IHSA State Basketball |
York falls in third-place game to DePaul

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

CHAMPAIGN - While DePaul's Ben Cuervo looks on, York's Joseph Lubbe falls while trying to grab a looseball during their Class 4A third-place game on Friday at the IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals. Dukes fell behind on the scoreboard after the Rams took a nine-point lead in the second quarter. Unable to recover, York fell 56-46 to bring home a fourth-place state trophy. Lubbe finished the game with seven points while going 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

PHOTO GALLERY

York's Joseph Lubbe goes up for a shot while DePaul's AJ Chambers defends the basket. York's Jackson Rennick and DePaul Prep's Zion Lee react to a loose ball on the court at the IHSA state basketball tournament. York's Joseph Lubbe dribbles the ball to the basket at the State Farm Center in Champaign. DePaul's Rashaun Porter tried to block Dukes' Will O'Leary's shot in the second half of their state basketball game. With DePaul's Zion Lee defending, Jackson Rennick attacks the basket down the baseline. York's Hunter Stepanich tried to find a teammate to pass the ball while under the basket. York's Joseph Lubbe falls under the basket with the ball after tripping while going up for a shot. With teammate Jackson Rennick looking on, Nathan Poku goes up for a shot in the fourth quarter for York. Poku finished the game with seven points, two rebounds and four assists. Stopped near the top of the key, Dukes' Nathan Poku looks to pass the ball to a teammate. Dukes' Hunter Stepanich for an open teammate while playing the third place game at state. Costa Kampas gives a fist bump to the IHSA mascot after receiving his state basketball medal. The York Dukes celebrate with their fourth-place trophy at the state basketball tournament.

Click thumbnails to see a larger view

Want to see more photos from this game? Fill out our photo request form.

TAGS: York Dukes finish 4th at state basketball tournament, Ryan Woo top scorer in DePaul state basketball game, DePaul beats York for third-place by 10, Hunter Stepanich leads York's rebounding with seven, IHSA state basketball coverage

Area baseball scores for March 19

Fairfield 4, St. Joseph-Ogden 11

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Fairfield	5	0	0	0	4	0	0	4	10	6
St. Joseph-Ogden	3	6	0	0	0	2	0	11	14	1

GAME NOTES: Fairfield's Caleb King was left on base four times and Logan Tullis batted in two RBI in the Mules loss tournament loss to St. Joseph-Ogden. Mules' Breychan Kovacich, Ian Puckett, and Jake Easton had two hits each.

Mahomet-Seymour 9, Mars 3

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Mahomet-Seymour	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	-
Mars	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-

GAME NOTES: Juniors Cole Henderson and Matt Kirby scored to runs each in the Bulldogs road game against the Fightin' Planets. Austine Wike earned the win to keep Mahomet-Seymour's 2026 start undefeated.

Highland 1, Champaign Central 8

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Highland	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6	3
Champaign Central	1	0	3	1	0	3	-	8	11	0

GAME NOTES: Highland's Nolan Barber and Tyler Rottmann delivered two hits each against the Maroons. Nolan Houchins, a senior, scored the Bulldogs' only run, while classmate Blake Gelly was left on base five times in the non-conference loss.

Mt. Vernon 1, Champaign Central 8

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Mt. Vernon	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	7	2
Champaign Central	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	7	0

GAME NOTES: Rams' Cale Maurer had two hits and two RBI in the road win against Champaign Central. Sophomore Maxweel Nowak earned the win, giving up three hits and striking out four.

Heritage 0, Urbana 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Heritage	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Urbana	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-

GAME NOTES: Urbana picks up the win via a forfeit. Next up, the Tigers play back-to-back road games, starting at Fisher on 3/21 and Tuscola on 3/24.

St. Thomas More 5, Battle Creek 10

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
St. Thomas More	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	5	9	4
Battle Creek	3	0	5	1	1	0	-	10	8	3

GAME NOTES: Battle Creek's JR Mathis pounded a home run and Elias Chunn banged a triple in the early-season non-conference win in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Sophomore Nolan Horvath was credit with the win, holding court on the mound for three innings.

