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.

Heritage Volleyball

Bree Buck delivered a team-high 13 kills on Tuesday, but Heritage’s 11-match winning streak was ended at home by Decatur Lutheran, 27-25, 22-25, 25-23.

Bri Struck had eight kills and Malanie Smithenry added five kills.

Olivia Sorensen handed out 29 assists to go with nine digs. Anna Sanders led the Hawks with 15 digs.

Smithenry finished with 10 digs and Kiley Knoll added seven.

Heritage (24-5) returns to action tonight in its home finale, against Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond. The Hawks are 6-3 in Little Prairie Conference matches.

Villa Grove/Heritage Boys’ golf

Junior Zach Buesing put together rounds of 51 and 49 on Monday at the El Paso Golf Course, but his sectional score of 100 did not qualify him for state.

It took an 82 to make the state cut.

Buesing was the Blue Devils’ lone sectional entrant.

Villa Grove Volleyball

The Blue Devils dropped a 25-21, 25-21 decision on Tuesday at Arthur.

Villa Grove is 10-11 for the season.

The post Hawks snap win streak, look to rebound tonight first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage Volleyball

With two wins on Monday and one on Tuesday, Heritage advanced into the championship match of the Lincoln Prairie Conference Tournament at Kansas

The Hawks (23-4) dispatched Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond 25-13, 25-23 behind a balanced offensive attack that featured six kills apiece from Bree Buck, Kiley Knoll and Bri Struck.

Olivia Sorensen handed out 24 assists. Struck had nine digs, Knoll had eight digs and Malani Smithenry had eight digs. Buck collected two blocks.

Against Cumberland – an opponent Heritage lost to two weeks ago – Struck pounded 15 kills in a 25-17, 13-25, 25-22 triumph.

Sorensen had 25 assists.

Other catalysts were Knoll with six kills, Anna Sanders with 14 digs, Smithenry with nine digs and Buck with two blocks.

On Tuesday, the Hawks dropped the first set before rallying past Cerro Gordo/Bement, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20 in the semifinals.

Struck stroked 15 kills to go with seven digs and five aces.

Sorensen handed out 27 assists as well as adding four digs and two kills.

Knoll collected five kills and nine digs. Torie Rothermel had matching totals of four kills and four digs. Smithenry added seven digs and Buck contributed two kills and three digs.

Heritage will face Okaw Valley in tonight’s championship match in Kansas.

Villa Grove Volleyball

The Blue Devils (10-10) lost twice on Monday in first-round action of the Lincoln Prairie Conference Tournament.

VG dropped a 25-18, 25-10 decision to Decatur Lutheran before falling to Blue Ridge 22-25, 25-12, 25-19.

Villa Grove/Heritage Boys’ golf

Junior Zach Buesing carded a 96 on Monday at a Class 1A regional tournament in Bethany and qualified for sectional competition next Monday at Eagle Creek, in Findlay.

He tied for seventh individually.

Buesing will be the lone Villa Grove/Heritage entry at the sectional.

The post Buesing qualifies for IHSA Sectionals, Heritage Volleyball playing for conference championship first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage Volleyball

Heritage avenged an early-season three-set loss to Blue Ridge by scoring a three-set triumph over the Knights on Tuesday, 25-19, 15-25, 25-20, in Farmer City.

The Hawks (19-4) amassed 70 digs and 33 kills against Blue Ridge. Heritage is 5-2 in Lincoln Prairie Conference matches.

The defensive effort was led by Anna Sanders (15 digs), Bri Struck (15 digs), Malani Smithenry (12 digs) and Olivia Sorensen (12 digs).

Sorensen handed out 30 assists. Struck pounded 17 kills to complete her double-double.

Smithenry and Bree Buck added four kills apiece. Buck and Torie Rotermel collected the Hawks’ two blocks.

Kiley Knoll chipped in with nine digs and two service aces. Buck added four digs.

The Hawks recorded their 14th two-set sweep on Monday and fifth in a row, handling Tuscola 25-10, 25-21 in Broadlands.

Sorensen handed out 14 assists. Struck landed nine kills and seven digs.

Smithenry ended with three kills. Knoll had six digs and Sanders contributed five digs.

Buck served two aces and Rothermel produced the team’s lone block.

Heritage returns to action today at Argenta-Oreana. The Hawks are seeking to reach the 20-win mark for the second consecutive year.

Villa Grove Volleyball

Regan Cheely accounted for 11 assists, Kyleigh Block recorded seven kills and Samantha Campbell contributed four kills and three blocks on Monday as the Blue Devils (8-8) overpowered Judah Christian 25-20, 25-20.

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 Heritage Volleyball continues to win, Buesing gets career-best 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 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.