College Notebook | Former area prep athletes shine in cross country

Plotner helps UT-M finish sevent

Jillian Plotner finished 67th overall out of a field of 90 long distance runners at the Florida State University Winter XC Classic in Tallahassee. A freshman with the University of Tennessee-Martin, the former St. Joseph-Ogden cross country specialist finished the women's 6000m event at 25:08.6 to help the Skyhawks to a seventh place finish on Friday, February 5.

Plotner and UT-M run again on February 19 at the Golden Eagle Invitational hosted by Tennessee Tech in Cookeville.

Brooks' season nears start at Eureka College

Jordan Brooks is just nine days away from hoping to see action as one of the newest members of the Red Devils of Eureka College. The program's first game of the season is a home game against Spalding College on February 20.

A junior college transfer from Lincoln Land College in Lincoln, IL, he started all 31 games for the Loggers. He averaged 10.5 points per game and was a proficient shooter delivering point on 40% of his attempts.

Brooks is currently one of St. Joseph-Ogden's top 25 career scorers with 786 points amassed during his three-year varsity career. The 2018 graduate is #4 in the Spartans career 3-pt shots made list after burying 176 of them.

Knudsen bestowed 2nd CCIW P-O-W

Philo native and Unity High School basketball product Elyce Knudsen collected College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin player of the week recognition for a second straight week. She earned the well-deserved honors after scoring 23 points and padding her stats during a 90-82 road win over Illinois Wesleyan on February 4. The rising Big Blue star had five rebounds, four assists and five steals in that game. Two days later in Millikan's 73-51 win at Carthage on February 6, tallied 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal to lift the team's record to 4-1.

Kylie Decker in Eastern's top 5 at cross country meet

Kylie Decker finished in ninth place overall at the Eastern Illinois Spring Meet last Saturday. The EIU freshman from Philo crossed the finish line at 19:32.4 to give the Panthers' cross country program the team trophy in the 5k race.

Thanks to Decker, Eastern Illinois tallied with 26 points in the team standings. Southeast Missouri came in second with 47 points followed by DePaul in third and Saint Louis fourth in fourth place.

One other former Unity cross country runner was in the field of 41 runners at the event. Audrey Hancock, a sophomore in Pre-Nursing and Tolono native, finished in 28th place at 20:44.2.

Know a Unity or St. Joseph-Ogden graduate playing at the collegiate level? Let us know their name, sport(s) and where they are playing. An email or a link to their social media account for interviews is a big help, too. Send The Sentinel a message to us at sports@oursentinel.com.

Spartans knock off STM 67-33, Behrens and Vallee step up

On yet another frigid polar vortex evening in central Illinois, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball team quickly caught fire outscoring host St. Thomas More 16-9 in the opening quarter of their Illini Prairie Conference game on Tuesday. The Spartan bench proved they can bring just as much heat as the team's five starters after defeating the Sabers on road, 67-33.

Junior Abby Behrens, who was not among the starting five, led all scorers with a game-high 14 points thanks to a three-pointer in the second quarter and two more after the break in the third. She, along with two other players, Peyton Jones and Alyssa Hamilton, combined for 24 bench points.

"Abby is sneaky," said head coach Kevin Taylor on Behrens' ability to deceive opposing players. "She has a laid back attitude but has been playing really good on the ball defense and knows how to score on the offensive side as well. She can drive or shoot the open shot."

Meanwhile, starter Payton Vallee scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half to help give SJO a nine-point lead at halftime. Taylor was happy to see the senior step up and take the opportunity to lead.

"Vallee helps this team with her experience and leadership. She has been very reliable over the years," he said. "But (she) is also a very smart competitor on the floor."

The Sabers were paced by Emma Dovocelle's 13 points. Kennedy Ramshaw added 10 point effort and Bridget Delorenza's five points rounded out the host's top three scorers.

Taylor pointed out improvement on his squad's defensive effort on Tuesday.

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"The girls played better overall defense last night," he said. The Sabers boasted several players with the speed and agility to pose a serious threat in the Illini Prairie Conference game. "We knew they would be quick and would look to drive the lane while still shooting some threes.

"I think we settled in after making some early fouls and kept them from driving or shooting over the top of us."

Two things that has impressed Taylor so far this season is how well players are fairing under the current pandemic protocols.

"I am impressed with how the girls are adapting to the new rules. Mainly wearing a mask while playing," Taylor said. "But, what impresses me the most so far is the depth of this team. (We have) several girls (that) are contributing."

The Spartans are back on the floor of the Main Gym at home Thursday night against the Rantoul Eagles with Behrens and Vallee hoping to extend the team's undefeated record on more game. The JV contest is slated to begin at 5:30pm, varsity tipoff is at 7pm. Both games can be watch via live stream on the NFHS Network.

Box Score

St. Joseph-Ogden	16	9	14	13	- 52
St. Thomas More	9	5	7	10	- 31

St. Joseph-Ogden
Taylor Campbell 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Payton Jacob 0 (1) 0-0 -- 3, Taylor Wells 2 (0) 0-0 -- 4, Atleigh Hamilton 2 (0) 1-1 -- 5, Taylor Hug 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Abby Behrens 2 (3) 1-2 -- 14, Isabell Smith 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Peyton Jones 2 (1) 1-2 -- 8, Alyssa Hamilton 1 (0) 0-1 -- 2, Payton Vallee 6 (0) 0-2 -- 12, Ella Armstrong 1 (0) 2-4 -- 4.

St. Joseph-Ogden
C. Leibach 0 (0) 0-1 -- 0, T. Devriese 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, A. Dickerson 0 (0) 1-2 -- 1, B. Delorenza 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5, E. Devocelle 2 (2) 3-4 -- 13, M. Swisher 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, S. Gileas 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, G. Kreps 0 (0) 0-2 -- 0, C. Monahan 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, K. Ramshaw 4 (0) 2-7 -- 10, E. Graham 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, C. Pembele 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.