Category Archives: Sports Section

Lending a Helping Hand or Glove

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Photo by Keith Stewart Trey Schoenfelder(right) eyes the ball after Travis Hanson (left) tosses it up and as Alec Ballinger (center) watches from behind.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Trey Schoenfelder (right) eyes the ball after Travis Hanson (left) tosses it up and as Alec Ballinger (center) watches from behind.

June 11, 2014

Baseball athletes assist special needs children with skills

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

At the beginning of May on a cool temperamental overcast afternoon, Sullivan High School baseball players and special needs students in Christine Grohler’s class came together for a little pitch and catch.

The afternoon practice was meant to gear the children up for a baseball game held that next Sunday at Courtyard Estates–an idea that originated between teachers Christine Grohler and Kurt Friese. Read More

Weybright Continues Basketball Career at LCU

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Photo by Jeni Yantis Abigail Weybright signed her intent to attend Lincoln Christian University and play basketball on May 16. Pictured, front row, left to right, are: mother, Erin Weybright, Abigail Weybright, and father, Shane Webright. Back row, left to right: Lincoln Christian College head women’s basketball coach Donnie Bowman and OV girls’ head basketball coach Don Gardner.

Photo by Jeni Yantis
Abigail Weybright signed her intent to attend Lincoln Christian University and play basketball on May 16. Pictured, front row, left to right, are: mother, Erin Weybright, Abigail Weybright, and father, Shane Webright. Back row, left to right: Lincoln Christian College head women’s basketball coach Donnie Bowman and OV girls’ head basketball coach Don Gardner.

Defensive tenacity to be big asset for Red Lions

by Emily Scott
Bethany Reporter

Last fall, Okaw Valley senior Abigail Weybright put on her blue and black no. 10 uniform, laced up her shoes, and got ready for what she believed would be the last basketball season of her life.

Little did the now-graduated athlete know, she would be starting a new athletic journey as she now prepares to attend Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, where she has signed to play basketball for the Red Lions.

Before deciding on LCU, Weybright did not know exactly what career path she wanted to choose. 

“I wanted to go and find out what God wanted me to do,” she said.  Read More

Lady Red Make School History with Regional Championship

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Photo by RR Best Pictured is the Sullivan varsity softball team with the regional plaque they won after defeating Shelbyville 5-3 Saturday. Front row, from left to right, Paislee Meyer, Makenzie Ruppert, Liz Inman, Heidi Clements, Taylor Gottfriedt, and Allison Miller. Back row, left to right: assistant coach Katie Tate, Kailyn Boyer, Bailee Pratt, Emily Stutzman, Maggie Plank, Brittin Boyer, Christina Brown, Elissa Stewart, Abby Elzy, and head coach Ben Richter.

Photo by RR Best
Pictured is the Sullivan varsity softball team with the regional plaque they won after defeating Shelbyville 5-3 Saturday. Front row, from left to right, Paislee Meyer, Makenzie Ruppert, Liz Inman, Heidi Clements, Taylor Gottfriedt, and Allison Miller. Back row, left to right: assistant coach Katie Tate, Kailyn Boyer, Bailee Pratt, Emily Stutzman, Maggie Plank, Brittin Boyer, Christina Brown, Elissa Stewart, Abby Elzy, and head coach Ben Richter.

Defeat host Shelbyville 5-3 Saturday

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

According to Sullivan head coach Ben Richter, Saturday’s regional championship victory over Shelbyville marked the first ever in school history. But that’s just icing on an already overtopped cake.

“Let’s just say many of the girls were in tears or almost in tears,” said senior pitcher Elizabeth Inman. “Our team has never been closer than this year, and it feels so great to accomplish something so big with all of these wonderful ladies.”

Sullivan’s biggest inning came in the second starting with Brittin Boyer’s at-bat where she hit the game’s only triple to left center field. Senior and first year participant Maggie Plank then followed with a double RBI to the same spot Boyer found. Kailyn Boyer then reached first on an error, and freshman lead-off Bailee Pratt hit a double to right centerfield, scoring both Plank and Boyer to put Sullivan up 3-0. Read More

Goodman Finishes Career Best at State

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Photo by Keith Stewart Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond senior Karly Goodman earned fifth place in the shot put in Saturday’s finals.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond senior Karly Goodman earned fifth place in the shot put in Saturday’s finals.

After two years of 8th, senior earns 5th

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

“That number eight, it gets me.”

What Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond senior Karly Goodman is referring to is not only her last two years of finishing eighth at state in the shot put, but even the fact that after Thursday’s preliminaries, the senior was seeded none other than eighth coming into Saturday’s finals.

