Beating Rantoul 2-0, seniors pace Rockets in volleyball victory

Unity's Reagan Little passes the ball to the front row during her team's road game at St. Joseph-Ogden. On Monday, Little chalked up 12 kills against the Rantoul Eagles during the Rockets' Senior Night contest.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

TOLONO - Unity extended its current win streak to three matches after defeating visiting Rantoul on Tuesday in straight sets, 2-0.

Seniors Reagan Little and Ruby Tarr shined on Senior Night in the Illini Prairie Conference matchup that ended the first set 29-27 and securing the win with a 25-21 advantage.

Little blasted the Eagles with 12 kills and pounded three aces from the backline. Tarr distributed 13 assists and notched a pair of kills. The duo tallied nine digs and two more, respectively.

Hoping to post their 16th win this season and level out their season record at .500, the varsity volleyball team will play their final regular season match on the road at Olympia tonight.

Unity opens their postseason play at the Rocket Center, hosting Warrensburg-Latham, Meridian, and three IPC teams, all seeded higher than the #9 Rockets. Monticello (21-11, 5-3), St. Thomas More (21-12, 4-4), and conference champions Bloomington Central Catholic (25-7, 8-0) are all in the hunt for the Tolono regional title. The winner of the regional title advances to the St. Joseph-Ogden sectional semifinal on Monday, October 30.

The five seniors honored at Tuesday night's home match included Little, Tarr, McKayla Schendel, Jocelyn LeFaivre, and Piper Steele.

Photo Gallery: Unity volleyball team survives three-setter to beat Westville

Lydia Rossi (left) and Lindy Bates leap above the net to block a kill during Unity's junior varsity game against Westville. Rockets won their match in straight sets, 2-0. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Kara Young attempts to put the ball away during first set action

Kara Young pummels the ball during set one of Unity's home match against Westville. The Rockets dropped the first set, 27-25. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Junior Piper Steele attempts to put the ball away for a kill through Westville's Maddison Appl during set one. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Unity's McKayla Schendel puts the ball in play during set 2. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Ruby Tarr serves during second set action against the Tigers. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Ruby Tarr makes a pass during the Rockets home volleyball match

Junior Ruby Tarr passes the ball during second set. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Reagan Little leads Rockets' volleyball team

Reagan Little passes the ball in the second set. Little led the Rockets' offense with 22 kills and chalked up 10 digs (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Unity libero (center) receives a Westville serve in the second half. The Rockets won the set, 26-24. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Jayci McGraw plays volleyball with the Rockets

Jayci McGraw passses the ball to the front row during the third set action. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

The Unity volleyball team celebrate a point during their match against Westville

Ruby Tarr, Kara Young, Kaitlyn Schweighart, Reagan Little and members of the Unity volleyball team celebrate a point during the third set. The Rockets pulled out a 26-24 win to take the match, 2-1. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Prep Sports Notebook | Wednesday noteworthy tidbits

Urbana takes 6th place at Crimson Lady Invite

JACKSONVILLE - Four Urbana wrestlers performed well at Jacksonville High School's Crimson Lady Invite, earning a 6th place finish in the team standings with 74 points. Freshman Rickasia Ivy (140) and senior Jurdan Tyler (235) both received second-place medals, while junior Franciana Kalanga finished in 5th place in the 170-pound division. In the 130-pound division, classmate Randi Campe took sixth place.

Unity's Phoenix rises at Crimson Lady Invite

JACKSONVILLE - Phoenix Molina went undefeated, winning all three bouts to win the 235-pound title at Crimson Lady Invite Wednesday. After enjoying a first-round bye, Molina stuck Triad's Claire Boehne in 34 seconds. Her next two bouts went the distance. Next, the sophomore defeated Robinson's Rylee Hammond 2-0 in their quarterfinal match and won the championship title after a narrow 3-2 victory over Urbana's Jurdan Tyler.

Going 2-2 for the day, sophomore Anna Vasey finished 4th in the 155-pound weight class.

Rockets Claire Zorns (130) and Riley Petkus (140) also represented Unity at the 39-team wrestling meet but did not place.

Spartan girls take one on the chin at State Farm Holiday Classic

NORMAL - Addisyn Martinie mustered just seven points to lead St. Joseph-Ogden's scoring effort against Bishop McNamara on opening day at the State Farm Holiday Classic Wednesday. The Lady Irish's aggressive, full-court defense produced turnover after turnover that kept SJO out of sync.

While her defensive play rose to the occasion in the second half, senior Addison Seggebruch scored just five points. Addison Brooks came off the bench to score five points in the 50-18 loss. Meanwhile, Kayla Osterbur hit one of two free-throw attempts, rounding out SJO's scoring effort.

The Spartans advance to the consolation bracket at the tournament, playing Rockford Lutheran at 9:30 am on Thursday.

Unity 47 - Salt Fork 43

The Rockets balanced their record at six wins, six losses after beating Salt Fork at the Blue Devil Classic on Wednesday. Raegen Stringer led all scorers with 17 points. Reagan Little tallied 13 points, and Addison Ray also finished in double figures with 11 points.

Rockets notch second tournament victory

Up 21-18 after two quarters of play, Unity picked up their seventh win of the season with a 46-35 win over Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin Wednesday.

Making 7 of 17 shots, Reagan Little finished with 15 points for the Rockets. Raegen Stringer made buckets in every quarter to contribute 14 points. Addison Ray made three treys, adding nine points to UHS' side of the scoreboard.

