June 6, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Mattsey, Plotner key strong starts for SJO cross-country

The Chrisman Cow Chip Classic features seven different waves of runners.

Run over a pasture near Chrisman High School, hence the name for the popular early-season cross-country meet.
And this past Saturday, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ cross-country team placed third out of 14 teams, while the SJO girls’ team finished fifth out of eight teams.

This comes on the heels of the Spartans opening the season on Aug. 31 with steady performances at the Doc Acklin Memorial Invitational in Paris. The SJO boys’ team placed first in the eight-team meet, while the SJO girls’ team was second out of five teams.

At Chrisman, junior Brandon Mattsey represented the SJO boys’ in the first flight, placing eighth with a time of 17 minutes, 15 seconds. Senior Eric Poe took eighth in flight No. 2 with a time of 17:29.30, while sophomore Elijah Mock was fourth in flight No. 3 with a time of 17:46.39.

In the fourth flight, sophomore Luke Stegall was sixth in 18:12.56, while sophomore Charlie Mabry (third in flight No. 5, 18:13.80), sophomore Braden Clampitt (fifth in flight No. 6, 19:00.24) and junior Lukas Hutcherson (third in flight No. 7, 18:47.50) also added to the Spartans’ team totals.

Monticello won both the boys’ meet and the girls’ meet.

On the girls’ side, senior Jillian Plotner finished sixth in the first flight in a time of 20:07.69, while senior Hannah Rajlich was fourth at flight No. 2 in 20:38.43.

Sophomore Ava Knapp was fifth in flight No. 3 at 20:51.18 and sophomore Ashlyn Lannert was sixth at flight No. 4 in 22:15.28.
Senior Ally Monk (fourth in flight No. 5, 21:02.48), sophomore Hope Rajlich (third in flight No. 6, 21:32.93) and sophomore Kailyn ingram (third in flight No. 7, 21:34.64) also chipped in for the Spartans.

Prior to the Cow Chip Classic, the SJO boys’ team placed five runners in the top 10 to help contribute to a team title at the Doc Acklin Memorial Invitational in Paris. The SJO girls’ team had five runners in the top 11 at the meet, helping the Spartans finish second.

Mattsey paced the SJO boys’ team with a second-place finish in 17:01.4, while Poe was right behind Mattsey with a third-place finish in 17:07.6.

Mock (17:44.0, seventh), Stegall (17:46.8, eighth) and Mabry (18:04.1, 10th) all contributed to SJO’s team championship.
The Spartans compiled 25 points, well ahead of runner-up Marshall (49). Cumberland (79), Effingham (99) and Teutopolis (107) rounded out the top five schools.

Plotner led the SJO girls’ team with a third-place finish in 18:35.2 in Paris. Hannah Rajlich was the next SJO runner to finish with a fifth-place showing in 20:37.9. Knapp (20:44.8, seventh), Lannert (21:06.3, 10th) and Monk (21:11.7, 11th) rounded out the top five runners for the Spartans.

Marshall won the team title with 28 points, followed by SJO (34), Teutopolis (98), Paris (104) and Okaw Valley (112).

Both SJO teams are slated to get back in action at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Kickapoo State Park in a meet against Oakwood/Salt Fork before taking part in the First to the Finish Invitational that starts at 9 a.m. this Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Banner
Related Posts

Spartans fall to T-Town

February 23, 2019

February 23, 2019

NORMAL— All basketball teams have an off-night shooting occasionally. It’s just too bad that the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans picked the...

SJO baseball off to superb start

April 7, 2022

April 7, 2022

High-scoring wins. Dominant pitching performances. Balanced hitting up and down the lineup. These are just some of the staples the...

Witruk, Ward help SJO softball win regional title; Olympia awaits in sectional semifinal

May 22, 2019

May 22, 2019

Add another regional title to the growing collection for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team. The Spartans earned their...

Born to dance: Hess takes passion with her to SIUE

May 30, 2019

May 30, 2019

Kaitlyn Hess has danced nearly all of her life. The recent St. Joseph-Ogden High School graduate will continue to do...

Burnett, Jacobs carry SJO baseball past GCMS

April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

Road wins aren’t to be taken for granted. Especially dominating road victories like the one the St. Joseph-Ogden High School...

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,...

Donation could change the face of sports and activities at SJO

February 16, 2021

February 16, 2021

An anonymous donor has made St. Joseph-Ogden High School an offer they couldn’t refuse. And because of it, SJO athletic...

Griebat dances her heart out

January 24, 2019

January 24, 2019

Dancing is what Haley Griebat loves to do. And she’ll get a chance to do so on the state’s biggest...

Rajlich, Mattsey thrive for SJO cross-country in Peoria

September 17, 2019

September 17, 2019

Thank you to Carrie Mattsey photography for the photo! The St. Joseph-Ogden High School team got its first look at...

Jacob, Cramer and steady defense spark SJO girls’ basketball ahead of difficult stretch this week

January 13, 2020

January 13, 2020

The race for first place in the Illini Prairie Conference is in full swing. And the St. Joseph-Ogden High School...

Taylor wins twice for Spartans at Rantoul meet

April 10, 2019

April 10, 2019

The first big outdoor invitational is the season is nearly here for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and...

SJO boys’ basketball to host 14-team Christie Clinic Shootout on Saturday

January 6, 2024

January 6, 2024

An annual staple on the high school boys’ basketball calendar is back in St. Joseph again this year.The Christie Clinic...

Fall scrimmage night set at SJO

August 23, 2019

August 23, 2019

Want to get a sneak peek at what St. Joseph-Ogden High School athletes will look like this upcoming fall season?...

McDonald on cusp of 400th win as SJO volleyball continues success

September 11, 2023

September 11, 2023

A historic night is potentially on tap Monday at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.SJO volleyball coach Abby McDonald, in her 16th...

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

May 10, 2019

May 10, 2019

The first few weeks of a track and field season are sometimes about finding out what runners to slot into...

Comments
Leave a Reply