Illinois State Scholars must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen who is also a resident of Illinois. The student must attend an approved high school, take the ACT or SAT between Aug. 1 and June 30 before the third semester of high school graduation, perform in the top one-half of the high school class at the end of the third semester prior to graduation and/or score at or above the 95th percentile on the ACT or SAT. They must also graduate from the high school during the academic year in which they were chosen as State Scholar.

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SJ-O Football

The gains made by St. Joseph-Ogden’s football team Friday night were not enough.

The Spartans’ offense was stymied by Unity’s defense and the Rockets made SJ-O its third successive shutout victim with a 20-0 win for homecoming at Hicks Field.

“Their defensive players are fast to the football,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said.

SJ-O was only able to generate 44 second-half yards on 20 plays.

The game was scoreless until the final 40 seconds of the first half.

Unity gained possession on the SJ-O 29-yard line with 1 minute, 59 seconds left in the second quarter following an 11-yard punt.

The Rockets had no timeouts remaining, but moved quickly, scoring on a 6-yard pass from Nate Reinhart to Nate Drennan with 38 seconds left in the period.

For the Spartans, there was a lot to like from the first two quarters. SJ-O matched Unity on first downs (6-6), had no penalties and no turnovers.

“I like how we played with effort,” Skinner said. “There wasn’t a lot I didn’t like other than the lack of scoring on our part. Everything had gone about as we wanted until that last possession when we gave them good field position.”

SJ-O took the ball to start the third quarter, but had to punt 57 seconds later.

Crayton Burnett sailed a punt 45 yards, but the Rockets completed a 64-yard scoring march thanks to three third-down conversions.

Again, Drennan hauled in a scoring strike from Reinhart, who converted his second extra point.

“They are very good, but we feel that we left some plays on the field,” Skinner said. “We’ll lick our wounds, but we will watch film and learn from this.

“Our guys were not satisfied. I liked the look in their eyes after the game. Our guys were ready to keep playing.”

Overall, SJ-O had 64 yards rushing on 25 carries.

Coby Miller and Keaton Nolan each gained 23 yards. Burnett finished with 15 yards rushing. He also completed 10 of 20 passes, for 66 yards.

Ty Pence hauled in four receptions for 21 yards. Chance Izard had 16 yards on two catches.

Izard’s 12-yard catch in the second half was the Spartans’ only play from scrimmage the last two quarters to generate more than eight yards.

In all, six Spartans had pass receptions.

Unity (3-1) finished with a 262-130 edge in total yards.

SJ-O’s four first-half possessions started on their own 18-, 15-, 3- and 17-yard lines.

The Spartans’ first possession of the third period began on their own 13-yard line.

“We made them have to drive the length of the field and we think it’s tough to do that against our defense,” Unity coach Scott Hamilton said. “Defensively, we’ve got a hungry group.”

SJ-O (3-1) returns to action on Friday in its homecoming game against Pontiac (1-3).

SJ-O Girls’ cross-country

The Spartans finished seventh on Saturday in the freshmen-sophomore division of the Richard Spring Invitational at Detweiler Park, in Peoria,

Leading the way for SJ-O were Kailyn Ingram (52nd in 20 minute, 29.7 seconds for 3 miles), Addie Allen (64th in 20:43.4), Malorie Sarnecki (70th in 20:48.2), Kendra Riddle (136th in 21:45.5) and Sidney Davis (188th in 23:09.8).

There were 278 runners in the freshmen-sophomore race.

Meet champion Elmhurst York had 30 points. SJ-O totaled 190.

In the varsity race, SJ-O had three competitors and was not scored as a team.

Jillian Plotner was 101st in a 454-runner field with a time of 19:15.0.

Trailing her were Hanna Eastin (212th in 20:23.8) and Ally Monk (252nd in 20:50.9).

In the open race, the Spartans ended in 40th place with a score of 1194. Meet champion York had 60 points.

The top SJ-O runners were: Kaytlyn Baker (252nd in 23:35.2), Taryn Sexton (362nd in 24:55.9), Teagan Miller (477th in 26:45.9), Izzy Sexton (533rd in 28:32.0), Mary Hinrichs (554th in 29:56.2) and Lili Wentzloff (579th in 34:53.2).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday when it hosts the Spartan Classic.

