The St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ soccer team stayed undefeated and the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ cross-country team won their first event of the 2026 season on Saturday. Here is a quick rundown:
In boys’ soccer
Stevens, Hess shine
The Spartans put forth a resounding offensive effort on Saturday, easily defeating Iroquois West 9-1 during a nonconference home match at Dick Dick Duval in St. Joseph.
Sophomore Lucas Stevens and senior Tyler Hess led the way for SJO, with Stevens scoring four goals and Hess scoring three goals. Hess also added an assist.
Senior Yadi Acosta joined in on the offensive fun with three assists, while senior Waylon Jones and sophomore Isaac Hernandez also scored a goal. For Hernandez, it was his first goal with the Spartans.
The win improved SJO to 3-0 on the season before the Spartans host Schlarman at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Dick Duval Field in another home nonconference match.
In girls’ cross-country
Bressner, Walker deliver
One invitational down, one team title down as well.
St. Joseph-Ogden opened the season with a flourish as the Spartans placed first out of 11 teams at the Doc Acklin Memorial Invite in Paris on Saturday.
SJO put five runners in the top 20, allowing the Spartans to finish with 41 points. Marshall placed second with 55 points, followed by Robinson in third place with 72 points. Neoga (110) and Teutopolis (130) rounded out the top five schools.
Juniors Grace Bressner and Tessa Walker stood out for SJO. Brewster placed third with a time of 20 minutes, 27.23 seconds and Walker finished fourth in 20:30.71. Sophomore Charlene Barbee was the next SJO runner to finish, doing so in 21:19.98 and placing seventh.
Senior Abigail Bello chipped in a 16th-place finish in 22:47.59 and sophomore Taylor Vaughn placed 19th with a time of 23:01.79.
SJO will resume running this upcoming Saturday when it takes part in the Cow Chip Classic in Chrisman. The race starts at 9 a.m.
In boys’ cross-country
Burnett leads the way
St. Joseph-Ogden started the season with a third-place finish on Saturday at the Doc Acklin Memorial Invite in Paris.
The Spartans compiled 72 points, with host Paris winning the 14-team event with 40 points. Cumberland had 56 points to fins ahead of SJO, while Charleston (91) and Robinson (165) rounded out the top five schools.
Senior Colin Burnett paced the Spartans by finishing sixth out of 136 runners with a time of 17 minutes, 7 seconds. Sophomore Adam Bello was the next SJO runner to cross the finish line, doing so in 17:37.08 and placing 11th. Freshman Camden Fisher was right behind Bello, taking 12th place with a time of 17:40 in his first race with the Spartans.
Senior Nate Farney (18:03.23, 20th) and sophomore Brady Johnson (18:11.50, 24th) rounded out the top five runners for the Spartans.
SJO gets back on the course this upcoming Saturday at the Cow Chip Classic in Chrisman. The race begins at 9 a.m.
In girls’ tennis
St. Joseph-Ogden traveled to Paris on Saturday, but came home with a 9-0 loss against the host Tigers.
Paris won five of the six singles matches in straight sets. Senior Madison Farber was the lone SJO player to win a set in singles, but she ultimately lost her No. 2 singles match, falling 1-6, 7-6 (7), 0-1 (2).
What’s on tap
No SJO varsity sports team is set to compete on Monday, but a handful are set to on Tuesday. The Spartans’ girls’ tennis team plays Urbana at 4:15 p.m. at Blair Park in Urbana, while the SJO boys’ golf team takes on Unity at 4 p.m. at Willow Pond Golf Course in Rantoul. The SJO volleyball team carries its 3-0 record into a nonconference road match against Mahomet-Seymour that starts at 7 p.m.
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