Unity snags opening day win at Williamsville Tournament

It was almost like shooting ducks in a pond. Unity (10-0) rattled off 32 points in the first quarter and tacked on another 24 in the second to start the next half up 56-10 against Havana. The Rockets kept their unbeaten streak alive, rolling to 76-27 win at the Williamsville Holiday Tournament.

Dalton O'Neil led the Rockets in scoring with 14 points. Colten Langendorf had a 13-point effort, and Henry Thomas finished with 11 points. The three combined for half of the final score.

Area high school coaches

We need your help covering your team this season to help keep fans, college recruiters, and area readers informed.

If you are coaching basketball, wrestling, competitive cheer or competitive dance at Unity, Uni-High, Urbana High School, or St. Joseph-Ogden, please send us your game or meet results for our Prep Sports Notebook. The best way to send us box scores and other info is via email to sports@oursentinel.com or editor@oursentinel.com.

Prep Sports Notebook: Schweighart 22 digs not enough, SJO soccer wins again

Rockets dip below .500 after road loss

The Unity volleyball team fell 2-1 on the road at Central Catholic in Bloomington.

The Rockets held their ground during the first set to win, 25-23. Battling fiercely in both the second and the tie-breaking third, Reagan Little's 11 kills for the night were not enough to pull Unity through in their first conference match of the season.

Kaitlyn Schweighart led the defensive effort for UHS with 22 digs. Julia Ping had 13 digs along with Little's eight, as the Rockets drop to 6-7 on the season. Schweighart also chipped in 5 kills, and Ping three assists in the Illini Prairie Conference loss.

Ruby Tarr, who had four digs, delivered 15 assists.

The Rocket volleyball squad will have a chance to rebound next Tuesday when they host the 10-4 Spartans from St. Joseph-Ogden at the Rocket Center.

SJO soccer sack Olympians

After 1-1 first half, the Spartans hit four unanswered goals to beat visiting Olympia High School, 5-1. The prolific scoring effort was led by Spenser Wilson, who netted the first two goals of the second half with assists from Logan Mills and then one from Collin Thomey.

Mills added another assist to his season stats on a feed to Jacik Slowikosky, who punched in the team's fourth goal of the contest. Zach Harper closed out the scoring effort with an unassisted score late in the half.

Back in the first 90 minutes, Olympia's Evan Deterding slipped the ball past SJO keeper Hunter Ketchum, who had five saves, for the first score of the contest. Ryker Lockhart fired up the host Spartans with a reply to remind his team was still in the game thanks to a pass from Jackson Greer before the midgame break.

The Spartans improve to 6-2-1 on the season, and host IVC at 10 am on Saturday.

SJO volleyball picks up 10th win

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team notched their first Illini Prairie Conference win after a 2-0 win over visiting St. Thomas More.

After a 1-1 start, the Spartans took the lead after junior Addie Roesch's ace and relinquished it once, falling behind briefly at 5-6 in the first set. SJO then took control of the match and thwarted four concerted STM efforts to dominate on the scoreboard. Later, tied at 21-all, St.Joseph-Ogden won for of the last five points for the 25-22 win.

With the momentum clearly on their side of the net, the Spartans jumped out to an 8-0 lead against last year's Class 1A state champions to start the second set. Their strong defensive effort that never allowed the Sabers to threaten their dominance any closer than three points as SJO prevailed 25-20 behind the combined firepower from SJO's Shayne Immke and Josey Frerichs up front.

Tarr leads Unity in acing Urbana, 2-0

TOLONO - Reagan Little and Piper Steele combined efforts to produce seven kills in Unity's home volleyball match against Urbana on Monday. The Rockets won the contest in straight sets 25-21, 25-21.

Unity's McKayla Schendel passes the ball to the front line during the Rockets' home match against Central High School in August. UHS moved to a 15-16-1 record after their non-conference match against the Urbana Tigers.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Steele delivered three kills and three digs. Little, who led the team at the net and in the backcourt was credited with four kills and 10 digs.

Junior Lauren Shaw pounded two aces against the visiting Tigers and distributed eight passes. Meanwhile, senior Ruby Tarr slammed three aces and had six assists. Shaw chalked up six digs and Tarr added another six in the non-conference victory.

The Rockets improved to 15-16-1 and host Rantoul (13-19) tonight in their final regular season home match before facing Olympia on the road on Thursday.

The team will be back in action at the Rocket Center next Monday at 6pm in their postseason debut against #7 seed Warrensburg-Latham (22-10).

Seniors

High Honors: Evelyn Albaugh; Connor Cahill; Analyse Carter; Rebecca Carter; Brenlee Dalton; Taylor Drennan; Natalie Ellars; Bailey Grob; Brooklyn Haas; Madison Henry; Shelby Hoel; Margaret Ingleman; Caroline Jamison; Eden Johnson; Cassidy Keller; Caelyn Kleparski; Jocelyn LeFaivre; Reagan Little; Tatum Meyer; Eric Miebach; Lauren Neverman; Dean Niswonger; Anna Polonus; Aiden Porter; Meredith Reed; Maci Richmond; Briana Ritchie; Aubrey Sanders; Tsihon Shotton; Logan Siuts; Carsyn Smith; Piper Steele; Lily Steffens; Brock Suding; Ruby Tarr; Andrew Thomas; Darren Weckle; Erica Woodard; Abigail Woolcott; Emberly Yeazel; Ava Price; Erin Sanders; Bayleigh Jones; Isaac Ruggieri; Jeremy Wells; Madysen York; Brooke Hewing; Kendra Cromwell; Emma Plackett; Alexis Ritchie; Lynndsay Talbott; and Henry Thomas.

