fred@mahometnews.com

We unveiled our winter-sport all-decade teams on Monday.

Today, we check in for the fall-sport all-decade teams.

Two of the Heritage/Villa Grove girls listed for fall-sport recognition received similar honors for the winter-sport season.

They are Aliya Holloman and Micaela Childress.

Keep reading, however, because there are plenty of other Hawks or Blue Devils joining the elite squads.

HERITAGE/VILLA GROVE FOOTBALL

NAME                     POS. GRAD YR.

Gavin Arnold           DL 2015
Cole Beesley           OL 2014
Zach Champagne    LB 2019
Jacob Coffin            OL 2015
Manny Crafton   WR    2018
Max Daly                 RB 2016
Spenser Eversole    LB 2016
Kenny Guerrero      DB 2016
Gavin Gunter          QB 2016
John Henderson     QB 2014
Austin Hubbart        DB 2014
Dalton James          DB 2015
Cole Lemmon          DB 2016
Cole Mohr                WR 2017
Skylur Orwick           LB 2015
Cody Patterson   OL     2017
Terrion Price           LB 2014
Zayzen Price       LB 2020
Kaleb Robertson     OL 2016
Ierik Sorenson        WR         2020
Blake Smith            QB 2020
Carter Smith           OL 2020

Player of the Decade – Zayzen Price, who was the area’s No. 1 tackler as a senior with 128 stops.

HERITAGE/VILLA GROVE BOYS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

NAME                              GRAD YR.

Adam Crutchley            2012
Rowan Denmark-Collins   2022
Jacob Griffith                 2012
Gage Knoll                      2017
Alex Mitsdarfer             2011
Ian Price                         2020

Runner of the Decade – Adam Crutchley, the only state-placer in program history was 11th in Class 1A as a senior with a 3-mile time of 15 minutes, 31 seconds.

HERITAGE/VILLA GROVE GIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY

NAME                GRAD YR.

Isabella Caceres       2021
Celeste Cler              2012
Kyleigh Price             2023
Tara Rentfro              2016
Sage Soper               2013

Runner of the Decade – Tara Rentfro, who was a sectional qualifier and posted the school’s fastest 3-mile time at regional during the decade.

HERITAGE/VILLA GROVE BOYS’ GOLF

NAME                      GRAD YR.

Zach Buesing               2021
Tristan Harrison           2019
Elijah Richards             2018
Jackson Vandeventer  2019

Golfer of the  Decade – Zach Buesing, who is a two-time sectional qualifier.

HERITAGE VOLLEYBALL

NAME                       POS. GRAD YR.

Gracyn Allen             OH 2019
Micaela Childress OH      2015
Mariah Coleman MH      2012
Aliya Holloman         OH 2020
Cedar Richardson    OH 2014
Katie Rutledge          S 2011
Stephanie Sanderson OH       2013
Erin Wienke               L 2011
Taylor Wienke           S 2014
Jenna Wyant             OH 2012

Player of the Decade – Mariah Coleman, who earned a scholarship to Indiana after setting the school’s career (949), season (380) and match (22) records for kills.

The post Kroner’s Picks: Heritage (VGH) All-Decade Team (Fall) first appeared on SJO Daily.

Villa Grove/Heritage Football

The Blue Devils were limited to 104 total yards and went scoreless in a first-round Class 2A playoff game at 10th-ranked Nashville (9-1) and dropped a 35-0 decision on Saturday.

Nashville, which registered 453 total yards (including 291 via passing), built a 28-0 lead at halftime.

The Villa Grove/Heritage ground game was stymied. The team ended with minus-20 yards on the ground, on 26 attempts. Chase Burwell gained a team-high 11 yards rushing and Zayzen Price finished with five yards on the ground.

Quarterback Blake Smith completed 9 of 20 passes and totaled 123 yards through the air.

Ierik Sorenson and Carson Howard each snagged four passes. Sorenson ended with 75 receiving yards to go with another 32 on two kickoff returns. Howard’s receiving total was 47 yards. Keagan Patterson also caught a pass.

VG/H concludes the season with a 5-5 record for the second year in a row. The Blue Devils were shut out in their final two games.

