Sports | The Journal-News

The senior members of the Lincolnwood-Morrisonville baseball team were honored prior to the Lancers 15-4 win over Ramsey on Thursday, April 27. From the left are Braden Whalen, with mom Angie Whalen; Connor Seelbach, with parents Cindy and Steve Seelbach; Zake Guzman, with mom Jessica Guzman; Nate Brockmeyer, with parents Korey and Dana Brockmeyer; Carsen Bethard, with parents Steve and Jayne Bethard; and Jhia Walker, with parents Jeremy and Amanda Walker.

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville baseball team picked up a 15-4 victory over Ramsey on senior night, April 27, in Raymond, stopping a three-game losing streak in the process. Before the game, the … more

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

After Record Year, Lancers Bow Out At Pleasant Hill

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville girls basketball team saw their season come to an end on Saturday, Feb. 10, as the Lady Lancers fell to Pleasant Hill-Western in their regional opener. When the … more

2/12/24

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 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

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

After setting school records in rushing yards, touchdowns and points scored, A.J. Sypherd was selected to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Class 3A all-state team.

Sypherd Earns All-State Honors

After a record-breaking senior season, Litchfield’s Adam “A.J.” Sypherd earned one more accolade recently as he was named to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association … more

11/20/23

Litchfield-Mt. Olive infielder Alyssa Aubuschon scoops a grounder during the Panthers' game with Greenville on Friday, March 29. The hosts held the Comets to just three runs, but a stellar outing from Greenville's Kaitlyn Lurkins silenced Litchfield's bats and gave the visitors a 3-1 win.

Lady Panthers Beat Rams, Fall To Comets

The Litchfield-Mt. Olive softball team picked up their second win of the season on Wednesday, March 27, as they defeated Ramsey 13-4 on the Rams’ home field. The two teams were tied at 0-0 … more

4/1/24

Litchfield Baseball Falls To Breese Central

On Wednesday afternoon, April 26, the Litchfield baseball club hosted an uncommon opponent in a non-conference affair. The visitors would be the Cougars from Breese Central, who entered the contest … more

5/1/23

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville-Pawnee boys and girls golf teams competed in the MSM Conference Tournament on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at Edgewood Golf Course in Auburn. The Lincolnwood girls won this year’s tournament with a 418, while the Lincolnwood boys shot a 356 to finish second behind South County. From the left are Rian Deardorff, Brady Schmedeke, Kaylee Gerlach, Lance Weitekamp, Bryce Cowdrey and Luke Pope. In the back are Jenna Matli, Zeke Castleberry, Carly Armentrout, Anna Jones, Kennady Klinger and Jared Klein. Armentrout was the girls individual medalist, while Gerlach, Matli, Jones and Klinger joined her on the all-conference team. Cowdrey, Castleberry and Weitekamp all made all-conference on the boys’ side.

Lincolnwood Boys Runner-Up At MSM Meet

For the third year in a row the Lincolnwood boys golf team finished second at the MSM Conference tournament at Edgewood Golf Course in Auburn, but the Lancers did shave a few strokes off South … more

9/11/23

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville girls basketball program honored two four-year players on senior night on Thursday, Feb. 8, prior to the Lady Lancers’ game against Mt. Olive in Raymond. From the left are Taryn Millburg, with parents Justin and Beth Millburg, and Chelsie Anderson, with parents George and Vickie Anderson.

Lancers Avenge Loss To Mt. Olive

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville girls basketball team hit seven threes to avenge an earlier loss to Mt. Olive as they defeated the Lady Wildcats 35-27 in the season finale on Thursday, Feb. 8. It … more

2/12/24

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

Lincolnwood Holds Hawks To One Hit

Jonah Elvidge struck out 13 and allowed just five base runners in a seven-inning one-hitter as the Lincolnwood-Morrisonville boys shut out Carrollton 6-0 on Friday, March 29. The Hawks’ … more

4/1/24

The College Report: Wells Comes Up Big

At the Washington University Mini-Meet, the Augustana College Vikings scored a total of 32.50 points to finish fifth. Magnus Wells, an Augustana freshman thrower and Hillsboro graduate, scored 22 … more

by Dan Chamness | 5/1/23

Nokomis' Addison Glenn (#10) looks for some space around the block of Hillsboro's Addison Lowe (#14) during the gold bracket semifinal between the Redskins and Hiltoppers on Saturday, Sept. 9. Hillsboro eeked out a three-set win over the Redskins, 17-25, 25-17, 15-11, but Nokomis bounced back with a win over Father McGivney in the third place game, 17-25, 25-17, 15-13.

Redskins Repeat Third Place MCI Finish

Only one of the 16 teams entered into this year’s Montgomery County Invitational Grace Tournament had the chance to go undefeated. But if you can’t go 5-0, going 4-1 is a pretty good … more

9/11/23

Lincolnwood's Taylor Lush muscles through Maryville Christian defenders Rayley Smith (#10) and Kerstin Howell (#25) during the Lancers' final pool play game at the Nokomis Fall Tipoff on Friday, Nov. 17. Lush had four points in the Lancers' 32-26 win over the Lions, their second victory of the season.

Lady Lancers Fourth At Nokomis

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville girls basketball team went 1-2 and finished fourth in the inaugural Nokomis Fall Tipoff this past weekend, evening their record to 2-2 on the season. The … more

11/20/23