Ahmari wins Spartan Classic girls' title, Rockets take home team honors

St. Joseph - University High Kate Ahmari turned in the top time in the women's race at the 2021 Spartan Classic on Saturday. The junior's time of 17:25.70 helped the Illinek cross country team finish 5th in the overall team standings. The sub-18 minute time was a new PR for Ahmari and ranks as the 19th fastest time in the state this season.

Malia Fairbanks runs at 2019 IHSA state cross country meet
Unity's Malia Fairbanks runs her first lap around the course during the 2019 IHSA Cross Country State Finals. Fairbanks finished 13th overall at Saturday's Spartan Classic in St. Joseph.
It was an Illini Prairie Conference sweep of the top three places in the team standings. Unity, who had six runners finish in the top 20, won the girls' title with a score of 56 points off the efforts of the first five. Monticello finished second with 66 points and host St. Joseph-Ogden rounded out the top three places with 87 points.

It was a day of outstanding running performances for Unity on the three-mile course. Erica Woodard led the Unity squad finishing in 5th place. She was followed by Olivia Shike (18:38.04), Malia Fairbanks (18:41.58), and senior Harper Hancock (18:44.42) who finished 14th overall. Caelyn Kleparski's 17th place finish at 19:02.25 cemented the Rockets' dominant performance on Saturday.

Shike, Harper, and Kleparski turned in career-best times. Meanwhile, Woodard's time of 18:03.62, along with Fairbanks, and Reagan Stringer who clocked in at 18th place (19:02.27), gave season-best performances.

St. Joseph-Ogden enjoyed notable performances from freshman Savanna Franzen and senior Ava Knap. Franzen finished in third place with a time of 17:57.82 and Knap, who followed her over the finish line five seconds later, stopped the clock at 18:02.03 in fourth-place. Both times were personal records for each runner.

Spartan Kailyn Ingram, who PR'd at 19:48.7 last week at the Richard Spring Invitational in Peoria, shaved off another 48 seconds off her three-mile time to 19:00.26.


Top 20 Spartan Classic Times

1. Kate Ahmari 17:25.70 Urbana University
2. Mabry Bruhn 17:29.41 Monticello
3. Savanna Franzen 17:57.82 SJO
4. Ava Knap 18:02.03 SJO
5. Erica Woodard 18:03.62 Unity
6. Hadessah Austin 18:18.98 Seeger
7. Estella Miller 18:26.80 Monticello
8. Sylvia Miller 18:32.69 Monticello
9. Aleigha Garrison 18:34.61 Champaign (Judah Christian)
10. Trixie Johnson 18:37.24 Paxton-Buckley-Loda
11. Olivia Shike 18:38.04 Unity
12. Jennifer Romero 18:40.84 Seeger
13. Malia Fairbanks 18:41.58 Unity
14. Harper Hancock 18:44.42 Unity
15. Nellie Melick 18:49.39 El Paso-Gridley
16. Kailyn Ingram 19:00.26 SJO
17. Caelyn Kleparski 19:02.25 Unity
18. Reagen Stringer 19:02.27 Unity
19. Macie Russell 19:02.37 Oakwood
20. Rachel Koon 19:05.64 Monticello

Jack Fisher wins SJO 5K by a stride

ST. JOSEPH - Jack Fisher won this year's installment of the SJO 5K by a second and a half, besting Andrew Pilat Saturday morning for the top spot out of a field of 135 runners with a time of 13:32.6. St. Joseph-Ogden High School junior Lance Retz, a rising star in the school's well-respected running program, finished third to round out the top 3 male and overall runners.

The top three female finishers were Hazel Atkins in first place, Sam Mabry in second, and Savanna Franzen finishing third out of 64 women from ages eight and 63 years of age. Atkins, from Shelbyville, turned in a 19:47.3 for the women's division top time.

Starting in 2008, the proceeds from the annual race help support the high school and middle school cross country and track teams in St. Joseph with travel expenses and the purchase of new equipment.