Casey-Westfield 6, Oakwood 3

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Casey-Westfield	2	1	1	0	0	2	0	6	8	0
Oakwood	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	5	4

GAME NOTES: Comets' Xander Wilson padded his season stats with two hits and two RBIs. The sophomore was responsible for one of the team's two homers against the Warriors. Cam Harris banged the other ball out of the park in the loss.

Rantoul 2, Bloomington 4

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Rantoul	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-
Bloomington	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-

GAME NOTES: Aiden Cheek, who finished with three hits, and Spencer Stockwill scored one run each for the Eagles in their road game at Bloomington. Mason Ihnen produced the Eagles' solo RBI. Despite three stolen bases from Levi Duitsman, Stockwill and Landen Lewis, Rantoul suffered a non-conference loss in the season opener.

Purple Raiders Abram Murphy-Thirtycare and Brock Leman collected two hits each. Blake Alferink earned the win after striking out six of the 12 batters he faced.

TAGS: SJO loses season-opener, Mahomet-Seymour blasts St. Raymond Boys School, Central Maroons blank Rantoul Eagles

Attention baseball coaches

Keep your fans and community informed. Send The Sentinel your game scores and player stats to sports@oursentinel.com to be included in our daily scoreboard and recaps.

TAGS: SJO demolishes Fairfield in road game, St. Thomas More baseball team falls to Battle Creek, Central Maroons split home doubleheader, Xander Wilson and Cam Harris hit home runs for Oakwood, Rantoul Eagles lose road game to Bloomington Purple Raiders

Unity, St. Joseph-Ogden headline IPC All-Conference basketball selections

Area standouts from Unity, St. Joseph-Ogden, St. Thomas More, and Rantoul earn recognition on IPC all-conference basketball teams.

Unity's Brayden Henry takes a shot at state tournament.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Unity's Brayden Henry goes up for a shot during the Rockets' state third-place game on March 12. Henry was one of nine area players who earn all-conference recognition.

URBANA - The Illini Prairie Conference released its boys basketball All-Conference teams last week, recognizing nine area athletes for their performance during the 2025-26 season.

Unity, which finished third in Class 2A this winter, led all conference programs with five selections, all seniors. Brayden Henry and Coleton Langendorf earned First Team honors after anchoring the Rockets’ postseason run, while Dane Eisenmenger was named to the Second Team. Tyler Henry and Tre Hoggard also received recognition from league coaches, both landing on the Honorable Mention list.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

LEFT: Central Catholic's Keshaun Manney goes up for a rebound during the Saints' road game at St. Joseph-Ogden. He was is one of two BCC players who earned all-conference recognition this season. RIGHT: SJO's Parker Fitch goes up for a shot in the Spartans' home conference game. Fitch was the Spartans' only first-teamer this season.

St. Joseph-Ogden placed two players on the all-conference roster. Senior Parker Fitch secured a spot on the First Team, and junior Nolan Franzen was named to the Second Team following a strong campaign for the Spartans.

Rounding out the area honorees were St. Thomas More senior Owen Yeager and Rantoul junior Iysean Autman, who each received Honorable Mention recognition.

The annual selections reflect the vote of conference coaches and highlight the depth of talent across the Illini Prairie Conference this season.

2025-26 Illini Prairie All-Conference Basketball Team

1st Team

Keshaun Manney, Jr, Central Catholic
Grady Read, Sr, IVC
Amazin King, Jr, Pontiac
Parker Fitch, Sr, St. Joseph-Ogden
Coleton Langendorf, Sr, Unity
Brayden Henry, Sr, Unity

2nd Team

Crayton Schnierle, Jr, Central Catholic
Brady Ward, Sr, IVC
Tyler Cole, Sr, PBL
Cayden Masching, Sr, Pontiac
Nolan Franzen, Jr, St. Joseph-Ogden
Dane Eisenmenger, Sr, Unity

Honorable Mention

Nolan Buehnerkemper, Sr, Monticello
Matthias Rudolph, Jr, Monticello
Evan Wolf, Jr, Pontiac
Bryson Gadberry, Sr, Prairie Central
Easton Friedman, Sr, Prairie Central
Iysean Autman, Jr, Rantoul
Owen Yeager, Sr, St. Thomas More
Tre Hoggard, Sr, Unity
Tyler Henry, Sr, Unity