Honor Roll: Emma Fish; Trevor McCarter; Keaton Roether; Bailey Wayne; Caedmon Cazares; Zachary Lorbiecki; Carly Scroggins; Elianna Duo; Matthew Short; Santiago Sanchez; Rylee Richardson; Bryson Weaver; Isabel Sellers; Dalton ONeill; Aubrey Schaefer; Bridget Vazquez; Kolten Wells; Nicholas Brown; Desire De Los Santos; Ava Holladay; Raegen Stringer; Hector Jimenez Gil; Aileen Vasquez Munoz; Tanner Chilton; Kamryn Edenburn; Gabriel Pound; Jay Saunders; McKayla Schendel; Breanna Weller; Addison Ray; Aidan Ward; Sophia Wozencraft; Anna Wood; Olivia Hosley; Gillian Rice; Kate Thomas; Riley FitzGerald; Tyler Gumm; Grant Siuts; Nathan Bleecher; Kaylin Owen; and Thayden Root.

Juniors

High Honors: Avery Alagna; Noah Bryant; Elle Cheely; Madelyn Darnall; Ashlyn Denney; Kade Dubson; Chloey Duitsman; Ava Fenter; Catharine Ford; Kadence Goff; Sophia Hartke; Dallas Hollingsworth; Wyatt Huffstutler; Alex Mowrer; Camryn Reedy; Rylee Reifsteck; Lydia Rossi; Savannah Rubin; Lauren Shaw; Daniel Stein; Avery Watson; Ashely Rennels; Jenna Adkins; Lindy Bates; Paige Brewer; Faith Hall; Lauren Hellmer; Ryan Rink; Josephine Cler; Emily Decker; Maegan Rothe; Estella Dodd; and Molly Baxley.

Honor Roll: Joseph Tempel; Oscar Boldt; Gracie Meharry; Gavin Weaver; Sophia Beckett; Paige Garretson; McKenzie Hart; Nolan Wishall; Jordan Daugherty; Logan Church; Hunter Eastin; Tessah Williams; Austin Mikeworth; Logan Zumbahlen; Bentten Cain; Franke Davis; Sophia Frye; Andrew King; Brady Parr; McKinley Weller; Lindsey Johnson; Sydney Jackson; and Nathaniel DeNeal.

Sophomores

High Honors: Anna Amias; Mylie Castle; Eli Crowe; Ella Darnall; Crewe Eckstein; Callie Ellars; Camden Fairbanks; Margaret Garcier; Collin Graven; Isabel Grob; Faith Lampe; Kallista Lancaster; Mylie Loftsgaard; Claire Meharry; Harry Polonus; Dallas Porter; Mackenzie Pound; Ty Rodems; Katie Ruggieri; Vanna Schriefer; Hunter Shike; Annalise Shunk; Caden Stierwalt; Ginna Stierwalt; Madelyn Stierwalt; Emma Swisher; Carter Tiemann; Anna Vasey; Lucille Wiesbrook; Paula Wilson; Lucas Hood; Deakin Moore; Isaac Neverman; Olivia Egelston; Olivia Rawdin; Claire Zorns; Kaylee Cooke; Caden Hensch; Logan Jeurissen; Bailey Tompkins; Savanna Cruz; Chason Daly; and Kenley Harris.

Honor Roll: Chloe Cousins; Samantha Gumbel; Ian Taber; Phoenix Molina; Mason ONeill; Shelby Smith; Aria Battaglia; Maddix Buchanan; Jillian Schlittler; Andrew Ray; Dane Eisenmenger; Anna Kuhns; Analea Popovics; Shelby Zoch; Brayden Henry; Tyler Henry; Desmond Winfrey; Johanna Langley, Ethan Mohr; Heath Stringer; Cameron Kaiser; Brody Osterbur; Kyla Reed; Kamden Schuckman; Olivia Tempel; Bryan Crosby; Abram Davidson; Tanner Gallivan; and Joshua Heath.

Freshmen

High Honors: Dominic Baxley; Clare Bryant; Caleb Coy; Lillian Daly; Hudson DeHart; Danika Eisenmenger; Allison Fenter; Journey Gabbard; Bailee Gadeken; Colton Harmon; Avery Kamradt; Kathryn Knoll; Audrey McDaniel; Emily Osterbur; Adam Reedy; Allyson Shaw; Evalyn Skibbe; Piper Staley; Grace Tempel; Jacob Ward; Leah Watson; Maggie Weckle; Grace Wherley; Rylan Wolf; Broderick Irwin; Cash McCann; Elizabeth Wayne; Grace Bickers; Max Rossi; Alex Bromley; Berkley Cloud; Lucy Kleiss; Cadence Chandler; Reese Frye, Brooklyn Mumm; Kendal Zerrusen; and Aidan Ellis.

