The Heritage Hawks reached the 20-win mark on Monday (Oct. 18) with a two-set sweep at Champaign Judah Christian.

Bri Struck registered a double-double (11 kills and 10 digs) as the Hawks edged Judah, 25-23, 27-25.

Kiley Knoll contributed four kills and eight digs. Lily Ploense chipped in with five digs.

On Tuesday (Oct, 19), the Hawks earned another two-set road sweep, dispatching Argenta-Oreana, 25-12, 25-11.

Struck hammered 12 kills. Bryn Wyant and Knoll each contributed three kills. Lilli Montgomery collected five digs.

Heritage (21-8-1) returns to action on Thursday (Oct. 21) in the regular-season finale at Tri-County.

The Hawks have produced 20-win seasons in three of the past four years. The lone exception was the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season when the team was 7-7.

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Despite 17 kills by Bri Struck and 11 digs by Kiley Knoll, Heritage suffered a 25-11, 15-25, 25-16 volleyball loss to Decatur Lutheran on Thursday (Oct. 14) in the Hawks’ final home match.

Struck also had seven digs and Knoll contributed three service aces. Lilli Montgomery connected for eight digs.

“Tonight was a very up and down match,” Heritage coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “There were times we controlled the ball really well – in the second set especially.

“When LSA really got going was when our ball control struggled. This was a good learning opportunity, as we hope to see them across from us in our regional.”

Heritage (19-8-1) returns to action on Monday (Oct. 18) at Champaign Judah Christian.

Heritage and Decatur Lutheran are both assigned to the Martinsville Class 1A Regional, where they are the top two seeds.

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For the second time in a week, the Heritage volleyball team knocked off Blue Ridge in a two-set sweep.

The win on Tuesday (Oct. 12) came on the Knights’ home court, 25-15, 25-15.

Bri Struck powered the Heritage offense, ending with 10 kills. Lilli Montgomery contributed eight digs on a night the Hawks served 16 aces as a team.

Heritage (19-7-1) returns to action on Thursday (Oct. 14) in its home finale, against Decatur Lutheran.

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Kiley Knoll registered a double-double on Thursday (Sept. 23), but two teammates broke school records as the Heritage volleyball team topped Okaw Valley in Broadlands.

The new single-match record-holders are Mary Roland, with 44 assists, and Bri Struck, with 22 kills. Struck matched the 2012 record for kills held by Mariah Coleman.

Roland and Struck also each contributed seven digs.

Knoll put up 12 kills and 10 digs in a 25-18, 20-25, 25-22 triumph.

“We definitely did not play our best, but I told the girls that this win proves, even when we aren’t locked in completely, we can find ways to win the match,” Heritage coach Ryan Fitzgerald said. “Okaw Valley has a strong team, so I’m pleased to have come out on top.

“I say we didn’t play our best, but then find out we broke two school records. So, the sky really is the limit for this group.”

On Saturday (Sept. 25), the Hawks defeated three opponents en route to the team championship at the Arcola Invitational.

Heritage started off with a 25-12, 25-9 win over the host Purple Riders and followed up with a 25-20, 25-16 triumph over Sullivan.

In the championship match, the Hawks topped Marshall 25-21, 24-26, 15-11.

For the day, Struck pounded 56 kills. Torie Rothermel had 15 kills and Bryn Wyant ended with 10 kills.

Roland delivered 89 assists for the day and Paul totaled 27 blocks.

Defensively, Destanee Morgan contributed 32 digs, Lilli Montgomery had 25 digs, Struck had 19 digs and Lily Ploense had 15 digs.

Gracie Tate collected four service aces.

Heritage (12-6-1) returns to action on Monday (Sept. 27) at home against Tuscola.

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With multiple players providing key contributions, the Heritage Hawks registered a two-set volleyball sweep on Monday (Sept. 20) at Chrisman.

Bri Struck pounded 16 kills and teammates Kiley Knoll and Torie Rothermel each landed five kills as the Hawks dispatched Chrisman, 25-11, 25-22.

Knoll and Lilli Montgomery each contributed six digs. Mary Roland doled out 28 assists to go with three digs.

Struck added five digs, Rothermel had two blocks and Knoll served two aces. Montgomery had three assists.

