St. Joseph-Ogden’s top-ranked Class 1A boys’ cross-country team (according to milesplit.com) ran to team honors on Saturday (Oct. 16) in the 39-school Peoria Heights Invitational at Detweiller Park.

All six SJ-O runners finished among the top 40 in a race with 297 competitors.

The top five scoring runners entered the finish chute within 52.8 seconds of one another.

Seniors Charlie Mabry and Luke Stegall set the pace for the team. Mabry ended in ninth place with a 3-mile time of 15 minutes, 55.4 seconds.

Stegall was a step behind, in 10^th place in 15:56.0.

The remaining Spartans were: junior Payton Wendell (16^th in 16:14.1), senior Elijah Mock (22^nd in 16:36.2), junior Ethan Blackburn (28^th in 16:48.2) and sophomore Aden Armstrong (39^th in 17:05.2).

SJ-O’s winning team score was 80 points. Runner-up Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond had 101 points. They were followed by Port Byron Riverdale (132 points) and Monticello (162 points).

In an 80-runner open race, SJ-O sophomore Holden Jones was the individual winner, with a 3-mile time of 17:30.7.

His margin of victory was 24.3 seconds.

The other Spartans who participated in the open race were all freshmen: Mason Guido (fourth in 18:11.8), Joe Griebat (14^th in 18:59.0), Jack Fisher (29^th in 19:56.7) and E.J. Beckett (67^th in 23:39.1).

In the team chase, Sterling Newman won the open race with a point total of 63. Williamsville was second (64 points) and was followed by SJ-O (84 points).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 23) in the 15-school Chrisman Class 1A regional.

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The top four runners on the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team finished within 27 seconds of one another on Saturday (Oct. 2) in Indiana at the Nike XC Town Twilight Meet.

In a field of 239 runners, SJ-O senior Luke Stegall was 83^rd (17 minutes, 22.7 seconds for 5,000 meters), senior Charlie Mabry was 106^th (17:42.3), senior Elijah Mock was 110^th (17:45.0) and junior Peyton Wendell was 114^th (17:49.8).

Rounding out the lineup for the Spartans, ranked first in Class 1A in Illinois according to milesplit.com, was junior Ethan Blackburn (145^th in 18:23.6.)

Columbus North (93 points) edged Center Grove (95 points) for team supremacy in the 28-school meet. SJ-O placed 17^th with 495 points.

In a junior varsity race, SJ-O had one entry. Freshman Mason Guido finished 86^th in a field of 174 runners with a time of 20:08.1.

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday (Oct. 5) in the Illini Prairie Conference meet at Stanford Olympia.

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The state-ranked St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team turned in a solid showing on Saturday (Sept. 25) while dominating their own Spartan Classic cross-country invitational.

The Spartans’ top five runners all entered the finish chute within 32 seconds of one another, leading SJ-O to the team championship.

SJ-O’s composite score was 65 points. Runner-up St. Thomas More had a score of 104, followed by Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond (116) and Monticello (180) in the 23-team field.

Individually, the five scoring runners for SJ-O all captured spots in the top 22 in a field of 156 runners.

The three team leaders were seniors, Charlie Mabry (seventh on the 3-mile course in 15 minutes, 45.89 seconds), Luke Stegall (eighth in 15:48.09) and Elijah Mock (11^th in 15:58.61).

Close behind were Carson Maroon (17^th in 16:11.74) and Peyton Wendell (22^nd in 16:17.81).

The school’s other entries were Ethan Blackburn (29^th in 16:38.53) and Aden Armstrong (54^th in 17:23.14).

In the most recent milesplit.com state rankings for Class 1A, DePaul College Prep was rated first, followed by SJ-O’s second-ranked team.

SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday (Oct. 5) in the Illini Prairie Conference meet at Stanford Olympia.

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The state-ranked St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team didn’t have enough runners to be scored as a team on Saturday (Sept. 18) in the Richard Spring Invitational at Peoria’s Detweiller Park.

A total of 61 schools entered full teams and there were 457 runners in the varsity division.

Two seniors led the way for SJ-O.

Luke Stegall placed 109^th in 16 minutes, 11.2 seconds for the 3-mile course.

Elijah Mock was 141^st in 16:32.9.