Honor Roll: Addison Davis; Olivia Hall; Madison Spohn; Paige Bradley; Braedyn Dalton; Taylor Finley; Landrey Mohr; Addison Wyatt; Alyssa Shields; Isaac Siegwald; Ethan Schaefer; Nicole Paeth; Evan Puckett; Juan Acosta Toro; Noah Conde; Sadie Polonus; Ava Wolf Rice; Natalie Haas; Nicholas Montgomery; Elizabeth Farney; and Rush Little.

Prep Sports Notebook | Back to business, area teams start 2024 with wins

Spartans wrestlers post six pins in victory over BHRA

BISMARCK - Emmit Holt, Camden Getty Holden Brazelton, Brandon Goodwin, Nathan Daly, and Quincy Jones won their matches by fall on Tuesday in a dual meet against Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin.

The St. Joseph-Ogden wrestling program won the first match of 2024, dominating the Blue Devils, 60-18.

Corbin Smith, a junior, picked a forfeit at 175-lbs. Sophomores Coy Hayes and Devan Swisher also earn wins via forfeits. Maddie Wells, also a sophomore, was awarded a forfeit at 132-lbs.

Rockets double-trouble for visiting Panthers

TOLONO - Going 5-for-7 from the free-throw line, Reagan Little scored a game-high 15 points in the Rockets' first home basketball game of the year. Paxton-Buckley-Loda (1-16) was no match for Unity, falling, 56-26.

Claire Meharry added 11 points, and Addison Ray contributed eight points in Unity's 30-point conference win over the visiting Panthers.

Meharry led the Rockets (11-7) in the paint with five rebounds. Little collected four boards and three assists against PBL, and Raegen Stringer padded her stats with five assists, four rebounds, and a pair of steals.

The Paxton-Buckley-Loda was paced by junior Tanner Grahm's ten points, all delivered in the second half.

SJO girls squeak by Pontiac, 59-57

Pontiac - Pontiac starter Bailey Masching may have put on a clinic with her 28 points, but it was nowhere near enough to keep the Spartans from picking up a close 59-57 win over the Indians. Thanks to double-digit contributions from Katie Ericksen, Addison Frick, and Addiysn Martinie, St. Joseph-Ogden improves to 8-8 on the season with the first conference victory.

Ericksen had another big game, draining 19 points across all four frames. Martinie did the same, closing out the game with 17 points, and the pair tallied seven of SJO's nine treys. Frick finished 12 points through a strong performance in the fourth quarter.

The Spartans host Prairie Central on Monday and play the next two games on the road at Illinois Valley Central on Monday and St. Thomas More on January 15.

Prep Sports Notebook | Area schools produce a bouquet of basketball victories

Thomas piles on points at Williamsville Holiday tournament

Williamsville - Henry Thomas led Unity in their 62-57 win over Peoria Christian on Thursday with 21 points. Dalton O'Neill and Dane Eisenmenger added 10 points each to propel the Rockets into the semifinals against Illini Prairie Conference foe Prairie Central.

Another team win, Unity enjoyed scoring from seven other players, including Tre Haggard with two points, Colton Langendorf 5, Brayden Henry 5, Aiden Porter 2, Jay Saunders 3, Eric Miebech 1, and Andrew Thomas rounding out the scoring effort with five points.

St. Joseph-Ogden boys advance to semis at State Farm tourney

Bloomington - Tanner Jacob scored 16 points, and Coy Taylor piled on another 14 in the Spartans' quarterfinal game against Rock Falls. In complete control from start to finish, St. Joseph-Ogden kept the game out of reach, defeating the Rockets, 66-40.

Unlike their opener against East Dubuque, SJO took an early lead and didn't look back with seniors Luke Landrus, who snagged nine rebounds, and Logan Smith with seven assists, contributing nine points each.

St. Joseph-Ogden looks to lock up one of the title game spots tomorrow after tonight's 8:30 pm game against Pecatonica. The Indians, in their first State Farm Holiday Classic appearance, shocked Normal U-High yesterday, 62-55.

Unity girls roll past Armstrong-Potomac

Bismarck - Addison Ray scored a game-high 19 points for the Rockets in the team's 61-41 win over Armstrong-Potomac. Ray amassed her total take in three quarters and was 3-for-8 from three-point range.

Raegen Stringer finished with 12 points, and Reagen Little had ten points. Unity's bench contributed 20 points in win number ten. Emily Decker scored six points, Claire Meharry delivered for points in the second half, Jocelyn LeFaivre four points, Elle Cheely 2 points, and Lauren Haas added four more to the cause.

Unity will face Benton Central (14-2) in the Heritage/Bismarck Holiday Tournament championship game.

Rockets blast Comets in tournament quarterfinal

Bismarck - Unity's Addison Ray started her day at the Heritage/Bismarck Holiday Tournament with 16 points to lead Unity to a 51-25 win over Oakwood yesterday. Raegen Stringer, who was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, scored 11 points, and Reagan Little book ten points to advance in the Rockets in the championship bracket.

Jaydah Arrowsmith and Nikita Taylor paced the Comets with six points each.

Spartan girls rebound

Bloomington - Katie Ericksen drained a season-best 20 points in SJO's 45-42 win over Rockford Lutheran in the State Farm Holiday Classic Small School consolation bracket quarterfinal. Addisyn Martinie chipped in 11 points, and Addison Frick, a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, finished with seven points.

The Lady Spartans advanced to a semifinal game against Port Byron Riverdale.

Area high school coaches

We need your help covering your team this season to help keep fans, college recruiters, and area readers informed.

