Another huge win for Spartan girls

The St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball team held visiting Olympia to just 5 points in the second half of their Illini Prairie Conference game for their 14th victory of the season. Eight Spartan shooters contributed in the lopsided 53-20 win.

The Thursday night game was the sixth game of the season, SJO held an opponent to 30 or fewer points.

Bree Trimble led all scorers with 18 points. Shooting 4-5 from the free throw line, Trimble tallied her total in just three quarters.

Senior Peyton Crowe was the only Spartan to score in all four quarters. She finished the game with 13 points.

The Spartans missed just 3 free throws all night. Maclayne Taylor (6pts), Hannah Dukeman (6pts), Ella Armstrong (2pts) and Crowe were all a perfect 2-2 accounting for 15 of SJO's point total.

Olympia was led in scoring by Abbi Bode with 12 points. Taylor Nowaskie finished with 5, Kennedy Smith chipped in a field goal in the first quarter and Colby Burt rounded out their team's scoring with a free throw also in the first quarter of play.

Next up, St. Joseph-Ogden will play Unity at home on Monday and then travel to Prairie Central to take on Hawks. The team will finish out the week with a non-conference home contest againt Matton.

Youth baseball program registration starts Monday

Online registration for the 2019 St. Joseph Youth Baseball program opens on Monday, January 7. Kids, boys and girls, ages 4-14 are eligible to play in one of 11 age groups.

Athletes must sign-up before February 1 and $5 early bird discount is applied to everyone who registers via the online registration system. After the online system closes that Friday, parents have one last opportunity to register. On February 2, from 9 am until noon, there will be a in-person registration session held in the Middle School cafeteria on that Saturday morning.

There will be a evaluation session on Saturday, March 2, in the auxiliary gym at St. Joseph-Ogden High School to determine the skill level of each athlete. After that session, coaches will select their team and notify parents and players with practice and game schedules.

Board president Jim Cotter expects team practices to start around the middle of March.

All players will need a glove, cleats and bag to carry their gear. The board has several bats, helmets and other equipment that players can use. Players who have their own equipment are encouraged to use it.

The season starts mid-April for players 9-14 and in early May for youth 8 years-old and under. The season runs until the end of June. The number of games for each level varies.

Girls, who don't want to play softball can play in the league.

"Girls tend to play softball at age eight and above," Cotter said. "There is no restriction if they want to play past the age of seven. We welcome them!"

The link to the age chart and registration page can be found at https://tshq.bluesombrero.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1580844

In addition to Cotter, this year board members are Cindy Johnston (Treasurer), Barb Babb (Secretary), Kevin Buskirk (Board Member), Bethni Gill (Board Member), Katie May (Concessions) and Jennifer Wells (Fundraising Chair).

For more registration or league information contact Jim Cotter at 217-840-7844.