April 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

SJO Board to discuss basketball at November meeting

November 4, 2020

November 4, 2020

Basketball isn’t a sure thing at St. Joseph-Ogden High School this winter. The district will have to decide whether to...

Jacob, Smith help SJO boys’ basketball stay unbeaten

December 15, 2023

December 15, 2023

It doesn’t seem to matter the team. Or the location. All the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ basketball team is doing through...

Live at St. Joseph Village Sept. 13, 2022

September 13, 2022

September 13, 2022

I am here. I am the only one in the audience. Here’s some big news if you missed it. https://www.stjosephrecord.com/2022/09/13/village-expected-to-accept-bid-for-boy-scout-building/...

First night game in program history in books, SJO soccer looks to continue successful start

September 11, 2023

September 11, 2023

The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team was scheduled to play Uni High on Thursday, Aug. 24. At a normal time for...

SJO cross-country is heading to state!

November 4, 2019

November 4, 2019

Detweiller Park, here they come. After two stellar postseason races, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ cross-country team and girls’...

Immke, host of others help SJO softball pile up the wins in May

May 26, 2021

May 26, 2021

The last three weeks have seen the St. Joseph-Ogden softball team play a whole bunch of games — 15 to...

Mattsey, Poe highlight SJO boys’ cross-country’s recent success, while Plotner, Rajlich do the same for SJO girls’ cross-country

October 22, 2019

October 22, 2019

All the miles, all the training and all the preparation will come to a head this Saturday for the St....

Hamilton, relay team place first at conference meet for Spartans

May 2, 2019

May 2, 2019

The intensity of a postseason meet is right around the corner for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and...

SJO girls’ basketball tips off season tonight

November 14, 2022

November 14, 2022

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team has lofty expectations each winter. This winter is no different for the...

Ingram, Behrens lead SJO soccer in spring season

April 21, 2021

April 21, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ soccer team experienced a whirlwind of aseason during the 2020-21 school year. A season they’ll likely...

Burnett living out dream, signs with Illinois

June 3, 2021

June 3, 2021

Throughout the years, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team has sent multiple players on to the next level. The...

SJO dances through adversity and earns date at state

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

On Friday afternoon, the St. Joseph-Ogden dance team thought its season was finished. Not because of how they performed. But...

Mabry, Stegall pace SJO boys’ cross-country to regional title; sectional meet up Saturday

October 30, 2021

October 30, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ cross-country team has shown the capability it could win a state title all season....

Orcutt named Student Athlete of the Month

January 30, 2019

January 30, 2019

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Joel Orcutt isn’t just a standout basketball player. He is also an artist. “I enjoy doing art...

Hamilton, Taylor spark SJO girls’ track and field at Sages Invitational

April 29, 2019

April 29, 2019

The regular season is winding down for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field team. And the Spartans...

Comments
Leave a Reply