The Spartans’ other varsity participants were Peyton Wendell (196^th in 16:56.5) and Ethan Blackburn (256^th in 17:32.5).

In the freshmen-sophomore race, out of 362 runners, SJ-O sophomore Carson Maroon ran third, finishing the course in 16:08.2.

SJ-O entered a full team and ended 13^th in a 49-team field.

The Spartans’ other participants were: Aden Armstrong (57^th in 17:38.6), Holden Jones (75^th in 17:48.1), Mason Guido (137^th in 18:36.9), Jack Fisher (203^rd in 19:36.0), Joe Griebat (219^th in 19:51.8) and E.J.  Beckett (356^th in 27:20.9).

The team champion was Oak Park-River Forest (71 points), followed by Naperville North (160). SJ-O was 13^th with a team score of 429 points.

St. Joseph-Ogden, ranked fourth in the state in Class 1A by milesplit.com, returns to action on Saturday (Sept. 25) in the Spartan Classic.

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Led by the first- and second-place finishers, Holden Jones and Mason Guido, St. Joseph-Ogden’s boys’ cross-country team ran past Monticello, 24-33, on Tuesday (Sept. 14) in a dual meet at Lodge Park.

In a 2-mile race, Jones was timed in 12 minutes and 4 seconds. Guido’s final time was 12:15.

Four other Spartans secured spots among the top-10: Joe Griebat (sixth in 13:12), Carson Maroon (seventh in 16:12), Aden Armstrong (eighth in 13:13) and Jack Fisher (10^th in 13:45).

SJ-O’s other participants were: Elijah Mock (11^th in 13:46), Ethan Blackburn (13^th in 14:06), Luke Stegall (14^th in 14:06), Charlie Mabry (15^th in 14:09), Peyton Wendell (16^th in 14:10) and E.J. Beckett (20^th in 18:45).

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St. Joseph-Ogden was the runaway winner on Saturday (Sept. 4) in the Chrisman Cowchip Classic cross-country invitational.

The 26-school event was a flighted race where the No. 1 runners from each school ran only against each other, with other races held for the second through seventh runners from each school.

SJ-O athletes won six of the seven flighted races.

Luke Stegall placed fourth in the race for No. 1 runners, but recorded the Spartans’ top 3-mile time of the day, 17 minutes, 0.1 seconds.

Teammates who dominated their races were Charlie Mabry (17:11.7 in No. 2 race), Elijah Mock (17:36.4 in No. 3 race), Carson Maroon (18:04.2 in No. 4 race), Peyton Wendell (18:15.1 in No. 5 race), Ethan Blackburn (18:07.0 in No. 6 race) and Aden Armstrong (18:18.8 in No. 7 race).

SJ-O had a final score of 68 points. Runner-up Monticello totaled 133 points and third-place Tuscola had 195 points.

In the preseason state rankings compiled by milesplit.com, SJ-O was rated third in Class 2A.

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 7) at Oakwood.

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Three seniors led the way as St. Joseph-Ogden outstepped the field on Saturday (Aug. 28) to capture team honors in the 10-school Doc Acklin Memorial boys’ cross-country invitational in Paris.

The senior leaders entered the finish chute within 6.3 seconds of one another.

Luke Stegall was fourth overall, finishing the 3-mile course in 17 minutes, 18.5 seconds.  He was trailed by Charlie Mabry (fifth in 17:24.4) and Elijah Mock (sixth in 17:24.8) in a field of 71 runners.

They were followed by Carson Maroon (ninth in 17:42.7), Payton Wendell (11^th in 18:25.0), Ethan Blackburn (18^th in 19:03.9), Isaiah Mock (22^nd in 19:41.2) and Aden Armstrong (27^th in 20:15.7).

Other SJ-O participants were Holden Jones (35^th in 20:47.6), Mason Guido (37^th in 20:59.0), Jack Fisher (41^st in 21:35.6), Joe Griebat (52^nd in 23:27.9) and E.J. Beckett (71^st in 33:42.2).

Guido, Fisher, Griebat and Beckett are all freshmen who were competing in their first high school event.

The Spartans finished with a winning score of 30 points, far outdistancing Newton and Tuscola, which tied for second with 62 points.

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday (Sept. 4) at the Chrisman Cowchip Classic.

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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).

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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.

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