41.

The trio along with Nolan Miller and Thomas Cler secured the Rockets fourth place finish with 96 points.

SJO tallied 60 points to finish third behind Monticello's 44 points and the newly crowned IPC champs of 2020, Olympia with 39 points.

Illini Prairie Conference meet results:

4	Brandon Mattsey	SJO	16:07.43
8	Charlie Mabry	SJO	16:22.22
9	Carson Maroon	SJO	16:25.25
10	Connor O'Donnell	Unity	16:29.35
11	Jarrett Cox	Unity	16:32.92
16	Benjamin Gravel	Unity	16:54.41
19	Elijah Mock	SJO	17:08.02
20	Luke Stegall	SJO	17:08.73
22	Logan Wolfersberger	SJO	17:16.19
28	Nolan Miller	Unity	17:40.45
31	Thomas Cler	Unity	17:48.72
44	Spencer Wilson	SJO	18:23.18
46	Clayton Jamison	Unity	18:46.65
50	Bryson Denny	Unity	19:33.67

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!"

Spartans runners head to state

Both the boys and girls cross country teams at St. Joseph-Ogden will be in the running for this year's Class 1A IHSA State Finals on Saturday.

The men's squad finished third in the team standings after last Saturday's sectional meet in Effingham. SJO's top five runners accumulated 158 points behind Urbana U-High (96 points) and sectional champions Monticello with 42 points.

Junior Brandon Mattsey finished the course at 16.56 and Eric Poe clocked in at 17.16. Both runners turned in times nearly minute slower than their times near the end of September due to the muddy, marsh like conditions along the course.

"Our coach had us run without socks," said Poe, a second-year veteran. He was the 22nd runner to cross the finish line. "It made it much easier to run with just spikes."

Saturday will be a first Poe, who will be running in his first state cross country meet. He excited about the opportunity to run against some of the top runners in the state.

"Every team there, every runner is high quality," he said. "The quality of the runners that will be there, that's what I'm excited about."

The senior is glad he left football, he played his frosh and sophomore season, as his fall sport and jumped into the sport of cross country.

"I don't regret the decision," he said with pride. "I'm very thankful for the coach I have and my teammates who have been helping me along. It is not an easy sport."

Also running for the Spartans at the sectional meet was Charlie Mabry, who turned a time of 17.40. Three other runners - Elijah Mock (17.50), Logan Wolfersberger (17.52) and Luke Stegall (17.53) - finished under the 18 minute mark. Lukas Hutcherson was the last St. Joseph-Ogden off the course at 18.49.

The Spartans will run their final race of the season at Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday. The girls race starts at 9 a.m.. An hour later boys race starts at 10 a.m..

If you plan to head to Peoria for the state meet, here are the bib number of SJO runners to look out for: 702 — Ethan Blackburn (Fr.), 703 — Braden Clampitt (So.), 704 — Zach Dahman (Fr.), 705 — Lukas Hutcherson (Jr.), 706 — Charlie Mabry (So.), 707 — Brandon Mattsey (Jr.), 708 — Elijah Mock (So.), 709 — Taddy Pettit (Sr.), 710 — Eric Poe (Sr.), 711 — Josh Sexton (Sr.), 712 — Luke Stegall (So.) and 713 — Logan Wolfersberger (Jr.).

The SJO girls will be wearing the following numbers for their race: 253 — Addie Allen (So.), 254 — Kaytlyn Baker (Fr.), 255 — Sidney Davis (So.), 256 — Hanna Eastin (Jr.), 257 — Kailyn Ingram (So.), 258 — Ava Knap (So.), 259 — Ashlyn Lannert (So.), 260 — Ally Monk (Sr.), 261 — Jillian Plotner (Sr.), 262 — Hannah Rajlich (Sr.), 263 — Hope Rajlich (So.), 264 — Kendra Riddle (So.), 265 — Malorie Sarnecki (So.) and 266 — Taryn Sexton (So.).

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.

Memory Monday: Boys and girls cross country team compete at Cow Chip Classic

St. Joseph-Ogden's Drew Knipfer runs ahead of the lead pack of runners as they make their way long the course at the 2011 Cow Chip Classic. Knipfer was the only Spartan male runner to place number one in his flight. He finished the Number 4 race with a time of 17:15. Click here to see 180 photos of SJO runners competing at one of the area's longest prep cross country events in downstate Illinois. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Left: Remy Smetzer runs the last 100 yards of the Open race back on roasting hot September 3 morning. Due to extreme, unseasonably hot temperatures the three-mile race was cut in half. Right: Competing in temperatures near 90 degrees, two-sport athlete Corey Thompsen keeps a steady stride as he navigates the three-mile course. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Maintaining his position in a pack of runners, Spartan Alex Arteaga represented SJO in the Number 5 Race. He completed the course with a time of 18:39, good for a fifth place award. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Left: Cross country specialist Loren Brooks navigates the three-mile course. The Spartan girls won the meet title with a score of 13 points besting Mahomet-Seymour in second and the Monticello Sages, who placed third. Right: With a look of determination and focus on the runners ahead of her, Tessa Vowels runs her second lap around the Cow Chip Classic course. Vowels finished second in the Number 5 Flight with a time of 21:58. See more photos of Vowels and the Spartan cross country team competing at the Cow Chip Classic here: 2011 Cow Chip Classic. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks