Over 130 middle school students earn spot on quarterly Honor Roll

One hundred thirty-two students from St. Joseph Middle School achieved Honor Roll recognition this week.

Seventh grade students earning High Honors recognition are Logan Allen, Owen Baltzell, Payton Carter, Maya Chahine, Rachel Divan, Sadie Ericksen, Joseph Frasca, Addison Frick, Logan Haake, Chloe Harper, Rachel Harris, Annabelle Hueber, Tanner Jacob, Kya Jolley, Helene Jones, Tori Kibler, Quinn Lewis, Taylyn Lockhart, Addisyn Martinie, Isaiah Mock, Rowan Musselman, Macy Reed-Thompson, Addison Roesch, Nathaniel Roth, Daniel Santiago, Lucas Skelton, Logan Smith, Drew Thurman, and Peyton Williams.

Students in seventh grade who earned Honor Roll status include Chloe Allen, Luke Allen, Tyler Boggs, Halle Brazelton, Kyler Brown, Garrett Denhart, Cameron Dressen, Ashton Fonner, Holden Jones, Brock Kellenberger, Connor Little, Grace Mabrey, Carson Maroon, Seth McBride, Peyton McDougal, Ethan McElroy-Fitzpatrick, Shannon McMahon Jr., Carlina Patterson, Ave Pettit, Bella Santanelli, Aescton Slowikowski, Madison Stevens, Corbin Wells, Justice Wertz, Nicholas Wetzel, Spencer Wilson and Owen Yohnka.

Eighth graders meeting the criteria for High Honor Roll recognition are McGwire Atwood, Kaytlyn Baker, Olivia Baltzell, Tyler Burch, Ariana Chambers, Maddux Carter, Cale Coursey, Aiden Cromwell, Zachary Dahman, Andrew Guelfi, Hayden Henkelman, Maya Hewkin, Taylor Hug, Shayne Immke, Peyton Jones, Jacob Kern, Aaron Lane, Teagan Miller, William Page, Allegra Pearman, Ty Pence, Ellen Place, Jack Robertson, Robert Rowland, Kirsten Schaefer, Katharine Short, Paige Siegmund, Trinity Tapia, Taylor Voorhees and Margaret Ward.

The following eighth grade students earn a spot on this quarter's Honor Roll: Alyssa Acton, Emma Rydell, Canyon Alwes, Trenton Severins, Sylvia Bills, Isabel Sexton, Owen Birt, Garrett Siems, Cara Blanchard, Olivia Terven, Kaylee Brown, Mallory Wagner, Taylor Burch, Emma Ward, Payton Carter, Jackson Wetzel, Gwendolyn Chatterton, Bryce Collins, Madelynn Cook, Abigail Dow, Leah Finley, Alex Funk, Jessica Gadbury, Joseph Gherna, Jackson Greer, Kennedy Greer, Hunter Hinen, Mary Hinrichs, Emily Jeffries, Cameran Kelley, Eleni Krall, Ryan Kuchenbrod, Collin Livesay, Carter Mabry, Aidan McCorkle, Courtney Myren, Christopher Newman, Nicholas Nosler, Emma Rydell, Trenton Severins, Isabel Sexton, Garrett Siems, Olivia Terven, Mallory Wagner, Emma Ward and Jackson Wetzel.

Knott, Mattsey lead SJO at Rantoul Invite

Running against a solid field of competitors from Bloom Township, Herscher, Kankakee and 11 other schools, the St. Joseph-Ogden boys track team finished seventh out of a field of 15 schools at the 2019 Rantoul Invite on Saturday. Earning 55 points, SJO finished two points behind Mahomet-Seymour (57 points, 6th place) and a mere three below Urbana(5th place) in fifth place.

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St. Joseph-Ogden's Isiah McCune runs to the finish line at the 2018 Illinois High School Association Cross Country State Finals on Saturday, November 3, 2018. The senior finished second in last Saturday's 3200 Meter run at the Rantoul Invite. He finished the Class 1A state race last fall in 44th place overall with a time of 15:50.19. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks) (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Earning 20 points for the Spartans, Hayden Knott placed first in both the junior varsity discus and shot put competition.