SJ-O Boys’ cross-country

Brandon Mattsey and Eric Poe placed among the top half on Saturday in the varsity division of the Richard Spring Classic at Detweiler Park, in Peoria.

Mattsey ran the 3-mile course in 16 minutes, 42.7 seconds and took 188th in a field of 446 competitors. Poe was 198th in 16:46.1.

Other Spartan placers were Logan Wolfersberger (340th in 17:56.0), Lukas Hutcherson (358th in 18:05.9), Taddy Pettit (409th in 19:26.9) and Joshua Sexton (439th in 22:3.1).

In the team standings, SJ-O was 54th with a score of 1426. Meet champion St. Charles East had a score of 57.

SJ-O captured 27th in the 53-school freshmen-sophomore team chase with a score of 777. Meet champion Deerfield had a score of 88.

The Spartans’ leaders were Charlie Mabry (84th in 17:09.8), Elijah Mock (86th in 17:10.3), Luke Stegall (167th in 17:59.1), Braden Clampitt (200th in 18:17.6), Ethan Blackburn (247th in 18:55.3) and Zach Dahman (331st in 21:17.1).

SJ-O did not have any participants in the open race.

The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they host their own Spartan Classic.

SJ-O Golf

Medalist Payton Grimsley carded a 36 to lead the Spartans past Okaw Valley in a three-school meet on Thursday at Tri-City Country Cub. The Spartans carded a team composite of 170 and earned a team win by 23 strokes.

Following Grimsley were teammates Joe Acton (40), Riley Myren (44), Maddux Carter (50), Jack Robertson (52), Jacob Kern (54) and McGuire Atwood (55).

SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday at the Illini Prairie Conference meet in El Paso.

SJ-O Soccer

For the third match in a row, SJ-O was held scoreless on Thursday and dropped a 7-0 Illini Prairie Conference decision to St. Thomas More in Champaign.

SJ-O rebounded on Saturday with a 3-3 draw against Chillicothe IVC.

Freshman Emily Eisbernd scored the first goal for the Spartans, giving the team a 1-0 lead at halftime.

She was assisted by Luke Cohen, who hit a second-half goal as did teammate Garrett Siems.

Siems also had one assist.

The Spartans (2-9-2) return to action on Tuesday at Rantoul.

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St. Joseph-Ogden completed a unique three-match homestand in three nights on Wednesday with its third two-game sweep in as many days.

The Spartans (13-3) turned back Danville 25-13, 25-13 on Wednesday.

Katelyn Berry had 10 digs, Kennedi Burnett had eight digs and Rylee Stahl had six digs.

Burnett and Lacey Kaiser each swatted six kills. Bigger handed out 16 assists to go with two service aces.

On Tuesday, the Spartans secured a 2-0 sweep over visiting Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

Bigger handed out 26 assists and SJ-O displayed a potent and balanced offensive attack.

Kaiser landed nine kills while Berry and Burnett each delivered seven kills.

Burnett sparked a defense that produced 42 digs. She had nine.

Other team leaders were Berry (seven digs), Lindsey Aden (six digs), Kaiser (six digs), Berry (five digs) and Stahl (five digs).

Bigger had 16 assists and eight digs on Monday as the Spartans blitzed visiting Hoopeston Area, 25-5, 25-5.

Kaiser (six kills), Jenna Albrecht (five kills) and Burnett (five kills) were the offensive sparks.

Berry contributed a team-high 11 digs.

SJ-O (12-3) returns to action on Monday at Urbana.

SJ-O Boys’ cross-country

SJ-O runners were dominant on Tuesday in a non-scored dual meet against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park.

The Spartans swept the second through 10th positions.

SJ-O’s Brandon Mattsey was the meet’s runner-up, running the 3-mile course in 18 minutes, 7 seconds.

The next six Spartan runners finished consecutively and were within 29 seconds of one another.

Eric Poe was third in 19:01, followed by Lukas Hutcherson (fourth in 19:04), Luke Stegall (fifth in 19:07), Logan Wolfersberger (sixth in 19:09), Braden Clampitt (seventh in 19:11) and Elijah Mock (eighth in 19:30).

Completing the top 10 were SJ-O’s Ethan Blackburn (ninth in 20:37) and Charlie Mabry (10th in 20:51).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational.