TAGS: Illini Prairie Conference all conference basketball 2026, Unity Rockets basketball all conference players, St Joseph Ogden basketball all conference selections, Illinois high school basketball conference honors IPC, area high school basketball players all conference Illinois

Area baseball scores for March 18

Columbia 3, St. Joseph-Ogden 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Columbia	0	0	2	0	0	1	-	3	4	1
St. Joseph-Ogden	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	1

Mahomet-Seymour 10, St. Raymond Boys 2

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Mahomet-Seymour	3	0	3	2	0	2	0	10	8	2
St. Raymond Boys	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	4	4

GAME NOTES: Jake Mercer drove in three runs and booked a stolen base for the Bulldogs. Fellow juniors Nolan Franz and Max Young also record SBs in the road game. Young was the winning pitcher, giving up one hit and striking out seven to help Mahomet-Seymour improve to 3-0 on the season.

Central 15, Rantoul 0

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Champaign Central	3	6	4	2	-	-	-	15	9	0
Rantoul	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	0	1	4

GAME NOTES: Yovanny Solorzano delivered the Eagles' only hit. Junior Dalton Germentz, who gave up seven runs on four hits, took the pitching loss for Rantoul.

TAGS: SJO loses season-opener, Mahomet-Seymour blasts St. Raymond Boys School, Central Maroons blank Rantoul Eagles

Attention baseball coaches

Keep your fans informed. Send The Sentinel your game scores and player stats to sports@oursentinel.com to be included in our daily scoreboard and recaps.

Guest Commentary |
A public health perspective on Iran: They are more like us than we think

A global health expert's research revealed unexpected similarities between Iran and the United States—comparable life expectancy, higher literacy rates, and superior childhood immunization coverage—before U.S. and Israeli strikes began destroying hospitals, killing 160 schoolgirls, and creating food shortages. The data suggests Iranians lived lives not so different from Americans just weeks ago.

by Mary Anne Mercer, MPH, DrPH

My work in global health always nudges me to learn about places and people I read about in the news. Right now: Iran, of course. Though I’ve never been there, I knew it was an incredibly old civilization, dating back several millennia with a vibrant culture and elegant, stunning architecture from the past. In recent decades it’s been led by a dictatorial, hard-line Muslim, the Supreme Leader.

I investigated a few facts about the country because understanding how the health of people in other settings compares with ours is often enlightening. Iran is poorer economically than the U.S., so the population probably would have lower living standards, life expectancy, and literacy rates than we do. I’ve worked in public health in a number of low-income countries, so I also expected that use of important services like immunizations for children and family planning for women would be limited.

A quick web search revealed that, indeed, our population is much wealthier than Iran’s. That country has a median income of $4300, compared to the U.S. with around $19,300.

But the other assumptions didn’t fit what I expected. A surprising 100% of the population has access to electricity. Much lower life expectancy? No, they are not dying at young ages: the average Iranian man in 2024 would live to be 76 years old, not far behind the American man at 77 years. I also didn’t expect that most of the main causes of death were the same as ours – heart disease, stroke, hypertension and injuries. Adult literacy, an important social determinant of health, was even more perplexing: only 11% of Iranians were nonliterate in 2023, compared to 21% of Americans around that time.

Maternal and child health practices are important monitors of a population’s well-being. So, another surprise: over 99% of Iranian children have the full set of immunizations by age five--while in the U.S. that rate is only 94% and said to be dropping. For women, childbearing patterns hint at their roles in family decision-making. How does that work in this solidly Muslim country? Another puzzler: at today’s birth rates, both Iranian and American women will have, on average, fewer than two children over their lifetimes.

Pondering these numbers, I couldn’t escape the feeling that Iranians were, put simply, very much like us. They have strong families, send their children off to school every day, have basic conveniences and an efficient public health system.

Or at least they did, until the current military onslaught by the U.S. and Israel began. Since then, the devastation of the country has been relentless: bombing of military targets with unknown numbers of civilian deaths— including the well-documented strike that killed some 160 schoolgirls. Over a dozen hospitals have been bombed, a pall of toxic “black rain” has fallen on Tehran as a result of the destruction of oil facilities, and food shortages in the cities are under way. It appears, however, that to date the death, destruction and massive displacement inflicted on their country has only strengthened the determination of the Iranian leadership, and also perhaps its people, to endure.