Photo of the Day - November 29, 2021

(Left to right) Unity's Reagan Little, Ruby Tarr, Julia Ping, Jayci McGraw, an unidentified player and Katey Moore cheer for teamates after winning a point in the second set of their Class 2A regional title match. Their joy would later turn to disappointment despite having home court and crowd advantage. After splitting the first two sets, the #1 seeded Rockets came up short in the third, 25-20, falling after a hard-fought set to the #5 seed Sages. Unity finishes the season 33-4 under first-year head coach Erika Yerry. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Prep Sports Notebook | Spartans, Rockets post wins on the hardcourt

St. Joseph-Ogden 50, Cissna Park 41: Spartans Taylor Hug, Addison Frick, and Addisyn Martinie finished the night in double-digits taking down the 10-2 Timberwolves. Hug, a senior, drained 21 points, 15 from three-point range. Frick contributed 14 points, and Martinie, who was 2-for-2 from the free throw line, scored 10 in the upset non-conference win Monday night. St. Joseph-Ogden (5-7) look to extend their win streak to two games tonight at Oakwood.

Mikayla Knake led the Lady T'Wolves with 16 points.

Unity 59, Warrensburg-Latham 52: Bouncing back from Saturday's loss at Mt. Zion, the Unity girls' basketball team (8-3) ground out a hard-earned road victory over the Cardinals. Raegan Stringer led the Rockets with 24 points and five assists. Addison Ray delivered a 12-point effort and had a pair of assists. Both Stringer and Ray snagged four rebounds apiece.

Meanwhile, Reagan Little, who is averaging seven rebounds per game, just missed a double-double performance contributing 10 points and nine boards. However, the leader in the paint was Lauren Miller, who hauled in a team-high 13 rebounds and tallied seven points in win #8 this season.

Unity 2022-23 First Semester Honor Roll Announced

TOLONO - Almost two weeks ago, Unity High School announced the names of the first semester honor students. Students who achived a grade point average of 3.75 or better at the high school earn High Honor Roll recognition. Students earning a GPA of 3.20 to 3.74 are recognized as Honor students below. Congratulations to all the students listed below on the academic performance.

Senior High Honor Roll

Emily Anderlik
Roger Holben Jr.
Kiersten Reasor
Lillian Montgomery
Sona Khasikyan
Jayci McGraw
Kayla Nelson
Luke Williamson
Madison Loftsgaard
Kara Young
Ellen Ping
Matthew Brown
Rachel Aders
Caleb Amias
Aidan Anderson
Emmalee Atkins
Calvin Baxley
Bettie Branson
Mary Bryant
Annah Cloin
Jared Cross
Jordan Cross
Easton Cunningham
Brendan Graven
Asa Kuhns
Fenley Lopez
Andrew Manrique
Jacob Maxwell
Jolie Meyer
Lauren Miller
Dylan Moore
Abigail Pieczynski
Julia Ping
Sarah Rink
Kaitlyn Schweighart
Tsihon Shotton, Raena Stierwalt
Sophia Stierwalt
Emma Stratton
Ava Vasey

Senior Honor Roll

Garrett Wingler
Maddisen McConaha
Brandon Goyne
Lauren Cooke
Joshua Davidson
Myles Good
Mason Haas
Matea Cunningham
Hayleigh Clemmons
Tyler Liffick Worrell
Avery White
Hunter Duncan
Mason Perry
Emmillia Tiemann
Kayle Deck
Ian White
Brynn Clem
Reece Sarver
Natalie Weller
Kayla Daugherty
Anthony Chaney
Cale Rawdin
Annabelle Steg
Maria Buffo
Nicholas Nosler
Haley Carrington
Anna Clark
Paige Farney
Emily Hollett
Zoey Sorensen
Taylor Warfel
Eden Markstahler
Cole Marheine
Logan Allen
Jayden Clem
Anna Hamilton
Audrey Remole
David Baker Jr.
Alivia Renfroe
Andrew Mowrer
Haylen Handal

Junior High Honor Roll

Brenlee Dalton
Taylor Drennan
Tatum Meyer
Carson Parker
Briana Ritchie
Brooke Hewing
Lauren Neverman
Rylee Richardson
Analyse Carter
Cassidy Keller
Caelyn Kleparski
Dalton ONeill
Piper Steele
Bridget Vazquez
Breanna Weller
Abigail Woolcott
Keaton Roether
Carsyn Smith
Bailey Wayne
Santiago Sanchez
Madysen York
Rebecca Carter
Emma Fish
Brooklyn Haas
Caroline Jamison
Eden Johnson
Bayleigh Jones
Jocelyn LeFaivre
Reagan Little
Eric Miebach
Anna Polonus
Ava Price
Rosalia Requena Menchon
Isaac Ruggieri
Aubrey Sanders
Olivia Shike
Logan Siuts
Lily Steffens
Brock Suding
Ruby Tarr
Andrew Thomas
Jeremy Wells
Erica Woodard

Junior Honor Roll

Dominick Durso
Bryson Weaver
Kolten Wells, Anna Wood
Thayden Root
Lynndsay Talbott
Addison Ray
Kamryn Edenburn
Zachary Lorbiecki
Henry Thomas
Dean Niswonger
Gabriel Pound
McKayla Schendel
Sophia Wozencraft
Trevor McCarter
August Niehaus
Nicholas Brown
Natalie Ellars
Emma Plackett
Aubrey Schaefer
Carly Scroggins
Trevor OBryan
Connor Cahill
Bailey Grob
Shelby Hoel
Luna Thomson
Gabriel Carter
Kendra Cromwell
Margaret Ingleman
Meredith Reed
Alexia Vandiver
Emberly Yeazel
Desire De Los Santos
Madison Henry
Aiden Porter
Evelyn Albaugh
Kate Thomas

