Jacob Kern and McGwire Atwood were co-medalists on Thursday (Aug 26) at Willow Pond as St. Joseph-Ogden won a three-team golf meet.

Kern and Atwood each fired 43s.

In the team chase, SJ-O had a team composite of 178. Runner-up Fisher totaled 217 and Hoopeston Area ended at 222.

SJ-O golfers Maddux Carter and Logan Smith each fired 46s. Jack Robertson came in at 48 and Connor Hale shot 60.

SJ-O (5-0) returns to action on Monday (Aug. 30) against Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin. That meet will also be at Willow Pond.

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The Spartans won a weather-shortened triangular golf meet on Wednesday (Aug. 25) at Danville Country Club.

With junior Jacob Kern tying for medalist honors (30) for the six holes that were played, SJ-O turned back both Schlarman Academy and Salt Fork.

SJ-O’s six-hole composite score was 129. Schlarman was next with 139. Salt Fork had a 141 total.

Spartan Maddux Carter tied for third-place individually with a six-hole score of 32.

Other SJ-O scores were: McGwire Atwood (33), Logan Smith (34), Jack Robertson (40) and Connor Hale (44).

The Spartans (3-0) return to action on Thursday (Aug. 26) at Willow Pond, in Rantoul, against Fisher.

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Jacob Kern posted the top score for the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ golf team in their season-opening meet on Monday (Aug. 16) at Urbana.

Kern fired an 87 in the 15-school Tiger Kickoff Classic at Urbana Country Club.

Other SJ-O participants were: McGwire Atwood (101), Logan Smith (107), Connor Hale (109), Maddux Carter (110) and Tyler Buss (122).

The Spartans’ composite score of 404 placed them 12^th in the team standings.

SJ-O was a winner on Wednesday (Aug. 18) in its first dual meet of the year, topping Oakwood 193-212 on the back nine at Harrison Park, in Danville.

Kern carded a 44 and earned medalist honors by two shots. The Spartans also had the third- and fourth-place individual finishers in Atwood (48) and Jack Robertson (49).

Other participants for SJ-O were Smith (52), Hale (54) and Carter (56).

SJ-O (1-0) returns to action on Wednesday (Aug. 25) against Schlarman Academy at Danville Country Club.

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St. Joseph-Ogden Volleyball

Emily Bigger delivered 19 assists on Tuesday as the Spartans topped Prairie Central 25-12, 25-11 in Fairbury.

Bigger also had eight digs and three service aces.

Kennedi Burnett swatted six kills and contributed eight digs.

Rylee Stahl led the defensive effort with 11 kills.

On Wednesday, SJ-O blitzed Fisher at home, 25-7, 25-3.

Nearly one-quarter of the Spartans’ points were courtesy of service aces.

Stahl landed seven aces and Lacey Kaiser contributed five aces.

Katelyn Berry led with seven kills. Burnett added four kills and Bigger handed out 19 assists. Berry also had four kills and two blocks.

The Spartans (24-4) return to action on Tuesday at home against Olympia. SJ-O has a nine-match winning streak and is 7-1 in Illini Prairie Conference contests.

St. Joseph-Ogden Soccer

The Spartans’ soccer season ended on Tuesday with a shutout loss to St. Thomas More in the semifinals of a Class 1A regional hosted by the Sabers.

SJ-O ends with a 7-14-4 record. The Spartans were held scoreless in 11 matches this season.

St. Joseph-Ogden Boys’ golf

Senior teammates Payton Grimsley and Joe Acton concluded their prep careers on Monday at the El Paso Class 1A Sectional Tournament.

Grimsley carded a 91, with rounds of 47 and 44. Acton came in at 107, with rounds of 48 and 59.

The cut to qualify for state was an 82.

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St. Joseph-Ogden Girls’ cross-country

SJ-O’s girls’ cross-country team finished third in the varsity division of Tuesday’s Illini Prairie Conference meet and first in the girls’ open division.

The Spartans’ top five varsity runners all completed the 3-mile course at Fairbury within 16.2 seconds of one another.

Leading the way was Jillian Plotner, who was eighth in 18 minutes, 3.8 seconds.

Teammates close on her heels were Hannah Rajlich, 10th in 18:04.6, Ava Knap, 13th in 18:10.4, Ashlyn Lannert, 14th in 18:12.6 and Ally Monk, 15th in 18:20.0.

Completing the team’s varsity lineup was Kailyn Ingram, 24th in 19:09.7.

