St. Joseph-Ogden dropped a 4-3 decision at Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin on Monday (Sept. 6).

The Spartans overcame a two-goal first-half deficit and created a 2-2 tie in the second half before again falling behind by two goals.

Collin Thomey had a goal and an assist for SJ-O. Teammate Spencer Wilson had two assists.

The Spartans’ first goal was scored by Aiden Cromwell. The team’s next goal came from Jackson Greer.

Hunter Ketchum had eight saves.

On Tuesday (Sept. 7), the Spartans were shut out for the first time this season. Fisher/GCMS scored once in each half to post a 2-0 win.

Ketchum had 11 saves.

SJ-O (4-3-1) returns to action on Friday (Sept. 10) and Saturday (Sept. 11) at Hoopeston’s Cornjerker Classic.

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The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team stormed back from a halftime deficit on the road Thursday (Sept. 2) and recorded a 3-1 triumph at Hoopeston Area.

After Aiden Cromwell scored the tying goal in the second half – on the first of two assists from Jared Emmert – Colin Thomey found the back of the net twice to complete the comeback.

Owen Baltzell also had an assist for SJ-O.

Goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum registered a season-high 18 saves.

SJ-O (4-1-1) returns to action on Monday (Sept. 6) at Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin.

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The Spartans scored once in each half on Thursday (Aug. 26), but dropped a soccer decision to an Urbana Uni High team which scored twice in each half to secure a 4-2 win.

Freshman Collin Thomey and junior Aiden Cromwell hit the Spartans’ goals. Spencer Wilson and Garrett Siems were credited with the SJ-O assists.

Goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum had a season-high 16 saves.

On Saturday (Aug. 28), the Spartans overcame a one-goal halftime deficit to salvage a 2-2 tie with visiting Danville.

Will Page scored on a penalty kick and Cromwell tallied the equalizer, with an assist from Thomey. Ketchum posted six saves.

SJ-O (2-1-1) returns to action on Monday (Aug. 30) at home against Schlarman Academy.

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Goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum had 15 saves on Monday (Aug. 23) as the St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team opened the season with a 2-1 triumph at Oakwood.

Aiden Cromwell’s goal, assisted by Brennan Haake, helped SJ-O into a 1-0 halftime lead.

Will Page converted a penalty kick to provide the margin of victory for the Spartans.

On Tuesday (Aug. 24), Spenser Wilson’s second goal came with two-tenths of a second to play and broke a tie as SJ-O won its home-opener, 3-2, over Argenta-Oreana.

Greer Jackson got SJ-O on the board with the lone tally of the first half, thanks to an assist by Page.

Jackson assisted on Wilson’s first goal of the second half.

Ketchum stopped eight shots.

SJ-O (2-0) returns to action on Thursday (Aug. 26) at home against Urbana Uni High.

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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 Football

For the second week in a row, the Spartans were held to two touchdowns and lost an Illini Prairie Conference decision.

Friday’s setback at home was against unbeaten Chillicothe IVC, 33-12, and leaves SJ-O (4-3) still one win from playoff eligibility.

Brady Buss, who had a team-high 71 receiving yards, pulled down a 34-yard pass from Crayton Burnett for the first Spartan TD, which came after IVC had built a 14-0 lead.

The Spartans were kept out of the end zone until the IVC lead had increased to 33-6. Burnett hooked up with Ty Pence on a 21-yard TD.

Burnett completed 8 of 16 passes for 136 yards.

SJ-O managed just 80 rushing yards in 26 attempts. Jarrett Stevenson led the Spartans with 25 yards on the ground. Brayden Weaver gained 23 yards and Burnett rushed for 22 yards.

Payton Cain had two pass receptions. Weaver and Chance Izard each caught one pass.

IVC held the edge in total yards, 393-216.

SJ-O returns to action on Friday at home against Olympia (3-4).

St. Joseph-Ogden Volleyball

The Spartans’ winning streak reached seven matches on Saturday by virtue of a 25-13, 12-25, 26-24 triumph over visiting IVC.

Two of the Spartans’ last four wins have been decided with 26-24 wins in the third set.

Two Spartans registered double-doubles against IVC.

Kennedi Burnett recorded 15 kills and 11 digs. Emily Bigger had 37 assists and 11 digs.

As a team, SJ-O pounded 45 kills while collecting 58 digs.

Katelyn Berry and Payton Vallee each slammed seven kills.

Jenna Albrecht and Lacey Kaiser contributed six kills each. Bigger added four kills.

Kaiser had nine digs and Albrecht had two blocks. Burnett served two aces. Rylee Stahl chipped in with 12 digs and Kenly Taylor had seven digs.

On Thursday, the Spartans scored a 25-12, 25-16 win at home against Pontiac.

Bigger produced a double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs.

SJ-O also had been big nights from Burnett and Berry. Burnett landed seven kills to go with six digs. Berry totaled nine kills and five digs.

Other major contributors were Stahl (five digs), Albrecht (four kills) and Kaiser (three aces).

SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday at Prairie Central.