SJ-O Girls’ cross-country

In a non-scored dual meet on Tuesday against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park, SJ-O runners swept all of the first five positions.

Jillian Plotner was the individual winner in 21 minutes, 15 seconds for the 3-mile course.

She was followed by Hannah Rajlich (second in 21:20), Ava Knap (third in 21:27), Ashlyn Lannert (fourth in 21:53) and Ally Monk (fifth in 22:07).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational.

SJ-O Soccer

It was a different day, but the outcome was the same for the St. Joseph-Ogden soccer program.

Three days after losing to Monticello 5-0 in a tournament match at Hoopeston, the Spartans lost a 5-0 decision to Monticello on Tuesday at home.

Monticello is 10-0-1 for the season, SJ-O is 2-8-1 entering a match today at St. Thomas More (9-1-3).

The post Spartan Volleyball handles Danville and PBL, SJ-O CC sweeps Monticello first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Spartans had two players eclipse the 100-yard mark in rushing on Friday and continued their unbeaten start to the season with an 18-7 conquest of visiting Bloomington Central Catholic.

One highlight for SJ-O was the play of the defense, which head coach Shawn Skinner said was “outstanding.”

He continued: “I thought our DBs were solid all night. Drew Coursey was a factor at outside linebacker getting pressure on their quarterback and setting an edge to stop their outside runs.”

The SJ-O defense limited the Saints to 48 yards rushing on 22 attempts.

Keaton Nolan ran for a game-high 107 yards and Brayden Weaver gained 104 to lead SJ-O, which registered 339 yards of total offense.

Weaver’s first-quarter touchdown accounted for the only scoring until Nolan reached the end zone in the final 90 seconds of the first half.

Crayon Burnett, who completed 6 of 16 passes for 131 yards, added the final TD in the fourth quarter.

Brady Buss caught two passes from Burnett and turned them into gains of 83 yards. Other teammates with receptions were Ty Pence (two), Payton Cain (one) and Coby Miller (one).

“The offense took some strides in throwing the ball,” Skinner said, “but we left some plays on the field.

“Obviously, when you get two backs who run for over 100 yards, it’s a credit to your offensive line and the ability to get those backs free.”

The Spartans (3-0) return to action on Friday at Unity (2-1).

“We need to keep getting better,” Skinner said. “It’s really that simple.

“If we continue to play with effort and come to practice focused, and continue to play better, that’s all we can ask as coaches.”

SJ-O Boys’ cross-country

Brandon Mattsey placed 56th for SJ-O on Saturday in the 505-runner Class 2A division of the First to Finish race at Detweiler Park in Peoria.

Mattsey’s 3-mile time was 16 minutes, 30.2 seconds.

SJ-O had a team score of 702 and ended in 24th place. There was a total of 59 full teams. Meet champion Kaneland had a score of 71 points.

Other leaders for the Spartans were Eric Poe (120th in 17:05.5), Elijah Mock (146th in 17:22), Luke Stegall (182nd in 17:34.3), Charlie Mabry (220th in 17:54.1), Logan Wolfersberger (293rd in 18:27.5), Lukas Hutcherson (298th in 18:28.6), Braden Clampitt (327th in 18:43.8) and Ethan Blackburn (353rd in 18:59.9).

In a separate open race, SJ-O’s Tad Pettit was 363th in 19:56.5.

SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park.

SJ-O Girls’ cross-country

SJ-O placed ninth in the 47-school First to Finish Class 2A race on Saturday at Detweiler Park, in Peoria.

The first five Spartans placed among the top 100 in a field of 412 competitors.

Hannah Rajlich was the team-leader, completing the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 48.5 seconds. She was 45th.

Teammates following her were Ava Knap (59th in 20:00.9), Ashlyn Lannert (80th in 20:18.6), Ally Monk (83rd in 20:20.9) and Kailyn Ingram (97th in 20:32.2).

SJ-O compiled a team score of 364 points. Meet champion Vernon Hills had a score of 87.

Other Spartan times were Hope Rajlich (141st in 21:21.4), Hanna Eastin (149th in 21:29.6), Addie Allen (160th in 21:37.6), Kendra Riddle (170th in 21:43.6) and Malorie Sarnecki (220th in 22:17.5).

There was a separate girls’ 3-mile open race for runners who did not participate in any other race.

A total of 817 runners finished the open race.