Villa Grove/Heritage Girls’ cross-country

Freshman Kyleigh Price made her sectional debut on Saturday in a Class 1A meet hosted by Effingham St. Anthony.

She was time in 26 minutes, 9.25 seconds for the 3-mile course.

Price placed 123rd.

The post VGH Football and Cross Country seasons come to end, Freshmen Price ends season strong first appeared on SJO Daily.

Villa Grove/Heritage Football

Despite an edge in total yards (270 to 231), the Blue Devils ended the regular season on Friday with a 23-0 loss at Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

The game was 0-0 at halftime.

VG/H was undone by four turnovers.

Finishing the regular season with a 5-4 record, the Blue Devils had ample points to qualify for the playoffs. VG/H will trek to Nashville (8-1) for a 1:30 p.m. first-round game in Class 2A on Saturday.

In last week’s Associated Press state poll, Nashville was ranked 11th, but in Class 3A. With an enrollment of 405, Nashville is the largest school assigned to Class 2A.

“It’s great to be playing another week,” VG/H head coach Heath Wilson said. “There are a lot of teams not playing right now.”

The Blue Devils are one of six teams from the Lincoln Prairie Conference that advanced into the playoffs.

“It was a very competitive conference,” Wilson said.

Against the Knights, Blake Smith completed 16 of 37 passes for 180 yards. Carson Howard had five receptions for 96 yards. Ierik Sorenson caught six passes for 51 yards. Keagan Patterson and Kehm Shirley each hauled in two passes and Issac Mahoe had one reception.

Shirley was the team’s top rusher with 57 yards on 12 carries. Ezra Ely gained 18 yards and Smith ran for 12 yards.

“We got banged up Friday, but we’ll get evaluated and hopefully Saturday will be ready to go,” Wilson said.

The playoff berth is the 21st overall for the program, which has now qualified three straight years.

VGH Girls’ cross-country

Freshman Kyleigh Price will represent the Blue Devils at the sectional meet.

In Saturday’s Class 1A Tuscola Regional, Price placed 43rd overall and secured an individual berth at the sectional, which will be on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Effingham St. Anthony. The girls’ race will start at 10 a.m.

Price’s 3-mile time was 23 minutes, 27.32 seconds.

Monticello won team honors at the regional with 37 points. VG/H placed eighth in the nine-team field with 223 points.

The team’s other regional runners were: Emma Buesing (44th in 23:34.51), Allison Kneer (49th in 24:04.93), Madison Logan (53rd in 24:42.35), Kate Eisenmenger (59th in 25:31.25) and Regan Blanton (63rd in 26:56.81).

VGH Boys’ cross-country

The Villa Grove/Heritage season concluded at Saturday’s Tuscola Class 1A Regional.

The Blue Devils ended 12th in the 13-team field. VG/H totaled 329 points. Meet champion Monticello had 28 points.

The team was represented by five runners. Rowan Denmark-Collins led the way, finishing 53rd in 19 minutes, 21.77 seconds for the 3-mile course.

Daniel Olson placed 65th in 21:00.04, Caleb Wiessing was 70th in 21:21.48, Kylee Witte was 77th in 22:20.04 and Isaac Horen was 87th in 24:55.24.

Villa Grove Volleyball

The Blue Devils dropped their regular-season finale on Thursday, 25-16, 25-22 to Tri-County (20-8). Reagan Cheely handed out 10 assists for VG (11-13).

The team’s postseason opener will be tonight in the Kansas Class 1A Regional with a first-round match against Arcola (7-16).

The post VGH Football heads into third consecutive playoff, Price to represent VGH in cross country Sectionals first appeared on SJO Daily.

fred@mahometnews.com

The St. Joseph Junior High boys’ cross-country team hit its stride for Saturday’s 237-runner Class 2A IESA state meet at Normal’s Maxwell Park.

In a competition that featured the state’s top 27 teams, St. Joseph earned  a third-place finish with 166 points. Meet champion Tolono Unity had 135 points.

The showing was the school’s best in 16 years (since the 2003 team placed second) and the second-best state finish ever by a junior high boys’ cross-country team at St. Joseph.

The Panthers’ top six runners completed the 2-mile course within 57 seconds of one another and were all in the upper half of the individual finishers.