Sophomore High Honor Roll

Kolton Black
Bentten Cain
McKenzie Hart
Brady Parr
Jordan Daugherty
Ava Davis
Reigna Price
Ryan Rink
Ashley Rennels
Catharine Ford
Jenna Adkins
Lindy Bates
Molly Baxley
Sophia Beckett
Paige Brewer
Elle Cheely
Josephine Cler
Madelyn Darnall
Emily Decker
Ashlyn Denney
Estella Dodd
Kade Dubson
Chloey Duitsman
Hunter Eastin
Ava Fenter
Kadence Goff
Faith Hall
Sophia Hartke
Lauren Hellmer
Dallas Hollingsworth
Wyatt Huffstutler
Lindsey Johnson
Lindsey Lewis
Gracie Meharry
Alex Mowrer
Camryn Reedy
Rylee Reifsteck
Lydia Rossi
Meagan Rothe
Savannah Rubin
Lauren Shaw
Joseph Tempel
Avery Watson
Gavin Weaver

Sophomore Honor Roll

Avery Alagna
Noah Bryant
Caleb Hoewing
Jamessa Reinhart-Pelmore
Cohl Boatright
Dakota Brown- McClain
Nolan Remole
Braden Roderick
Teaguen Williams
Nathaniel DeNeal
Makayla Nonman
Emmerson Bailey
Jacob Davidson
Taylor Prough
Grant Steinman
Owen Taylor
Tessah Williams
Nolan Wishall
Austin Mikeworth
McKinley Weller, Brianna Blakley
Michael Bromley
Paige Garretson
Andrew King
Ryan Robinson
Daniel Stein
Logan Zumbahlen
Ezekiel De Los Santos
Ewa Klos

Freshmen High Honor Roll

Cameryn Cobb
Anna Vasey
Chason Daly
Tanner Gallivan
Logan Jeurissen
Bailey Tompkins
Samantha Gumbel
Isaac Neverman
Alexander Wells
Claire Zorns
Analea Popovics
Anna Amias
Aria Battaglia
Mylie Castle
Kaylee Cooke
Chloe Cousins
Eli Crowe
Ella Darnall
Crewe Eckstein
Olivia Egelston
Dane Eisenmenger
Callie Ellars
Camden Fairbanks
Margaret Garcier
Collin Graven
Isabel Grob
Caden Hensch
Lucas Hood
Miles Johnson
Faith Lampe
Kallista Lancaster
Mylie Loftsgaard
Claire Meharry
Ethan Mohr
Pheonix Molina
Deakin Moore
Mason ONeill
Harry Polonus
Dallas Porter
Mackenzie Pound
Ty Rodems
Katie Ruggieri
Jillian Schlittler
Hunter Shike
Annalise Shunk
Shelby Smith
Caden Stierwalt
Ginna Stierwalt
Madelyn Stierwalt
Emma Swisher
Ian Taber
Carter Tiemann
Lucille Wiesbrook
Paula Wilson

Freshman Honor Roll

Shyenne Eaton
Brody Osterbur
Jaiden Wilson
Taylor Daly
Kenley Harris
Brayden Henry
Tyler Huntington
Johanna Langley
Olivia Tempel
Athea Baird
Phoenix Navarre
Travis McCarter
Vanna Schriefer
Kamden Schuckman
Savanna Cruz
Joshua Heath
Anna Kuhns
Tyler Henry
Liana Sheets-Cowan
Shelby Zoch

Rockets fall to the Illineks regional semifinal

Nolan Remole, a junior, kicks the ball downfield during Unity's Illini Prairie Conference road game at St. Joseph-Ogden. The Rockets' soccer season came to an end after falling 7-0 to #2 seed Urbana U-High in the Monticello regional on Friday. The Rockets, who won their IHSA first-round playoff game 2-1 over Judah Christian, finished the season with eight wins against nine losses and one tie. The path to a regional title was difficult for this year's team, with six of the ten schools in their subsectional listed as private schools or academies.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Photo Gallery | Unity vs SJO

Rockets' Tre Hoggard returns the ball after an SJO field goal attempt in the first quarter. Hoggard, a sophomore, carried the ball 11 ...

Tarr leads Unity in acing Urbana, 2-0

Reagan Little and Piper Steele combined efforts to produce seven kills in Unity's home volleyball match against Urbana on Monday. The Rockets won the contest in straight sets...

32 juniors make Unity's first semester high honor roll

Malia Fairbanks, Phillip Hartke and Grace Renfrow are three of 32 members of the junior class who achived a grade point average of 3.75 or better at Unity High after the first semester. Forty-eight students from the class of 2024 will also be recognized as high honors students on January 26 along with the entire list of students below who made the honor roll or attained high honors status from their efforts between August 19 and December 22.

Students earning a GPA of 3.20 to 3.74 are recognized as honor students.