Throws from Rantoul's Brandon Lord and Danville's Joseph Irons were nowhere near Knott's best throw of the day in the shot competition. The 2018 state-qualifier sent the heavy ball 44-6 3/4, which surpassed the meet record of 40-7 1/2 and his personal best going into the meet by 10 inches. He was the only underclassman to exceed 40 feet.

Knott also recorded a new personal record in the discus, launching it 152-4. His previous personal best was 139-1. The toss broke the old fresh/soph record of 108-04 established by St. Joseph-Ogden's Max Chaterton in 2017.

Brandon Mattsey won the Freshman/Sophomore 1600m Run with a time of 5:00.61. He clocked in three seconds ahead of Monticello's Ed Mitchell (5:03.43) and beat Nathan Rotundo, from McHenry, who finished third at 5:04.22. His time was just a little more than five seconds off his career best of 4:55.40.

Running with Lukas Hutcherson, Elijah Mock and Luke Stegall in the fresh/soph 4x800 race, Mattsey helped the team to four team points by way of a fourth place finish with a time of 09:23.81.

Other top performances included a great effort by senior Isiah McCune, who finished second in the 3200 Meter Run. Nolan Peacock cleared 12'6" to place fourth in the pole vault competition and Lane Gaskin took third in 200 Meter Dash.

Get rid of your electronic junk next month

Have items from your garage sale this weekend you still want to get rid of?

Residents from Gifford, Ogden, Royal, St. Joseph as well as surrounding homes in Unincorporated Champaign County are eligible to drop off unwanted or non-functioning electronic items at this year's Champaign County Electronic Recycling Event on May 18.

Online registration opened yesterday and several time slots are already filled. You must register through the portal to receive a postcard to gain entry to the event.

To register, go to Countywide Electronic Recycling. Simply click on an available time and complete the online form. Expect to receive your postcard within two weeks after submitting the form. For those who did not receive their postcard before the event or leave it behind, you can show your confirmation email/text at the entrance on your smart device or laptop.

Eligible individuals with postcards may dispose up to four televisions of any make or model. Organizers do not consider computer monitors a TV. Up to seven items per postcard can be left at the event. Small items can be bundled or put into a small box and counted as one item.

Items accepted for this year's event include TVs, computers, computer monitors, printers, typewriters, electronic keyboards, facsimile machines, VCRs, DVD players/recorders, portable digital music players, video game consoles, electronic mice, scanners, digital converter boxes, cable receivers, satellite receivers, small scale servers, accessory computer/monitor speakers, ink & toner cartridges, extension cords, surge protectors, computer cables, microwaves, holiday string lights, all phones and accessories, digital cameras/mini cams, uninterrupted power supplies, backup batteries, chargers for portable devices, and computer networking equipment including switches, routers, hubs and modems.

The following items will not be accepted: Wooden, metal, or plastic stereo speakers; units or items that contain liquids; items that contain freon such as AC units and dehumidifiers; freezers, refrigerators and dishwashers; small appliances including but not limited to blenders, coffee makers, toasters; lamps, vacuum cleaners, fans, cash registers, thermostats and thermometers; light bulbs, fluorescent bulbs or tubes; smoke or carbon monoxide detectors; and loose alkaline batteries.

Unless there is severe weather during the collection time, rain or shine (or snow), the event will go on as planned. Thunder and lightning activity will not cancel the event. Inclement weather may slow things down, but past experience has shown the additional wait time to be minimal.

For more information visit the official 2019 electronics recycling page. You may also send email inquiries to recycling@champaignil.gov or call 217-403-4780 or 217-384-2302.

Memory Monday: Spartans face Central on the road

Fifteen years ago today, the Spartans traveled to Champaign to face the Maroons in a non-conference game on a beautiful spring afternoon. It the PhotoNews' first season covering SJO baseball for the now defunct Ogden Leader. The Leader may be gone, but the PhotoNews is still covering as many games as possible making high-quality photographs and capturing memories of the Spartan baseball program for athletes and fans to enjoy just like this decades later.