Carson Maroon was the team leader, covering the course in 11 minutes, 9.2 seconds and placing 18th. He was timed at 5:33 for his first mile.

He was followed in quick succession by teammates Kendrick Johnson (32nd in 11:25.1), Spencer Wilson (54th in 11:38.5), Holden Brazelton (69th in 11:47.5), Rowan Musselman (85th in 11:55.1), Drew Thompson (112th in 12:07.7) and Zach Harper (134th in 12:15.3).

This year was the 18th time in the past 30 years that St. Joseph has qualified a full team for the IESA finals and the 12th time in securing a top 10 finish.

The group of state runners included four eighth-graders – Maroon, Wilson, Musselman and Thurman – along with seventh-graders Johnson and Brazelton and sixth-grader Harper.

St. Joseph Middle School Girls’ cross-country

The first four St. Joseph state finishers were timed within 29 seconds of one another on Saturday at Maxwell Park, in Normal, helping the Panthers to a seventh-place finish in the elite Class 2A meet with 27 schools.

Team state champion Tolono Unity had 50 points. St. Joseph ended with 237.

The state performance was the school’s best in more than a decade, since the 2007 team took sixth at state.

Overall, this was the 19th time in the past 31 years that the St. Joseph girls’ program has secured a top 10 team state finish.

Leading the way were seventh-grader Savanna Franzen (27th in 12 minutes, 22.1 seconds), eighth-grader Helene Jones (32nd in 12:28.9), seventh-grader Madison Clampitt (46th in 12:44.6) and eighth-grader Chloe Burkhalter (54th in 12:51.1).

The Panthers’ other state-meet competitors were fifth-grader Jaci Kellenberger (128th in 13:32.1), eighth-grader Maya Chahine (157th in 13:49.0) and eighth-grader Chloe Allen (182nd in 14:13.0).

Among fifth-graders who ran at state, Kellenberger was fifth.

St. Joseph girls’ teams have advanced to state 21 times in the past 31 years.

Homer Heritage boys’ cross-country

Zach Ruwe improved his finish 29 positions from last fall and placed fourth in Saturday’s IESA Class 1A state meet at Normal’s Maxwell Park.

The Heritage eighth-grader clocked a 2-mile time of 10 minutes, 51.4 seconds. After running a 5:27 opening mile, Ruwe dropped three seconds off that time during the final mile.

Heritage placed 13th in the 24-school state field with 319 points. Team champion Chicago Old St. Mary’s totaled 82 points.

Other Heritage state-participants were eighth-grader Ethan Meneely (75th in 11:58.4), eighth-grader Aidan Ashbrook (82nd in 12:03.3), eighth-grader Lukas Carey (87th in 12:04.9), seventh-grader Hunter Montgomery (201st in 13:11.9), eighth-grader Cohen Sands (204th in 13:17.4) and sixth-grader Anthony Happ (213th in 13:24.5).

Homer Heritage girls’ cross-country

Eighth-grader Lillian Montgomery placed 61st in the IESA Class 1A state finals on Saturday at Maxwell Park, in Normal.

Her 2-mile time was 13 minutes, 12.6 seconds, including a 6:29 split in her opening mile.

There were 228 runners in Montgomery’s race.

Villa Grove Boys’ cross-country

Seventh-grader Lukas Shadwick finished among the top 100 in a field of 230 runners in Saturday’s IESA Class 1A state meet at Maxwell Park, in Normal.

Shadwick’s 2-mile time of 12 minutes, 10 seconds enabled him to finish in 98th place.

The school’s other state-qualifier, seventh-grader Kurt Zimmerman, was timed in 12:25.2 and ended in 134th place.

Villa Grove Girls’ cross-country

Sixth-grader Hayden Thomas and fifth-grader Evalice Callison completed their 2-mile runs in Saturday’s IESA Class 1A state meet at Normal’s Maxwell Park within six seconds of one another.

Callison finished in 139th place with a clocking of 14 minutes, 3.8 seconds.

Thomas ran 14:09.0 and was 154th.

Heritage Girls’ basketball

The Hawks’ eighth-grade team has a 3-7 record after a recent series of games, which includes a forfeit win from Schlarman Academy.

