Hillsboro High Sports | The Journal-News

Soccer Toppers Rebound Against Piasa Birds

After taking one on the chin at the hands of the Litchfield Purple Panthers and dropping their first conference game in two calendar years, the Hillsboro High School boys soccer team returned to the … more

9/11/23

Mt. Olive's Alyssa Aubuschon tries to regain possession after Chloe Law of Litchfield pokes the ball away at midcourt during the Jan. 2 meeting between the two teams in Mt. Olive. Law had five steals and Litchfield had the Wildcats' lead down to four in the final two minutes before a 6-0 run gave Mt. Olive a 41-31 win.

Mt. Olive Girls Hold Off Litchfield

The Mt. Olive girls basketball team held a 19-5 advantage in free throws over Litchfield on Tuesday, Jan. 2, as the Lady Wildcats held off the Panthers 41-31 in the first game of the new year. … more

1/4/24

Hillsboro Gets SCC Win In Three Set Thriller

The Hillsboro High School volleyball team picked up their first South Central Conference win of the season and improved to 5-0 with a gutty three-set win over Vandalia on Thursday, Sept. 7. The … more

9/11/23

Tennis Toppers Beat Vandals For Third Victory

In a match characterized by good competition and some long rallies, the Hillsboro girls tennis team picked up their third victory of the season on Thursday, Sept. 7, with an 8-1 win over Vandalia at … more

9/11/23

Hillsboro Boys Lock Up Fourth At Trump Relays

The Hillsboro High School boys track team finished fourth at the Bert Trump Relays at Southwestern High School on Tuesday, April 25, picking up one win and several top five finishes. The Toppers … more

5/1/23

Hillsboro's Zander Wells (left) locks up with Tiffin Kouzoukas of Benton during their quarterfinal match at the Vandalia Sectional on Friday, Feb. 9. Wells defeated Kouzoukas in an 11-5 decision one of three wins on the weekend as the senior went on to finish third and qualify for the IHSA Class 1A State Tournament for the first time.

Wells Far From Done With Wrestling

The COVID pandemic may keep Zander Wells from 100 wins in his prep wrestling career, but nothing was going to stop the Hillsboro High School senior from a trip to state. On Saturday, Feb. 10, … more

2/12/24

Lady Hiltoppers Take Top Spot In Sprint Medley

Despite entering just seven events, the Hillsboro girls track team still managed to pick up enough points to finish seventh in the standings at the Bert Trump Relays at Southwestern High School on … more

5/1/23

Nokomis' Cade Johnson (#13) had a front row seat as teammate Garrett Engelman, Hillsboro pitcher Landon Summers and the ball all reached home plate at the same time during the Redskins' game in Hillsboro on April 27. Summers was upended and Engelman was safe as the Redskins went on to win 11-0 in five innings.

Redskins Upend Hillsboro In Five Innings

When Nokomis’ baseball team visited Hillsboro Thursday afternoon, April 27, a wise predictor could have called the outcome even before the first pitch. After all, Nokomis was above .500; the … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 5/1/23

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville volleyball team celebrates as senior Taryn Millburg receives the championship trophy for the Montgomery County Invitational Grace Tournament from Charley Herschelman, the sister of the tournament's namesake, the late Grace Herschelman. The Lancers won the tournament for the second year in a row, defeating Hillsboro 25-19, 23-25, 25-19 to improve to 10-0 on the season.

Lancers Repeat At Grace Tourney

What has been a banner year for Montgomery County volleyball got even better over the weekend as Lincolnwood, Hillsboro and Nokomis took the top three spots at the Montgomery County Invitational … more

9/11/23

Hillsboro’s Zander Wells tries to turn Cooper Miller of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley during their preliminary match at the IHSA Class 1A State Wrestling Tournament in Champaign on Feb. 15. Wells was down 9-3 to Miller going into the third period when he took down the Falcons’ 165-pounder and earned the pin at the 4:17 mark of the match.

Wells’ Senior Season Comes To End At State

Of the 116 wrestlers who started the Class 1A postseason in the 165-pound weight class, only 16 were able to make it to state. Of those 16, half lost, with half of that number losing for a second … more

By Kyle Herschelman | 2/20/24

Hillsboro's Kearstynn Davis (left) and Litchfield's Chloe Law (right) go up for a 50/50 ball during the third place game at the Panther Classic in Litchfield on Saturday, March 30. After losing to Hillsboro twice last year, the Lady Panthers scored a 2-1 victory over the Toppers, with Law scoring the go-ahead goal in the second half.

Panthers Top Hillsboro For Third

Last year, the Hillsboro and Litchfield girls soccer teams were slated to play for the championship of the 2023 Panther Classic, before Mother Nature put the kibosh on those plans. This Saturday, … more

4/1/24

Trojans Efficient In Win Over Hillsboro Baseball

The Auburn Trojans benefitted from efficient pitching from Cooper Carter while in Hillsboro Wednesday afternoon, April 26, as their right-hander used only 65 pitches to dispatch the Toppers in five … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 5/1/23

Hillsboro’s Cheyenne Harston (#30) and Kamryn Langston look for the steal against Gillespie’s Erika Gill during the regional championship game in Virden on Feb. 16. The Miners jumped out to a seven-point first quarter lead en route to a 59-45 victory over the Lady Hiltoppers for their first regional title since 2012.

Season Ends In Regional Championship

A strong start in both the first and second halves helped Gillespie score their first regional championship since 2012 on Friday, Feb. 16, as the Miners defeated Hillsboro 59-45 in the title game at … more

2/20/24

It was senior night for the Hillsboro girls basketball team as the Lady Hiltoppers took time to honor Sophia Blankenship and Aubrey Evans, on Thursday, Feb. 8. Pictured above, from the left, are Blankenship, with parents Cody Hodges and Gabe Blankenship, and Evans, with parents Katie McDonald and Reginald Evans.

Comets Battle Back To Beat Toppers

The regular season finale between Hillsboro and Greenville on Thursday, Feb. 8, is a pretty good example of what the South Central Conference has been in girls basketball any year. With four teams … more

2/12/24

Toppers End March With Busy Stretch

Hillsboro’s baseball team played a pitching-staff-testing five games in four days as Easter approached ( a sixth game was played on Monday, March 25; it was a win over Staunton reported in … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 4/1/24

Cavies Spoil Diveley's Big Game On Senior Night

Litchfield may not have won on senior night, Thursday, Feb. 8, but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort or the performance of their lone senior. Emma Diveley, daughter of Charles and Shannon … more

2/12/24

Comets Get Hillsboro 44-33 In Season Finale

Prior to the start of the Hillsboro at Greenville end-of-the-regular-season basketball game, the odds seemed stacked in the Comets’ favor. They had defeated the Toppers 51-39 in the Kaskaskian … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 2/20/24

Rochester Holds Off Lady Toppers

The Hillsboro girls basketball team nearly picked up their first win of the season on Saturday morning, Nov. 18, in the Toppers’ second game of the Taylorville Thanksgiving Tournament. … more

11/20/23

Panthers' Greff Delivers Victory Over Hiltoppers

If one likes a close athletic contest, the place to be on Friday night, Feb. 9, was in the North Mac Junior High gym (the Girard High School gym before Virden and Girard merged to form the … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 2/12/24

Litchfield senior Anthony Bader earned first team all-conference honors this past year, his second straight selection after being a second team pick last year as a junior.

Panthers, Toppers Get Seven Each On All-SCC

A round of penalty kicks was the only difference between the Litchfield and Hillsboro boys soccer teams in conference play so it was fitting that the two teams tied for the most players on this … more

11/2/23