While we remember the names and most of the faces, we couldn't find the results or box scores for this game in our files. If you remember the final score let us know via Twitter.

See more photos from this game in the PhotoNews Media archives: SJO vs Champaign Central.

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Jason Johnson (Class of 2005) unwinds during a pitch against the Maroons. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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After getting on base, senior Chad Dilley,a two-sport athlete, rounds second base early on in the game against Central. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Cody Mast takes a swing at a Maroon pitch. Mast also played football for the Spartans his senior year. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Center fielder Nick Sibbing makes a long throw to the cutoff man at second base. Like all three players above, Sibbing also played football for the Spartans. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Witruk pitches 11 innings, picks 2 wins for Cobras

While her kid sister was in the circle leading the Spartan softball team to a win over Tri-Valley on Saturday, St. Joseph-Ogden alumna Tori Witruk pitched 11 innings, allowing just five earned runs and striking out six, to help Parkland College softball program sweep Spoon River College on the road.

Nose to the grindstone, Witruk (7-1), who possesses a 2.71 ERA on the season after 14 appearances, help the Cobra's prevail 3-2 in game one and stop the bleeding in a the 13-10 nightcap. After picking up the wins for both contests, her seven victories are now a team-best so far this season.

In game one, the former Spartan allowed just two runs while escaping trouble in multiple innings to pick up win number six.

Morgan Parrish started game two for Parkland and hurled the first three innings of the conference slugfest. With the Cobras feeling the heat, Witruk stepped in to close out the game's final four innings, which included pitching a scoreless seventh frame.

Undefeated, top-rated SJO softball team finish the week, 4-0

In the first seven days of April and just nine games into the 2019 season, the legacy built by former St. Joseph-Ogden head coach Randy Wolken absolutely shows no sign of fading any time soon. Under first-year head coach Larry Sparks, the St. Joseph-Ogden softball team undoubtedly are once again sporting one of the largest bullseyes in Class 2A on their backs.

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Zoey Witruk winds up for a pitch against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley. The junior picked up three pitching wins in SJO's last four games. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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The 9-0 Spartans are chewing up opponents with the intensity of Category 4 storm. In their wake this week alone, SJO has tallied nine home runs and outscored their opponents 36-5 in four games.

Only three other teams in their division can boast a 9-game or better win streak this season.

Tuscola, on a collision course with the Spartans in less than a month on May 6, is also undefeated with 12 wins this season. The Warriors, placed in the southern quad by the IHSA, will be playing through the Johnson City super-sectional for their shot at a state appearance along with 9-0 Edwards County.

The Beecher Bobcats, who will be playing for the Joliet College super-sectional title, is also undefeated at 10-0.

The Spartans will play in the Olympia sectional with teams from Argenta-Oreana, Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin, Oakwood, Georgetown-Ridge Farm, Maroa-Forsyth, Monticello, Unity, Warrensburg-Latham, and Westville.

Here's a brief recap of this past week's action:

Dowling plasters two homer runs
Alabama commit and USA junior national team member Baily Dowling wasn't joking around on April Fool's Day. The senior started the four-game week off with two home runs for SJO. Meanwhile, junior Hannah Dukeman sent a ball yard herself in the 9-0 shutout on Monday.

Adding another win to her record this season, Zoey Witruk gave up one hit and fanned 13 in the six-inning affair.

Box Score
St. Joseph-Ogden 1 0 2 0 5 1 - 9 - -
Maroa-Forysth __  0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 - -


Witruk records 13 K's on Villa Grove
Junior Zoey Witruk struck out 13 Blue Devil batters for SJO in their 7-2 win over Villa Grove on Tuesday, April 2.

St. Joseph-Ogden seniors Savannah Smith, Katie Poulter and Bailey Dowling logged two hits apiece. Freshman Kennedy Hudson also had pair of hits to help extend the team's undefeated streak to seven games.