SJ-O’s leaders were Sidney Davis (404th in 24:47.8), Kaytlyn Baker (477th in 25:45.2), Taryn Sexton (490th in 25:53.4), Mary Hinrichs (634th in 28:07.4), Izzy Sexton (691st in 28:35.0), Teagan Miller (707th in 29:09.2) and Lili Wentzloff (804th in 35:45.3).

Of the 52 full teams that competed in the open race, SJ-O was 41st with 1,232 points.

The Spartans will return to action Tuesday against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park.

SJ-O Soccer

In a match which was officially scoreless, the SJ-O soccer squad earned a victory on Friday over Oakwood/Salt Fork in the Hoopeston Area Cornjerker Classic.

The teams were tied 0-0 after regulation before the Spartans prevailed on penalty kicks 3-2.

When the schools played to open the season, that match also ended in a 0-0 deadlock.

SJ-O (2-7-1) lost its other two matches in the tournament, falling to eventual third-place finisher Iroquois West 6-1 and to eventual champion Monticello 5-0.

The Spartans return to action at home on Tuesday against Monticello, which is 8-0-1 for the season.

SJ-O Volleyball

All-tournament pick Kennedi Burnett paced SJ-O to four two-set sweeps before the Spartans lost in Saturday’s championship match of the Bulldog Invitational to the host Mahomet-Seymour squad.

The Spartans (10-3) opened with pool play victories over the St. Teresa JV team 25-10, 25-5, Springfield Southeast 25-10, 25-6 and Peotone 25-11, 25-12.

In the semifinals, SJ-O upended Manteno 25-15, 25-18.

In the finals, against an M-S team the Spartans had beaten earlier in the season, the Bulldogs prevailed 25-9, 25-22.

For the five tournament matches, Burnett swatted 31 kills and contributed 35 digs. Emily Bigger had 99 assists as well as 28 digs and seven service aces.

Other Spartan leaders were Katelyn Berry with 30 kills and 33 digs, Rylee Stahl with 28 digs and Payton Vallee with 18 kills.

SJ-O returns to action tonight at home against Hoopeston Area.

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SJ-O boys’ cross country teammates Ethan Blackburn and Tad Pettit were the top two finishers on Tuesday in a three-team non-scored meet at Kickapoo State Park.

Due to the heat, the race was shortened from 3 miles to 2 miles.

Blackburn led the way, finishing the course in a time of 12 minutes, 53.66 seconds. Pettit’s time was 12:56.66.

Four other Spartans finished among the top 10. Brandon Mattsey was sixth (13:59.67) and Eric Poe was seventh (14:11.23).

In ninth was SJ-O’s Luke Stegall (14:17.83), who placed one position in front of Elijah Mock (14:18.53).

The Spartans were running against Armstrong-Potomac and Oakwood/Salt Fork.

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday at the First to Finish Invitational at Peoria’s Detweiler Park.

SJ-O Girls’ cross-country

Four Spartans finished within five seconds of one another on Tuesday in a 2-mile race at Kickapoo State Park.

The three-school meet was originally scheduled for 3 miles, but was reduced due to the day’s heat and humidity.

Leading the pack for SJ-O were Hannah Rajlich (16 minutes, 51.03 seconds), Jillian Plotner (16:51.65), Ashlyn Lannert (16:52.52) and Ava Knap (16:56.65).

Ally Monk (17:06.41), Hope Rajlich (17:13.76) and Kendra Riddle (17:15.56) were part of the Spartans’ next pack of runners.

Also featured in that group were Addi Allen (17:16.13), Hanna Eastin (17:16.89), Kailyn Ingram (17:17.67) and Taryn Sexton (17:22.19).

The Spartans return to action on Saturday at the First to Finish Invitational at Peoria’s Detweiler Park.

SJ-O Soccer

Freshman Hunter Ketchum had six saves on Tuesday for SJ-O, which was shut out for the third time this season, 2-0, in a loss at home against Fisher/GCMS.

The Spartans return to action on Friday in the Cornjerker Classic, in Hoopeston.

SJ-O Volleyball

Kennedi Burnett and Lacey Kaiser each reached double figures in digs – with 10 apiece – on Tuesday, but SJ-O suffered a 25-22, 25-20 loss to visiting Champaign Central.