Seniors

High Honor: Emma Aders; Evelyn Atkins; Rachel Branson; Marissa Charleston; Gracie Cox; Brooke Garretson; Shay Haluzak; Maggie Hewing; Elizabeth Hulilck; Taylor Joop, Olivia Kleiss; Madelyn Moore; Korie Novak; Kimberely Pruitting; Daisy Rawlings; Annie Schmidt; Mia Shannon; Lillian Styan; Jonah Sullivan; Cerra Thompson; and Kyleigh Weller.

Honor: Caroline Bachert; Alyson Bagwell; Brandon Bates; Isabella Bryant; Corbin Cox; Summer Day; Nathan Drennan; Corrina Duvall; Emma Felsman; Shannon Flavin; Alyssa Hartman; Ellen Henning; William Jokisch; Evan LeFaivre; Emily Lopez; Suzanne Migut; Andrew Miller; Aubryanna Norman; Connor ODonnell; Brady Porter; Chloee Reed; Conner Sharp; Ryan Vasey; Nolan Wallace; Caden Wingler; and Laela Zook.

Juniors

High Honor: Katelyn Allen; Marie Baxley; Emma Bleecher; Zayne Bonner; Grace Brock; Sarah Butler; Thomas Cler; Sophia Darnell; Nolan Decker; Allyson England; Malia Fairbanks; Harper Hancock; Cameran Hansen; Phillip Hartke; Elise Johnson; Annabell Jokisch; Delaney Kamradt; Carli Keller; Lauryn Kennedy; Carson Kleparski; Addison Montgomery; Sydney Olson; Kaitlyn Reedy; Grace Renfrow; Samantha Ruggieri; Allison Shonkwiler; Sara Steffens; Erika Steinman; Shelbee Taylor; Isabella Warner; and Destiny Williamson.

Honor: Savannah Alagna; Cody Broadfoot; Calli Chandler; Marshall Church; Kystal Crossin; Evelyn Eastin; Hunter Evans; Hailey Flesch; Grace Frye; Tristania Hansen; Bridget Henry; Taylor Henry; Tyler Hensch; Clayton Jamison; Payton Kaiser; Blake Kimball; Macie Knudsen; Alexandrea Lemon; Alida Maggio; Claire Markstahler; Cameron Marvin; Hanna Mataya; Nolan Miller; Cole Newell; Konnor Orwick; Trustan Price; Madeline Reed; Dillion Rutledge; Alaina Scroggins; Kelley Street; and Taylor Wiersema.

Sophomores

High Honor: Rachel Aders; Caleb Amias; Emily Anderlik; Emmalee Atkins; Mary Bryant; Anthony Chaney; Anna Clark; Lauren Cooke; Hunter Duncan; Brendan Graven; Roger Holben; Erin Lopez; Andrew Manrique; Jayci McGraw; Jolie Meyer; Lauren Miller; Dylan Moore; Andrew Mowrer; Mason Perry; Abigail Pieczynski; Julia Ping; Audrey Remole; Sarah Rink; Reece Sarver; Kaitlyn Schweighart; Annabelle Steg; Raena Stierwalt; Sophia Stierwalt; Avery White; and Luke Williamson.

Honor: Calvin Baxley; Maria Buffo; Haley Carrington; Jayden Clem; Annah Cloin; Joshua Davidson; Paige Farney; Boden Franklin; Brandon Goyne; Haylen Handal; Tyler Liffick Worrell; Kayla Nelson; Ellen Ping; Cale Rawdin; Alivia Renfoe; Emma Stratton; Emmilia Tieman; Ava Vasey; Garrett Wingler; and Kara Young.

Freshmen

High Honor: Evelyn Albaugh; Payton Bradley; Connor Cahill; Analyse Carter; Rebecca Carter; Kendra Cromwell; Desire De Los Santos; Taylor Drennan; Natalie Ellars; Bailey Grob; Madison Henry; Brooke Hewing; Shelby Hoel; Caroline Jamison; Eden Johnson; Cassidy Keller; Caelyn Kleparski; Reagan Little; Zachary Lorbiecki; Tatum Meyer; Eric Miebach; Katelyn Moore; Lauren Neverman; Dalton O’Neill; Anna Polonus; Ava Price; Meredith Reed; Maci Richmond; Briana Ritchie; Isaac Ruggieri; Aubrey Sanders; Aubrey Schaefer; Olivia Shike; Grant Siuts; Logan Siuts; Carsyn Smith; Piper Steele; Lily Steffens; Brock Suding; Ruby Tarr; Andrew Thomas; Henry Thomas; Breanna Weller; Jeremy Wells; Erica Woodard; Abigail Woolcott; Emberly Yeazel; and Madysen York.

Honor: Brendan Bachert; Kiersten Bash; Nathan Bleecher; Brenlee Dalton; Elianna Duo; Kamryn Edenburn; Emma Fish; Mike Gray; Margaret Ingleman; Bayleigh Jones; Jocelyn LeFaivre; Trevor McCarter; Dean Niswonger; Gabriel Pound; Zachary Renfrow; James Rennels; Amelia Rinella Flores; Santiago Sanchez Castillo, Erin Sanders; McKayla Schendel; Carly Scroggins; Matthew Short; Josephine Stierwalt; Lynndsay Talbott; Kate Thomas; Aileen Vasquez Munoz; Aidan Ward; Bailey Wayne; Bryson Weaver; Kolten Wells; and Tanner Wells.

