Sports | The Journal-News

Lancer Softball Wins Regional Quarterfinal

The final stretch of the regular season for the Lincolnwood-Morrisonville softball team may have been their most difficult. The Lady Lancers had two games against MSM Conference rival Pawnee, plus … more

5/18/23

Local Swimmers Ready For Regionals

Members of the Capital Area Aqua Phoenix Swim Club (CAAP) are currently looking forward to the postseason. The club consists of many local swimmers and practices are held at Hillsboro Health Fitness … more

2/22/24

Nokomis Girls Runner-Up At Gillespie Track Meet

With 15 entries finishing in the top three, the Nokomis girls track team finished just six points out of first in a five-team meet in Gillespie on Thursday, April 25. The Lady Redskins finished with … more

4/29/24

Roxana Rallies To Beat Hiltoppers

An old fashioned pitcher’s duel erupted Monday afternoon, May 15, in Roxana when Hillsboro’s baseball team traveled there to face the Shells in the opening game of the Breeze Central … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 5/18/23

Litchfield's Tate Dobrinich goes up for a slam for two of his 11 points in the Panthers' 89-49 win over Tri-City on Friday, Nov. 24. The win was one of two for the Panthers at the Bill Rucks Tournament in Mt. Pulaski as Litchfield went on to finish fourth in the eight-team event.

Panthers Fourth At Mt. Pulaski

After picking up a pool play win against Mt Pulaski, the host school of the Bill Rucks Thanksgiving Tournament, Litchfield would drop two of their final three games of the tournament to finish in … more

11/27/23

Pretzels Slip Past Panthers At Regionals

May 15 marked the beginning of the Illinois high school baseball postseason. Litchfield, the 11th seed in the sub-sectional, opened regional play on the road against the fifth seed, the New Berlin … more

5/18/23

Hillsboro's Ella Greenwood draws a foul from Jacksonville's Jocelyn Smock as she tries to drive the baseline during the Lady Hiltoppers final game at the Taylorville Thanksgiving Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 25. Greenwood had nine points, including a pair of threes as Hillsboro picked up their first win of the season, 44-22 over the Crimsons.

Hillsboro Girls 'Get Right' To End Taylorville Tourney

The term “get-right” game has invaded sports vernacular over the last few years to describe an opportunity a team has to score a win after a particular run of losses, be it due to stiff … more

11/27/23

In preparation for the postseason, two Litchfield-Mt. Olive wrestlers were among the 67 competitors at the inaugural 618 Girls Wrestling Scramble on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in Edwardsville.From the left are Charlie Bono, who finished fourth at 130 pounds; Rilynn Younker, who finished first at 110 pounds; and team manager Janet Mazza.

Younker Wins First Girls Regional Title

The Litchfield High School wrestling program has had many proud moments since Rich Lovellette started the program back in 1969, but even after 54 years, new accomplishments are still out there for … more

2/1/24

Lincolnwood's Jared Klein (right) and Jacksonville Routt's Brady Turner wrestle for possession in the second half of the Lancers' 52-33 pool play loss to the Rockets at the Gene Bergschneider Turkey Tournament in New Berlin on Nov. 22. While Lincolnwood went 0-4 at the Pretzel Dome, the loss to Routt was the only one that was by more than eight points.

Close But No Cigar For Lincolnwood Boys

After four days at the Gene Bergschneider Turkey Tournament, the good news is that the Lincolnwood-Morrisonville boys basketball team scored 46 more points in New Berlin than they did last year. The … more

11/27/23

Guarded by Lincolnwood's Leah Anderson, with the Lancers' Lilly Terneus (#31) and Taylor Lush (#25) lying in wait, Hillsboro freshman Amya Greenwood gets ready to pass to teammate Kamryn Langston (#4) during the second half of the Toppers' game at the Woodshed in Raymond. After a slow start, Greenwood, Langston and the rest of the Hiltoppers rallied to turn a 15-13 halftime lead into a 52-25 win over the Lancers.