At some point this war will end. Until then the people of Iran, whose everyday lives had not been so very different from ours just a few weeks ago, will continue to go to bed every night wondering what hell the Americans and Israelis will inflict their country the next day.

About the author ~
Dr. Mary Anne Mercer is a University of Washington public health faculty member and author whose four-decade career has focused on maternal and child health in developing nations. Beginning with her transformative year providing immunizations in rural Nepal in 1978, she has developed health projects in 14 countries and authored books including Beyond the Next Village (2022) and Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health. Her recent work strengthening midwifery care through mobile technology in Timor-Leste has been adopted as a national program.

What do you think?
Whether you agree, disagree, or want to build on the ideas in this piece, we’d love to hear your voice. If you have an opinion you’d like to share — on this topic or any other — you can find our submission guidelines here: Sentinel submission guideline.

We welcome a wide range of viewpoints and would be glad to consider your perspective for publication on OurSentinel.com. . Send your letter or commentary to editor@oursentinel.com and help keep the community conversation moving forward.

TAGS: Iran United States health comparison literacy immunization, Iran childhood vaccination rates 99 percent, U.S. Iran war civilian casualties hospitals bombed, global health perspective Middle East conflict

Wayback Wednesday |
Rodgers lands two spots in state title races

Lockport's Derrius Rodgers and Sandburg's Ayo Abiona run in the 100-meter dash

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

CHARLESTON — Lockport's Derrius Rodgers flies alongside Sandburg's Ayo Abiona during their Class 3A 100-meter dash prelim at the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Finals on Friday, May 29, 2015. The Porter sprinter successfully advanced to Saturday's championship race after turning in a time of 10.68 seconds. He also later qualified in the 200-meter dash. Rodgers, a junior, also ran with the Porters' 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relay squads. Both relay teams did not qualify to advance. Meanwhile, Abiona, a sophomore, also ran in the 200-meter dash. Neither his 10.80 time in the 100 nor his 22.33 in the 200 qualified him for a spot in the final on Saturday.

TAGS: IHSA track and field meet, 2015 state track meet, Sandburg sprinter Ayo Abiona runs at state, state track photo history, sprinter Derrius Rodgers qualifies for two spots at state

Trippin' Tuesday |
Chargers faced Generals in conference pitch battle

Photo:PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

CHAMPAIGN - On a chilly, overcast April 1, 2006, the Centennial Chargers and Decatur MacArthur Generals met on the pitch for an early season Big Twelve conference match in Champaign. The athletes in these PhotoNews photos are 20 years older now — maybe coaching youth teams of their own, or watching their kids chase a ball on a Saturday morning.

While the photos survived, the rosters and final score didn't make it with them through time to today. Recognize a player, played in this game, or remember the final score? Drop us a note at photos@oursentinel.com.

Here's a look back nearly 20 years ago at the athletes who represented one of Champaign County's best soccer programs.

PHOTO GALLERY

Click thumbnails to see a larger view

Want to see more photos from this game? Fill out our photo request form.

TAGS: Champaign Centennial girls soccer, Trippin' Tuesday photo page, Centennial Charger sports team, Champaign County sport history

The Sentinel On This Day |
March 17

Editor's Choice ~

Scrumptious side dish, it sounds nutty good .::. March 17, 2021

Photo provided

NAPSI — Imagine this: A few small bites a day can help you manage your weight and reduce your risk of diabetes, gallstones, heart disease and cancer. It’s not some new miracle drug, it’s that long-time favorite of kids and adults alike — the peanut. You may want to try this simple, scrumptious side dish for your next Sunday dinner.

Read the story ...

Sentinel Archive Photos ~

Spartan softball team wins first game of the season

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Over one hundred St. Joseph-Ogden softball fans filled the stands and the fence line at Randy Wolken Field to watch the Spartans win their first game at the newly renovated softball facility. Follow link for more story and photos.

Sentinel Article Archive for March 17

Loading posts from this day…

TAGS: Two Illinois veterans honored with songs, looking back on Trump's 2020 Covid guidelines, Sunday Sports Rewind from the Sentinel

IHSA State Basketball |
York falls in third-place game to DePaul

PHOTO GALLERY