On Tuesday (Sept. 21), the Hawks swept Cerro Gordo/Bement in Bement, 25-23, 25-14 with a double-double by Struck spearheading the attack.

Struck landed 12 kills to go with 10 digs. Adena Paul chipped in with five blocks and two service aces.

Heritage (8-6-1) returns to action on Thursday (Sept. 23) at home against Okaw Valley. Seven of the Hawks’ wins have been in two-set sweeps.

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The Hawks reached the .500 mark for the season by sweeping Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin on the Blue Devils’ court on Tuesday (Sept. 7), 25-10, 25-20.

Seniors Bri Struck and Torie Rothermel were instrumental in the win. Struck pounded 12 kills and had five digs. Rothermel ended with four blocks and three service aces.

Sophomore Lilli Montgomery had seven digs.

Heritage (5-5-1) returns to action at home on Thursday (Sept. 9) against Arcola.

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The Heritage Hawks finished 1-3-1 on Saturday (Sept. 4) at the Altamont Tournament.

In Pool Play, Heritage lost to Altamont (21-9, 21-18) and Armstrong-Potomac (21-19, 21-19) and tied Cerro Gordo (19-21, 21-14).

In Bracket Play, the Hawks topped Greenville (25-22, 25-15) before losing a rematch with Cerro Gordo (25-21, 25-16).

For the five tourney matches, Kiley Knoll totaled 27 kills, Bryn Wyant had 19 kills, Adena Paul had 14 kills and Torie Rothermel added 10 kills.

Mary Roland handed out 57 assists for the day.

Lilli Montgomery ended with 43 digs. Knoll had 27 digs, Roland had 25 digs, Wyant had 15 digs and Destanee Morgan had 10 digs.

Rothermel led the Hawks with six blocks. Paul collected four blocks.

Heritage totaled 21 aces for the tournament, led by Roland with eight. Paul served five aces. Knoll and Wyant each landed three aces and Rothermel finished with two aces.

Heritage (4-5-1) returns to action on Tuesday (Sept. 7) at Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin.

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Heritage opened the volleyball season on Monday (Aug. 23) with a non-conference sweep at home over Paris.

The Hawks dispatched the visitors 27-25, 25-19.

Senior Bri Struck led Heritage with 11 kills. She also totaled five digs, two blocks and two aces.

Lily Ploense handed out 10 assists to go with three digs, and Lilli Montgomery contributed seven digs.

The win came in the first match for first-year head coach Ryan Fitzgerald.

“We had a little different lineup the first set due to some absences from practice,” Fitzgerald said. “Gracie Tate (freshman) and Destanee Morgan (sophomore) stepped in flawlessly to help us win the first set, while Lily Ploense also took on the setting role in that set and guided us to a stellar hitting percentage.”

On Wednesday (Aug. 25), Heritage lost a three-set slugfest at home against Armstrong-Potomac, 25-21, 16-25, 25-22.

Mary Roland handed out 30 assists and Struck pounded 19 kills. Kiley Knoll collected 12 digs, along with five kills. Struck also had seven digs.

The Hawks (1-1) return to action on Thursday (Aug 26) at Salt Fork. 

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Coming into his sixth-grade year at Heritage Junior High in 2017, Zach Ruwe thought he was a sprinter.

That school year, during track season, he had his sights set on crossing the finish line of short-distances races first.

The goal was not lofty or short-sighted. It’s just that Ruwe could not begin to dream about what he has accomplished during his time at Heritage Junior High because as a sixth-grader, the cross-country program did not exist.

That is until Charles Montgomery came along.

Montgomery coached Ruwe during track his sixth-grade year.

As the President of the Homer Sports Commission, Montgomery also wanted to see running, particularly opportunities for long-distance running, in the Heritage Schools.

In 2018, Montgomery approached the Heritage School Board with the idea that the Homer Sports Commission would fund the sport, but that the students could participate in IESA sanctioned events under the Heritage umbrella.

The team only practiced three days a week, giving student-athletes room to focus on other activities, too.

By 2019, the Heritage School District picked up the tab for the junior high cross-country team, fully funding the program.

Montgomery upped the practice schedule to six-days a week, for athletes who wanted to participate at that level, still allowing room for the students to participate in other activities.

