Waller, Smith invited to play in annual All-Star football game

With the St. Joseph-Ogden way up in the fourth quarter of their first-round playoff game against Carlinville, Spartan lineman Braxton Waller (left) and quarterback Logan Smith give thumbs up while chilling on the bench in the fourth quarter. Smith, who received Class 3A All-State honors, and Waller helped lead SJO to an 8-3 finish in 2023.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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BLOOMINGTON - The two teams for the 50th Annual Illinois High School Shrine Game were selected by the ILHSFCA at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Two members from the St. Joseph-Ogden football were among the 126 high school seniors to play in the annual charity event for Shriners Hospitals for Children. Logan Smith and Braxton Waller received invitations to pad up again and play on June 15 at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. Kickoff is slated for 11am.

Instead of being teammates, Waller will be a member of the Blue squad and Smith will play on the Red team.

Cully Welter will have one more game to coach his son, Trey, in a prep football game. The Monticello head coach picked by the coaches' association to lead this year's Blue Team. He will go head-to-head with Chicago Hope Academy's Chris Malette.

Other players from the 217 that received invitations include:

RED TEAM

David McGehee, Southeast HS
Drew Paben, Camp Point Central
Kani Carson, Lincoln Community
Jack Gallier, Mahomet-Seymour
Jack Barnhart, Centennial
Brayden Daily, St. Teresa
Parker Lyons, Rochester
Reese Frericks, Quincy Notre Dame
Kameron Beckman, Springfield
Kaiden Maurer, Maroa-Forsyth
Ki'on Carson, Lincoln Community
A.J. Sypherd, Litchfield
Noah Bass, Clinton
Austin Cummings, Tuscola

BLUE TEAM

Burke Wilkin, Sacred Heart-Griffin
Jack Dettro, Corner Glenwood
Josh McClain, Sacred Heart-Griffin
Aidan Archibald, Charleston
Chris Flachs, Quincy Senior
Cameron Schroth, Mt. Zion
Connor Sullivan, Casey-Westfield
Cory Craig Jr., Athens
CamRon Mitchell, Jacksonville
Tristin Potts, Clinton
Brady Clodfelder, Villa Grove
Ayden Ingram, BHRA
Trey Welter, Monticello

SJO Cheer qualifies for ICCA state championships

FARMINGTON - On Saturday, the St. Joseph-Ogden competitive cheer team qualified for the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches State Cheer Competition on January 6- 7 at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield. The Spartan cheer squad finished seventh out of 16 teams at the Farmington Invitational on Saturday.

Madelyn George and Spartan cheerleaders lead fans in a cheer during a timeout at the Toyota of Danville Classic basketball tournament earlier this month. On Saturday, the cheer team qualified for the ICCA state championships in January.

Photo: PhotoNews Media

"I’m very excited for this team to experience ICCA Championships," said St. Joseph-Ogden head coach Emily Wise. "Many of the cheerleaders have never competed before. The team has put in a lot of work in and out of practice."

Wise is happy with her team's accomplishment, especially considering their youth and lack of experience. Their over-all work ethic and practice culture have paid its first of many dividends. Five freshmen and five juniors make up the 10-girl squad.

"They have spent countless hours at practice and pushed themselves to a new level these past couple of weeks. I’m so proud their hard work paid off this past weekend," Wise said.

The team will be working even harder for a successful performance in Springfield next month. There are a few things they will be working on to be competitive with the veteran programs they will cheer against.

"The team will be perfecting their current skills as well as growing new skills. Such as stronger motions, louder voices, and added difficulty," Wise said."

Members of the squad include juniors Addison Funk, Madelyn George, Samantha Uden, Charley Wright, and Ava Worley. The remainder of the squad are all freshmen, which includes Iris Davis, Leah Gaines, Faith Jackson, Peighton Reim, and Ava Smoot.

"SJO Cheer has come such a long way since the beginning of the year," Wise added. "This is such a talented team and I can’t wait to see what all they accomplish this season."

Farmington Invitational Results
Small School Varsity Division

 1st Knoxville
 2nd New Berlin
 3rd Oakwood
 4th Salt Fork
 5th Farmington
 6th Illini Bluff
 7th St. Joseph-Ogden
 8th Brimfield
 9th Monmouth-Roseville
10th Eureka
11th ROWVA Williamsfield
12th Sherrard
13th Williamsville
14th Abingdon-Avon
15th St. Thomas More
16th Prairie Central

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