Sports | The Journal-News

Comets Stay In Title Hunt With Win Over Litchfield

The Greenville Lady Comets are one of three teams with just two losses in South Central Conference play, hoping that somehow the two one-loss teams, Carlinville and Staunton, stumble and open the … more

2/5/24

Defensive Effort Pushes Lincolnwood Past Carlinville

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville boys basketball team held Carlinville to single digits in each of the first three quarters as they defeated the Cavaliers 45-37 on Saturday, Feb. 3. The win marked … more

2/5/24

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

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

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

Lincolnwood’s Gabe Armentrout is congratulated by his brothers, Tucker (#12) and Luke (#22), and Assistant Coach Bill Krager after scoring against Ramsey in the opening seconds of the Lancers’ game in Raymond on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Armentrout was scheduled for surgery to repair a torn ACL the following day, but an agreement between Lincolnwood Head Coach Matt Millburg and Ramsey Head Coach Jeff Babbs allowed the senior one last opportunity to make a basket and come off the court for the Lancers.

Armentrout Gets Senior Moment In Win

On Dec. 12, Lincolnwood’s Gabe Armentrout scored a season-high 16 points, just two off of his career best of 18, in the Lancers’ 59-41 win over Gillespie. It was the Lancers’ first … more

2/1/24

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

Litchfield Gets Win Over Oilers In Dual

The Litchfield High School wrestling team had one last dual meet before the Rich Lovellette Invitational on Jan. 26-27, as they traveled to Jerseyville on Jan. 25, to wrestle the host Panthers and … more

2/1/24

Lady Lancers Set New Mark For Victories

Since the restart of the program five years ago, the goal for Lincolnwood-Morrisonville girls basketball has been to get better. That improvement isn’t always just shown in wins and losses, but … more

2/1/24

College Report: Schreiber Leaves Her Mark On Kaskaskia Soccer Program

Abbigail Schreiber , a Hillsboro graduate, did not get much of an opportunity to score as a Kaskaskia College defensive soccer player. The 5’5”, sophomore defensive player did take … more

by Dan Chamness | 2/1/24

Powell Honored For 100-Win Milestone

The Litchfield High School wrestling program took time out at the Rich Lovellette Classic on Saturday, Jan. 27, to honor one of its own as 2023 grad Alex Powell was presented with his 100-win plaque … more

2/1/24

Lady Tigers Slip Past Lincolnwood

They didn’t get the win in the consolation championship at Carrollton, but the Lincolnwood-Morrisonville girls basketball team made big strides in their rematch with Greenfield-Northwestern on … more

2/1/24

Playing under the championship banners of the Indiana Pacers, the Lincolnwood-Morrisonville boys basketball team had the opportunity most players can only dream about as they squared off against Madison on Thursday, Jan. 25, on the Pacers' home court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Lancers Keep Pace With Madison

Sometimes when high school teams play on a big stage in the regular season, the experience outweighs the actual game itself. Thursday’s game between Lincolnwood and Madison lived up to … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 1/29/24

Litchfield's Keaton Morgan (left) went out on a win as he pinned Reid Dazey of Oakwood in the seventh place match at the Rich Lovellette Classic in Litchfield on Saturday, Jan. 27. Morgan was one of seven Litchfield wrestlers to finish in the top eight at the tournament named after the Panthers' legendary head coach, who was on hand to present medals at the event.

Panthers Battle-Tested After Lovellette

To say it was a busy weekend for the Litchfield wrestling program would be an understatement. In addition to the Panthers taking two girls to the IHSA regional in West Frankfort (more on that event … more

1/29/24

Later that night, many of the players and fans stuck around to see the Pacers knock off the 76ers by a slightly less defensive minded final of 134-122.

Hoop Dreams

Just a few hours before the Indiana Pacers took the floor on Thursday, Jan. 25, for an Eastern Conference showdown against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Lincolnwood and Madison boys basketball teams … more

1/29/24

Nokomis senior Reece Lohman joined his sister Taylor and uncles Mike Havera (left) and Mark Havera in scoring 1,000 points at Nokomis High School on Saturday, Jan. 27. All told, the four have scored more than 5,000 points for their alma mater, with more than a half dozen games still to go for Reece.

One 1,000... Two 1,000...Three 1,000... Four 1,000...

The Nokomis boys basketball team is in the midst of a tough stretch, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been cause to celebrate for the Redskins. Nokomis’ Reece Lohman scored … more

1/29/24

New Year, New Ride For Saathoff

After winning rookie of the year in 2022 and scoring a top five finish in the Parts Unlimited American Flat Track Singles series in 2023, Hillsboro’s Chase Saathoff will be hitting the track … more

1/29/24

Hillsboro's Zander Wells finished fifth at the Rich Lovellette Classic on Saturday, Jan. 27, in Litchfield, beating Carson McPeek of Lena Winslow in the fifth place match.

Wells Wins Out To Finish 5th At Lovellette

Hillsboro senior Zander Wells rallied back from a second round loss to win three straight matches and take fifth place at the Rich Lovellette Classic in Litchfield on Saturday, Jan. 27, as the … more

1/29/24

Second Half Sends Toppers Past Miners

What a difference a half makes; at least it did in Gillespie Friday night, Feb. 26, when the Hillsboro Hiltoppers converted a 9-0 start-of-the-game deficit into a 68-50 end-of-the-game win. The … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 1/29/24

Litchfield Boys Cruise Past Cavaliers

In a rare Thursday night boys basketball affair, the Purple Panthers welcomed the Cavaliers from Carlinville to Simmons Gym on Jan. 25. This would be the second match-up between the two schools, as … more

1/29/24