Katelyn Berry had seven kills and Jenna Albrecht landed five kills. Emily Bigger handed out 23 assists.

Kaiser had a team-high three blocks.

On Wednesday, the Spartans made visiting Oakwood their sixth victim of a two-set sweep, 25-8, 25-10.

Bigger posted a double-double with 24 assists and 12 digs to go with a team-high three service aces.

Berry swatted 10 kills and Burnett had six kills as well as seven digs. Albrecht collected a team-high two blocks.

In the two-game sweep last Thursday at Teutopolis, Albrecht, Berry, Bigger and Burnett paced a balanced offensive attack with six kills apiece. Burnett and Kaiser each added seven digs.

SJ-O (6-2) returns to action on Saturday at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.

The post Blackburn, Pettit, Rajlich, Plotner, Lannert and Knap lead Spartans at Kickapoo State Park first appeared on SJO Daily.

Eric Poe is going places and has found it helpful to learn from others who have traveled down the same roads.

The St. Joseph-Ogden senior will serve the boys’ cross-country team as a leader for a season which will start with the first competition on Saturday, Aug. 31 at Paris.

A late-comer to the sport – he first joined the program as a junior – Poe is making up for lost time.

Besides running, he spent a portion of his summer reading. He focused on the Matt Fitzgerald book, “How Bad Do You Want It?” and studied testimonials that contend outstanding athletic performances can originate from the mind as opposed to strictly from the body.

He found the text to be revealing. The book helped place him in a leadership position with the boys’ cross-country program.

“I learned a lot about not just running, but endurance sports in general, by reading the book,” Poe said. “The book contained stories from people with all types of backgrounds, from rugby players to lifelong runners, all with very different lifestyles and values, who nevertheless all achieved great success in endurance sports.

“It really drove home the point that anybody can be great at endurance sports such as cross-country, as long as they are mentally invested in it, which is a belief I have had for several years. As a leader, the book is a great help, because every athlete on the team can relate to at least one of the stories in the book, and leaders can use the book to help inspire other athletes on the team to be great, despite differing backgrounds.

“The book, true to its title, shows with both anecdotal examples and scientific evidence that the most important thing in both sports and life in general is, ‘How Bad Do You Want It?’ “

The book reinforced some of Poe’s perceptions on what is necessary to be an effective leader.

“Being a leader means several things, but most importantly it means being someone that the younger kids can look up to, and aspire to be,” Poe said. “It means leading by example because the younger kids naturally look up to the leaders on the team and try to emulate them in all aspects of their lives.

“If you’re a good leader and athlete, this is great, because those kids will quickly learn to do what you do, and continue the legacy of cross-country at SJ-O, because in a few years they will be the leaders that the younger kids look up to.”

Serving as a role model is among the duties that Poe considers to be part of his duties.

“I see my primary responsibility as setting a good example for the younger kids, so they know what they should try to be like in order for the team to be the best that it can be,” he said. “Also, I think it is a very important responsibility to motivate the other kids, young and old, to come ready and willing to give their 100 percent every day, whether it be an easy recovery run the day after a hard workout, or the day of the state meet.

“Furthermore, I plan on helping to ensure that all of the kids on the team are always passing their classes and not ineligible for competition, and also taking care of their bodies every day and night, by getting good sleep, stretching, hydrating, eating well, logging their runs, and so on, so that they can be the best version of themselves, all the time.”

He won’t let his relative lack of experience in the sport become a hindrance.

“Joining cross-country in my junior year, I had little opportunity to learn much from the leaders who preceded me in the sport,” Poe said. “However, I did have the opportunity to learn a lot from the same people during track season, in the spring.

“People like Wyatt Wolfersberger and Riley Baker really showed me how to set a good example and lay the foundation for the kids after you to take the sport seriously, and be very good at it by staying dedicated and doing everything that the coach asks.”

Poe said there is no questioning the desire and determination he brings to cross-country.

“Despite it only being my second year in the sport, cross-country means a lot to me,” Poe said. “I greatly enjoy the sport and care greatly about not only my own performance but my teammates’ performances as well.”

Early in his high school career, Poe considered himself a sprinter in track and played football as a freshman and as a sophomore. As the track coaches started advancing his distances in the spring from the short sprint races to the 800 meters – a group that often trains with the distance crew – his interests shifted.