Race results by time -
1. Jack Fisher 16:32.6 ; 2. Andrew Pilat 16:34.2 ; 3. Lance Retz 16:42.3 ; 4. Jordan Harpst 17:56.7 ; 5. Patrick Ford 17:57.9 ; 6. Nate Farney 18:05.8 ; 7. Joe Griebat 18:17.3 ; 8. Eli Franklin 18:18.4 ; 9. Elijah Mock 18:34.4 ; 10. Aiden Hundley 18:45.0 ; 11. Colin Burnett 18:47.5 ; 12. Ej Beckett 18:48.9 ; 13. Adam Bello 19:34.0 ; 14. Camden Fisher 19:35.1 ; 15. Hazel Atkins 19:47.3 ; 16. Sam Mabry 19:58.7 ; 17. Colby Duitsman 20:07.7 ; 18. Savanna Franzen 20:17.1 ; 19. Greyson Guevara 20:23.4 ; 20. Tessa Walker 20:29.7 ; 21. Nathan Hinkel 20:36.0 ; 22. Jack Flesner 20:58.6 ; 23. Ryan Anderson 20:59.9 ; 24. Hunter Dilley 21:07.5 ; 25. Grace Bressner 21:15.4 ; 26. Brad Ludwig 21:24.8 ; 27. Bentley Morse 21:27.6 ; 28. Kyle Hammel 21:33.7 ; 29. Matthew Mabry 21:37.7 ; 30. Henry McCannon 21:44.0 ; 31. Andrew Schaefer 21:48.9 ; 32. Michael Tankersley 22:09.4 ; 33. Joshua Ward 22:14.0 ; 34. Elisha Guhl 22:17.8 ; 35. Jason Overman 22:32.2 ; 36. Ryan Fisher 22:33.8 ; 37. Maxwell Collins 22:42.9 ; 38. Rebekah Maxwell 23:11.5 ; 39. Patrick McClure 23:20.6 ; 40. Keegan Combest 23:22.5 ; 41. Brady Johnson 23:52.0 ; 42. Keegan Combest Jr. 23:56.6 ; 43. Mark Harbourt 24:06.8 ; 44. Tabby Brown 24:13.8 ; 45. Michael Healea 24:32.6 ; 46. Carson Coffey 24:36.2 ; 47. Taylor Vaughn 24:49.4 ; 48. Klaire Combest 24:49.6 ; 49. Drew Duden 24:52.7 ; 50. Scott Silverman 24:53.4 ; 51. Addyson Tholl 25:11.6 ; 52. David Ammermann 25:13.4 ; 53. Stephen Johnson 25:18.3 ; 54. Nikita Borisov 25:20.8 ; 55. Abigail Bello 25:37.4 ; 56. Luke Dunn 25:44.3 ; 57. Mark Wertz 26:10.6 ; 58. Maverick Wertz 26:10.7 ; 59. Spencer Krisman 26:27.7 ; 60. Madison Lubinski 26:30.7 ; 61. Whitney Patel 26:32.3 ; 62. Thea Hinkel 26:36.0 ; 63. Hannah Dignan 26:43.0 ; 64. Kendall Lubinski 27:03.0 ; 65. Paula Tankersley 27:04.9 ; 66. Gregory Poe 27:05.3 ; 67. John Lubinski 27:15.8 ; 68. Iris Davis 27:33.9 ; 69. Ethan Burnett 27:45.3 ; 70. Sara Myers 27:46.2 ; 71. Lynn Hardimon 27:48.2 ; 72. Ramsay Arnold 28:07.7 ; 73. Taryn Sexton 28:11.1 ; 74. Griffin Emery-Carlson 28:12.5 ; 75. Matt Layden 29:01.1 ; 76. Vicki Maxwell 29:13.6 ; 77. Alayna Nekolny 29:27.5 ; 78. Susan Osterbur 30:17.3 ; 79. Sara Coffey 30:40.2 ; 80. Xander Hundley 30:42.7 ; 81. Laura Owen 30:43.5 ; 82. Josie Walker 30:48.9 ; 83. Chad Walker 30:49.2 ; 84. Daniel Urban 31:10.5 ; 85. Angela Urban 31:10.8 ; 86. Jill Runck 31:11.5 ; 87. Henry Cluver 31:32.4 ; 88. Tora Borisova 31:33.9 ; 89. Amber Cluver 31:37.6 ; 90. Amy Bailey 31:39.5 ; 91. Theresa Heater 31:59.3 ; 92. Kiah Riesel 32:04.1 ; 93. Cali Argo 33:15.5 ; 94. Elizabeth Farmer 33:25.6 ; 95. Nick Farmer 33:27.9 ; 96. Kasper Zadeh 34:31.2 ; 97. Blake Franklin 34:32.0 ; 98. Amber Tomaska 34:35.2 ; 99. Ally Schmitz 34:40.6 ; 100. Jon Crawford 34:45.3 ; 101. Josie Buchanan 34:49.8 ; 102. Addi Ross 34:55.7 ; 103. Lyla Frerichs 34:56.7 ; 104. Tavi Borisova 35:21.2 ; 105. Demitrius Urban 35:25.3 ; 106. Sofie Urberg-Carlson 35:25.5 ; 107. Melinda Ward 35:42.5 ; 108. Greg Ward 35:44.0 ; 109. Candice Dixon 36:04.3 ; 110. Ellen Vore 36:31.0 ; 111. Roxy Campbell 36:37.1 ; 112. Elsa Cluver 36:37.3 ; 113. Nikki Campbell 37:59.4 ; 114. Michael Weidenburner 38:26.6 ; 115. Caleb Taylor 38:42.4 ; 116. Anne Finfrock 39:02.9 ; 117. Leah Hundley 39:03.0 ; 118. Stu Trumbo 40:13.0 ; 119. Rebecca Reck 40:46.9 ; 120. Kelly Barbour-Conerty 41:01.4 ; 121. John Mcdannald 42:50.4 ; 122. Norma Mcdannald 42:50.6 ; 123. Ashtyn Clark 44:36.8 ; 124. Allison Clark 44:48.9 ; 125. Melinda Ohlsson 47:24.5 ; 126. Amanda Upton 48:07.2 ; 127. Christina Miezio 52:09.6 ; 128. Kimberly Nigg 52:09.7 ; 129. Jeremy Bird 55:26.8 ; 130. Gina Bird 55:27.0 ; 131. Emily Bird 55:27.0 ; 132. Chloe Bird 55:27.8 ; 133. David Cluver 1:02:28 ; 134. Craig Stundahl 1:02:37 ; 135. Sue Stundahl 1:02:37 ;


Over 270 St. Joseph-Ogden students earn 2nd quarter academic honors

St. Joseph-Ogden High School Honor Roll ST. JOSEPH - Last week, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the second-quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recipients. Just over 270 members of this year's enrollment earned second-quarter Honor Roll recognition.

To receive honor roll recognition at SJO, students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.

Freshman High Honor Roll

Lillian Ahart
Zhou Barbee
Zachary Benoit
Alec Bowlin
Colin Burnett
Elizabeth Clark
Abigail Crider
Hayden Dahl
Iris Davis
Nick Ditchfield
Justin Downs
Madison Farber
Nathaniel Farney
Nolan Franzen
Skyler Graham
Anna Hammond
Mark Harbourt
Nicholas Harris
Tyler Hess
Maggie Hewkin
Mia Jones
Alivia Learned
Hadley McDonald
Finnegan Miller
Maddux Musselman
Mason Ramm
Dennis Rineberg
Isa Santiago
Sophie Schmitz
Adeline Stevens
Ani Stine
Isabella Turner
Brayden Waller
Jack Wear
Emerson Williams

Freshman Honor Roll

Yadiel Acosta-Reyes
Samuel Albrecht
Olivia Berlatsky
Brenda Castro Gutierrez
Leah Gaines
Morgan Huls
Brynn Ikemire
Waylon Jones
Avrianna Lyttle
Chase Mabry
Mason Olinger
Tripp Palmer
Peighton Reim
Kiah Riesel
Ava Smoot
Cameron Wagner
Kaden Wedig
Cameron Wright
William Yeazel
Declan Yohnka

Sophomore High Honor Roll

Caroline Aden
Trevor Ames
Kylie Barrowman
Lexie Barrowman
Kaitlyn Beyers
Emily Bird
Tim Blackburn-Kelley
Aiden Bonny
Addison Brooks
Sara Bytnar
Erica Hardimon
William Carlson
Rudra Chaudhary
Adelyn Childers
Christopher Coffey
Katherine Ericksen
Callie Evans
Abigail Getty
Camden Getty
William Haley
Zachary Harper
Claire Hartman
Lydia Huckstadt
Adalyn Jannusch
Kaelyn Jolley
Sophia Kasper
Madilyn Kelley
Cooper Kietzman
Kylan Kincaid
Alexis Lackey
Ryker Lockhart
Mackenzie Loschen
Michael McDaniel
Danny McGinnis
Emma McKinney
Kodey McKinney
Patrick McMahon
Ava Midkiff
Ashlyn Miller
Hannah Mock
Delaney Nekolny
Allison Ochs
Brennan Oleynichak
Kayla Osterbur
Colton Overstreet
Garrick Page
Branson Pearman
Kaleb Peoples
Asher Pruemer
Ainsley Rhoton
Lily Rice
Landon Roberts
Logan Rosenthal
Amber Ruppel
Cameron Schlueter
Allison Schmitz
Lucas Smith
Tao Smith
Karleigh Spain
Quinn Stahl
Sydney Steinbach
Hadley Sweet
Carlee Taylor
Sophia Vliet
Madeline Wells
Wyatt Wertz
Logan Xiao
Cyrus Zadeh