Leah Black scored seven points in a 30-11 loss to Georgetown. In a 29-6 loss to Arcola, Riley Miller hit a team-high four points.

Black scored 12 points in a 24-22 setback against Hoopeston and then hooped six points in a 14-8 win over Chrisman.

Lillian Montgomery was the leader in a 45-12 loss to Shiloh with seven points.

The post Strong St. Joseph Cross Country teams place at IESA State, Ruwe finishes fourth in Class 1A first appeared on SJO Daily.

The St. Joseph Junior High girls’ cross-country team finished third in Saturday’s 14-school Monticello Invitational at Lodge Park.

Meet champion Unity had 26 points. St. Joseph had 87 points.

The school had two finishers among the top 15. Savanna Franzen was fourth individually, running the 2-mile course in 12 minutes, 34 seconds.

Helene Jones was 11th in 12:58.

Other team leaders were Chloe Burkhalter (22nd in 13:21), Madison Clampitt (26th in 13:42), Jaci Kellenberger (27th in 13:44), Maya Chahine (56th in 14:37) and Macy Reed (76th in 15:32).

Team leaders in the open race were Chloe Allen (30th in 14:54), Sophia Kasper (34th in 15:04) and Hannah Mock (52nd in 15:28).

St. Joseph Boys’ cross-country

Carson Maroon set the pace for the St. Joseph Junior High team, running seventh in Saturday’s Monticello Invitational at Lodge Park.

His 2-mile time was 11 minutes, 40 seconds.

The next six St. Joseph athletes finished within 61 seconds of one another.

Holden Brazelton was 11th in 11:50. He was followed by Spencer Wilson (12th in 11:57), Kendrick Johnson (28th in 12:16), Rowan Musselman (31st in 12:18), Zach Harper (36th in 12:30) and Drew Thurman (54th in 12:51).

In the open race, 14 St. Joseph runners were among the first 51 finishers.

They were: Jack Fisher (ninth in 12:33), Brock Kellenberger (11th in 12:35), Lance Retz (14th in 12:45), Finn Miller (16th in 12:49), Isaiah Mock (25th in 13:02), Kylar Swanson (26th in 13:08), Charlie Schmitz (28th in 13:13), Joe Griebat (30th in 13:17), Holden Jones (34th in 13:32), Jackson Walsh (35th in 13:35), Quinn Stahl (43rd in 13:48), Colton Overstreet (44th in 13:49), Owen Baltzell (49th in 13:54) and Frank Hechler (51st in 13:56).

St. Joseph was third in the 19-school team race.

Meet champion Mount Zion had 75 points. St. Joseph totaled 89 points.

Heritage Boys’ cross-country

Zach Ruwe was the runner-up in Saturday’s Monticello cross-country invitational at Lodge Park.

His 2-mile time was 10 minutes, 51 seconds.

There were 134 competitors in his race.

Heritage placed 10th in the 19-school field with a score of 260 points. Meet champion Mount Zion had 75 points.

The school’s other six runners all placed among the top 100.

Following Ruwe were Ethan Meneley (47th in 12:43), Lukas Carey (57th in 12:53), Aidan Ashbrook (62nd in 13:01), Hunter Montgomery (92nd in 14:10), Cohen Sands (95th in 14:15) and Anthony Happ (98th in 14:24).

Teammates participating in the open race were Clark Roland (88th in 14:41), Eli Denmark-Collins (89th in 14:42), James Dillon (166th in 17:15) and Brandyn Soard (171st in 17:38).

Heritage Girls’ cross-country

Lillian Montgomery was the first Heritage finisher in Saturday’s Monticello Invitational at Lodge Park.

Her 2-mile time was 13 minutes, 17 seconds. Montgomery finished in 17th place.

The school did not have enough runners to be scored as a team.

Other Heritage leaders were Madi Wilson (90th in 16:56), Loran Tate (96th in 17:22) and Chaylea Fisher (99th in 17:42).

Heritage Girls’ basketball

After opening the season with two close losses, the Heritage eighth-grade girls’ basketball team edged Westville 29-27 on Thursday.

Leah Black scored a game-high 22 points for Heritage.

Heritage (1-3) started the season with a 32-27 loss to Gifford followed by a 19-16 loss to Rossville. Black scored 15 points against Gifford and nine against Rossville.