“I was told by Coach (Jason) Retz (the head coach of both the track and cross-country teams) that if I wanted to be truly great in track, I should consider cross-country,” Poe said. “This definitely made me consider cross-country, but what really won me over, in the end, was talks with older athletes almost every day at track practice who were determined to get me out for cross-country.

“While I loved football and still miss it sometimes, I have no regrets about joining the cross-country team.”

He has established lofty goals for his final season of high school competition.

“Individually, I hope to beat Riley Baker’s 3-mile time this year (16 minutes, 23 seconds) and as a team, I want us to qualify for the state meet,” Poe said. “Last year, we missed qualifying by just five points, which was heartbreaking, but this year we are all older and have been training a lot harder, and are ready to race at the state meet in November.”

The Illinois High School Association allows coaches to have access to their athletes for a limited time in the summer, but those off-season workouts can’t be mandated.

“Despite everything in the summer being optional, for cross-country teams to be successful in the fall, all of their athletes have to be willing to put a lot of miles in during the summer,” Poe said, “so it’s important as a leader to set the standard by showing up to absolutely every run and practice they can.

“And if for whatever reason they can’t make it, still getting the miles in on their own – and logging the miles, so that teammates know you ran them – so that the younger kids know that it’s expected of them to put work in during the summer.

“It’s important as a leader to show dedication even in the off-season so that the other kids can see how important the offseason is to success in the fall. This summer, our team accomplished a lot, with most varsity kids running at least 300 miles – despite many of them only being sophomores – with some, such as myself, running over 400 miles, with one almost hitting 500.”

That amount of running does more than boost the confidence of the squad members.

“It’s good to know that our varsity kids already have big aerobic engines coming into the start of the season, so that the season can be spent doing more important workouts that really make us faster instead of just base-building runs,” Poe said. “Last year, a lot of the varsity athletes had relatively low summer mileage, and that hurt us in the season.”

The 2018 season ended in a Class 1A sectional. The Spartans placed sixth as a team with 197 points. Securing fifth-place and the final state-meet berth was Toledo Cumberland with 192 points.

Poe believes his personality helps him fit in as a team leader.

“I would describe myself as a very loud and passionate individual, and I think that has helped me grow into the role of being a leader,” he said, “because I have been very easily able to put my passion into cross-country and all of my teammates, helping them to be the fastest guys that they can be.

“I think that my teammates see my passion and, hopefully, wish to emulate it by giving their all into the sport.”

Poe’s highlights for his senior year will include more than running.

He is the top-ranked SJ-O student academically in the Class of 2020 and takes pride in his classroom efforts. He relishes the role of being a student-athlete.

“Maintaining high grades while also being athletically involved has certainly not been an easy thing to do,” Poe said. “It has taken a lot of dedication and commitment – and very good time management skills – to stay on top of everything, and it has often included sacrificing other things to spend more time on homework.

“It has not been easy, but I have been able to accomplish it by reminding myself why I am doing it, and the potential rewards for it. Sports, while taking up time in the day, have helped in some ways as well, by teaching me to be disciplined with time.”

As for his future, Poe’s path became clearer on Aug. 15.

That Thursday, he received a Letter of Assurance for the United States Naval Academy Class of 2024.  Poe is the first SJ-O student in at least 16 years to be accepted into the Naval Academy.

The Letter of Assurance guarantees a student acceptance to the Academy, pending a congressional nomination. Those announcements are typically made in November.

Poe anticipates enrolling at the Academy, located in Annapolis, Md.

“The Naval Academy appointment means a lot to me,” he said. “I’ve considered serving our country for several years now, but I didn’t really start to seriously consider the Naval Academy until they reached out in November of 2018 with an invitation to visit in January.

“Ever since that visit, it has been a great desire of mine to attend USNA.”

He believes the Academy would be a tremendous stepping stone into his future.

“The unique combination of academic and physical challenges coupled with the amazing opportunity to serve our country and be a part of something far more important than myself is especially attractive to me,” Poe said. “Ten to 15 years from now, I could easily see myself still in the military and enjoying it, but I could also see myself out of USNA doing something different.

“Graduating from a school as prestigious as USNA opens countless doors in both the military and civilian worlds.”

The post Poe ready to lead SJ-O cross country team with passion, accepted to Naval Academy first appeared on SJO Daily.