Monticello won the varsity meet (40 points), followed by Unity (47) and SJ-O (60).

In the open division, SJ-O recorded a dominant performance. The team’s top five runners were all among the first 10 finishers and their times were within 45.6 seconds of one another.

Hope Rajlich was the open runner-up, logging a time of 19:10.3. She was followed by teammates Addie Allen (fourth in 19:20.2), Malorie Sarnecki (fifth in 19:28.5), Kendra Riddle (seventh in 19:39.6) and Hanna Eastin (ninth in 19:55.9).

SJ-O’s team point total was 27. Runner-up Unity was right behind, with 28 points.

Other Spartan competitors were: Sidney Davis (23rd in 22:17.3), Mary Hinrichs (25th in 22:24.8), Taryn Sexton (26th in 22:53.1), Teagan Miller (35th in 24:26.5), Izzy Sexton (36th in 25:48.6) and Lili Wentzloff (38th in 30:00.3).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday in the Prairie Central Invitational.

St. Joseph-Ogden Boys’ cross-country

The Spartans had one top-10 placer in both the varsity and open divisions of Tuesday’s Illini Prairie Conference meet, hosted by Prairie Central.

In the varsity race, Brandon Mattsey was ninth. His 3-mile time was 15 minutes, 46.3 seconds.

The next three SJ-O runners completed the course within 40 seconds of one another.

Eric Poe was 20th in 16:10.2, Charlie Mabry was 27th in 16:45.7 and Elijah Mock was 29th in 16:50.7.

Rounding out the team’s varsity lineup were Lukas Hutcherson (37th in 17:00.2), Luke Stegall (39th in 17:03.7) and Logan Wolfersberger (49th in 17:38.5).

Olympia won the boys’ varsity race with a team score of 29 points. Runner-up Monticello had 42 points. SJ-O placed third with 122 points.

In the open division, SJ-O didn’t have enough runners to be scored as a team.

The Spartans’ pacesetters were Ethan Blackburn (sixth in 17:20.7), Taddy Pettit (12th in 17:54.3), Zach Dahman (26th in 19:54.3) and Josh Sexton (30th in 20:19.5).

Olympia also won the open division team title, with 29 points. Monticello took second with 42 points.

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday in the Prairie Central Invitational.

St. Joseph-Ogden Volleyball

SJ-O opened its week with a pulsating 28-30, 31-29, 26-24 conquest of Tri-Valley in Downs.

Kennedi Burnett’s double-double included a season-high 20 kills. She also totaled 14 digs and two aces.

Emily Bigger distributed 38 assists and served four aces.

Rylee Stahl ended with 13 digs and Payton Vallee collected eight kills.

SJ-O continued its road trip with a come-from-behind win on Tuesday at Tolono Unity, 26-28, 25-20, 25-13.

Burnett drilled 13 kills and Katelyn Berry had 10 kills.

Bigger handed out  30 assists. Stahl led with 10 digs.

The Spartans (20-4) return to action today at home against Pontiac, trying to extend a five-match winning streak. SJ-O has a 4-1 record in Illini Prairie Conference matches.

The 20-win season is the 12th in a row for the school in volleyball and the 19th in the past 20 years. During the four years that the current seniors have been in high school, SJ-O has amassed 104 varsity volleyball victories.

St. Joseph-Ogden Boys’ golf

Two Spartans moved on from the Class 1A regional to the sectional based on Monday’s regional tournament results at Danville’s Harrison Park.

Seniors Joe Acton and Payton Grimsley tied for 11th individually with 89s and secured advancement to the sectional, which will be on Monday at El Paso.

There were 66 participants at the regional.

Other SJ-O postseason scores were Riley Myren (108), Jacob Kern (109), Maddux Carter (110) and Jack Robertson (116).

St. Joseph-Ogden Soccer

SJ-O is continuing its late-season surge, posting victories on Monday and Tuesday this week.

The Spartans are 4-2-1 in their last seven matches.

Four Spartans scored goals on Monday at Watseka and SJ-O blanked the Warriors 4-0.

SJ-O led at intermission, 3-0, thanks to goals from Luke Cohen, Tyler Sullivan and Logan Ingram.

The lone second-half tally was by Emily Elsbernd.

Garnering assists were Wes Seeley and Mason Behrens.

Hunter Ketchum registered four saves in his second consecutive shutout.

On Tuesday, the Spartans needed a second-half rally to beat Olympia 2-1 in Stanford.

SJ-O trailed 1-0 at the break.

