State Champions! Once again Unity cross-country program captures Class 1A title

Unity's Emily Decker runs in the Class 1A championship race at the IHSA State Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. Decker was the third Rocket to cross the finish line, finishing her race in 18 minutes and 22.60 seconds.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Class 1A Final Standings

1. Unity 109
2. Anna-Jonesboro 157
3. Peoria Notre Dame 224
4. Eureka 231
5. Knoxville 270
6. Chicago Christian 274
7. Shelbyville 278
8. Father McGivney 319
9. Williamsville 331
10. Herscher 347

Peoria - Two weeks ago, the Unity girls cross country program cemented their place in prep sports history as a downstate running dynasty. The Rockets tallied 109 points, 48 points less than their nearest competitor to bring home the Class 1A state title for a third consecutive season.

Led by sophomore Mackenzie Pound and Erica Woodward, who finished their individual race under the 18 minute mark, Unity's three-peat performance moved the school to #5 on the IHSA's list for most-consecutive title wins.

Pound was the tenth runner in the small school race to cross the finish line at 17:36.87. Woodard, a senior, also earned All-State status, crossed over at 17:45.26.

Unity's #3 runner, Emily Decker, finished 30th behind Clinton senior MaKayla Koeppel (18:18.41) and Christ Our Rock Lutheran's Sarah McKowen, senior, at 18:20.41. Earning her third team medal, Decker turned in a time of 18:22.60.

Running neck and neck to the finish line, Ashlyn Denny held off Princeville's Bethany Sennett, who finished six-hundreth of second ahead of her stopping her race clock 18 minute, 53.38 second.

Almost a second and half later, Rocket senior Olivia Shike closed out her prep cross country career at 18:54.89 to close out the top five runners to cross the finish line.

Over the past nine season, except for a two-year hiccup from 2018 to 2019, the Class 1A state championship trophy was brought home by either Unity or St. Joseph-Ogden. Unity now ranks second in program state title victories, behind Winnebago's 13 state title, with five. Surpassing St. Teresa's four titles, Unity has won four previous state championships in 2015, 2017, 2021, and 2022. The Rockets also were runner-up back in the one class system in 1988 and again in the three-class championships in 2016.

This championship squad included:
10. Mackenzie Pound 17:36.87
14. Erica Woodard 17:45.26
30. Emily Decker 18:22.60
52. Ashlyn Denney 18:53.38
55. Olivia Shike 18:54.89
63. Camryn Reedy 19:00.12
73. Reagen Stringer 19:07.77

Local union to host ribbon-cutting ceremony at new training facility in Savoy

SAVOY - UA Local 149 will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow at their new training center for area plumbers, pipefitters, and HVAC technicians.

Elected officials and union leaders from across Illinois will be in attendance at the grand opening event starting at 4:30pm at the UA Local 149 Training Center, located at 1005 N. Dunlap Ave. in Savoy. In addition to presentations made by state and local officials, as well as Local 149 leadership, several Champaign-area business leaders will also be recognized at the event as part of a celebration of National Apprenticeship Week.

Local 149 apprentices spend five years learning as they are earning, spending 240 hours in class and 1,700 hours on the job each year, working for local contractors. They make $22.66 an hour on day one, with guaranteed hourly raises each year to $42.80 in their fifth year, after which their total hourly package is $73.60 as journeymen.

The grand opening will also feature demonstrations by apprentices on the new equipment and tours of the new facility.

On Wednesday from 9am to 12 pm, there will be an open house to welcome interested applicants to tour the facility and apply to join Local 149, which represents more than 600 workers across East Central Illinois.

Those who apply are invited to take an entrance exam and in-person interviews before possibly being offered a position in the union.

Education leaders seek more funding for Black community colleges

by Mark Richardson
Illinois News Connection

Chicago - Historical and predominantly Black community colleges often get overlooked when it comes to funding for higher education. However, leaders nationwide are seeking ways to improve support for these institutions.

Complete College of America and Lumina Foundation organized a webinar recently to discuss the needs of these colleges and their crucial role in promoting equal opportunities for Black students.

Brandon Nichols, senior vice president for academic affairs at Olive-Harvey College, a historically Black community college, emphasized the need for funding to provide wraparound services to under-resourced students.

"One of the things that we noticed was the food insecurities," he said. "So we actually have a pantry that is now on site for our students to have access to. And we know that our students come to school hungry, may not have had the resources or access to be able to go to the grocery store that impacts the level of success in the classroom."

Olive-Harvey College is part of the Chicago State University system, with more than 7,000 students enrolled in scientific, technical and liberal-arts courses. Nichols said because it is the only group of Historically Black Colleges in Illinois, they feel a special responsibility to offer support to their students.

Nichols pointed out that funding is crucial in supporting what he calls the school's "stranded workforce" - individuals striving for a degree but held back by financial obstacles or other responsibilities. He said a majority of students come from a low-income background, which makes college necessities such as books, laptops, child care and even food sometimes hard to afford.

"We want to make sure that we give our students the resources they need to be the most successful," he said. "Next aspect is that we want to make sure that our students and our community also reflect the faculty that we have that are teaching our courses. We're very intentional to ensure that we have faculty that reflect our students."

Advocates from other states also highlighted the essential resources that historically Black colleges offer to support first-generation students and emphasize the need for impactful research that reflects their community influence.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

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