In a 30-16 loss to Armstrong-Potomac, Black hit a team-high 10 points.

Villa Grove Boys’ cross-country

Villa Grove finished 14th in the 19-school Monticello cross-country invitational on Saturday at Lodge Park.

Meet champion Mount Zion totaled 75 points. Villa Grove ended with 377.

The team’s finishers in the 2-mile race were: Lukas Shadwick (41st in12 minutes, 35 seconds), Kurt Zimmerman (58th in 12:57), Jackson Gilles (75th in 13:15), Chase White (79th in 13:19), Owen Kneer (130th in 18:35) and Anthony Burnett (131st in 20:04).

Villa Grove Girls’ cross-country

Two Villa Grove runners placed among the top 50 in Saturday’s Monticello Invitational at Lodge Park.

Evalice Callison was 34th in 14 minutes, 7 seconds for the 2-mile course. Teammate Hayden Thomas was 44th in 14:23.

Other team leaders were Eva Piercy (92nd in 17:00), Nadia Callison (93rd in 17:02) and Lilly Davis (95th in 17:07).

The post Strong showing for Panthers at Monticello Invite, Heritage’s Ruwe places second first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage Volleyball

The Hawks rallied from a one-set deficit on Monday and improved to 4-2 for the season in three-set matches, winning at Chrisman 20-25, 25-22, 25-15.

Olivia Sorensen had 28 assists to go with six digs, four kills and two aces.

Bri Struck posted a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs. Bree Buck contributed nine kills and five digs.

Malani Smithenry also landed four kills.

On Tuesday, Buck hammered five kills to spark the Hawks to a sweep over Sangamon Valley in Niantic, 25-15, 25-19.

Struck and Smithenry had four kills apiece. Sorenson handed out 15 assists to go with four digs and three aces.

Struck and Anna Sanders contributed four digs apiece. Struck also served three aces.

Heritage (13-3) returns to action today at home against Cumberland. The Hawks have won five of their last six matches.

In conference play, the team is 4-1 with all four wins in two-set sweeps.

Villa Grove Volleyball

Madison Burwell slammed 12 kills on Tuesday, but the Blue Devils (7-7) dropped a 19-25, 25-16, 25-14 decision to Cumberland.

Villa Grove/Heritage Cross-Country

The Blue Devils finished third in a three-school meet on Tuesday at the UI Arboretum.

In the boys’ race, meet winner Urbana Uni High had a score of 15, followed by Tuscola (52) and VG/H (81).

In the girls’ race, Uni’s top tally was 15. Tuscola (56) was second, followed by the Blue Devils (70).

Villa Grove/Heritage Golf

Zach Buesing’s career-best 33 earned him medalist honors on Tuesday in a dual meet at Arcola’s Kaskaskia Country Club.

Buesing won medalist honors by five strokes.

On Monday at Danville’s Wolf Creek Golf Club, Buesing’s 42 captured medalist honors by two shots in a meet against Salt Fork.

The post Buesing wins medalist honors, Hawks volleyball rallies for win first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage Volleyball

Bri Struck and Bree Buck were the catalysts on Thursday as Heritage dispatched visiting Cerro Gordo 25-16, 27-25 in a Lincoln Prairie Conference match.

Struck piled up seven kills, six digs and five aces. Buck’s stat line included six kills, four digs and three blocks.

Olivia Sorensen handed out 14 assists. Anna Sanders contributed seven digs and Malani Smithenry finished with four digs.

Heritage (11-3 overall, 3-1 conference) plays at Chrisman tonight.

Villa Grove Volleyball

Madison Burwell delivered six kills and teammate Kyleigh Block had three kills and three aces on Thursday as the Blue Devils (7-6) topped visiting Sangamon Valley 25-14, 26-24.

VGH Football

Blake Smith accounted for five touchdowns on Friday – three on passes and two on quarterback runs – as Villa Grove/Heritage reached the .500 mark with a 54-14 win over Sangamon Valley in Niantic.

VG/H (2-2) led 27-6 after the first quarter and 40-6 at halftime.

Shirley opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD scamper.

