March 29, 2023 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

SJO cross-country is heading to state!

Detweiller Park, here they come.

After two stellar postseason races, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ cross-country team and girls’ cross-country team will both compete this Saturday at the Class 1A state meet in Peoria.
The 1A girls’ race in Peoria is slated to begin at 9 a.m., with the 1A boys’ race to follow at 10 a.m.

And SJO will be well-represented in both.

For the SJO boys’ team, the Spartans placed third this past Saturday at the 1A Effingham St. Anthony Sectional, which was preceded by a third-place finish at the 1A Tuscola Regional on Oct. 26.

SJO compiled 158 points at the sectional meet, behind champion Monticello (42) and runner-up Uni High (96), but ahead of Unity (162) and Robinson (173). The top five schools all advanced to state.

Junior Brandon Mattsey paced SJO with a 13th-place finish in 16 minutes, 56 seconds. Senior Eric Poe made sure the Spartans had two runners in the top 25, with Poe placing 22nd in 17:16.

Sophomore Charlie Mabry was the next SJO runner to cross the finish line, doing so in 17:40 for a 36th-place finish. Sophomore Elijah Mock (17:50, 42nd) and junior Logan Wolfersberger (17:52, 45th) rounded out the top five runners for SJO.

Prior to SJO running in Effingham, the Spartans finished fifth at the Tuscola Regional, one of seven teams to move on to the sectional.
SJO accumulated 97 points, behind Monticello (28), Uni High (83), PBL (95) and Unity (95), with Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin (158) and St. Thomas More (231) rounding out the team sectional qualifiers.

Mattsey and Poe gave SJO two runners in the top 15, with Mattsey touring the Wimple Park course in 16:44 to place 10th and Poe doing so in 17:03 to place 14th.

Mabry (17:15, 20th), Mock (17:26, 24th) and sophomore Luke Stegall (17:39, 29th) made sure to help SJO advanced after its first postseason race.

Just like the SJO boys, the SJO girls’ team finished third at the Effingham St. Anthony Sectional this past Saturday.

The Spartans compiled 110 points, behind champion Monticello (53) and Unity (66), but ahead of other state-qualifying teams in STM (116) and Uni High (132).

Senior Jillian Plotner clocked the fastest time for the Spartans in 19:33 to place 11th, while the next four Spartans all formed a solid pack to help the Spartans move on. Sophomore Ashlynn Lannert (19:57, 23rd), senior Hannah Rajlich (19:58, 24th), sophomore Ava Knap (19:59, 25th) and sophomore Malorie Sarnecki (20:04, 27th) rounded out the top five runners for SJO.

At the Tuscola Regional on Oct. 26, the Spartans placed third to qualify as one of seven teams moving on to the sectional meet. SJO accumulated 85 points, with Monticello (37) and Unity (47) taking the top two spots. STM (87), Uni High (104), PBL (187) and Tuscola (219) all moved their entire teams on to Effingham.

Plotner garnered a top-10 finish to lead SJO in Tuscola by finishing ninth in 19:10. The next four SJO runners all had a balanced run, giving the Spartans five runners in the top 21. Lannert (19:43, 16th), Knap (19:48, 19th), Sarnecki (19:54, 20th) and senior Ally Monk (19:55, 21st) all finished within seconds of one another to give the Spartans a solid start to the postseason.

And the postseason will conclude where SJO wants it to. At Detweiller Park in Peoria, where the top 25 runners earn All-State honors and the top three teams earn state trophies.

Photo by Dan Chamness

Banner
Related Posts

Burnett, Steinbach keep SJO volleyball rolling

September 15, 2021

September 15, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School volleyball team has established a standard of excellence in the past. This year is no...

Get to know SJO Volleyball player Helene Jones

October 31, 2022

October 31, 2022

What do you think makes the team so successful? Everyone on the team is so close outside of volleyball, so...

Pence, Smith propel SJO boys’ basketball to State Farm Holiday Classic title

January 3, 2023

January 3, 2023

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball team celebrated the holidays in fashion. How? By winning a State Farm Holiday...

SJO girls’ basketball wins long-awaited season opener

February 8, 2021

February 8, 2021

The last time St. Joseph-Ogden hosted a girls’ basketball game before Thursday night, it had a good ending for the...

Wesley showcases love of baseball with Spartans, travel teams

April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

Sam Wesley has been playing his favorite sport since he was very young. Wesley, a junior at St. Joseph-Ogden High...

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...

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...

5 Question Friday with Charlie Mabry

September 10, 2021

September 10, 2021

Every Friday we are going to ask an athlete to answer five questions. This week we talked to Charlie Mabry....

Cafarelli, Kern help SJO golf start strong

August 31, 2022

August 31, 2022

The sport to begin during the fall season, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School golf team is off to a rousing...

Tough tests: SJO girls’ basketball loses to Teutopolis, Mahomet-Seymour

December 15, 2021

December 15, 2021

Playing quality competition should only make a team better later in the season. The St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball...

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...

Cook surpasses 1,000 career points

February 18, 2019

February 18, 2019

Before the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball teams plays Monday night for a shot to reach the state tournament, facing Chicago...

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...

SJO girls’ tennis picks up second win

August 31, 2021

August 31, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ tennis team will aim for its third straight win when the Spartans play at...

Izard leads SJO boys’ basketball to Classic title

December 13, 2019

December 13, 2019

Defending its home court and winning its own tournament each season is always a main goal for the St. Joseph-Ogden...

Comments
Leave a Reply