November 5, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Spartans shine at Distance Night

Four members of the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field program got the chance to compete in one of the more noteworthy events on the track and field calendar.


SJO qualified its distance medley relay and ran this past Saturday at Distance Night in Palatine. The quartet of Hannah Rajlich, Ashlyn Lannert, Jillian Plotner and Cassidy Bagby finished eighth with a time of 13 minutes, 6.19 seconds, competing against much larger schools from throughout the state in an event that featured a 1,200-meter run, a 400 run, 800 run and 1,600 run.


Saturday night’s performance came after the Spartans were able to go through one meet last week amid inclement weather after last Thursday’s GCMS Invitational was canceled because of bad weather. The Spartans traveled to Tolono last Tuesday for a quadrangular meet with host Unity, Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman and Salt Fork.


The Spartans picked up wins in eight events, highlighted by Maclayne Taylor’s sweep in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Taylor sped to wins in both events, taking first in the 100 in 12.55 seconds and following up with a win in the 200 in 26.54 seconds.


Rajlich also took first in the 800 (2:28.2), while the Spartans won three field events as Abbey Behrens in the high jump (4 feet, 10 inches), Grace Schmitz in the pole vault (9-4) and Atleigh Hamilton in the long jump (17-7) soared for the Spartans. SJO’s 400 relay (50.9) and 1,600 relay (4:24.8) also claimed first-place finishes.


Bagby in the 800 (2:29.8), Hamilton in the 300 hurdles (49.02) and Jenna Albrecht in the triple jump (32-11.5) all added second-place efforts, while the 800 relay (2:00.5) also came in second.


Angie Chahine in the 100 hurdles (19.05) and Lannert in the 300 hurdles (53.34) chipped in with third-place finishes in their respective events.


The SJO girls’ program is slated to take part in both the Urbana Invitational and Monticello Invitational this Friday, with both meets starting at 4:30 p.m.
Inclement weather has caused the SJO boys’ program to not compete in a meet since a quadrangular on April 9 at Rantoul.

The Monticello Invitational on April 12 and the Unity Invitational on April 18 were both canceled because of poor weather. The Spartans are slated to return to the track at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in a rescheduled Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Invitational before SJO hosts its annual Spartan Classic at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Banner
Related Posts

Hug, Martinie help SJO girls’ basketball win regional title

February 21, 2023

February 21, 2023

Winning regional championships is nothing new for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’basketball program. But earning one during the 2022-23...

Sparks plans on continuing Spartan success

March 14, 2019

March 14, 2019

Replacing a legend is not an easy task. However, when the legend is the all-time winningest softball coach in the...

SJO soccer knocks off Comets via penalty kicks

September 17, 2019

September 17, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School soccer team picked up its second win of the season last Friday. The Spartans played...

SJO football rolls in season opener

September 2, 2019

September 2, 2019

The season couldn’t have started off on a better note for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team. Paced by...

SJO to name football field in Duval’s honor

May 26, 2020

May 26, 2020

Like most people who have ever known Dick Duval, Brian Brooks can remember their first-ever meeting. It happened 17 years...

Armstrong sparks SJO girls’ basketball, Spartans stay unbeaten with win against rival Rockets

February 19, 2021

February 19, 2021

A good outside shooter can open up a basketball team’s offense.In more ways than one. Add a second presence from...

Spartans hope to raise the bar

August 27, 2021

August 27, 2021

By Jim Cotter St. Joseph-Ogden football hopes raise the bar this season.Last season, the Spartans finished 2-4. The Spartans are...

Franzen, Knap pace SJO girls’ cross-country at Spartan Classic

October 1, 2021

October 1, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ cross-country team had a strong showing at the Spartan Classic this past Saturday. SJO...

5 questions with TANNER SIEMS

March 1, 2024

March 1, 2024

How would you describe your team?I would describe our team as a family. What is the biggest lesson you have...

What could district format look like for SJO football?

July 26, 2019

July 26, 2019

This decade has seen plenty of different conference opponents for St. Joseph-Ogden High School’s football team. Playing in three conferences...

Martinie, Frick propel SJO girls’ basketball in two straight wins

January 23, 2023

January 23, 2023

More losses than wins have unfolded so far this season for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team.But the...

SJO baseball hits 20-win mark, pushes win streak to four games

May 10, 2019

May 10, 2019

Every year Josh Haley has coached the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team, the Spartans have won at least 20...

Jacob, Cramer and Barnes help SJO girls’ basketball top Prairie Central

January 20, 2020

January 20, 2020

Needing a big win, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team delivered last Thursday night. The Spartans stopped a...

Panthers on the prowl for state title

May 18, 2019

May 18, 2019

St. Joseph Middle School Head Track and Field Coach Zachary Steele couldn’t be prouder of his team. “We had a...

Jones named SJO student-athlete of the month

November 18, 2020

November 18, 2020

Helene Jones likes a challenge. Jones, the October St. Joseph-Ogden student-athlete of the month, enjoys math because it challenges her....

Comments
Leave a Reply