Box Score
St. Joseph-Ogden 1 1 2 0 3 0 - 2 - -
Villa Grove _____  1 0 0 0 0 1 - 2 - -


SJO scores 11, in one inning
Hosting Lincoln High School on April 3, St. Joseph-Ogden needed just five innings to blast the Railsplitters, 17-2. The Spartans tallied 18 hits in the non-conference victory.

SJO pounded a stunning four home runs with bombs from Hannah Dukeman, Kaylee Ward, Katie Poulter and Lauren Trankina.

Dukeman, who delivered four RBI, and Poulter tallied three hits apiece.

Ashtyn Cromwell threw a complete game for the win.

Box Score
St. Joseph-Ogden 1 1 11 5 - - - 17 - -
Lincoln ______      0 0  1 1 - - -   2 - -


Spartans score three runs on Tri-Valley
In a complete game from Zoey Witruk the Spartans knocked off the Vikings, 3-1. Witruk, who gave up four hits, struck out 14 batters in the road victory. Katie Poulter put the ball out of the park for the ninth Spartan home run for the week. Catcher Hannah Dukeman notched two hits on Saturday.

Box Score
St. Joseph-Ogden 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 - -
Tri-Valley ____      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 - -

Light runs out against the Bullets

For the second time in seven days, SJO posted a second tie this season to their record. Knotted at 2-all in the eighth inning in Saturday's Clinton Varsity Baseball Invitational game against Williamsville, the game was called after it was determined conditions were dark to continue.

After rolling to an 11-1 win over Tremont earlier in the day, the Spartans' marathon against the Bullets started an hour later than originally schedule.

Crayton Burnett put away six batters and allowed five hits for the no-decision.

Last week on April Fool's Day, St. Joseph-Ogden slugged it out for eight innings, deadlocked with two runs apiece with Mahomet-Seymour when the non-conference game was called due to darkness.

The Spartans will host the Rantoul on Monday at 4:30p in a regular season Illini Prairie Conference contest. After two days of practice they will head on the road to face Bloomington Central Catholic for another IPC matchup. They close out the week at home against Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Friday.


Box Score:
SJO ______ 010 000 10 2-3-3
Williamsville 100 100 00 2-6-1

Spartans crush the Turks in road win

On the warmest day so far this spring, Keegan McCarty helped the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team earn their eight win of the season at the Clinton Varsity Baseball Invitational. The junior hurler, who gave up six hits, struck out three in the 11-1 victory on Saturday.

Adam Frerichs waits for a pitch in SJO's home game against Westville last week. The Spartans will alternate in home-away-home game schedule this week as they prepare for a deep postseason run later this spring. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Blake Primmer led the Spartans' offensive effort with 3 RBI and catcher Adam Frerichs pounded away a pair of hits in the first of two games at the Invite.

SJO has two home and one away contest on tap over the next seven days. Opening the week, Primmer & Co. will host the Rantoul Eagles on Monday at 4:30p in a regular season conference game. Then it's a road trip to Bloomington on Thursday for an Illini Prairie Conference battle against the Saints of Central Catholic.

The Spartans close out the week at the SJO sports complex with a visit from Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Friday.


Box Score:
SJO ___    200 102 6 11-6-1
Tremont     000 100 0  1-7-2


From the editor: The conference game canceled on April 4 with St. Thomas More has been rescheduled to Wednesday, April 24. First pitch is slated for 4:30p.

Throwback Thursday: SJO shuts out Lions

The Sentinel, courtesy of PhotoNews Media, has more than 250,000 images from more than a decade and half of sport coverage at St. Joseph-Ogden High School at our fingertips. As space and time allows, we will publish great action photos, memorable moments and treasured images from the massive collection of images of Spartan athletes online and in your weekly paper.

This week's Throwback Thursday treat is from SJO's home football playoff game against Marshall back on November 5, 2005. The Spartans, who defeated the Lions on their home turf (or what little there was that day) a year earlier, posted a 41-0 shutout advancing to face the Unity Rockets on the road the following Saturday.

