Blood drive to be held at local church on Tuesday

There will be a blood drive this Tuesday, March 10, at the St. Joseph Church of Christ.

Donating blood is safe, quick, and can provide the gift of life. According to the American Red Cross, one donation can save up to three lives.

Walk-ins are welcomed at this Tuesday's drive and donors are encouraged make appointments online on the Mobile Blood Drive Schedule for priority service. Appointments can also be schedule via phone at (217) 367-2202.

At the time of this article, 16 time slots remain available for donations this week.

Sponsored by the Community Blood Services of Illinois, donations will be accepted from 4:30pm until 7pm. CBSI is the exclusive provider to Carle Foundation Hospital and OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center.

CBSI asks that you consume a meal prior to your donation and provide recent photo identification to verify their identity.

For more information contact the Primary Blood Drive Coordinator Talen Hawkin at (815)883-1966.

The St. Joseph Church of Christ is located at 226 East Sherman.

Immke, Wagner advance to state wrestling championships

A pair St. Joseph-Ogden wrestlers advanced to this weekend's Illinois High School Association Individual Wrestling State Finals that will start this Thursday.

Isaiah Immke, who had a first round bye and lost opening sectional match to Dwight's Daniel Gutierrez (45-5) by fall, punched his ticket into the division finals after defeating Tremont's Levi Leitner with pin at 1:54. Immke picked up his 20th win of the season with the third-place finish in the 145-pound division on Saturday.

After his loss to Guiterrez and before locking up with Leitner, Immke went on a three-bout winning spree defeating Marshall Gudauskus from Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin, Mercer County's Carson Tippie and Hoopeston Area foe Justin Jones. Finishing the day 4-1, the junior won two of his matches via pins with the highest finish for SJO.

Fellow junior AJ Wagner also advanced to wrestle at the State Farm Center this weekend in the 113-pound division. He heads into the state championships with 41 wins and 8 losses.

Wagner leveled the competition in his first two matches with first period pins and dropped a decision to against Mercer County's Broctyn King in his third bout of the day.

In his next match, it took a mere 31 seconds to notch his consolation round semifinal win over Peoria Notre Dame's Jac Couri (26-8).

Guaranteed to advance to state and at least a fourth place trophy after the quick win over Couri, Wagner squared off with Illini Bluffs' Paul Ishikawa. Through no lack of Spartan effort Wagner succumbed to the Tiger grappler in a 3-1 decision.

One other St. Joseph-Ogden wrestler also competed at the Olympia sectional. Sophomore Isaiah Moore, who enjoyed a 30-plus win season with the Spartans, won his first sectional match in the 126-pound weight class sticking Tremont's Logan Poisal in 25 seconds.

Moore then dropped his quarterfinal match as well as his consolation bracket rounder to finish his season at 32-13.

SJO fans who want to watch Immke and Wagner wrestle at state can order tickets starting today online at www.fightingillini.com, over the phone by calling 1-866-ILLINI-1 or 217-333-3470, or in person at the Illinois Ticket Office at 1800 S. First Street, Room 1000, in Champaign. General public tickets are being sold on a first come, first serve basis.

The Class 1A preliminary matches will start at noon with admission starting at 11am.