Urbana girls cross country team competes at big race

The Urbana cross country team finished the Richard Spring Invitational with 1,453 points in the 63-team invitational meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria on September 18.

Celia Barbieri led the Tigers to a 53rd overall team finish completing the course in 20 minutes and 2.4 seconds. The senior finished 185th overall.

Ten runners later Urbana's Abby Fairbanks crossed the finish at 20:11.1 followed by freshman Mia Nicholson 142 runners later at 21:46.6. Ellie Scully and Brianne Wefel rounded out the top five finishers with times of 23:51.6 and 24:10 respectively.

The three-mile varsity race was won by York with 93 points. Prospect finished in second place and Hinsdale Central in third.

Guest Commentary: The more you sow, the more you will reap

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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If you want a friend, be a friend. There is never a guarantee. However, if you do not put anything into a friendship it’s certain the friendship will never grow.

Keep in mind that friendships take time. The Bible says a man of too many friends will soon come to ruin,” Proverbs 18:24. Why is this? Because too much time maintaining too many friends doesn’t allow you the time you need to work your job, spend time with your family, do your school work, life work and take care of your business. If a person has ten or twenty friends to spend time with every week or even month, they will eventually neglect their family or careers.

The key is balance. Invest in people with your time and life and some of it will come back to you from others. Sometimes it won’t this is why you have to be realistic in building your network of friends and relationships.

Many years ago, a prospective student called about enrolling in our school and asked, "If I enroll in this school will I get anything out of it?" I said, "If you don’t put anything into it, you won’t get anything out of it. If you put a lot into it, then you’ll get a lot out of it." The man enrolled and went on to become a President of a college.

Growing up, I remember my relatives being hard workers. Some of them raised amazing gardens, while keeping their property clean and maintained. It took work but they took pride in their homes and how they lived their lives. They put a lot into where they lived and it showed.

If you put a lot into something it shows. Your marriage, job, children, career and your life in general. School work will reflect your effort. If you put money into an Individual Retirement Account or 401k or 403b every month your wealth will eventually grow and reflect your efforts. Social Security income checks reflect years worked and how much paid into the system.

However, anyone can put a lot into something without experiencing success. Businesses, marriages and careers have come short or even failed even though people invested everything. Often there are other factors beyond our control that all the work and focus will not resolve or overcome. You can’t control what other people may or may not do that impacts your life’s work and ambitions.

With this said, we have to remember the principle of reaping and sowing. If you want a good garden. You have to sow and care for the garden. Neglecting the garden is a sure path to failure.

Important aspects to relationships, wealth, health, career success and more are focus and investing wisely. The more you sow, the more you will reap. You can’t control all of life’s circumstances and influencers but you can control what you do.

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Photo Gallery: St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team crushes Danville in two

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Kennedi Burnett cheers after the Spartans score a point against visiting Danville High School during set one of their non-conference volleyball match. SJO picked up the win at home defeating the Vikings in straight sets, 25-10, 25-7. Burnett served up four aces and hammered six kills over the two-set match. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Shayne Immke (12) and her teammates celebrate a point for the Spartans during the first set. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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SJO's Kennedi Burnett prepares to pound the ball over the net into the Danville Court. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Danville outside hitter Simone Atkinson passes the ball to her team's setter during first set action. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Spartan libero Hannah Fox passes the ball to a hitter in set one. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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SJO student fans in the Maroon Platoon help a Danville player locate the ball between points during the first set. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Emma Ward, Madison Atwood and Shayne Immke cheer for their team in set one. SJO quickly jumped out to a 12-4 lead on the scoreboard and never looked back. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Vikings' libero Audriana Alvarez passes the ball to her team's hitters during a long, scrappy point. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Emmalee Trover bumps the ball over the net for the Vikings during set two action on Wednesday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Spartans' Shayne Immke goes up hoping to block a shot by Danville outside hitter Simone Atkinson. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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SJO's Shayne Immke attempts to put the ball away for a point. The junior outside hitter finished the contest with four kills and one ace against Danville. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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