The St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ golf team will have two senior competing next week in an IHSA sectional tournament, while the Spartans volleyball team tries to end a losing skid. Here is a recap of what happened Wednesday with SJO sports:
In boys’ golf
Loschen, Palmer advance
St. Joseph-Ogden carded a team score of 344 during Wednesday’s 18-hole Class 1A Armstrong-Potomac Regional at Willow Pond Golf Course in Rantoul.
That left the Spartans in fifth place at the 15-team tournament. Not enough to send the whole team to next Monday’s Monticello Sectional that will take place at the University of Illinois Orange Course in Savoy. Only the top three teams move on.
But two Spartans did have good enough rounds on Wednesday to keep their individual seasons intact.
Seniors Garrett Loschen and Tripp Palmer both found themselves among the top 10 individual golfers on non-advancing teams, meaning they’ll get another round this season. At least.
Loschen paced the Spartans with an 81, while Palmer shot an 85. Both those scores were enough to move on.
Hoopeston Area won the regional title as the Cornjerkers shot a 318, followed by runner-up St. Thomas More (327) and third-place finisher Salt Fork (336).
Freshman Calvin Clem shot an 88 and senior Finn Miller carded a 90 to round out the scores for the Spartans on Wednesday.
Loschen and Palmer will now try to qualify for the 1A state tournament. The 10 best individual scores next Monday in Savoy will move on to state, which takes place at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington starting on Oct. 9.
In volleyball
Spartans can’t hold on
St. Joseph-Ogden continued to play well in its opening set, but the Spartans were unable to close out host Cissna Park on Wednesday night.
The result? A 16-25, 25-20, 27-25 win by Cissna Park in a nonconference match.
The loss marked the third straight for SJO (12-8) in as many days, with all three of the Spartans’ losses this week coming in three sets. And coming after SJO won the first set on Monday night in a home nonconference loss against Mt. Zion while also winning the first set in an Illini Prairie Conference road setback against Monticello on Tuesday night.
Senior Emerson Williams supplied a team-high 10 kills for the Spartans (12-8) against Cissna Park, while senior Hadley McDonald added six kills. Juniors Vivian Smith (four kills), Raegan Wheatley (three kills) and Lyla Patton (three kills) also chipped in offensively.
Junior Megan Kearney directed the offense to the tune of 21 assists and also finished with 17 digs and two aces. Junior Ava Alexnander contributed four aces to go along with 13 digs, while McDonald pitched in defensively with 13 digs.
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