Photo by RR Best
Senior SOV Cheerleaders
Among those honored October 13 were the SOV cheerleading squad seniors. Pictured are Maddie Dickens, Minnie Miller, Bailey Turnbaugh, Katie McClure, Emilee Elder, Allie O’Neill, Madison Moll, Ciara Anderson, Grace Yantis, Aspen Bridges.
Photo by RR Best
SOV Football Senior Night
Sullivan Okaw Valley seniors were honored before the football game Friday, October 13. Above senior players Luke Bowman, Seth Bricker, Matteo Vivacqua, Tyson Brown, Zdenek Roza and Jalen Warren take the field marching in unison.
Photo furnished
ALAH Knight Kobe Wells ran the ball five times for 87 yards against CG/Bement.
•October 18, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond football team dropped a close Little Okaw Valley Conference game 20-17 against Cerro Gordo-Bement on senior night Friday.
“We competed very well and played hard and physical,” said ALAH coach Dale Schuring. “But we didn’t capitalize on the numerous opportunities we had to take control of the game.”
In the first quarter the Knights drove the ball down to the Broncos 6-yard line on the first possession of the game but had to settle for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Cerro Gordo answered in the first quarter with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to make it an 8-3 game. Read More
Photo furnished
Okaw Valley Adult Women’s Tennis Wins
The Okaw Valley women’s tennis team won their first match with Effingham last week. The United States Tennis Association USTA sanctioned women’s 5.5 tennis league team shut out Effingham. Okaw Valley won all three matches: 6-1/6-0, 6-3/6-1, and 6-1/6-1. Following another Effingham match Sunday, Oct. 15, the new team faces Decatur on their home court. The adult women’s league runs three times a year and is open to women 18 and over. Okaw Valley Adult Women’s team: back row left to right: Ryan Wildman, Cindy Steward, Melissa Dolan, Heidi Brush, Donna Fowler, and Kathy Camp. Bottom Row: Susie Dobosz and Jamie Shoot.
•October 18, 2017•
The Sullivan boys’ cross country team placed fourth in the Central Illinois Conference meet at Tuscola’s Wimple Park and 13th in the Cumberland Invitational this past week.
Thursday in the CIC meet, Sullivan scored 84 and had two runners earn all All-Central Illinois Conference honors. Read More
•October 18, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond volleyball team had a busy week.
The Knights competed in the sixth annual Morgan Buerkett Tournament Saturday and also defeated Okaw Valley, Arthur Okaw Christian and Cerro Gordo.
At the 16-team Morgan Buerkett in St. Thomas More, ALAH took sixth place with a 3-2 record, and Madison Brown earned all-tournament team honors.
In pool play, ALAH went 2-1, defeating Danville (25-11, 25-14), Sangamon Valley (21-25, 25-16, 15-8) but lost to host STM (25-16, 25-20).
In pool play, Brown totaled 58 assists in three games.
Taylor Powell had 26 kills and eight digs, and Liz Shipman 14 kills and 28 digs. Read More
Photo furnished
Okaw Valley Golfer Grace Harlin swings at Ironhorse
•October 18, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
When Grace Harlin hears someone say you swing like a girl, she takes it as a compliment.
The Okaw Valley High School golfer has been playing and practicing on the OV boys’ team since her sophomore year.
The OV girls’ team dissolved after Harlin’s freshman year because of lack of participation numbers, so she joined the boys’ golf team.
Her sophomore year she would have to complete with boy golfers in practice to see who would qualify to play in each match.
“Sometimes I would beat some of the boys, and other times I wouldn’t,” said Harlin. “Junior year a few of us would rotate on who would be the five and six (spots on the varsity team).”
But the battles against the boys paid off for Harlin during her senior year. Read More
Photo furnished
Sullivan Golf team left to right: Coach Ben Richter Drew Rogers, Cayden Ellis, Leighton Burcham, Leighton Ellis, Aiden Short and Tim Lawyer.
•October 11, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Sullivan boys’ golf team won the Class 1A Monticello Regional last Tuesday to advance to the Bismarck-Henning Sectional at the Harrison Park Golf Course in Danville Monday.
The Redskins won the regional title with a low of 344, beating host Monticello’s 357 and Okaw Valley’s 370.
Junior Caden Ellis led the Redskins with a low of 81.
Freshman Leyton Ellis followed with a score of 85.
Sophomore Aiden Short carded an 87, and junior Leighton Burcham shot a 91. Read More
Photo submitted
Pictured is Ariel Kibler.
•October 11, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
Arthur resident Ariel Kibler is trying to make it a three-peat.
Kibler, 19, made the World Age-Group Competition Team and is scheduled to compete in the World Age-Group competition to try to earn her third national championship in the double-mini trampoline Nov. 16-19 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
“I hope to meet people from other countries and see how other countries may do things differently,” she said. “Overall, I am just excited to be able to represent the USA on a big competition level such as this. I just want to do my best, have fun, and hopefully earn a medal along the way.”
The World Age Groups is an international competition (ages 11-21) that takes place every year, excluding Olympic years.
Kibler was a national champion in the double-mini trampoline event in 2015 and 2017. Read More
•October 11, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond football team dropped a Little Okaw Valley Conference game 47-14 against Arcola on the Purple Riders homecoming and senior night Friday.
The loss dropped the Knights’ record to 3-4 on the season and 1-3 in the LOVC Northwest.
Arcola jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and did not look back.
The Purple Riders took a 41-0 lead into halftime.
ALAH scored a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters, and Arcola tacked on a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the final score. Read More