Luke Cohen and Zac Seeley each hit second-half goals. Cohen assisted on Seeley’s tiebreaker.

Ketchum posted six saves.

SJ-O (6-13-3) returns to action today at home against Arthur-Lovington. The Spartans have yielded just seven goals in their last seven matches.

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St. Joseph-Ogden Soccer

Junior Logan Ingram broke up a scoreless match on Tuesday with a goal in the final 2 minutes, lifting the Spartans to a 1-0 Illini Prairie Conference triumph over Unity.

Ingram’s heroics came on his birthday.

SJ-O goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum collected seven saves and posted his first shutout of the season.

SJ-O (4-12-2) has won two of its last three matches.

In Saturday’s 3-2 triumph at home over Georgetown-Ridge Farm, SJ-O’s Luke Cohen scored for the second match in a row, hitting two goals for the Spartans.

Zac Seeley had the other SJ-O goal.

Cohen also had a goal in a 2-1 Thursday loss at home to Argenta-Oreana.

Ketchum had six saves against A-O and four against G-RF. He also had four stops on Monday in a 1-0 loss to Judah Christian in Champaign.

The Spartans return to action on Thursday at Bloomington Central Catholic.

SJ-O Volleyball

SJ-O hit the trifecta this week, with three wins on three straight days.

Three Spartans swatted six kills apiece on Monday as SJ-O earned a 25-9, 25-10 win over GCMS in Gibson City.

Katelyn Berry, Kennedi Burnett and Payton Vallee each had six kills.

Emily Bigger had 20 assists, seven digs and four aces. Burnett totaled six digs.

On Tuesday, SJ-O returned to Illini Prairie Conference action with a two-set sweep at Rantoul, 25-16, 25-7.

Bigger again handed out 20 assists.

Burnett was the team-leader with eight kills and nine digs. Vallee and Berry each drilled six kills. Lacey Kaiser contributed seven digs and Berry ended with five digs.

On Wednesday, the Spartans captured their third two-set win in as many days, overpowering Bloomington Central Catholic, 25-11, 25-12.

Bigger had 28 assists to go with six service aces.

Burnett managed a double-double (10 kills, 10 digs). Berry totaled eight kills and Valllee added five kills. Burnett also had two blocks.

The Spartans (18-4) return to action on Monday at Downs against Tri-Valley. SJ-O has won eight of its last nine matches.

SJ-O Golf

Payton Grimsley and Joe Acton were the SJ-O leaders in Tuesday’s Illini Prairie Conference meet at El Paso.

Grimsley fired an 87.

 Acton closed at 91.

Other scores for the team were: Riley Myren (93), Jacob Kern (112), Jack Robertson (117) and Maddux Carter (124).

The Spartans’ final team tally was 392. SJ-O ended in seventh place. Meet champion Prairie Central registered a 319.

On Monday, Grimsley tied for fifth in the Sam Wells Memorial Tournament at Savoy with an 85. The Spartans placed sixth with a composite of 407.

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The Spartans (4-1) rebounded from a shutout loss the previous week to hold Pontiac scoreless on Friday in a 19-0 homecoming triumph in St. Joseph.

Coach Shawn Skinner sees a pattern in the team’s 4-1 season record.

“We are 4-0 in games when we win the turnover battle,” Skinner said.

Against the Indians, the SJ-O defense forced five fumbles and the Spartans recovered four of them.

Jarrett Stevenson rushed for a team-high 52 yards and scored one touchdown.

Crayton Burnett tossed a 62-yard scoring pass to Brady Buss. Overall, Burnett was 7 of 18 for 120 yards. All seven completions were to different receivers.

Jaden Miller gained 26 yards on his catch. Stevenson had a 15-yard reception and Ty Pence caught a pass for 14 yards.

“We were opportunistic with plays on offense,” Skinner said. “We didn’t sustain drives as needed, but hitting on big pass plays and putting some good runs together for a final score late in the game were things we can build on.

“Our defense can keep us in games. Drew Coursey just gets better weekly at outside linebacker.”

The other Spartan score came on a 68-yard punt return by Payton Cain.

SJ-O needs one more win to become playoff-eligible. The Spartans return to action on Friday against Prairie Central (3-2) in Fairbury.

“Prairie Central has done a nice job with their offensive line and they can move people off the ball,” Skinner said. “Their quarterback and fullback pose threats and they are athletic enough to score from anywhere on the field.”

SJ-O Volleyball

Despite double-figure kill totals from two players, SJ-O had its five-match winning streak snapped at home on Thursday by St. Thomas More.

