The Sentinel

Spartans dominate on the mats at IPC conference wrestling meet

CHILLICOTHE - The St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans showcased their dominance during the first day of the two-day Illini Prairie Conference wrestling meet on Jan. 17 at Illinois Valley Central High School, going undefeated with a 3-0 record. The Spartans capped their performance with a commanding 66-12 victory over the St. Thomas More Sabers.

The Spartans also notched decisive wins against Prairie Central (54-12) and Pontiac (48-35) to complete their sweep of day one.

The meet began at 106 pounds, where St. Joseph-Ogden’s Ben Wells set the tone with a first-period pin over RJ Cinnamon of St. Thomas More in just 1:30. Wells’ performance was one of the few contested matches, as the Sabers forfeited 10 of the 14 weight classes.

St. Thomas More found success in two of the three matches wrestled. Philip Christhilf earned a pin at 157 pounds, defeating Jonathon Moore of St. Joseph-Ogden in 1:23. James Schmidt added another win for the Sabers at 215 pounds, pinning Nathan Phillips in 1:32.

The Spartans’ depth was evident throughout the meet, with wrestlers like Jackson Walsh (113 pounds), Camden Getty (120 pounds), and Devan Swisher (175 pounds) earning points through forfeits. Aiden Hundley (138 pounds), Landen Butts (144 pounds), and Thomas Ware (150 pounds) also were present to help dominant scoreline.

With the victory, St. Joseph-Ogden improved its season record and solidified its position as a top contender in the conference. The team’s strong showing highlights its potential as postseason tournaments approach.

Next on the Schedule

The Spartans will host a multi-quad meet this Saturday, facing Decatur Unity Christian, Decatur MacArthur, Hoopeston, Cumberland, and St. Thomas More. Matches begin at 8:30 a.m.

St. Joseph-Ogden then hits the road for dual meets at Champaign Central High School on Wednesday, Jan. 29, and at GCMS on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Box Score

106 - WELLS, BEN (SJO) over Cinnamon, RJ (STM), Fall 1:30; 113 - WALSH, JACKSON (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 120 - GETTY, CAMDEN (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 126 - BIRT, ELI (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 132 - Forfeit, (STM) over Forfeit, (SJO), Double Forfeit; 138 - HUNDLEY, AIDEN (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 144 - BUTTS, LANDEN (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 150 - WARE, THOMAS (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 157 - Christhilf, Philip (STM) over MOORE, JONATHON (SJO), Fall 1:23; 165 - VAUGHN, ALEX (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 175 - SWISHER, DEVAN (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 190 - Carter, Liam (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT; 215 - Schmidt, James (STM) over PHILLIPS, NATHAN (SJO), Fall 1:32; 285 - WAGNER, CAM (SJO) over Forfeit, (STM), FORFEIT.

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St. Joseph-Ogden's Siems drops 32 points in Spartan's latest hardcourt victory

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

SJO's Tanner Siems during the Christie Clinic Shootout. The senior drilled 32 points at Wednesday's home game against the Panthers.

ST. JOSEPH - The St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team improved to 13-5 on Wednesday after defeating Manteno at home, 61-52.

SJO smothered the visiting Panthers in the first half, taking a 39-18 lead into the locker room at the half. Despite Manteno outscoring the Spartans 16-14 in the last two quarters, St. Joseph-Ogden held on for the W.

Tanner Siems led the SJO offense with a double-double, scoring 32 points, and hogged the action in the paint with 19 rebounds. Senior guard Coy Taylor finished with double digits, contributing 10 points and four boards. Siems also led the Spartans in steals with three to his credit.

The St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team looks to extend their five-game win streak on Friday with a road conference game at Illinois Valley Central. SJO is currently fourth behind Bloomington Central Catholic, Unity, and Rantoul in the Illini Prairie Conference standings.

More SJO Sports ~

Commentary |
America for sale; corporations and billionaires flooded Trump’s inauguration with cash

by Craig Holman

OtherWords

The nation has never seen influence peddling like we just witnessed at Trump’s second, billionaire-stuffed inauguration.

President Trump sounded a lot of populist notes on the campaign trail. But as he took the oath of office for the second time, he was joined onstage by billionaires and CEOs who’d spent millions to be there — leaving supporters who’d traveled across the country to attend literally out in the cold.

Presidential inaugurations have always been an opportunity for wealthy special interests to curry favor with the incoming administration with generous inaugural donations. But the nation has never seen influence peddling like we just witnessed at Trump’s second inauguration.

Shattering all records, the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee, Inc. raised and spent over $200 million in special interest money celebrating the 2024 election victory. (The all-time previous record was $107 million for Trump’s first inauguration in 2017. By contrast, Biden’s 2021 inauguration raised and spent nearly $62 million.)

Nearly all this financing comes from companies and wealthy business leaders who have business pending before the incoming administration. Rarely are small donations received from citizens simply excited about a new president.

The public won’t get a full picture of Trump’s inaugural donors until the spring, when the one-and-only disclosure report is filed 90 days after the inauguration. But the ones we know about so far are painting an ugly picture of corporations, government contractors, billionaires, and millionaires seeking to endear themselves to Trump and his administration.

Access itself does not necessarily mean success at buying official favors. But the sheer volume of today’s inaugural donations suggests that wealthy special interests believe it is worth the investment.

All the self-reporting donors — including Big Tech firms like Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI — pledged $1 million or more. The cryptocurrency firm Ripple pledged $5 million. In fact, the cryptocurrency industry even hosted its own inaugural ball.

And of course, Wall Street is cozying up with major donations from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin.

“EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!” Trump marvels on his Truth Social account.

Some of these new friends previously expressed opposition toward Trump, who has a history of seeking revenge against his adversaries and even said he might seek retribution in his second administration. “When this election is over … I would have every right to go after them,” Trump said of his political opponents over the summer.

In addition to being former Trump critics, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, and Sam Altman of OpenAI have their sights on major government contracts from the new administration. Each has now donated $1 million to Trump’s Inauguration. Zuckerberg and Bezos even partied with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and at the inauguration in DC.

What else does all this money buy? Access. Access itself does not necessarily mean success at buying official favors. But the sheer volume of today’s inaugural donations suggests that wealthy special interests believe it is worth the investment.

Presidential inaugurations have not always been such a soiree for the wealthy. Nixon in 1973 spent less than $4 million on his inauguration. Carter in 1977 spent $3.5 million. Thomas Jefferson in 1801 simply walked to the Capitol to be sworn in and then walked home.

The very ripeness for scandal this time around calls for reasonable restrictions on the sources and amounts of inaugural donations. Corporations, and certainly government contractors, should be banned from donating.

Contributions should be limited to avoid even the appearance of buying favors. The disclosure requirement should be vastly expanded to include disclosing expenditures as well as donations. And rules should be established on how surplus funds are dispensed.

Presidential inaugurations should be celebrations for the nation as a whole, not influence-peddling opportunities for the very wealthy.

Craig Holman is the government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

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