Sophomore Honor Roll

Adalyn Bell
Shelby Campbell
Jacob Carlson
Caleb Dwyer
Brandon Goodwin
Charles Hale
Bryson Houchens
Amelia Huckstadt
Nick Jackson
Malachy Kates
Sami Kelso
Graham Ray
Lance Retz
Trevor Sexton
Gracyn Sjoken
Landon Smith
Luke Tranel
Hunter Van Meenen

Junior High Honor Roll

EJ Beckett
Audrey Benoit
William Besson
Holden Brazelton
Arely Castro Gutierrez
Richi Chimal
Preslee Christians
Madison Clampitt
Lauren Dewese
Ella Dietiker
Luke Ditchfield
Jackson Ennis
Savanna Franzen
Addison Funk
Kaiden Gaines
Tayton Gerdes
Olivia Getty
Makennah Hamilton
Lauren Harris
Haley Hesterberg
Maebree Houston
Kendrick Johnson
Paige Johnson
Dylan Jones
Sara Kearney
Madison Lankster
Logan Mills
Gabriel Mortlock
Grace Osterbur
Chayse Palmer
Sonia Patel
Haley Rudolph
Audrey Ruppel
Charles Schmitz
Kyler Swanson
Collin Thomey
Samantha Uden
Reese Wheatley
Fiona Xiao

Junior Honor Roll

Jared Altenbaumer
Rylie Barton
Eli Birt
Sul Bonny
Landon Brown
Landen Butts
Hayden Coffey
Joshua Courter
Nolan Earley
Lyla Frerichs
Tinley Ideus
Amilliya Kindle
Owen Knap
Aiden Krall
Jeffrey Kuchenbrod
Logan Lackey
Gabe Mata
Brenden Maury
Logan Patton
Nathan Phillips
Sydney Reitmeier
Tanner Siems
Corbin Smith
Thea Smith
Coy Taylor
Ava Worley
Charley Wright

Senior High Honor Roll

Edward Alewelt
Logan Allen
Luke Allen
Aden Armstrong
Samantha Beetz
Chloe Burkhalter
Payton Carter
Garrett Denhart
Samantha Downs
Sadie Ericksen
Joseph Frasca
Mia Frederick
Alana Frerichs-McCurry
Addison Frick
Grace Getty
Chloe Harper
Rachel Harris
Brody Hausman
Annabelle Hueber
Tanner Jacob
Kya Jolley
Helene Jones
Tori Kibler
Lauren Lannert
Quinn Lewis
Taylyn Lockhart
Addisyn Martinie
Ethan McElroy
Shannon McMahon
Talan Miller
Isaiah Mock
Caleb Ochs
Macy Reed-Thompson
Addison Roesch
Addison Ross
Daniel Santiago
Addison Seggebruch
Lucas Skelton
Aescton Slowikowski
Logan Smith
Dylan Smoot
Drew Thurman
Emma Thurman
Braxton Waller
Elissia Ward
Colin Wayland
Brody Weaver
Corbin Wells
Hayden Williams
Peyton Williams
Spencer Wilson

Senior Honor Roll

Halle Brazelton
Tyler Buss
Maya Chahine
Cameron Dressen
Ashton Fonner
Chloe George
Amaya Gula
Ray Gutierrez
Emmitt Holt
Ella Jones
Luke Landrus
Hayden Lewis
Connor Little
Carson Maroon
Rowan Musselman
Cole Pruitt
Kaydence Reynolds
Madison Stevens
Zoey Sweet
Nicholas Wetzel
Mitchell Wright


St. Joseph-Ogden 3rd Quarter Honor Roll

St. Joseph-Ogden High School Honor Roll ST. JOSEPH - Last week, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the third-quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recipients. Over 270 students at the high school earned third-quarter Honor Roll recognition.

To make the honor roll at SJO, students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.

Freshman High Honor Roll

Lillian Ahart
Samuel Albrecht
Zhou Barbee
Zachary Benoit
Colin Burnett
Elizabeth Clark
Abigail Crider
Hayden Dahl
Iris Davis
Nick Ditchfield
Madison Farber
Nathaniel Farney
Nolan Franzen
Leah Gaines
Skyler Graham
Anna Hammond
Mark Harbourt
Nicholas Harris
Tyler Hess
Maggie Hewkin
Brynn Ikemire
Mia Jones
Alivia Learned
Chase Mabry
Hadley McDonald
Finnegan Miller
Maddux Musselman
Mason Ramm
Peighton Reim
Kiah Riesel
Dennis Rineberg
Sophie Schmitz
Ava Smoot
Adeline Stevens
Ani Stine
Isabella Turner
Brayden Waller
Jack Wear
Kaden Wedig
Emerson Williams

Freshman Honor Roll

Yadiel Acosta-Reyes
Alec Bowlin
Willis Canamore
Brenda Castro Gutierrez
Jaxson Colvin
Justin Downs
Aiden Hundley
Waylon Jones
Garrett Loschen
Avrianna Lyttle
Steven Newman
Mason Olinger
William Ricketts-Royer
Lilly Sollars
Cameron Wagner
Shelby Warns
Declan Yohnka
Dalton York

Sophomore High Honor Roll

Trevor Ames
Kylie Barrowman
Lexie Barrowman
Kaitlyn Beyers
Emily Bird
Tim Blackburn-Kelley
Aiden Bonny
Addison Brooks
Sara Bytnar
Jacob Carlson
William Carlson
Adelyn Childers
Katherine Ericksen
Callie Evans
Abigail Getty
Camden Getty
Zachary Harper
Claire Hartman
Bryson Houchens
Amelia Huckstadt
Lydia Huckstadt
Adalyn Jannusch
Kaelyn Jolley
Sophia Kasper
Madilyn Kelley
Samantha Kelso
Cooper Kietzman
Alexis Lackey
Ryker Lockhart
Mackenzie Loschen
Michael McDaniel
Danny McGinnis
Emma McKinney
Kodey McKinney
Patrick McMahon
Ava Midkiff
Ashlyn Miller
Hannah Mock
Delaney Nekolny
Allison Ochs
Brennan Oleynichak
Kayla Osterbur
Colton Overstreet
Garrick Page
Branson Pearman
Kaleb Peoples
Asher Pruemer
Ainsley Rhoton
Lily Rice
Landon Roberts
Logan Rosenthal
Amber Ruppel
Cameron Schlueter
Allison Schmitz
Gracyn Sjoken
Lucas Smith
Tao Smith
Karleigh Spain
Quinn Stahl
Sydney Steinbach
Hadley Sweet
Carlee Taylor
Sophia Vliet
Madeline Wells
Wyatt Wertz
Logan Xiao
Cyrus Zadeh