He completed 4 of 4 passes for 73 yards and hooked up with Carson Howard twice for TDs, covering 24 and 32 yards. Lerik Sorenson also had a 15-yard TD reception.

Kehm Shirley, who rushed for a team-high 106 yards, scored one TD.  As a team, VG/H rolled up 310 yards o the ground.

Ezra Ely scored one TD and converted six extra-point placements. The Blue Devils’ other TD was by Luke Zimmerman on a 31-yard run.

Villa Grove/Heritage returns to action at home on Friday against Cerro Gordo/Bement (2-2)

VGH Golf

Zach Buesing shot a 39 on Thursday at Tri-City Country Club to lead the Blue Devils in a three-school meet. VG/H did not have enough players to post a team score.

VGH Boys’ cross-country

The Blue Devils placed 19th in Saturday’s 42nd Tuscola Invitational at Wimple Park.

The team-leader, with a 3-mile time of 18:52.88, was freshman Rowan Denmark-Collins.

All five of the VG/H participants are freshmen or sophomores.

Teammates following Denmark-Collins were sophomore Kylee Witte (129th in 22:04.37), sophomore Kaleb Miller (144th in 23:45.5), freshman Fletcher Hannah (158th in 26:17.88) and sophomore Konner Pearman (160th in 26:28.04).

Meet champion Urbana Uni High had a team s core of 26. VG/H’s point total was 497.

The team returns to action on Tuesday against Urbana Uni High at the UI Arboretum.

VGH Girls’ cross-country

Kyleigh Price was the Villa Grove/Heritage leader in Saturday’s 42nd-annual Tuscola Invitational at Wimple Park.

Her 3-mile time was 24 minutes, 31.95 seconds.

Other top teammates were Emma Buesing (80th in 24:41.01), Madison Logan (106th in 27:21.80) and Kate Eisenmenger (114th in 29:07.47).

Price, Buesing and Logan are all freshmen. Eisenmenger is a junior.

The Blue Devils did not have enough runners to be scored as a team. The meet champion was Unity with 32 points.

VG/H returns to action on Tuesday at the UI Arboretum against Urbana Uni High.

The post Buck and Struck lead Hawks past Cerro Gordo, Burwell and Block lead Blue devils past Sangamon Valley first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage High School Volleyball dropped a two-point third-set decision to host Blue Ridge on Saturday and finished second in the Blue Ridge Invitational.

Heritage won four of its five matches during the day-long tournament.

In pool play, the Hawks topped Normal Calvary 25-11, 25-18, Judah Christian 23-25, 25-15, 17-16 and DeLand-Weldon 25-16 25-22.

In the semifinals, Heritage got past Cerro Gordo/Bement 25-16, 26-27, 15-13.

In the championship match, Blue Ridge captured a 25-22, 20-25, 18-16 triumph over the Hawks.

Outside hitter Bri Struck and senior setter Olivia Sorensen were Heritage’s representatives on the all-tournament team.

Sorensen had 139 assists and 39 digs for Saturday’s five matches.

Struck totaled 65 kills and 38 digs for the tourney.

Other team leaders included Anna Sanders with 56 digs, Bree Buck with 40 kills and nine blocks, and Malani Smithenry with 24 kills and 14 service aces.

On Thursday, Sorensen handed out 18 assists as Heritage swept visiting Tri-County 25-20, 25-17. The Hawks are 1-0 in Lincoln Prairie Conference matches.

Sanders led with 13 digs.

Other key contributors were Struck with 10 kills and eight digs along with Smithenry with six kills and five digs.

Heritage returns to action on Tuesday at Arcola.

Villa Grove/Heritage Football

In its home-opener, Villa Grove/Heritage scored twice in the first six minutes and never trailed while posting a 34-6 verdict over Tri-County.

Blake Smith rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another while accumulating 298 yards of total offense.

Smith opened the scoring at the 9:13 mark of the first period, connecting with Ierik Sorensen on a 23-yard TD pass.

Smith’s scoring runs were on gains of 7, 3 and 23 yards. He also added a two-point conversion run, raising his game total to 20 points scored.

The team’s other score was on a 28-yard run by Chase Burwell.

VG/H amassed 408 yards of total offense.

Smith passed for 221 yards, hitting on 4 of 8 attempts. Sorensen had 101 receiving yards and Kehm Shirley gained 78 yards on his one reception.

