June 21, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

SJO girls’ track and field ready for sectional meet on Friday evening

The first few weeks of a track and field season are sometimes about finding out what runners to slot into what events, what athletes can contribute to field events and what members make a relay team click.


And sometimes, it’s the simple thing of making sure all team members are healthy.


That was the case for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field team, who are clicking at the right time leading into Friday’s Class 1A sectional meet the Spartans will host in St. Joseph.


SJO will welcome in 16 other teams for the meet that is slated to start at 4 p.m. with field events before running events take place at 5:30 p.m. The Spartans are fresh off winning their own 15-team Spartan Classic last Friday night in St. Joseph, and coach Kelly Steffen has seen the confidence of her team grow throughout the spring.


“The most important progress we have made is getting all of our sickness out,” Steffen said. “We have had lots of girls come down with colds during the outdoor season, so we are crossing our fingers that we have flushed it all out of our system. Now that we are healthy, it is time to fine-tune and find our confidence. I have said many times to the girls that they need to trust all of the hard work they have put in this season. This is the time that you allow it to show. We have all the practice we need under our belts. Now it is time to compete.”


SJO, the defending 1A state champions, will try to send a large representation to next week’s state meet. The top two finishers in each event, plus any athlete or relay team that hits state-qualifying standards in their respective event, will advance to the state meet, held May 16-18 at O’Brien Stadium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.


“Just like every team, we want to have as big of a showing at state as possible,” Steffen said. “Trying to get as many people qualified as possible is always the goal. However, we also love showing up as a team and fighting for the sectional title. We look to everyone on our sectional roster to fight to score top six for team points.”


SJO will vie for its eighth consecutive sectional title on Friday night as the tradition-rich program seeks to add to its collection of postseason hardware. Winning the Spartan Classic can only add to the momentum that SJO has rolling at the moment.


“Friday’s win just echoes what we stress all year long: team effort,” Steffen said. “It was super exciting to see some girls who aren’t normally our big point scorers step up and place in the top six to contribute to the team title. We had a great team huddle after the meet, thanking our seniors and celebrating a successful regular season while re-focusing our attention to postseason.”


Competing in a familiar environment should benefit SJO come Friday night. Hosting a sectional meet, though, is a double-edged sword, according to Steffen.


“It is always fun to compete on home turf and draw more of a crowd than we would have had with it being away,” Steffen said. “However, there is a lot of work that goes into being a host of a big meet. If something technical goes wrong with the meet, the coaches’ attention has to go to fixing the problem. We cross our fingers that this doesn’t happen, and we also have a wonderful volunteer base that allows us to continue to coach as the meet runs.”


SJO has a plethora of talented athletes set to compete on Friday evening, with state aspirations at stake. Maclayne Taylor, Atleigh Hamilton and Jillian Plotner are fresh off winning events at the Spartan Classic, along with SJO’s 1,600 relay, so Steffen’s squad has shown it can fare well against other top area schools. The quest continues on Friday.


“This is always one of the busiest times of year with school ending, graduation, final exams and more,” Steffen said, “However, I encourage people to stop by and support the Spartans. This group of girls is determined to chase state qualifying, personal records, school records and more. This determination is contagious. The more fans we have cheering, the better it will be.”

Banner
Related Posts

Softball bonds Witruk family

April 12, 2019

April 12, 2019

For the Witruk family of St. Joseph softball is a family affair. Every member of the household has played or...

Postseason quest begins for SJO baseball after strong finish to regular season

May 15, 2019

May 15, 2019

The regular season ended on a positive note for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team. Now, the Spartans hope...

‘There is no one more deserving of this honor’

June 26, 2020

June 26, 2020

Glenn Fisher loves St. Joseph-Ogden High School. For decades, Fisher’s main concern was that the facilities and sports fields at...

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...

Brazelton, SJO wrestling off to solid start

December 14, 2023

December 14, 2023

A relatively young St. Joseph-Ogden wrestling team is faring well through the first two weeks of the season. The Spartans...

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...

Bagby picks Indiana State

March 21, 2019

March 21, 2019

Next year, Cassidy Bagby will be a Sycamore. Earlier this month, St. Joseph-Ogden senior Cassidy Bagby signed her letter of...

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...

5 Question Friday with senior Goalie Hunter Ketchum

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

What is the best part about playing soccer for SJO? The environment. Everyone is here to compete and we are...

Behrens, Vallee help Spartans continue strong start

February 11, 2021

February 11, 2021

So far, so good for the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team. The Spartans made the short drive to Champaign on...

Student-Athlete of the Month Rylee Sjuts

September 3, 2019

September 3, 2019

Every month in season coaches at St. Joseph-Ogden High School nominate athletes to be the student-athlete of the month. A...

Mattsey, Maroon and Mabry help Spartans shine in Monticello

October 24, 2020

October 24, 2020

The final regular season meet saw the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team thrive. So that’s a good sign for the...

On the call: Sjuts delivers in PA role for Spartans

September 20, 2019

September 20, 2019

Even if you don’t know his name, chances are you know his voice. For nearly 20 years Keith Sjuts has...

Burnett, Bigger spark SJO volleyball on recent win streak

October 8, 2019

October 8, 2019

A big hitter. And a superb setter. Every quality volleyball team needs that combination, and the St. Joseph-Ogden High School...

Kaiser, Albrecht spark latest win by SJO volleyball

September 17, 2019

September 17, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School volleyball team kept right on rolling Monday night after placing second this past Saturday at...

Comments
Leave a Reply