Sophomore Honor Roll

Caroline Aden
DeAva Barnett
Timera Blackburn-Kelley
Shelby Campbell
Rudra Chaudhary
Wade Clark
Christopher Coffey
Cade Crozier
Caleb Dwyer
Brandon Goodwin
William Haley
Erica Hardimon
Nick Jackson
Kylan Kincaid
Vance McComas
Jackson Mohr
Graham Ray
Lance Retz
Ethan Sanders
Trevor Sexton
Landon Smith
Lucas Truong
Hunter Van Meenen
Emma Wells

Junior High Honor Roll

EJ Beckett
Audrey Benoit
William Besson
Sul Bonny
Holden Brazelton
Arely Castro Gutierrez
Richi Chimal
Preslee Christians
Madison Clampitt
Ella Dietiker
Luke Ditchfield
Nolan Earley
Jackson Ennis
Savanna Franzen
Addison Funk
Tayton Gerdes
Olivia Getty
Makennah Hamilton
Lauren Harris
Haley Hesterberg
Maebree Houston
Kendrick Johnson
Dylan Jones
Sara Kearney
Amilliya Kindle
Madison Lankster
Logan Mills
Gabriel Mortlock
Grace Osterbur
Sonia Patel
Nathan Phillips
Sydney Reitmeier
Audrey Ruppel
Charles Schmitz
Tanner Siems
Kyler Swanson
Collin Thomey
Samantha Uden
Reese Wheatley
Charley Wright
Fiona Xiao

Junior Honor Roll

Jared Altenbaumer
Rylie Barton
Eli Birt
Landon Brown
Landen Butts
Hayden Coffey
Joshua Courter
Lauren Dewese
Lyla Frerichs
Kaiden Gaines
Paige Johnson
Owen Knap
Aiden Krall
Logan Lackey
Gabe Mata
Brenden Maury
Chayse Palmer
Logan Patton
Haley Rudolph
Corbin Smith
Thea Smith
Coy Taylor
Ava Worley
Zoe Wright

Senior High Honor Roll

Edward Alewelt
Chloe Allen
Logan Allen
Aden Armstrong
Samantha Beetz
Chloe Burkhalter
Payton Carter
Garrett Denhart
Mia Frederick
Addison Frick
Grace Getty
Chloe Harper
Rachel Harris
Brody Hausman
Annabelle Hueber
Tanner Jacob
Kya Jolley
Helene Jones
Quinn Lewis
Taylyn Lockhart
Addisyn Martinie
Ethan McElroy
Shannon McMahon
Talan Miller
Isaiah Mock
Rowan Musselman
Caleb Ochs
Macy Reed-Thompson
Addison Roesch
Addison Ross
Daniel Santiago
Addison Seggebruch
Lucas Skelton
Logan Smith
Dylan Smoot
Zoey Sweet
Drew Thurman
Emma Thurman
Braxton Waller
Elissia Ward
Colin Wayland
Corbin Wells
Hayden Williams
Peyton Williams
Spencer Wilson
Mitchell Wright

Senior Honor Roll

Kaden Allinger
Owen Baltzell
Mya Bott
Halle Brazelton
Kyler Brown
Tyler Buss
Maya Chahine
Cameron Dressen
Sadie Ericksen
Joseph Frasca
Alana Frerichs-McCurry
Grace Goldenstein
Ray Gutierrez
Jayci Hayes
Emmitt Holt
Ella Jones
Holden Jones
Tori Kibler
Luke Landrus
Lauren Lannert
Hayden Lewis
Connor Little
Carson Maroon
Seth McBride
Aescton Slowikowski
Brody Weaver
Nicholas Wetzel


St. Joe-Ogden Athletics

Photo Gallery |
Area runners give all at state cross country meet

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden's Savanna Franzen runs in the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. Franzen, a freshman, finished in 6th place over all at 17:51.72 to help the Spartans to a fourth-place finish in the girls Class 1A division.

Unity's Malia Fairbanks runs her second lap around Detweiler Park during the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. The veteran senior harrier was the fifth runner from the Rockets to cross the finish line at 19:04.82 to secure the team title with 126 points. The victory secured Unity's sixth consecutive cross country state trophy in over the past six seasons.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



University High School junior Kate Ahmari heads to the finish line on her way to a second-place Class 1A finish on Saturday. The Illineks finished in ninth-place with at team score of 320 behind #7 IC Catholic (246pts) and Wheaton Academy in 8th place with 289 points. Ahmari crossed the finished line at 17:29.24.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



SJO's Ava Knap runs the last thirty yards to the finish line in her 3-mile race at Detweiller Park. The Spartans' top finisher clocked in 17:48.51 in fifth-place.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Incoming Storm

Salt Fork runner finishes in top 25

Oakwood-Salt Fork runner Macie Russell heads to the finish line in the Class 1A race. The sophomore earned All-State status after coming in 16th place. A student at Salt Fork High School, she ran the 3-mile course in 18 minutes and 21.94 seconds.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Urbana University's Stefania Dzhaman runs to the finish line behind Eureka's Meika Bender in the Class 1A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. Dzhaman, a senior, finished her run at 19:42.85.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Pulling away from her nearest competitor, Unity's Harper Hancock closes in on the finish line. The Rockets have won the state title two other times since the 2015 season (2015, 2017). The program was runner up in 2016 and finished in third-place in 2018 and 2019 in Class 1A. Hancock, a senior, finished in 30th place with her time at 18:39.30. Follow link to view more photos of Unity cross country runners on Saturday.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



With a few more strides to go to finish his race, St. Joseph-Ogden's Luke Stegall leans forward in preparation to cross the finish line during the boys' Class 1A race. Stegall, a senior, finished the last cross country race of his prep career at 15:52.49. The Spartans finished in sixth-place in the boys team standings.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Pushing himself the last eight yards of his race, Urbana University's Henry Laufenberg runs to a 15:58.37, placing 46th place overall.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Champaign Central's Maaike Niekerk runs in the Class 2A girls' race. The senior clocked in at 19:05.30 in 86th place on Saturday.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Urbana's Celia Barbieri and Northside's Allison Feeney runs in the Class 2A Cross Country State Finals on Saturday. The solo runner representing the Tigers at state finished 111th overall at 19:19.22.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



With about 10 yards left in their race, Urbana's Brian Allison and Julio Angrave along with Champaign Central's Nick Bonn continue their final kick to the finish line during the Class 2A race.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Urbana's Hudson Coady and Champaign Central's Enrique Bueschlein run through a shaded area of the Detweiller Park course on their second lap in the Class 2A race. Coady finished 220th oveall at 17:28.15, while Bueshlein crossed over 13 seconds later for a time of 17:41.80 in 227th place.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Urbana's Sam Lambert closes in on the finish line in the Class 2A race. The senior harrier for the Tigers finished just one place away from making All-State status in 26th place at 15:25.63. Earlier in the season, Lambert won the Big12 Conference title for UHS. See more photos of Urbana's cross country athletes here.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



The road to state: The Rockets cross country performance was "impressive"

by Daniel L. Chamness
      Special to The Sentinel


CHAMPAIGN -- Based on their dominating performance all season, no one could doubt the Unity Rockets were going to win another Class 1A IHSA cross-country state title.