But Goodman wouldn’t have it a third year. Instead, the senior hurled a throw of 39 feet 3/4 inches for a fifth place finish, just 1 1/2 inches out from fourth. Read More

A Missed Opportunity as Lady T-Wolves Fall in Championship

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Photo by Keith Stewart Kayla Wheeler watches as a wild throw goes past her during Friday’s regional championship game against Central A&M in Ramsey.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Kayla Wheeler watches as a wild throw goes past her during Friday’s regional championship game against Central A&M in Ramsey.

Can’t defeat A&M a third time

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Despite defeating Central A&M two previous times this year, the Okaw Valley softball team couldn’t make it a third in the regional championship Friday, instead falling 3-9.

While the offense didn’t have its strongest outing, tallying seven hits total, it was the defense, or at times, lack thereof, that made Friday’s battle all the more difficult.

After Amanda McClain led her team from the mound for the first two innings of stalemate play, Abigail Weybright took over in the third, with McClain trying to avoid any potential injury with her state track bid on Saturday. Read More

Program History Once Again as SOV Girls Take Third Place Team Trophy

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Photo by Keith Stewart Serious Hardware Sullivan-Okaw Valley’s girls’ track team hoists up their third place team trophy at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium Saturday afternoon after placing in six events, including first in the 400m and 4x200 relay. For the full story see page 12.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Sullivan-Okaw Valley’s girls’ track team hoists up their third place team trophy at
Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium Saturday afternoon after placing in six events, including first in the 400m and 4x200 relay. 

4x2, 400m championships lead banner day for SOV

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

For Sullivan-Okaw Valley’s girls’ track team, Saturday’s third place team trophy at the state track meet has its roots in a ticket stub.

“On the back of our shirts, it says get on the bus,” explained head coach Kali Taylor. “I had read a book over the winter called the ‘Energy Bus’, and it was all about positive energy and changing mindsets. So at the beginning of the season I gave them tickets and invited them on the bus. Then we put our goals up, and I told them from the get go that our goal was to walk away from every meet in the top three, and there were a couple times we didn’t. But now we’re walking away with a third place trophy.”

The group first got started on Thursday, sending five girls in seven events, tied with three other teams with the most qualifiers. All but one would then qualify for Saturday’s finals, setting up the historic team finish. Read More

Fairfield Homers Twice to Oust Sullivan from Sectionals

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Photo by Keith Stewart Kailyn Boyer chases down a ball during Tuesday's sectional semifinal against Fairfield.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Kailyn Boyer chases down a ball during Tuesday's sectional semifinal against Fairfield.

Two-run homer in sixth inning deals lasting blow

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

The first three-run homer that Fairfield hit, Sullivan weathered. But the second two run blast in the sixth inning dealt a demoralizing blow from which the Lady Red never recovered, instead falling 7-2 in the sectional semifinal Tuesday. Read More

Wolves Avoid Upset in 8-6 Win Thursday

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Photo by Keith Stewart Peyton Hagerman goes to make the throwout at first Thursday.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Peyton Hagerman goes to make the throwout at first Thursday.

Will play St. T in championship Saturday

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

It wasn’t pretty, but Okaw Valley’s baseball team pulled out an 8-6 regional semifinal win over Decatur LSA Thursday evening to advance to the championship Saturday morning against host St. Teresa.

“it was an ugly win, but anytime you have an ugly win to go play for a regional championship, you’ll take it,” said OV head coach Andrew Hagerman.

The wolves struggled on offense early and only when LSA errors crept up, did OV manage their first few runs. In fact, OV led LSA 2-0 after three innings, but had no hits.

It wasn’t until the fourth inning did OV get its first hits of the game, which in turn also led to their biggest inning with five runs, though still aided by LSA errors. Read More

Knights Can’t Muster Offense in Regional Loss to Sabers

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Photo by Keith Stewart Tyler Schuring goes to make the tag out at home Monday on St. Thomas More’s Sean Sullivan. The ball would come loose, however, with Sullivan scoring, just one of five unearned runs on the day.

Photo by Keith Stewart
Tyler Schuring goes to make the tag out at home Monday on St. Thomas More’s Sean Sullivan. The ball would come loose, however, with Sullivan scoring, just one of five unearned runs on the day.

St. Thomas More scores five unearned runs in 7-0 win

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond had just two hits Monday evening, one in the first inning on Shandon Herschberger’s single to right field and the last in the top of the seventh off of Noah Yantis’ hard shot to pitcher Storm Joop in at closer.

But that was about all the no. 6 seed Knights’ offense could muster as the no. 3 host St. Thomas More remained relentless from the mound while taking advantage of several wild pitches and passed balls to score five unearned runs in their 7-0 win, which also marked the Sabers’ head coach Steve Rear’s 200th career win.

“It was a special occasion for me and the team, but throughout the years we’ve been very fortunate here to have good baseball teams,” said Rear. “It’s the players that win the games.” Read More