Litchfield High Sports | The Journal-News

Litchfield High School boys track coach Dan Newkirk (left) was honored for his 33 years of dedication to the athletes of Litchfield High School and the sport of track during the Jokisch-Grandone Invitational in Carlinville on Saturday, April 29. Pictured with Newkirk, who will be retiring at the end of the year, are the event's namesakes, Dave Jokisch and Jerry Grandone, and former long-time Carlinville track coach Ken Garrison.

On April 29, the Carlinville Track community took time during the Jokisch-Grandone Invitational to honor Litchfield High School boys track coach Dan Newkirk, who retires at the end of this season. … more

5/1/23

Litchfield Girls 4th At Carlinville

The Litchfield High School girls track team finished in the top five at the Jokisch-Grandone Invitational in Carlinville on Saturday, April 29, picking up eight top five finishes, including one … more

5/1/23

Staunton Tops Litchfield, Vandalia

The Staunton Bulldogs improved to 15-2 on the season and handed Litchfield its first loss of the season on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the Vandalia Country Club. The Bulldogs shot a 161 to edge Litchfield … more

9/11/23

Running for 344 yards and six touchdowns, Litchfield senior A.J. Sypherd had a game that most can only dream about on Friday, Sept. 8, as the Panthers defeated North Mac 42-21 for their first victory of the season.

Sypherd Runs Wild For Litchfield

With an 0-2 record the Litchfield Purple Panthers may have been singing the same old tune from years past, but this Purple Panthers football squad is different than the past squads. The first two … more

9/11/23

Purple Panthers Make Short Work Of Ramsey

After picking up two hard fought wins to end last week, the Litchfield/Mt. Olive baseball club was back on the diamond on Wednesday afternoon, March 27, as a road trip to Ramsey to battle the 0-4 … more

4/1/24

Litchfield's Harrison Thomas pushes his way past Mt. Olive's Gavin Kernebeck for two of his game-high 13 points in the Panthers' 83-12 win over the Wildcats. Thomas was one of 11 players to score for Litchfield, with nine of the 11 scoring five points or more.

Purple Panthers Gang Up On 'Cats

At the end of 2023, the Litchfield boys basketball team began to create a monster that dominated their opponents in the first half. That monster would not go away as the calendar turned, as the … more

1/4/24

Cyclones Beat Panthers In Battle Of Unbeatens

Finishing a high school baseball season in Illinois undefeated is a very taunting task, almost unthinkable. In Illinois since 1950, there have only been three high school baseball teams who have … more

4/1/24

Panthers' Readenour Ties Up Pretzels In Win

Litchfield-Mt. Olive received a stellar performance on the mound from Lili Readenour and scored five runs in the final three innings to beat New Berlin 6-2 on Saturday, April 29. Pitching on the … more

5/1/23

After becoming the first Litchfield wrestler to win a girls wrestling regional title, freshman Rilynn "Rino" Younker made history again with the school's first sectional title and state qualifying berth in girls wrestling on Saturday, Feb. 10, in Peoria.

It's The Year Of The Rino

Saturday, Feb. 10, was the first day of the Lunar New Year and while the Chinese zodiac says that it’s the year of the Dragon, everyone in Peoria found out quickly that it is actually the year … more

2/12/24

Litchfield Gets Past Staunton In 10th

After starting the season 8-0, a target has begun to form on the Litchfield/Mt. Olive baseball team. On Thursday evening, March 28, the Staunton Bulldogs looked to strike that target at Grizzlies … more

4/1/24

Lady Panthers Win SCC Opener In Three

After falling to Hillsboro and Pawnee in their previous two games, the Litchfield High School volleyball team picked up a key win on Thursday, Sept. 7, in their South Central Conference opener … more

9/11/23

Last year nearly 40 former Panthers took the floor for the Litchfield High School Alumni Game, held after the school’s girls and boys basketball Purple and White Games. Organizers are hoping for another big turnout for this year’s game, which will be on Saturday, Nov. 18.

Litchfield Alumni Game Is Back, Better Start Stretching

Litchfield High School will once again hold an alumni basketball game in conjunction with their annual girls and boys basketball Purple and White Games on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Simmons Gym. One of … more

9/11/23

Litchfield's Vincent Moore leans in to put more leverage on the shoulder of Salem's Aden Doolen during their match on Friday, Feb. 9, at the Vandalia Sectional. Moore won that match en route to a second place finish at 106 pounds as he earned his second straight trip to the IHSA Class 1A State Tournament.

Moore Earns Second Straight State Trip

Vincent Moore got a taste of state wrestling last year, but this year, the Litchfield sophomore is ready for a whole meal. Moore, whose two losses at state last year were to the fourth and … more

2/12/24

Panthers Put A Scare Into Auburn In Regional Opener

The beauty of the postseason is that everyone starts with the same record: 0-0. Auburn found that out first hand on Saturday, Feb. 10, as the 16-win Trojans nearly lost to the three-win Litchfield … more

2/12/24

Litchfield’s Vincent Moore had a fight on his hands in his opening round match of the IHSA Class 1A State Wrestling Tournament on Thursday, Feb. 15, at the State Farm Center in Champaign. Woodstock Marian’s Austin Hagevold picked up a major decision win over the sophomore 106-pounder by a 14-2 final score, moving Moore to Friday’s consolation bracket.

Bright Future Ahead For Litchfield’s Moore

For the second straight year, Litchfield's Vincent Moore went 1-2 at the IHSA State Wrestling Tournament, an awesome accomplishment, but one that the sophomore 106-pounder … more

By Kyle Herschelman | 2/20/24

The Litchfield-Mt. Olive baseball team has had plenty of reasons to celebrate so far this season, including a grand slam by Tate Dobrinich (far right) in their 15-11 win over Greenville. The win over the Comets, their first since 2014, was their tenth in a row to start the season. While that streak came to an end on Saturday with a loss to Sacred Heart-Griffin, the Panthers already have more wins in 2024 than they did all of last season.

Litchfield Battles To Get Past Greenville

In the preseason, Litchfield Coach Rocky Giannuzzi was not sure how his Purple Panthers would respond after a loss. After nine games, the Panthers still hadn’t experienced that, but they had … more

4/1/24

Panthers Make Short Work Of Eisenhower

After picking up win number five on Friday night, Litchfield claimed their second straight win on Saturday, April 29, in Decatur with an 18-0 win over Decatur Eisenhower. The last time Litchfield … more

5/1/23

Panthers Clinch Share Of SCC

The 2013-14 season was the last time Litchfield hoisted the South Central Conference crown in boys basketball as they shared the title with the Greenville Comets. Prior to that the Purple Panthers … more

2/12/24

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

Litchfield libero Amy Frerichs makes a diving save tokeep the ball aloft during the Panthers' pool play game against Vandalia at the Montgomery County Invitational Grace Tournament on Sept. 8. Litchfield went on to win that game in three sets and eventually finished sixth in the 16-team tournament.

Litchfield Sixth At Grace Tournament

The Litchfield High School volleyball team celebrated co-hosting the Montgomery County Invitational Grace Tournament on Friday, Sept. 8, by doubling their season win total. The Panthers, who … more

9/11/23