After his first loss, Gavel drops the hammer at state
Unity's Ben Gavel celebrates his victory after defeating Winnebago's Carlos Sanchez in the 126-pound third-place medal at the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals last February. Gavel, a junior, entered the 2020 state finals with a 50-4 record. After losing his first round match to Ridgeview's Coby Windle, 8-4, he then plowed his way through the consolation bracket rolling off five consecutive pins to take home the bronze medal.
Pulling ahead of CICS/Longwood's Briyanna Desrosiers and Sesser-Valier's Chelsea Miller, St. Joseph-Ogden senior Rachel Ballard appears to have the ability to run through the air on her way to a second place finish in her heat of the Class 1A 100-meter dash at the IHSA State Track & Field Finals on May 17, 2012. Ballard qualified for Saturday's finals with a time of 12.62 and finished that race in fourth place with a time of 12.26.
PONTIAC - People everywhere are conquering their cabin fever and are enjoying the great outdoors after a long, bitter winter. But before you head out for that hike, health care experts remind you to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Read more . . .
I’ve always known my Arab culture is worth celebrating.
I heard it in Syrian tenor Sabah Fakhri’s powerful voice reverberating in my mom’s car on the way to piano lessons and soccer practice during my youth. I smelled it in the za’atar, Aleppo pepper, allspice, and cumin permeating the air in the family kitchen. Read more . . .
CHAMPAIGN - In a show of solidarity against President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies, which critics say are harming families and retirement savings, more than a thousand protesters gathered Saturday at West Park near downtown Champaign for the Hands-Off! Mobilization rally. Read more . . .
Photo Galleries
A couple of runners found themselves in the wrong race at this year's Illinois Marathon. Over 60 photos from the race that you should see.