If you like what you see here, visit archive galley with more than 80 photos from the IHSA postseason game here: St. Joseph-Ogden versus Marshall. As always, you can search for specific players and additional games 24/7 using the search tool at the top of each gallery page.

Spartan quarterback Billy Gallo celebrates a TD in the first quarter after scoring the first of his two touchdowns against the Lions. St. Joseph-Ogden beat visiting Marshall for a second straight year in the playoffs with a 41-0 victory Saturday afternoon. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Ryan Barnes, one the team's most explosive players in school history, runs the ball 68 yards on a kick off return back for a touchdown against the Marshall. Unfortunately the TD was nullified due to a holding call on a SJO blocker. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Quarterback Isaiah Olson pivots to hand off the ball during fourth-quarter action for the Spartans. A year and some 14 days later, Olson would go on to set an IHSA state football title game record in Class 3A for the most individual passing yards that still stands as of today. In that game, the senior threw for 276 yards and completed 20 of his 29 yard pass attempts including three touchdowns. His performance also put him in a three-way tie for the most passing TDs in a 3A title game. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Elizabeth Ward, a member of the SJO Dance Team, performs during halftime show during the Week 2 playoff game. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Spartans' Brodyee Hallowell, who went to become a state-qualifier in wrestling, and Decoda Burris [3] break up a pass play to Lions' Kyle Johnson [11]. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Lineman Jesse Grice is all smiles while leaving the field after the Spartans hammered visiting Marshall and head into a quarterfinal showdown against longtime rival Unity. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Can't wait until next week for more photos from the archives? Search for your favorite athlete by name, sport or date of the event in the PhotoNews Media online photo archives.

Emmert, Mabry earn academic honors at EIU

Abigail Emmett and Samantha Mabry were two of more than 700 undergraduate students named to Eastern Illinois University’s Fall 2018 Deans' List.

Emmert, a music education major with a focus on teaching and 2016 graduate from St. Joseph-Ogden High School, served as a student ambassador for the EIU music department, held the role as principal chair flute of Concert Band and performs with several bands as a student-musician.

A drum major the SJO Marching Band, she also earned the same title and responsibilities with the Panther Marching Band. In May of last year she was awarded the Errett & Mazie Warner Presidential Award and the Helen J. Krehbiel Music Scholarship.

Mabry, who was a four-year veteran cross country and track athlete in high school, is an English major at EIU.

She finished her prep career as a member of last spring's state championship track team. The 2018 SJO alum is continuing her athletic career with the Panthers. A red-shirt freshman in cross country this past fall, she is listed as a middle distance specialist on the university's track & field roster.

The Deans’ List at EIU recognizes undergraduates with a declared major whose academic performance has been excellent. Eastern Illinois University students who achieve a GPA of 3.80 to 4.00 (on a 4.00 scale) while completing a minimum of 12 graded semester hours, excluding credit/no credit grades, are honored each semester.

Five SJO alumni earn Dean's List honors at ISU

Five St. Joseph-Ogden graduates earned academic recognition for their efforts at Illinois State University in the fall of 2018.

ISU students must complete at least 12 or more semester hours to be eligible for recognition. The Dean's List for individual colleges, which include the Colleges of Applied Science and Technology, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Fine Arts, and Mennonite College of Nursing, will recognize those students whose grade point average places them among the top ten percent of those students majoring within the College based on their semester GPA. Students whose major does not place them in one of the six colleges that offer degrees and whose semester grade point average is within the top ten percent of the University are identified on a separate list at the institution.

Courses completed after the official end of the semester and courses taken with a Credit/No Credit option are not tabulated in the final GPA.

Area honorees include:

Ogden: Katie Kurtz

St. Joseph: Brandon Burnett, Makenzie Pence, Hanna Richter and Nathan Schuele.

Note: Area students who have chosen to restrict access to directory and/or address information will not appear on the list below.