Heading into the Illinois High School Association sectional meet, the program did not lose a meet. Not one race to any team. The program has brought home state titles in 2021, 2017, and 2015. The Rockets also collected trophies in 2016 for second and third-place hardware in 2018 and 2019.

The path to the state finals included crushing it at the St. Joseph-Ogden Class 1A sectional meet held at Dodds Park on the campus of Parkland College back on October 29. The day was just one more chance to show just how dominant they were and had been all season.

The Rockets cemented the sectional title by 86 points, finishing with 40 points. Marshall took second with 126 points.

"Their performances were very impressive," said Kara Leaman, Tolono Unity's head coach of the Rockets' performance at sectionals. "They are excited. While we have won a state title before, we have never done it back-to-back. They want to be the first Unity Rocket team to do it."

Not only did they leave the sectional with the all-important team championship plaque, four of the scoring top five left with individual sectional hardware.

Emily Decker finished the 2.95-mile course in 18 minutes and 2.49 seconds. The sophomore was fifth. Mackenzie Pound (sixth), Erica Woodard (seventh), and Olivia Shike (10th) finished within 21 seconds of Decker. Pound finished at 18:11.21, while Woodard entered the chute at 18:12.55. Shike crossed the finish line at 18:22.89.

The fifth scorer, Reagan Stringer, clocked in at 18:51.59. Camryn Reedy and Josie Cler took 18th and 25th, finishing respectively at 19:25.71 and 19:47.82.

"This Saturday, my hope for every athlete is that they can walk away knowing they competed as well as they could," said Leaman.

While the Spartan girls did not qualify as a team, Savanna Franzen grabbed one of the individual qualifying spots, taking 13th in the sectional. She ended her race at 18:35.28.

"I tried to be controlled the first 50 percent of the race," said Franzen. "I was not feeling the best today. This course is not all that fast. I am looking forward to running at Detweiller, which is a very fast course."

She led the Spartans to a 10th-place finish, which scored 271 team points.

Hannah Mock (61st), Sydney Steinbach (69th), Sophia Kasper (82nd), and Kaytlyn Baker (93rd) rounded out the top five for the Spartans.

Mock, Steinbach, and Kasper, all freshmen, all broke the 22:00 barrier. Mock finished in 21 minutes and 09.72 seconds, Steinbach finished the course in 21:35.14, and Kasper finished at 21:58.25. Baker closed out the Spartan effort with a time of 22:26.77.

St. Joseph-Ogden fall 2023 Honor Roll students

St. Joseph-Ogden High School Honor Roll ST. JOSEPH - At the end of October, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the first quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recipients. Nearly 300 members of this year's school population earned first-quarter Honor Roll recognition.

To receive honor roll recognition at SJO, students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.

Freshman High Honor Roll

Lillian Ahart
Zhou Barbee
Zachary Benoit
Alec Bowlin
Colin Burnett
Elizabeth Clark
Abigail Crider
Hayden Dahl
Iris Davis
Nick Ditchfield
Justin Downs
Madison Farber
Nathaniel Farney
Nolan Franzen
Skyler Graham
Anna Hammond
Mark Harbourt
Nicholas Harris
Tyler Hess
Maggie Hewkin
Mia Jones
Alivia Learned
Chase Mabry
Hadley McDonald
Finnegan Miller
Maddux Musselman
Mason Olinger
Mason Ramm
Peighton Reim
Kiah Riesel
Dennis Rineberg
Isa Santiago
Sophie Schmitz
Ava Smoot
Adeline Stevens
Ani Stine
Isabella Turner
Brayden Waller
Jack Wear
Kaden Wedig
Emerson Williams

Freshman Honor Roll

Yadiel Acosta-Reyes
Samuel Albrecht
Brenda Castro Gutierrez
Jameson Ennis
Leah Gaines
Elijah Garrett
Gunnar George
Morgan Huls
Aiden Hundley
Brynn Ikemire
Faith Jackson
Waylon Jones
Jaydon Lewis
Avrianna Lyttle
Tripp Palmer
Shelby Warns
Cameron Wright
Tyler Wright
William Yeazel
Declan Yohnka

Sophomore High Honor Roll

Trevor Ames
Kylie Barrowman
Lexie Barrowman
Tim Blackburn-Kelley
Kaitlyn Beyers
Emily Bird
Aiden Bonny
Addison Brooks
Sara Bytnar
Shelby Campbell
William Carlson
Rudra Chaudhary
Adelyn Childers
Christopher Coffey
Katherine Ericksen
Callie Evans
Abigail Getty
Camden Getty
William Haley
Zachary Harper
Claire Hartman
Lydia Huckstadt
Adalyn Jannusch
Sophia Kasper
Madilyn Kelley
Kylan Kincaid
Cooper Kietzman
Alexis Lackey
Ryker Lockhart
Mackenzie Loschen
Emma McKinney
Michael McDaniel
Danny McGinnis
Kodey McKinney
Patrick McMahon
Ava Midkiff
Ashlyn Miller
Hannah Mock
Delaney Nekolny
Allison Ochs
Brennan Oleynichak
Kayla Osterbur
Colton Overstreet
Garrick Page
Branson Pearman
Kaleb Peoples
Asher Pruemer
Ainsley Rhoton
Lily Rice
Landon Roberts
Amber Ruppel
Cameron Schlueter
Allison Schmitz
Landon Smith
Lucas Smith
Tao Smith
Quinn Stahl
Sydney Steinbach
Hadley Sweet
Carlee Taylor
Luke Tranel
Sophia Vliet
Madeline Wells
Wyatt Wertz
Logan Xiao
Cyrus Zadeh

