Photo furnished
Reese Nichols is Russia bound.

•August 8, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

Reese Nichols is a diminutive 12-year-old gymnast with big dreams and high hopes of participating in an international gymnastics competition in Russia in November.
Reese is the daughter of Bethany Police Chief Chris Nichols and his wife Bethany who is a nurse. Reese has a brother, sister and a dog named Theo.
Besides gymnastics she plays on a softball team, and her favorite subject in school is science.
She recently won first place in all-round competition at a national meet in North Carolina. All-round is the most difficult because she must compete in all events: floor exercises, vault, parallel bars and beam. Read More

Photo furnished
Coach Craig Black is pictured with fiancée Erika Tomczewski.

•July 18, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

Sometimes, life is about timing.
That was the case for Craig Black.
Black, who has been the head coach for Oakwood for the last four seasons, was not looking for a new coaching job.
But when Black had heard that the Sullivan coaching position became available after former coach Chester Reeder had taken the head coaching position at Teutopolis, he had to apply.
Black, like Reeder, is a Sullivan alumnus and has continued his ties to the area.
Black, a 2007 graduate, was hired at a special Sullivan board meeting June 29 and will teach physical education.
“I wasn’t really looking or applying for any other jobs, but when this came open, I had to apply,” said Black. “And where I am at in my personal life with getting engaged, being from Sullivan, and having family here, it made the most since for my fiancée and me.”
He was surprised that the job became open.
“I was really surprised to be honest,” said Black. “I know Chet has done a really good job the last five years and built the program up, and with him being from Sullivan too, I didn’t think it would be open.”
But it was an opportunity he could not pass. Read More

•June 20, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

Jeff Myers has some catching up to do.
Myers, who was hired as the Sullivan-Okaw Valley football coach a few weeks ago, has a short window to become familiar with his players, hold camps and start practice before the first game on Aug. 24.
“Right now we are primarily working in the weight room on strength and agility,” said Myers. “When we do get outside and use some of our contact days, we are concentrating on fundamentals. Once we come back after the Fourth of July, we will ramp up the football portion of our summer.”
This may sound like an overwhelming task for a first-time coach in his first year, but Myers has been around for more than two decades.
He served as an assistant coach at Central A&M (1992, 1998-2003), South Walton High School (2004-2015; 2017), and St. Teresa High School (2016).
He has been an offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, running backs coach, defensive line coach, defensive backs coach, and strength and conditioning coach. Read More

2018 IHSA Class 1A State Champions

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg softball team made school history with its first trip to the IHSA Class 1A State Softball tournament at the Eastside Centre in East Peoria Friday and Saturday.

And they made the most of it, winning both games to capture their first ever state championship softball trophy.

Friday the Hatchets traveled nearly two hours to play Argenta-Oreana, a team less than 35 miles away, then took on the Goreville Blackcats for the state championship game Saturday.

The game against Goreville, originally scheduled for the afternoon, was changed to 9 a.m. because of incoming storms predicted for later in the afternoon.

The quick turnaround did not affect WSS.

The Hatchets scored three runs in the top of the first inning to take control of the game early.

Junior Carson Cole bunted for a single to start the inning, and junior Megan Schlechte sacrificed Cole to second.

Junior Calla Roney homered to right center for the quick 2-0 lead. Read More

Photo by RR Best
The Okaw Valley High School baseball team celebrates its third Regional Conference title.

•May 23, 2018•

by Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Okaw Valley baseball team won its third regional title in four years with a 3-0 shutout of Argenta-Oreana at the IHSA Class 1A Meridian Regional championship in Macon Saturday.

Despite defeating AO twice this season 5-1 (April 25) and 18-0 (May 1), the No. 1 seeded Timberwolves were not taking anything for granted.

In last year’s regional championship, AO upset OV.

The Timberwolves, especially senior Garrett Fritz, were determined not to let that happen this season.

Fritz took the mound and shut down the Bombers in the top of the first inning.

In the bottom of the first, Fritz drove in two runs with a home run.

OV scored another run in the first, and that was all the run support he needed. Read More