Reed, Borden and Wendling IHSA Regional Wrestling Champions, area basketball teams pick-up wins
By FRED KRONER
fred@sjodaily.com
Oakwood/Salt Fork qualified eight of its wrestlers for the Class 1A sectional and St. Joseph-Ogden had six wrestlers continue their seasons in Saturday’s regional meet at Unity High School.
The Comets had two regional champions, sophomore Gage Reed (113 pounds) and junior Caide Borden (285 pounds).
Other squad members that secured berths in the Carterville Sectional, which starts on Friday, are Brian Reagan (third at 120 pounds), Joe Lashuay (second at 126 pounds), Connor Hutson (third at 132 pounds), Caleb Lashuay (second at 145 pounds), Tate Johnson (second at 152 pounds) and Mason Ajster (third at 160 pounds).
SJ-O’s individual titlist was senior Jake Wendling (120 pounds).
Other Spartans who will compete at the sectional are A.J. Wagner (second at 106 pounds), Isaiah Moore (second at 113 pounds), Isaiah Immke (second at 132 pounds), Peyton Holt (third at 138 pounds) and Brodie Sullivan (third at 170 pounds).
Monticello won the team title with 193 1/2 points. Runner-up Unity had 173 points.
Oakwood/Salt Fork placed third with 140 1/2 points. SJ-O was fourth in the nine-team meet with 109 points.
Boys’ basketball
St. Joseph-Ogden
Three Spartans scored in double figures on Friday as SJ-O won at Illini Prairie Conference game against visiting Pontiac, 61-50.
Joel Orcutt scored in double figures for the sixth game in a row, with 19 points. Chance Izard had 14 points and Jack Cook added 13 points.
Cook grabbed a team-high six rebounds an Izard collected five boards.
Payton Cain had two assists.
SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday at home against Rantoul.
Oakwood
The Comets (14-9) overcame a game-long deficit on Friday, rallying in the final period to turn back visiting Salt Fork, 45-38.
Salt Fork led, 13-3, after one quarter and 20-15 at halftime.
Bryce Jones sparked Oakwood’s 15-6 fourth-quarter run, scoring eight of his game-high 20 points during the last eight minutes. Zane Priest hit all five of his points in the fourth period.
Trevan Garrett added 10 points.
The Comets return to action on Tuesday at Chrisman.
Villa Grove/Heritage
The Blue Devils (18-7) put up 23 first-quarter points on Friday and overpowered Oblong 63-51 in Oblong.
Jared Stevens scored a team-high 18 points.
Other key offensive contributors were Jake Eversole and will Wilson, with nine points apiece, and Logan Nohren, with eight points.
Stevens matched his season’s high with 19 points on Thursday, but the Hawks dropped a 71-59 non-conference decision to Judah Christian.
Also scoring in double figures for VG/Heritage was Wilson with 15 points. Nohren added eight points.
Judah (22-2) led, 35-21, at halftime.
VG/Heritage returns to action on Tuesday against visiting Tri-County.
Girls’ basketball
St. Joseph-Ogden
The Spartans (23-4) built the margin they needed in the first quarter on Saturday and held on to defeat visiting Bloomington Central Catholic, 62-56, to wrap up the championship in the Illini Prairie Conference.
SJ-O, ranked fifth in the latest Class 2A state poll, led, 20-12, after the opening eight minutes.
Bree Trimble scored 20 points and Maclayne Taylor added 17 points for SJ-O. They combined to score 15 of the Spartans’ 20 first-quarter points.
Peyton Crowe and Hannah Dukeman each chipped in with 10 points as the Spartans had four double-digit scorers for the first time in a game this season.
Trimble reached the 1,500-point mark for her career with her 15th point and enters postseason play with 1,505 points.
Crowe recently eclipsed the 1,000-point mark.
SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday in the Class 2A Unity Regional.
Oakwood
In the regular-season championship game of the Vermilion Valley Conference, defending state champion Schlarman Academy (25-2) jumped into a 24-8 first-quarter lead at Oakwood on Thursday and cruised past the Comets, 70-28.
Katelyn Young led Oakwood with 13 points. Kylie Neuman added eight points.
Oakwood (23-6) bounced back on Saturday, blitzing Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 47-24.
Young scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the first quarter as the Comets jumped into an 18-3 lead.
G-RF managed just two first-half field goals and trailed, 34-5, at intermission.
The Comets return to action at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a Class 2A regional semifinal game at Bismarck.
Villa Grove/Heritage
For the third time this season, Kyleigh Block and Aliya Holloman each scored at least 20 points in the same game as the Blue Devils (21-7) won at Martinsville 58-25 on Thursday.
Block scored a game-high 23 points. Holloman chipped in with 21 points.
Both players netted two three-pointers.
VG/Heritage returns to action in a Class 2A regional semifinal game at Warrensburg against Maroa-Forsyth.
Competitive cheerleading
Out of 25 teams competing in the state finals in the small-team division, Oakwood finished in 12th place and missed one of the 10 berths in the finals by .83.
St. Joseph-Ogden finished 25th in the state finals, held during the weekend at Grossinger Motors Arena, in Bloomington.