Toppers Sprint Past Lancers In Second Half

While the Hillsboro girls basketball team has shown the ability to hit from outside the three-point arc, the Lady Hiltoppers are at their best when they are on the run and turning steals into points … more

2/1/24

Tough Tests Welcome Redskins To 2023 Season

The Nokomis boys basketball team opened their season with a pair of tough tests this week as they hosted Greenville on Tuesday, Nov. 21, and traveled to Altamont on Friday, Nov. 24. The Comets were … more

11/27/23

Nokomis' Kinley Stolte and Sangamon Valley's Sophia Caceres wrestle for possession of a rebound as their teammates Allison Closs (#30) and Alivia Sabol (#45) wait for the result. Stolte and Sabol were two of the 10 Nokomis players to score in the 61-10 victory over Sangamon Valley, which guaranteed Nokomis at least a share of the MSM Conference title for the third time in four years.

Nokomis Closes In On Title, 20-Win Mark

The Nokomis girls basketball team moved a step closer to two significant accomplishments this week as they defeated Sangamon Valley/Tri-City 61-10 on Monday, Jan. 29, then downed North Mac 63-51 on … more

2/1/24

Hillsboro's Mark Mattson brings the ball across mid-court during the Hiltoppers' regional game in Girard on Monday, Feb. 19. Mattson had five points and Hillsboro had a 35-33 lead going into the fourth quarter, before North Mac outscored the Toppers 17-12 in the final frame to move on to Wednesday's regional semifinals.

North Mac Rallies To End Toppers' Season

Sadly for Hillsboro coaches, players, and fans, the seedings for the North Mac Regional proved to be correct, at least during play Monday night, Feb. 19, when the eighth seeded Hiltoppers fell to the … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 2/22/24

For the first time in his pro career, Hillsboro racer Chase Saathoff finished atop the podium in the American Flat Track Singles series, winning the Texas Half-Mile at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on April 27. Saathoff, pictured above with team owner Bryan Bigelow, is currently second in the overall points and is one of just two racers to finish in the top five in each of the first four races.

Hillsboro's Saathoff Chases Down First Pro Win

Ask anyone who follows the American Flat Track racing series and they’ll tell you that it wasn’t an “if” in regards to Chase Saathoff’s first victory, but a … more

4/29/24

Readenour K’s 17 In Panthers 12-3 Victory

Lili Readenour struck out a season-best 17 batters and the Litchfield-Mt. Olive softball team collected 17 hits as they defeated North Greene on Thursday, May 9, in White Hall. The outing was … more

5/16/24

Hiltoppers Open Up Play At Kaskaskian Classic

When the rather young Hillsboro boys’ basketball team took the floor against the host Carlyle Indians in the last game of the first day of the Kaskaskian Classic Saturday night, Nov. 25, they … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 11/27/23

Toppers Take Two Against Carlinville

The Hillsboro High School wrestling team picked up two final dual wins on Jan. 24 and Jan. 30, in meets in Carlinville and Pittsfield. Both wins were against the Cavaliers as they defeated … more

2/1/24

Carlinville's Triston Thompson found himself surrounded by Litchfield players during the opening round of regional play on Monday, Feb. 19, on the Purple Panthers' home court. Surrounding Thompson, from the left, are Carson Saathoff (#22), Nathan Schaake (#13), Victor McGill and Ethan Saathoff (#12). After a slow start, the Purple Panthers turned a one-point third quarter lead into a 13-point win over the Cavaliers that earned them a spot in Wednesday's regional semifinal in Girard against Greenville.

Purple Panthers Survive And Advance

In postseason play, it’s survive and advance. It doesn’t matter how pretty you look just as long as you have more points than your opponent when the final buzzer sounds. In the … more

2/22/24

Litchfield senior Alyssa Lohman (#6) was one of six seniors honored prior to the Panthers' 7-0 victory over North Mac on senior night, Thursday, April 25. Lohman and company have won six straight, outscoring opponents 37-2 during the span with five shutouts.

Scoring Surge Has Litchfield On Target

The Litchfield girls soccer program is no stranger to scoring goals, but by even the Lady Panthers’ lofty standards, what sophomore Chloe Law did on April 23 was at another level. Already … more

4/29/24

Hiltoppers Fall To Rockets In 2023 Season Opener

It was a difficult beginning of the season for the 2023-2024 boy’s basketball Hillsboro Hiltoppers basketball team as they journeyed to Rochester Tuesday night, Nov. 21, when the Topper boys … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 11/27/23