Kennedi Burnett landed 13 kills and Kaitlyn Berry closed with 10 for the Spartans in a 21-25, 25-20, 25-20 setback.

Burnett and Berry each contributed eight digs.

Emily Bigger handed out 32 assists. Lacey Kaiser ended with eight kills, seven digs and two blocks.

The Spartans (15-4) return to action tonight at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley.

After the loss to the Sabers, SJ-O is 1-1 in Illini Prairie Conference action.

SJ-O Boys’ cross-country

In a field of nearly 200 runners, four SJ-O athletes placed among the top 50 on Saturday, helping the team to a third-place finish in the Spartan Classic.

Urbana Uni High (81 points) won team honors, followed by Monticello (90) and SJ-O (132). A total of 26 schools fielded full teams.

The Spartans’ leader was Brandon Mattsey, who ended in eighth after running the 3-mile street course in 15 minutes, 41.28 seconds.

Other SJ-O competitors were Eric Poe (23rd in 16:21.31); Charlie Mabry (28th in 16:38.50); Elijah Mock (29th in 16:41.49); Luke Stegall (47th in 17:02.19); Logan Wolfersberger (79th in 17:42.72) and Lukas Hutcherson (90th in 17:50.34).

SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 8 in the Illini Prairie Conference Meet at Fairbury.

SJ-O Girls’ cross-country

Five Spartans entered the finish chute within 52 seconds of one another on Saturday, helping the school to a third-place finish in the Spartan Classic.

Team-leader Jillian Plotner ran the 3-mile course in 18 minutes, 29.34 seconds and was seventh in a field of 147 competitors.

The next five Spartans packed together well and placed between 17th and 38th and were separated by less than a minute.

Next in line for SJ-O were Hannah Rajlich (17th in 19:03.56); Ava Knap (26th in 19:34.22); Ashlyn Lannert (29th in 19:38.85); Kailyn Ingram (33rd in 19:45.34) and Ally Monk (38th in 19:55.91).

The team’s other competitor was Hope Rajlich (57th in 21:06.35).

SJ-O captured third among 20 full teams in the meet.

Unity (48) was the meet champion, followed by Monticello (63) and the Spartans (106).

SJ-O’s next meet is on Tuesday, Oct. 8 in the Illini Prairie Conference Meet at Fairbury.

SJ-O Golf

Payton Grimsley and Joe Acton were the SJ-O leaders in Tuesday’s Illini Prairie Conference meet at El Paso.

Grimsley fired an 87.

Acton closed at 91.

Other scores for the team were: Riley Myren (93), Jacob Kern (112), Jack Robertson (117) and Maddux Carter (124).

The Spartans’ final team tally was 392. SJ-O ended in seventh place. Meet champion Prairie Central registered a 319.

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St. Joseph-Ogden Volleyball

The Spartans won for the 10th time in their last 11 matches on Tuesday, securing a 25-16, 25-20 triumph at Maroa-Forsyth.

Katelyn Berry led the way with nine kills. Kennedi Burnett had eight digs and Lacey Kaiser served three aces. Emily Bigger distributed 21 assists.

On Monday at Urbana, SJ-O swept the Tigers, 25-19, 25-20.

Bigger handed out 17 assists. Berry had nine digs and six kills. Burnett had eight digs and six kills.

Rylee Stahl contributed seven digs and Kaiser added five kills and two aces.

SJ-O (15-3) returns to action today at home against St. Thomas More. The Spartans are 1-0 in Illini Prairie Conference action.

St. Joseph-Ogden Golf

SJ-O finished seventh in the eight-school Illini Prairie Conference meet in El Paso on Tuesday.

The Spartans’ cumulative score was 392. Meet champion Prairie Central registered a 319.

St. Joseph-Ogden Soccer

The Spartans were held scoreless in an Illini Prairie Conference match on Tuesday at Rantoul, suffering a 2-0 loss to the Eagles.

SJ-O (2-10-2) returns to action today at home against Argenta-Oreana.

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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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Payton Grimsley shot an 85 on Monday to lead St. Joseph-Ogden in its season-opening golf meet at Urbana in the Tiger Kick-Off Classic.

SJ-O’s 422 composite placed it 16th in the team standings. Meet champion Champaign Central teamed up for a 323.

Other Spartan competitors were Joe Acton (101), Maddox Carter (118), McGuire Atwood (118), Jacob Kern (120) and Jack Robertson (124).

Four of SJ-O’s competitors are freshmen.

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