St. Joseph-Ogden Soccer

Two days after SJ-O and Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond played to a 1-1 draw in St.  Joseph, the teams met again on Saturday – this time in Arthur – in a first-round Class 1A regional match.

This time, there was a winner.

SJ-O (7-13-4), the No. 9 regional seed, defeated sixth-seeded AL/A-H 2-1.

Zac Seeley scored both goals for SJ-O, the first one coming 22 seconds into the match.

Luke Cohen and Logan Ingram had assists. Hunter Ketchum stopped seven shots.

The Spartans will play in the semifinals at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at St. Thomas More against the host Sabers.

On Thursday, Cohen hooked up with Seeley on a second-half goal and SJ-O fought to a 1-1 draw with visiting AL/A-H.

Ketchum finished with three saves.

In its last seven matches, SJ-O is 4-1-2 and has allowed a total of six goals.

St. Joseph-Ogden Girls’ cross-country

With all seven varsity runners placing among the top 21 in a field of 71 competitors on Saturday, SJ-O took second place in the Prairie Central Hawk Invitational at Fairbury.

Meet champion Eureka had 52 points. The Spartans were next with 58 points.

Hannah Rajlich led SJ-O, completing the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 4.8 seconds. She was seventh individually.

The team’s next five runners finished within 53 seconds of Rajlich.

She was trailed by Jillian Plotner (10th in 19:21.2), Ashlynn Lannert (12th in 19:22.8), Ally Monk (14th in 19:31.9), Kailyn Ingram (15th in 19:37.8) and Malorie Sarnecki (20th in 19:57.1).

The team’s seventh runner, Addie Allen, finished in 20:04.0 and took 21st overall.

SJ-O won team honors in the open division, edging Urbana Uni High, 32-34.

Two Spartans were the race leaders. Hanna Eastin was the individual winner in 20:00.8 and teammate Kendra Riddle was nexxt at 21:03.6.

Following that duo were Ava Knap (eighth in 22:04.0), Kaytlyn  Baker (ninth in 22:07.5), Sidney Davis (16th in 22:57.8), Taryn Sexton  (18th in 23:25.1), Hope Rajlich (19th in 23:25.4), Teagan Miller (21st in 24:09.7), Mary Hinrichs (28th in 25:37.0), Izzy Sexton (32nd in 26:29.9) and Lili Wentzloff (42nd in 31:08.3).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday in the Peoria Heights  Patroit Invitational.

St. Joseph-Ogden Boys’ cross-country

SJ-O placed fifth among the 14 schools competing in Saturday’s Prairie Central Hawk Invitational, in Fairbury.

Meet champion Herscher totaled 69 points.SJ-O’s score was 107.

Brandon Mattsey led the Spartans with a sixth-place performance. His 3-mile time was 16 minutes, 10.4 seconds.

Teammate Eric Poe was 14th in 16:46.9.

The next four SJ-O finishers were packed within 29 seconds of one another, led by Luke Stegall (29th in 17:06.8). He was trailed by Elijah Mock (30th in 17:09.1), Charlie Mabry (32nd in 17:16.4) and Logan Wolfersberger (44th in 17:5.0).

Rounding out the varsity lineup was Lukas Hutcherson (60th in 18:07.7).

The Spartans didn’t have enough competitors to be scored as a team in the open race.

Those who ran were Ethan Blackburn (fifth in 18:16.2), Braden Clampitt (sixth in 18:21.3) and Taddy Pettit (18th in 18:59.3). There were 76 runners in the open race.

SJ-O returns to action in Saturday’s Patroit Invitational, hosted by Prairie Central.

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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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Freshman receiver Ty Pence scored his first varsity touchdown on Friday at Fairbury, but it wasn’t enough for the Spartans, who suffered a 33-13 loss to Illini Prairie Conference rival Prairie Central.

Pence hauled in a 3-yard pass from Crayton Burnett for the points that trimmed SJ-O’s deficit to 26-13 in the fourth period.

Burnett passed for 151 yards. Pence had 35 receiving yards.

The rushing attack was led by Jarrett Stevenson (70 yards) and Brayden Weaver (46 yards). Weaver scored the team’s first TD on a 1-yard plunge in the second quarter.

The extra-point conversion by Ethan Vanliew created a 7-7 tie.

SJ-O (4-2) returns to action on Friday, trying to maintain its unbeaten streak at home against conference-leader Chillicothe IVC (6-0). The Spartans need one more win to become playoff-eligible and two more to assure themselves of a spot in the postseason.

There are three games remaining in the regular season.

St. Joseph-Ogden Soccer

For the third time this season, SJ-O played an opponent to a 0-0 tie after regulation.

The Spartans’ match on Saturday at Warrensburg ended in a scoreless draw.

Goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum stopped six shots while posting his second shutout of the week.

“Hunter made some key blocks to keep SJ-O in the game,” Spartans’ coach Dan Vogelsang said.

On Thursday, SJ-O fell to Bloomington Central Catholic 3-1 in Bloomington.

Mason Behrens scored the Spartans goal in the second half. Ketchum had nine saves against the Saints, who led 2-0 at intermission.

SJ-O (4-13-3) returns to action today at Watseka.

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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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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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