Seventh inning smash seals Unity win over Quincy Notre Dame

QUINCY - It was even-Steven on the scoreboard at The Backyard, home field to the Raiders of Quincy Notre Dame. Tied at six-all at the top of the 7th inning, Unity's Sophia Beckett hovered over the plate as QND's Caitlyn Bunte hurled a strike past her. On the next pitch, Beckett stepped into the ball, pounding it over the center field wall for solo home run to put the Rockets up by one, 7-6.

The run was all Unity needed after a flawless defensive effort to hold the Raiders scoreless in the bottom of the final frame for their 20th win of the season.

PhotoNews Media

Unity's Sophia Beckett makes a catch while playing first base during her team's non-conference home game against Cissna Park in April. Beckett delivered Saturday's road win over Quincy Notre Dame by way of a seventh-inning solo home run.

The victory marked Rockets' head coach Aimee Davis' fourth consecutive 20-win season.

Davis, who was unaware of the milestone, said this season has been about making progress.

"We had to figure out who could do what and who was going to make the plays down the stretch. Fortunately for us, we had quite a few players on our team last year and the year before that continue to do good things for us," Davis said. "Our senior class of Abbie Pieczynski, Reece Sarver, and Ashlyn Miller have been great teammates for us this season, really taking control of "their" squad."

Stacking 99 wins against 25 losses in the past four seasons and back-to-back trips to the Final Four, Davis has certainly built a winning culture at Unity. Like the school's football team, the diamond girls aren't rebuilding, they are now reloading every year.

"We have a great junior and sophomore class that have really stepped up to the occasion," Davis added. "Junior Ruby Tarr has been a three-year starter for us, which has helped us tremendously this year. Sophomores Jenna Adkins and Lindy Bates played varsity last year, so they know what is expected."

Unity opened the contest with a two-run lead from the get-go in the first inning and tacked on a third run at the top of the second. QND then answered with a three-run rally to knot the contest up at three-all.

After two scoreless innings, Unity put two more runs up. The first was courtesy of Beckett's line-drive double to center field, scoring courtesy runner Reagan Little, who entered the game for Sarver. Then Maddie Rothe put Bunte's first pitch in play with a hard ground ball to Raider shortstop Abbey Schreacke. Beckett raced from second to home plate, giving the Rockets a 5-3 advantage.

Notre Dame responded with two runs thanks to a two-out line drive from Logan Pieper plating runs from baserunners Amber Durst and Page Blivens.

Tied at five a piece, both teams added another run to their half of the scoreboard before Beckett's homerun shot.

"Ashlyn (Miller) and Lindy (Bates) have really put us in great positions to win on the mound," Davis said, praising her pitching staff. "They allow their defense to help them, and they can both contribute offensively- which is also a plus."

Davis and Rockets look to add another mark in the win column today when they host St. Thomas More in an Illini Prairie league game.

"We are playing well, and we are looking to continue that moving through the tail end of the season," Davis said. "Our grit and never-give-up attitude against Quincy Notre Dame was very nice to see. We are showing we can do it, we can win, and can compete with good teams."

Prep Sports Notebook | Rockets, Spartans win conference games

Brooks has breakout game, leads Spartans in road win over IVC

CHILLICOTHE - Addison Brooks drained four treys for 12 points to lead St. Joseph-Ogden in a 40-38 win over Illinois Valley Central. Senior Addison Frick finished with 10 points. Timera Blackburn-Kelley and Kayla Osterbur chipped in six points each.

While led with Kayt Miller's 14 points and Sage Geltmakers 10, the Grey Ghost (12-9) suffered their second consecutive loss, dropping to 2-2 in conference play.

The win improves the Spartans' record to 10-8.

Stringer & Ray show power Rockets past Eagles

TOLONO - Raegen Stringer and Addison Ray's combined effort of 27 points moved the Rockets to a 3-0 conference record on Thursday after defeating Rantoul at home, 54-39. Stringer hand-delivered a game-high 14 points, wrapped with eight steals and four rebounds. Ray led the team in the paint with seven rebounds and four assists in addition to her 13-point contribution.

Reagan Little rounded out Unity's top three scorers with eight points. The senior also grabbed four rebounds to put the team in second place in the Illini Prairie conference standings.

Next week, the trio will host the Bloomington Central Catholic on Monday. The Saints currently sit at the top of the conference standings with a 4-0 record. On Thursday, Unity is on the road to Prairie Central, who have yet take down a conference opponent.

Manual stymies Tigers

URBANA - Down by 15 at the half, the Urbana girls basketball team was unable to erase the deficit to visiting Peoria Manual (5-13). The Tigers played a much better second half, but their effort fell short in Thursday's 62-22 conference loss.

The Tigers have three games next week, starting with a roadtrip to Rantoul (5-13) on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Green Wave of Matton (14-2) will be in the house, and Saturday, the team is back on the bus, this time, to East Peoria (6-16).

Rockets dip below .500 after road loss

SJO soccer sack Olympians

SJO volleyball picks up 10th win

Related Unity Athletics stories:

Seniors

Juniors

Sophomores

Freshmen

Senior High Honor Roll

Senior Honor Roll

Junior High Honor Roll

Junior Honor Roll

Sophomore High Honor Roll

Sophomore Honor Roll

Freshmen High Honor Roll

Freshman Honor Roll

Related articles:

Seniors

Juniors

Sophomores

Freshmen

More Sentinel Stories

Photo Galleries

From our archives

Search the Sentinel

Top stories this year