Rushing leaders included Smith (77 yards), Burwell (45 yards), Ezra Ely (44 yards) and Shirley (21 yards).

Villa Grove/Heritage Girls’ cross-country

Emma Buesing posted the fastest time for Villa Grove/Heritage in Saturday’s 39th-annual Chrisman Cowchip Classic.

Buesing’s 3-mile time was 25 minutes, 41.29 seconds. She finished 14th in the flight for each team’s No. 2 runners.

The Chrisman event is a flighted race with eight different divisions.

In the flight for No. 1 runners, VG/H’s Kyleigh Price was 13th in 27:55.03.

The team’s other finishers were Allison Kneer (15th in the third flight in 28:49.65), Kate Eisenmenger (18th in the fourth flight in 29:40.46), Madison Logan (19th in the fifth flight in 28:27.59) and Regan Blanton (19th in the sixth flight in 30:05.86).

Villa Grove/Heritage did not have enough runners to be scored as a team.

The team returns to action on Tuesday against Neoga at Mattoon’s Lake Land College.

Villa Grove/Heritage Boys’ cross-country

Rowan Denmark-Collins was the top placer for Villa Grove/Heritage in Saturday’s Chrisman Cowchip Classic.

In the flight race for each school’s No. 1 runners, Denmark-Collins took 16th in 19 minutes, 47.56 seconds.

As a team, the Blue Devils were 14th with 98 points.

The team’s other finishers were Kylee Witte (22nd in second flight in 22:32.29), Daniel Olson (23rd in the third flight in 22:36.55), Kaleb Miller (22nd in the fourth flight in 23:49.75), Caleb Wiessing (21st in the fifth flight in 23:50.08), Konner Pearman (22nd in the sixth flight in 24:38.01) and Fletcher Hannah (21st in the seventh flight in 25:08.47).

In an open race, the Hawks’ leader was Isaac Horein (59th in 24:45.94).

VG/H is back in action on Tuesday against Neoga at Mattoon’s Lake Land College.

Villa Grove Volleyball

The Blue Devils (5-3 overall) won three of five matches on Saturday and placed fourth in the Blue Ridge Invitational.

In pool play, Villa Grove defeated Lowpoint-Washburn 25-22, 25-22, Donovan 25-21, 25-12, and Urbana Uni High 25-5, 25-5.

In the semifinals, the Blue Devils were bested by Blue Ridge 25-16, 25-21.

In the third-place match, Judah Christian handed VG a 25-19, 25-21 setback.

Madie Burwell was the Blue Devils’ selection for the 10-player all-tournament team.

On Thursday, the Blue Devils beat Arcola 25-13, 28-26.

Burwell and Sam Campbell contributed seven kills apiece. Kyleigh Block had 10 assists.

The post Heritage Volleyball places second at Blue Ridge Invite, VGH Football tops Tri-County first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage Volleyball

Playing its third successive road match, Heritage upended Oakwood 25-14, 16-25, 25-23 on Tuesday.

Bree Buck delivered eight kills while teammates Aliya Holloman and Bri Struck ended with six and five kills, respectively.

Olivia Sorensen had 23 assists to go with seven digs and five aces. Struck contributed four aces.

Other defensive leaders were Anna Sanders (six digs) and Malani Smithenry (five digs).

On Wednesday, the Hawks (3-1) ran their winning streak to three matches with a 25-16, 25-10 triumph over Fisher in Heritage’s home-opener.

Smithenry (seven kills), Struck (six kills) and Buck (five kills) led the offensive attack.

Sorensen totaled 19 assists to go with three digs and two blocks.

Smithenry had a team-high six digs. Sanders chipped in with three digs.

Heritage returns to action today at home against Tri-County.

VGH Girls’ cross-country

Villa Grove/Heritage finished 14th as a team in Saturday’s Saber Corn Classic, at St. Thomas More.

Teammates Kyleigh Price and Emma Buesing finished next to each other. Price was 57th with a 3-mile time of 24 minutes, 3.9 seconds. Buesing was 58th in 24:13.8.

