Category Archives: Sports Section

OV Boys Basketball Starts Season With Two Wins

News Progress Posted on by

•February 10, 20201•
by Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team opened the season with two wins.
The Timberwolves knocked of Villa Grove/Heritage Friday and Windsor/Stew-Stras Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Against Villa Grove/Heritage, only ten points were scored in the first quarter total when Okaw Valley took a 6-4 lead.
The Timberwolves doubled up Villa Grove/Heritage 10-5 in the second quarter to take a 16-9 halftime lead.
Okaw Valley extended that lead by four in the third quarter and eventually won 44-30. Read More

OV Girls Bball Falls to Villa Grove/Heritage

News Progress Posted on by

•February 10, 20201•

by Jason Brown
NP Sports

Whether coming off a good year or a bad year, coaches will tell everyone before the season starts that each year has different players and last year’s record doesn’t matter.
Last season, Okaw Valley coach Brad Ackers was rattling off each one of those sentiments after his team had come off a trip to the state basketball tournament.
This year, Ackers might have been saying the same things but for completely different reasons.
Those sentiments are more applicable to this unprecedented season than ever before.
First, each team has about half the games scheduled than last season.
Second, without much conditioning and practice before games started, players began in mid-season but are not necessarily in mid-season shape. Read More

ALAH Loses to Tuscola

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•February 3, 20201•
by Jason Brown
NP Sports

For a start of the season that many did not believe would come, local boys’ and girls’ basketball teams tipped into action this week.
After the Illinois High School Association announced new guidelines that basically allowed basketball to start practice and games, athletic directors, coaches, and athletes scrambled to set scheduled and began action as soon as possible.
Sullivan
The Sullivan girls’ opened their season Monday, February 1, with a home game against Villa Grove.
And the boys’ team is scheduled to begin next week.
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond Read More

Sports Spectator Rules: Suggestions For Spectators Attending Sporting Events

News Progress Posted on by

•January 27, 20201•
by Jason Brown
NP Sports

With the possibility of high school spring sports starting soon comes the possibility of high school sport spectators.
But what are the minimum requirements according to the guidance issued by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)?
Here are a few of the suggestion for spectators attending spring sporting events.
For contact tracing purposes, sports organizers or venues should maintain a log of all spectators and non-participant visitors in attendance and schools or coaches should maintain a log of all participants in attendance.
Sports organizers require all participants and attendees to wear appropriate face coverings over their noses and mouths.
Sports organizers should direct all individuals to refrain from shouting, singing, or chanting. Read More

IHSA Board Of Directors To Meet Again On January 27

News Progress Posted on by

•January 27, 20201•
by Jason Brown
NP Sports

What a difference two weeks make.
January 15, high school athletes in Illinois’ Region 6, including Moultrie County, did not have much hope for spring sports.
On that day, Governor JB Pritzker announced sports restriction rollbacks for three regions in the state, which did not include Moultrie County.
Schools in Moultrie County are located inside Region 6 and were on pause, until the Illinois Department of Public Health announced significant changes to its all-sports policy Friday, January 22.
The IDPH announced it would allow higher-risk sports to have competitions in regions that reached and stayed at Phase 4 of the state’s COVID-19 mitigations.
Region 6, which includes Moultrie County, reached Phase 4 on Thursday, January 21. Read More

Emily White Announces Intentions To Play At Millikin University

News Progress Posted on by

Photo by Jason Brown
Emily White dribbles the ball up the court during the 2019 Tuscola sectional championship game against Teutopolis.

•December 23, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports

Sullivan basketball’s Emily White announced her intentions to play at Millikin University last week.
Emily White was one of four unanimous choices for the six-member all-Central Illinois Conference team in 2020 and earned all-CIC second team in 2019. Read More

Dorjahn Named Cross Country Coach of the Year

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•December 23, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports

Lyle Dorjahn keeps collection cross country coaching hardware.
A couple weeks ago, the Decatur Herald & Review named Dorjahn the 2020 Cross Country Coach of the Year.
Sunday, the Champaign News Gazette announced that Dorjahn was the All-Area Boys’ Cross-Country Coach of the Year.
Dorjahn took over as head coach of the Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond boys’ cross country team in 2019.
Dorjahn guided his teams to two straight regional titles and a sectional title.
Dorjahn was first introduced to cross country at Eastern Illinois University and has been a fan of track and field, so he got involved with the ALAH cross country program. Read More

Dorjahn Named Cross Country Coach of the Year

News Progress Posted on by

•December 9, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Writer

In 2019, Lyle Dorjahn took over as head coach of the Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond boys’ cross country team.
In 2020, Dorjahn took home one of the area’s most prestigious coaching honors.
The Decatur Herald & Review announced last week that Dorjahn was the 2020 Cross Country Coach of the Year.
Dorjahn was introduced to cross country at Eastern Illinois University and has been a fan of track and field, so he got involved with the ALAH cross country program.
When the position opened in 2019, Dorjahn was offered and accepted the job. Dorjahn inherited a solid running core and an all-area runner of the year in Leyton Hall. Read More

Swimmers From Area Teams Named to All-Area Girls Teams

News Progress Posted on by

•December 9, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Writer

The News Gazette announced its 2020 All-Area girls’ swimming and diving teams.
Swimmers from two area teams earned honors.
Shelbyville junior Gabrielle Spain, who swims for the Sullivan/Shelbyville/Okaw Valley cooperative team, earned first team honors.
Spain rated second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:17.51 seconds), third in the 100 backstroke (1:02.52) and fifth in the 50 freestyle (26.18). Read More