Sophomore Honor Roll

Caroline Aden
DeAva Barnett
Josiah Beals
Jacob Carlson
Wade Clark
Parker Fitch
Charles Hale
Erica Hardimon
Bryson Houchens
Amelia Huckstadt
Jordan Johnson
Kaelyn Jolley
Sami Kelso
Vance McComas
Graham Ray
Lance Retz
Logan Rosenthal
Trevor Sexton
Gracyn Sjoken
Karleigh Spain
Lucas Truong
Hayden Utley
Hunter Van Meenen

Junior High Honor Roll

EJ Beckett
Sul Bonny
Holden Brazelton
Landon Brown
Arely Castro Gutierrez
Richi Chimal
Preslee Christians
Madison Clampitt
Ella Dietiker
Luke Ditchfield
Jackson Ennis
Savanna Franzen
Addison Funk
Tayton Gerdes
Olivia Getty
Makennah Hamilton
Lauren Harris
Maebree Houston
Kendrick Johnson
Dylan Jones
Sara Kearney
Amilliya Kindle
Madison Lankster
Logan Mills
Gabriel Mortlock
Grace Osterbur
Sonia Patel
Nathan Phillips
Audrey Ruppel
Charles Schmitz
Tanner Siems
Kyler Swanson
Collin Thomey
Reese Wheatley
Charley Wright
Fiona Xiao

Junior Honor Roll

Jared Altenbaumer
Audrey Benoit
Will Besson
Chaz Bowlin
Landen Butts
Hayden Coffey
Joshua Courter
Aerolyn Davenport
Lauren Dewese
Nolan Earley
Lyla Frerichs
Kaiden Gaines
Joe Griebat
Haley Hesterberg
Paige Johnson
Owen Knap
Logan Lackey
Gabe Mata
Brenden Maury
Chayse Palmer
Logan Patton
Sydney Reitmeier
Haley Rudolph
Samuel Shonkwiler
Corbin Smith
Coy Taylor
Samantha Uden

Senior High Honor Roll

Edward Alewelt
Logan Allen
Kaden Allinger
Aden Armstrong
Samantha Beetz
Chloe Burkhalter
Payton Carter
Garrett Denhart
Samantha Downs
Sadie Ericksen
Joseph Frasca
Mia Frederick
Alana Frerichs-McCurry
Addison Frick
Grace Getty
Chloe Harper
Rachel Harris
Brody Hausman
Annabelle Hueber
Tanner Jacob
Kya Jolley
Helene Jones
Tori Kibler
Lauren Lannert
Quinn Lewis
Taylyn Lockhart
Seth McBride
Shannon McMahon
Talan Miller
Isaiah Mock
Rowan Musselman
Caleb Ochs
Cole Pruitt
Macy Reed-Thompson
Addison Roesch
Addison Ross
Daniel Santiago
Lucas Skelton
Aescton Slowikowski
Logan Smith
Dylan Smoot
Drew Thurman
Emma Thurman
Braxton Waller
Elissia Ward
Colin Wayland
Brody Weaver
Corbin Wells
Hayden Williams
Peyton Williams
Spencer Wilson

Senior Honor Roll

Chloe Allen
Owen Baltzell
Mya Bott
Halle Brazelton
Kyler Brown
Tyler Buss
Maya Chahine
Cameron Dressen
Chloe George
Grace Goldenstein
Amaya Gula
Ray Gutierrez
Jayci Hayes
Emmitt Holt
Ella Jones
Holden Jones
Ryan Kroll
Luke Landrus
Hayden Lewis
Connor Little
Grace Mabrey
Carson Maroon
Ethan McElroy
Kaydence Reynolds
Addison Seggebruch
Madison Stevens
Zoey Sweet
Mitchell Wright

Prep Sports Notebook: Unity top in XC, SJO soccer post another win


Rockets take 4th place at Reed-Custer Lady Comets Classic

BRAIDWOOD -- Unity won one match, tied two, and lost two at the Lady Comets volleyball tournament on Saturday.

The Rockets fell 2-0 to Maroa-Forsyth and De La Salle in close contests. The Trojans prevailed 25-23, 25-14, and the Meteors from Chicago squeaked by UHS, 25-18, 25-20.

The team split sets against Putnam County, losing the first by three, 25-22, and storming back to take the second set, 25-18. Kaitlyn Schweighart, who finished the tournament with 18 kills and 58 digs, and the Rockets also split sets in their confrontation with the Momence volleyball program, 17-25, 25-16.

UHS' only victory on the five-match day was 25-23, 25-11, win over Mendota.

Junior Ruby Tarr had 33 assists and made 22 digs during the tournament. Meanwhile, Jayci McGraww booked 31 assists and five digs, and Julia Ping helped the team's defensive effort collecting 35 digs and nine assists.

The Rockets are back in action two days next week at the Rocket Center. Starting Monday, Tarr & Co. host the Bulldogs of St. Teresa and then play a conference showdown against the Monticello. The Sages are 0-2 in conference play with straight two-set loses to St. Thomas More and Paxton-Buckley-Loda this season.


Spartans one win away from 10th

GEORGETOWN -- The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team rallied back from a one-goal first-half deficit with two goals to beat Georgetown-Ridge Farm-Westville, 2-1.

The Buffaloes produced the only score in the first half despite numerous opportunities for SJO. A pass from freshman Ryker Lockhart gave Collin Thomey the opportunity to tie the game 1-all in the second half. Later, Lockhart put the ball between the post around the GRFW keeper to give the Spartans the go-ahead goal. Spencer Wilson got credit for the assist for the 9-3-1 Spartans.

Senior Hunter Ketchum and backup keeper Jacek Slowikowski, each guarding the goal for a half, made two saves each.

Luke Barney nailed the first goal of the game for the Buffaloes.


Unity outscored, 2-0

Tolono -- The Rockets' soccer team fell 2-0 to visiting Illinois Valley Central Saturday morning. The Grey Ghosts improved to 1-4 in conference play after scoring a goal in each half of the Illini Prairie Conference match.

Unity (2-13, 0-6) hosts Fisher on Monday at home. Opening kick is slated for 4:30p.


SJO 4th, Unity 9th at cross-country meet

St. Joseph -- St. Joseph-Ogden's Jack Fisher turned in a team-best 16:10.32 finish to help the Spartans finish fourth out of 28 participating teams after running in the 50th installment of the Spartan Classic.

The Rockets, who finished ninth in the team standings, were paced by Brendan Graven. He completed the 3-mile course in 16 minutes and 38.58 seconds Saturday morning. Urbana University High's Pieter Duursma led the Illinek's effort to the finish line, circumventing the course for a 34th overall finish at 16:51.57.

The St. Teresa boys' team won this year's team title with 60 points. El Paso-Gridley finished in second place with 92 points, and third place went to Tuscola with 113 points.