Other team leaders were Kate Eisenmenger (74th in 27:14.3), Allison Kneer (75th in 27:18.1), Madison Logan (78th in 27:32.8) and Regan Blanton (84th in 30:12.5).

The team returns to action in Saturday’s Cowchip Classic, at Chrisman.

VGH Boys’ cross-country

The Blue Devils didn’t have enough runners to be scored as a team, but had four individuals compete in Saturday’s Saber Corn Classic, at St. Thomas More.

Rowan Denmark-Collins was the VG/H leader, placing 78th, with a 3-mile time of 19 minutes, 38.8 seconds.

The team’s other competitors were Kaleb Miller (104th in 23:10.1), Kylee Witte (109th in 24:01.6) and Fletcher Hannah (111th in 4:21.9).

VG/H is back in action on Saturday in Chrisman’s Cowchip Classic.

VGH Golf

VG/Heritage placed fifth in a five-school meet on Tuesday at Ironhorse Golf Course, in Tuscola.

Zach Buesing was the VG/H leader, firing a 53 to tie for seventh place individually.

Maroa-Forsyth was the team titlist, with a score of 173. Tuscola was second at 214.

Villa Grove Volleyball

On Tuesday, the Blue Devils (1-1) dropped a 25-15, 27-25 decision to Tuscola.

Madie Burwell led VG with six kills. Reagan Cheely collected six aces.

Teammates Molly Mixell, Jordyn Ray and Kyleigh Block each ended with one block.

In the team’s opener last Thursday, VG dropped Georgtown-Ridge Farm, 25-21, 25-13.

Burwell had four kills and five digs. Cheely had eight assists and Block had seven assists to go with four kills.

Ray added three kills.

The post Heritage Volleyball on winning streak, VGH golf and cross country results, VG volleyball falls to Tuscola first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage High School volleyball evened their season record (1-1) with a two-set sweep at Salt Fork on Thursday, 25-22, 25-23.

Olivia Sorensen handed out 17 assists. Bri Struck (seven kills) and Aliya Holloman (five kills) were the offensive catalysts. Struck and Anna Sanders each collected six digs.

Holloman served two aces and totaled two blocks. Bree Buck also had two blocks.

Heritage will return to action on Tuesday at Oakwood.

Villa Grove/Heritage Football

The Blue Devils suffered a 55-14 first-game loss at state-ranked Tuscola on Friday. Tuscola was tied for second in the first Class 1A state poll.

Kehm Shirley was the top VG/H ground-gainer, rushing for 106 yards on 15 carries. As a team, the Blue Devils had 181 yards rushing on 38 attempts.

Shirley scored one touchdown. Logan Nohren scored the second TD on a 3-yard pass from Blake Smith.

Smith was 5 for 15 passing for 60 yards. Carson Howard hauled in two of the receptions, totaling 24 yards.

The other VG/H points were on two conversion kicks by Zayzen Price.

Tuscola built a 34-0 lead before Shirley scored on a 10-yard run.

The Blue Devils return to action on Friday at home against Tri-County (0-1).

Girls’ cross-country

Villa Grove/Heritage finished 14th as a team in Saturday’s Saber Corn Classic, at St. Thomas More.

Teammates Kyleigh Price and Emma Buesing finished next to each other. Price was 57th with a 3-mile time of 24 minutes, 3.9 seconds. Buesing was 58th in 24:13.8.

Other team leaders were Kate Eisenmenger (74th in 27:14.3), Allison Kneer (75th in 27:18.1), Madison Logan (78th in 27:32.8) and Regan Blanton (84th in 30:12.5).

The team returns to action in Saturday’s Cowchip Classic, at Chrisman.

Boys’ cross-country

The Blue Devils didn’t have enough runners to be scored as a team, but had four individuals compete in Saturday’s Saber Corn Classic, at St. Thomas More.

Rowan Denmark-Collins was the VG/H leader with a 3-mile time of 19 minutes, 38.8 seconds.

The team’s other competitors were Kaleb Miller (104th in 23:10.1), Kylee Witte (109th in 24:01.6) and Fletcher Hannah (111th in 4:21.9).

VG/H is back in action on Saturday in Chrisman’s Cowchip Classic.

The post Heritage Volleyball evens season record, VGH football and cross country kick-off season first appeared on SJO Daily.