The St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ cross-country team won the Illini Prairie Conference Meet, while the Spartans volleyball team got a much-needed win and the SJO boys’ soccer team earned a road win. Here is a recap of what happened Tuesday with the Spartans:
In girls’ cross-country
Bressner, Barbee pace Spartans
Led by junior Grace Bressner and sophomore Charlene Barbee, St. Joseph-Ogden placed first among the five teams competing on Tuesday at the Illini Prairie Conference Meet. Held at Indian Creek Golf Course in Fairbury, SJO compiled 28 points as Chillicothe IVC finished second with 43 points. Unity (51), Monticello (107) and Bloomington Central Catholic (135) rounded out the rest of the team scores, with Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Pontiac, Prairie Central, Rantoul and St. Thomas More having individual runners competing.
Bressner crossed the finish line first in the field of 47 runners with a time of 18 minutes, 36.5 seconds. Barbee was the next to do so, finishing second with a time of 19:31.1. Junior Tessa Walker gave SJO three runners in the top five after Walker placed fifth in 20:07.1.
Sophomore Allie Bott (20:39.7, ninth) and senior Abigail Bello (21:09.7, 13th) rounded out the rest of the team score for the Spartans.
SJO has one more regular-season meet scheduled before the IHSA postseason starts on Oct. 24, with the Spartans set to run on Oct. 17 at the Patriot Invitational at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
In boys’ cross-country
Burnett earns top-five finish
St. Joseph-Ogden finished third out of eight teams on Tuesday at the Illini Prairie Conference Meet at Indian Creek Golf Course in Fairbury.
The Spartans produced 69 points, with Chillicothe IVC winning the meet with 38 points and Monticello finishing second with 50 points. Bloomington Central Catholic (98), Prairie Central (102), Unity (163), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (202) and Pontiac (255) rounded out the rest of the team scores, with Rantoul and St. Thomas More having individual runners compete.
Senior Collin Burnett led the way for SJO as he placed fifth in the field of 59 runners with a time of 15 minutes, 24.7 seconds. Sophomore Adam Bello gave the Spartans two runners in the Top 10 as Bello placed ninth in 15:50.9. Freshman Camden Fisher wasn’t far behind, finishing 12th in 16:06.0.
Senior Nate Farney (16:27.0, 18th place) and Brady Johnson (16:43.9, 25th place) rounded out the rest of SJO’s results that accounted into the team score.
The Spartans are now off until Oct. 17 when they will run again at Detweiller Park in Peoria as part of the Patriot Invitational. That marks the final regular-season meet of the season for SJO before IHSA regional races begin on Oct. 24.
In volleyball
Williams stands out
St. Joseph-Ogden ended a four-match losing streak with a 25-20, 25-21 victory at Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Tuesday night.
Senior Emerson Williams helped deliver the Illini Prairie Conference win for the Spartans (13-9, 2-2 Illini Prairie) with a dynamic offensive performance. Williams produced a match-high 13 kills, more than half of SJO’s total kills, to keep the Panthers off balance.
Senior Addi Stevens and junior Raegan Wheatley each finished with three kills, while senior Hadley McDonald added two kills. Junior Megan Kearney handed out 21 assists, while she, Williams and junior Bella Frerichs each made eight digs.
Williams added two aces, with junior Ava Alexander and McDonald also helping out the defensive efforts with seven digs apiece.
In boys’ soccer
Stevens, Harris spark Spartans
St. Joseph-Ogden returned home late Tuesday night with a 3-1 victory at Chillicothe IVC, the second straight win for the Spartans and first Illini Prairie Conference victory in two weeks.
SJO (12-5-2, 2-2-2 Illini Prairie) took a 3-0 lead into halftime thanks to the goal-scoring efforts from sophomore Lucas Stevens and senior Nico Harris.
Stevens scored two goals to lead the Spartans, while Harris added a goal and an assist. Sophomore Luke Dunn was also instrumental in the win with an assist.
SJO returns home on Thursday when it hosts Manteno at 4:30 p.m. in a nonconference match at Dick Duval Field in St. Joseph.
Spartans win on senior day
St. Joseph-Ogden ended a three-match winless streak with a close 2-1 victory against Beecher on Saturday at Dick Duval Field in St. Joseph.
The nonconference win, which came on SJO’s senior day, improved the Spartans’ record to 11-5-2 as the regular season winds down. The win against Beecher came after the Spartans lost 4-1 at Rantoul/Paxton-Buckley-Loda this past Thursday in an Illini Prairie Conference match.
During the win against Beecher, sophomores Karter Peoples and Lucas Stevens delivered to the offensive output. Peoples scored a goal, while Stevens had an assist as SJO took the lead in the second half after the first half ended with the match tied at 1. In the loss against Rantoul/PBL, senior Steven Newman scored the lone goal for SJO and senior Nico Harris provided the assist.
SJO continues play on Tuesday, traveling to Chillicothe IVC for a 5:30 p.m. Illini Prairie match.
The Spartans also found out their postseason assignment late last week. SJO received a No. 3 seed and will play No. 6 Oakwood/Salt Fork at 4 p.m. on Oct. 20 in a Class 1A Monticello Regional semifinal match. Monticello is the No. 2 seed in the regional and will play either No. 7 St. Teresa or No. 10 Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Westville at 4 p.m. on Oct. 19 in the first regional semifinal match. The two regional semifinal winners will meet at 4 p.m. on Oct. 23 in the regional championship match, with the winner advancing to the Rochester Sectional.
In boys’ golf
Loschen, Palmer see season end
St. Joseph-Ogden seniors Garrett Loschen and Tripp Palmer came up short in their quest to reach the Class 1A state tournament, but the pair of Spartans played on Monday during the Monticello Sectional tournament held at the University of Illinois Orange Course in Savoy.
Both Loschen and Palmer needed to land among the top 10 individuals on the day in order to keep their season going into this weekend, with the 1A state tournament teeing off Friday and concluding Saturday at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington.
But on a day where all the individuals on non-qualifying teams carded rounds in the 70s to clinch their spot at state, Loschen and Palmer weren’t able to go that low.
Loschen had a round of 87, 10 strokes off the final state qualifying spot, while Palmer finished his season with a round of 99.
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