Unity girls when Spartan Classic title

St. Joseph -- The Rockets cross-country team finished first out of 27 teams at this year's Spartan Classic. Uni-High finished in third place with 149 points behind El Paso-Gridley's 97-point second-place effort. Unity's top-five runners finished the 3-mile course under 19 minutes or better for an impressive 38 points.

The St.Joseph-Ogden harriers finished in seventh place in the team standings.

Rockets' Erika Woodard, a junior, won the individual title crossing the finish line first for the ladies with a time of 17:12.28. Senior Kate Ahmari, who led the Illinek program around the course throughout St. Joseph, finished at 17:49.40 in 3rd place overall. The Spartans top runner, sophomore Savanna Franzen, clocked in at 18:02.08 for a 6th place finish overall.


Attention area high school coaches

If you are a coach at Unity, Urbana Uni-High, Urbana High School or St. Joseph-Ogden, send us your box scores, statistical leaders for each game, and other info via email to sports@oursentinel.com or editor@oursentinel.com.


St. Joseph-Ogden first quarter Honor Roll

Earlier this week, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced their list of students who earned high honor roll status during the first quarter.

To receive honor roll recognition at SJO students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.

High Honor Roll

Freshmen

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors

Honor Roll

Freshmen

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors

St. Joseph-Ogden's Class of 2025 Honor Roll

St. Joseph-Ogden High School Honor Roll St. Joseph -- At the end of October, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the first quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recipients. Eighty-six students in the sophomore class achieved honor roll status.

To receive honor roll recognition at SJO, students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.

High Honor Roll

Rylie Barton
EJ Beckett
Audrey Benoit
Sul Bonny
Landon Brown
Preslee Christians
Madison Clampitt
Aerolyn Davenport
Lauren Dewese
Ella Dietiker
Luke Ditchfield
Jackson Ennis
Savanna Franzen
Kaiden Gaines
Tayton Gerdes
Olivia Getty
Richi Gomez
Mason Guido
Makennah Hamilton
Lauren Harris
Haley Hesterberg
Maebree Houston
Kendrick Johnson
Paige Johnson
Dylan Jones
Sara Kearney
Amilliya Kindle
Owen Knap
Aiden Krall
Madison Lankster
Logan Mills
Gabriel Mortlock
Grace Osterbur
Sonia Patel
Nathan Phillips
Haley Rudolph
Audrey Ruppel
Charles Schmitz
Tanner Siems
Kyler Swanson
Collin Thomey
Samantha Uden
Reese Wheatley
Charley Wright
Fiona Xiao

Honor Roll

Olivia Allinger
Jared Altenbaumer
Davin Alvarez
Dillon Bear
William Besson
Eli Birt
Miles Birt
Chaz Bowlin
Holden Brazelton
Landen Butts
Hayden Coffey
Joshua Courter
Jack Fisher
Lyla Frerichs
Addison Funk
Madelyn George
Joe Griebat
Brodie Harms
Tinley Ideus
Jeffrey Kuchenbrod
Abigail Lacey
Logan Lackey
Lillian Lanter
Kristian Lindsey
Gabriel Mata
Brenden Maury
Chayse Palmer
Logan Patton
Hailie Reifsteck
Sydney Reitmeier
Corbin Smith
Thea Smith
Coy Taylor
Carter Turner
Jackson Walsh
Isabelle Wiese
Madison Wolken
Ava Worley
Zoe Wright
Merial Yeager

72 freshmen at SJO earn High Honor Roll recognition

St. Joseph - Earlier this week, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the third quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recipients. This year's freshman class labored to produce 72 scholars who earned High Honor recognition.

St. Joseph-Ogden High School Honor Roll To receive Honor Roll recognition at SJO, students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA is above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students. Below is the list of this semester's students who achieved High Honor Roll recognition. Follow this link to see the names of students who made the Honor Roll.

Seniors

Alyssa Acton
McGwire Atwood
Kaytlyn Baker
Olivia Baltzell
Cara Blanchard
Taylor Burch
Tyler Burch
Maddux Carter
Yamilka Casanova
Ariana Chambers
Madelynn Cook
Morgan Cramer
Aiden Cromwell
Zachary Dahman
Aleah Dial
Emily Elsbernd
Leah Finley
Joselyn Frerichs
Jessica Gadbury
Brent Golladay
Kennedy Greer
Kylie Greer
Andrew Guelfi
Mikyla Haley
Hayden Henkelman
Maya Hewkin
Taylor Hug
Shayne Immke
Emily Jeffries
Peyton Jones
Cameran Kelley
Jade Kelley
Jacob Kern
Aaron Lane
Collin Livesay
Haleigh Maddock
Kyle Meccoli
Teagan Miller
Courtney Myren
Ava Northen
Madeline Osterbur
Allegra Pearman
Ty Pence
Jack Robertson
Kirsten Schaefer
Johanna Schmitz
Jack Setterdahl
Isabel Sexton
Paige Siegmund
Payton Vander Logt
Taylor Voorhees
Alayna Wagle
Emma Ward
Maggie Ward

Juniors

Edward Alewelt
Logan Allen
Aden Armstrong
Owen Baltzell
Samantha Beetz
Chloe Burkhalter
Payton Carter
Rachel Divan
Sadie Ericksen
Addison Frick
Grace Getty
Chloe Harper
Rachel Harris
Brody Hausman
Annabelle Hueber
Tanner Jacob
Kya Jolley
Helene Jones
Lauren Lannert
Hayden Lewis
Quinn Lewis
Taylyn Lockhart
Addisyn Martinie
Shannon McMahon
Talan Miller
Isaiah Mock
Caleb Ochs
Macy Reed-Thompson
Addison Roesch
Addison Ross
Daniel Santiago
Addison Seggebruck
Lucas Skelton
Logan Smith
Dylan Smoot
Drew Thurman
Emma Thurman
Braxton Waller
Elissia Ward
Colin Wayland
Corbin Wells
Hayden Williams
Peyton Williams
Spencer Wilson

Sophomores

EJ Beckett
Audrey Benoit
William Besson
Sul Bonny
Preslee Christians
Madison Clampitt
Ella Dietiker
Luke Ditchfield
Jackson Ennis
Savanna Franzen
Addison Funk
Tayton Gerdes
Olivia Getty
Makennah Hamilton
Lauren Harris
Maebree Houston
Paige Johnson
Dylan Jones
Amilliya Kindle
Madison Lankster
Logan Mills
Gabriel Mortlock
Grace Osterbur
Chayse Palmer
Sonia Patel
Nathan Phillips
Audrey Ruppel
Charles Schmitz
Kyler Swanson
Collin Thomey
Samantha Uden
Kailynn West
Reese Wheatley
Charley Wright
Fiona Xiao

