December 8, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Knott, sprint relay shine at GCMS Invitational

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ track and field team went two weeks in between competitions.


Blame Mother Nature for that.


But the Spartans made the most of their opportunity on Tuesday at the Falcon Invitational hosted by Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, finishing fourth at the 11-team meet after being a late addition to the field.


SJO compiled 73 points, just behind Clifton Central (105), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (104) and GCMS (81). Ridgeview (61) rounded out the top five schools.

The Spartans emerged with two first-place finishes as the 400-meter relay team of Dwight Colvin, Aiden Meyer, Brayden Grimsey and Lane Gaskin blazed around the track in 44.48 seconds to top the rest of the relays.


Hayden Knott performed well in the discus, winning the field event with a toss of 138 feet, 3 inches.


SJO added 10 other efforts that resulted in top-five finishes to aid its efforts in Gibson City. Meyer placed second in the 100 with a time of 11.35 and Eric Poe also finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:07.73.


Lane Gaskin in the 200 (23.47), Ethan Vanilew in the 400 (55.73) and the 1,600 relay quartet of Keanen Swanson, Brady Buss, Meyer and Kaleb Harshbarger (3:37.65) all placed third for SJO.


Brandon Mattsey in the 1,600 (4:57.72), Isiah McCune in the 3,200 (10:47.18) and Swanson in the triple jump (37-0.5) all finished fourth, while Swanson in the 400 (56.80) and Vanilew in the high jump (5-6) brought home fifth-place finishes.


SJO is set to return to the track at 4:30 p.m. this Friday when it hosts the annual Spartan Classic. On the girls’ side, SJO is set to compete at both the Monticello Invitational and Urbana Open, with both meets starting at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Banner
Related Posts

Vallee, Burnett lead SJO volleyball to superb spring

April 9, 2021

April 9, 2021

Playing a flurry of matches in a short amount of time hasn’t hindered the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball program. The Spartans...

SJO girls’ track and field wins Spartan Classic, prep for postseason

May 8, 2019

May 8, 2019

Winning meets on their own track has become a consistent theme for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and...

Going the Distance: Smetzer excels at Western

October 17, 2019

October 17, 2019

Ross Smetzer has goals. The 2016 St. Joseph-Ogden High School graduate runs cross country and track for Western Illinois University...

Wendling doesn’t give up, ready for state meet

February 14, 2019

February 14, 2019

When Jake Wendling first suffered a knee injury earlier this season, wrestling at the state meet didn’t seem likely. But...

5 questions with SJO football team captain Owen Birt

November 5, 2022

November 5, 2022

Why is being a team captain important to you?Being a team captain is important to me because it is important...

Spartans learn postseason foe, lose close game at Charleston

May 2, 2019

May 2, 2019

Playing for the first time in a week after inclement weather caused multiple postponements, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball...

Knott named Student Athlete of the Month

May 27, 2019

May 27, 2019

Hayden Knott had a stellar track and field season. The sophomore won the Illini Prairie Conference meet shot put and...

Plotner’s dedication to cross country pays off

October 4, 2019

October 4, 2019

Jillian Plotner works hard every day to be the best she possibly can be. St. Joseph-Ogden Cross Country Head coach...

After winning Illini Prairie Conference championship, SJO girls’ basketball to play for regional title

February 18, 2022

February 18, 2022

Postseason accomplishments are significant ways to remember a season.But so are conference championships.And when this chapter is written on the...

Blackburn soars on Friday nights

September 6, 2019

September 6, 2019

Kaylee Blackburn isn’t afraid of heights. In fact, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School cheerleader is known as a high-flyer. Blackburn,...

SJO football schedule for 2019 set

July 1, 2019

July 1, 2019

Making the playoffs is always a goal for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team. Having qualified in 27 of...

Maroon named student-athlete of the month

November 25, 2020

November 25, 2020

Carson Maroon wants to have a job that supports people in their time of need. “After high school, I hope...

Burnett, Rose help SJO baseball post three wins

April 22, 2019

April 22, 2019

The past week featured a bit of everything for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team. Solid pitching. Timely hitting....

Groundbreaking takes place at new baseball field

April 9, 2021

April 9, 2021

A ground breaking ceremony took place this week at the new home of the Royal Giants and the St. Joseph-Ogden...

SJO5k Results for July 30, 2022

August 1, 2022

August 1, 2022

Name City Bib No Age Gender Age Group Total Time Pace 1 Austin Bridgman Potomac IL 632 22 M 1:Open...

Comments
Leave a Reply