It’s not that Montgomery just wanted the cross-country program for Ruwe; he has his sights set on continued individual and team growth that will eventually lead to increased numbers throughout the Heritage School District.

But Montgomery did see something in Ruwe during the 2018 spring track season.

“I’ve been around some of the greatest runners,” Montgomery said.

As a student, Montgomery grew up watching his father as well as Jim Acklin and Jeff Trask. He went on to compete at Danville Area Community College.

“You can just see the niche of some kids who are distance and who are sprinters,” he said.

“I saw the potential of (Ruwe) being a distance runner, and he had the right mindset to doing what it takes. He takes everything in and he just puts it all out there on the course. That’s really hard to find a kid that can take all that in and just go with it.”

As a seventh-grade student-athlete, Ruwe took off, finishing 33rd at the IESA State meet in the fall of 2018.

The 2019 season has been no different.

Ruwe crossed the finish line first at the Champaign County meet at Tolono, then went on to finish first at the Class 1A IESA Sectional meet on Oct. 12.

During the last week, Ruwe has been nursing an Achilles injury as he prepares for state. Crossing the 2-mile finish line at 11:57 in the sectional, Ruwe was about a minute above where he finished the rest of the season.

His instructions were to run at a pace that allowed him to advance, but not one that would end his season.

Over the course of the last three months, Ruwe has had his sights set on finishing under 11-minutes, but multiple times he has been able to finish in under 10-minutes.

Ruwe believes it is because of his coach’s instruction that he has made great strides.

“I’ve just done what he’s told me to,” Ruwe said.

Montgomery believes that a challenge, whether it’s internal or external, is always good for the athletes.

Running many strides in front of the pack, even against larger schools, Ruwe has had to find an internal challenge. During a home meet this season, Montgomery asked Ruwe to run part of the race at the same pace as other athletes to learn how to run beside another runner.

In the final regular-season meet in Monticello, Ruwe found his first legitimate challenge.

Riverton’s Isaac Crumrine ran neck-to-neck with Ruwe throughout the entire race, and edged him out by three seconds as they crossed the uphill finish line.

“He went out fast so I was just trying to stay with him, and I stayed, like right behind him the whole time,” he said.

Ruwe claims to have lost the mental battle at the end.

“I feel like if I’d had those people in my previous meetings that were up with me or ahead of me. It would have been easier,” he said, “because I’d been used to it, but that was like the first real competition I had.”

Montgomery said situations like this have prepared Ruwe for a potential top-five finish this Saturday at state.

“You don’t want to come in first every time you have to learn early on that there’s competition out there,” Montgomery said. “You’ve got to run hard; you never know who’s going to show up.”

Ruwe’s teammate Lilli Montgomery has also surprised herself over the last three years.

The eighth-grader started out under the direction of her father in track as a sixth-grader. He wanted her to try to run the mile, although she wanted to do the 800-meter race.

“If I didn’t like it I didn’t have to do it again,” she remembers.

During her first race, she finished in what she considers to be a “decent time.”

“From then on I set a goal: I wanted to break the school record,” she said.

With help from her parents, Lilli continued to get a better time each race until she eventually set the school record.

With the confidence built from track, Lilli knew that she could do the same thing on the cross-country course once her school adopted the program.

Blisters, a sprained ankle and a little hesitation inside her head have been obstacles Lilli has had to overcome, though.

Even when Lilli crossed the line in second place at the IESA sectional meet, she turned to her dad and expressed frustration.

Lilli has chased Aleigha Garrison of Champaign Judah Christian all season. Garrison finished at 13:16.4 and Montgomery at 13:31.4.

Lilli is going into Saturday’s state meet as the solo representative from the Heritage girls’ cross-country team. She plans to not overthink things too much, and focus on the race at hand.

She’d like to finish in the top 25 on Saturday, but wherever she crosses the line, she’d like to get in the 12- to 13-minute range.

“I just really want to push myself for this last race and not have any energy left,” she said.

Lilli will help kick off the state competition in the first group at 9:30 a.m. at Maxwell Park in Normal.

The entire Heritage boys’ team will follow at 10:15 a.m. They come off a second-place finish at the IESA Sectionals.

“This is a big accomplishment for just going into our second year of cross-country,” Montgomery said.

“The hope is to just have fun and enjoy it.”

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