Freshman

Trevor Ames
Kylie Barrowman
Lexie Barrowman
Kaitlyn Beyers
Emily Bird
Tim Blackburn-Kelley
Aiden Bonny
Addison Brooks
Sara Bytnar
Shelby Campbell
Jacob Carlson
William Carlson
Rudra Chaudhary
Adelyn Childers
Christopher Coffey
Katie Ericksen
Callie Evans
Abigail Getty
Camden Getty
Brandon Goodwin
William Haley
Zachary Harper
Claire Hartman
Amelia Huckstadt
Lydia Huckstadt
Adalyn Jannusch
Kaelyn Jolley
Sophia Kasper
Madilyn Kelley
Cooper Kietzman
Alexis Lackey
Ryker Lockhart
Mackenzie Loschen
Michael McDaniel
Isabelle McGinnis
Emma McKinney
Kodey McKinney
Patrick McMahon
Ava Midkiff
Ashlyn Miller
Hannah Mock
Delaney Nekolny
Allison Ochs
Brennan Oleynichak
Kayla Osterbur
Colton Overstreet
Garrick Page
Branson Pearman
Kaleb Peoples
Asher Pruemer
Ainsley Rhoton
Lily Rice
Landon Roberts
Amber Ruppel
Cameron Schluter
Allison Schmitz
Trevor Sexton
Landon Smith
Lucas Smith
Tao Smith
Karleigh Spain
Quinn Stahl
Sydney Steinbach
Hadley Sweet
Carlee Taylor
Luke Tranel
Hunter Van Meenen
Sophia Vliet
Madeline Wells
Wyatt Wertz
Logan Xiao
Cyrus Zadeh


Area runners qualify for IHSA state cross country championship on Saturday

Sixty-eight individual runners qualified for the Illinois High School Association's state meet in Peoria this Saturday.

Urbana High School's Celia Barbieri and University High School's Henry Laufenberg qualified as individual competitors. Laufenberg finished in 15th place with a time of 16:55.85 at the St. Teresa sectional last Saturday. Barbieri, a senior, made the cut running the Class 2A race on the same course in 20 minutes, 12.07 seconds.

The remaining 66 runners made of athletes from both St. Joseph-Ogden, Unity, and Urbana will represent their school programs at Detweiller Park.

Malia Fairbanks carries the team's IHSA sectional award

Unity cross country runner Malia Fairbanks carries the team 2021 cross country sectional plaque after the team was honored during halftime at Saturday's Unity home playoff game against Newton. "We're super excited about going to state," Fairbanks said. "It's crazy how fast the season has gone by." The Rockets' along with girls teams from St. Joseph-Ogden and Uni-High will race for a possible state title at 9am on Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden finished in second place on the mud-soaked course at Hickory Point golf club with 87 points in the 1A race. University High came in 10th place and Unity rounded out The Sentinel area schools in 11th place with 316 points.

It was nearly a clean sweep of the top three places with the three programs The Sentinel covers. The Unity girls team won the sectional title with four runners finishing under the 19 minutes and 47 seconds. The Rockets secured the title with a 13-point advantage over St. Joseph-Ogden, who finished in second place with 75 points. University High finished fourth in the final standings just one point behind Monticello 108.

In Class 2A action, the Urbana boys' team celebrated a fourth-place finish ahead of 14 other programs. Leading the Tigers' contingent over the finish line was senior Sam Lambert who was ninth overall at 16:35.75 and Park Mitchell 15 seconds later at 16:50.51 in 16th place.

Saturday's championship race schedule starts at 9am with Class A girls running first followed by the boys' race at 10a. The Class 2A race featuring Barbieri starts at 11am and the Urbana boys squad will race for the title at noon. The awards ceremonies will occur one hour after the start of the last race for that class.

Below is a list of our area qualifiers.

Boys 1A Qualifiers

Aiden Armstrong (SJO)
EJ Beckett (SJO)
Ethan Blackburn (SJO)
Braden Clampitt (SJO)
Jack Fisher (SJO)
Joe Griebat (SJO)
Mason Guido (SJO)
Holden Jones (SJO)
Charlie Mabry (SJO)
Carson Maroon (SJO)
Isiah Mock (SJO)
Elijah Mock (SJO)
Luke Stegall (SJO)
Payton Wendell (SJO)
Henry Laufenberg (Uni-High)

Girls 1A Qualifiers

Chloe Allen (SJO)
Addie Allen (SJO)
Kaytlyn Baker (SJO)
Chloe Burkhalter (SJO)
Madison Clampitt (SJO)
Savanna Franzen (SJO)
Kailyn Ingram (SJO)
Ava Knap (SJO)
Malorie Sarnecki (SJO)
Taryn Sexton (SJO)
Josie Cler (Unity)
Krystal Crossin (Unity)
Emily Decker (Unity)
Malia Fairbanks (Unity)
Harper Hancock (Unity)
Annabelle Jokisch (Unity)
Caelyn Kleparski (Unity)
Arianna Pruitt-LeFaivre (Unity)
Camryn Reedy (Unity)
Audrey Remole (Unity)
Olivia Shike (Unity)
Sophia Stierwalt (Unity)
Reagen Stringer (Unity)
Erica Woodard (Unity)
Kate Ahmari (Uni-High )
Marina Bowers-Wong (Uni-High)
Stefania Dzhaman (Uni-High)
Edie Hoganson (Uni-High)
Cadi Hu (Uni-High)
Madeleine Keenan (Uni-High)
Bridget Lu (Uni-High)
Kara Mathias (Uni-High)
Erin Smith (Uni-High)
Jeana To (Uni-High)
Grace To (Uni-High)
Maxine Van der donk (Uni-High)
Bonnie Weaver (Uni-High)
Clara Wood (Uni-High)

Boys 1A Qualifiers

Michael Allison (Urbana)
Brian Allison (Urbana)
Julio Angrave (Urbana)
Christian Berry (Urbana)
Hudson Coady (Urbana)
Feras Hamayel (Urbana)
Dereje Jahiel (Urbana)
Sam Lambert (Urbana)
Emmanuel Lokango (Urbana)
Asaph Lokango (Urbana)
Patrick Lyon (Urbana)
Park Mitchell (Urbana)
Jonathan Sanchez-Huanca (Urbana)
Parker Schroeder (Urbana)

Girls 2A Qualifiers

Celia Barbieri (Urbana)


Photos this week


The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team hosted Oakwood-Salt Fork in their home season opener on Monday. After a strong start, the Spartans fell after a strong second-half rally by the Comets, falling 5-1. Here are 33 photos from the game.


Photos from the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team's home opener against Maroa-Forsyth from iphotonews.com.