The Journal-News

Control Disappears For Coaches, Athletes

Control. It’s important in all sports, including track and field. You have to control your breathing, your pace, your emotions and even your temper sometimes. But what happens when that control … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/16/20

Hillsboro High School Baseball Coach Bob Allen, pictured congratulating former Topper Landon Carroll during a game in 2017, said that the connection with his players has been what he misses most during the shutdown due to COVID-19.

Baseball A Catharsis For Toppers' Allen

Ever since his daughter, Danielle, was killed by a drunk driver in October of 2014, Bob Allen has found some kind of solace in coaching. That has made this year’s delay in the 2020 season due … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/16/20 | 1 comment

Layoff Unfamiliar Territory For Lang

By the end of this week, Montgomery County teams will have had 161 games cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coffeen official Louis Lang knows their pain all too well. With 43 years of … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/16/20

The message on the backstop at the Nokomis High School baseball field says it all as the Redskins hope what could have been a special season isn't lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. The message, installed by Erin, Audrey and Liv Sabol, features the word "Hope" along with two baseballs and the rallying cry of "Noko Proud." With 12 returning letter winners and eight seniors, Coach Brian Pesko's team had its sights set on a deep postseason run, and possibly Nokomis' first trip to the state baseball tournament since 1977.

Redskins Hope Season Happens

As revered as the Nokomis boys basketball program is, it’s difficult to argue that the Redskins baseball program hasn’t been just as good the last few years. The Skins have four … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/13/20

While he lost Kyra Huber and Kylie Meier (far right) to graduation, Hillsboro girls track coach Son Clayton returned three letter winners in Ashlyn Papin, Emma Miller and Kaci Papin and was expecting to have an exciting season before COVID-19 struck.

Virus Puts Hillsboro's High Hopes On Hold

Though she be but little, she is fierce. William Shakespeare’s line from A Midsummer Night’s Dream has applied to the Hillsboro girls track team often over the last few years, but in … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/9/20

Assistant Coach Lisa Lomprez, shown here with 2019 Hillsboro grad Jaylynn Milanos last season, and the rest of the Lady Hiltopper softball staff have tried to keep morale up during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced the cancellation of all games through April 30 so far.

Lady Hiltoppers Deal With COVID-19 As One

It’s been a slow build for Coach Bret Tuetken and the Hillsboro High School softball team in terms of frustration over the delay in starting the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 virus. Coming … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/9/20

Hillsboro grad Austin Grabow gets out in front to lead the Illinois College rushing attack during the Blueboys' homecoming football game against Knox College. Grab recently completed his career at Illinois College and will be attending law school in the future.

The College Report: Grabow To Go From Gridiron To Courtroom

Austin Grabow’s football career at Illinois College officially ended last fall, but the education is scheduled to continue. The Hillsboro graduate started his football career as an … more

by Dan Chamness | 4/9/20

Sabol Honored By IBCA

Originally scheduled for early June, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association all-star basketball games have been cancelled for this year. “We will still be naming student-athletes to … more

4/9/20

COVID-19 Could Cost Topper Track A State Trip

Hillsboro Boys Track Coach Adam Haston hopes he is wrong, but he has a feeling that 2020 may be about “what might have been.” “When April 30th comes around, I just don’t … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/6/20

Delay A Heartbreaker For Litchfield Softball Squad

Almost everyday, Litchfield Head Softball Coach Jessica Ball receives a reminder of what the COVID-19 pandemic is taking from her team. “I already uploaded the schedule and everyday it pops … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/6/20

Regional Repeat On Hold For Lady Purple Panthers

After losing just two players from last year’s team, which won Litchfield’s sixth regional championship in girls soccer since 2013, the 2020 edition of the Lady Panthers was ready to hit … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/6/20

Center & Guard: A Spring Season 'Sidelined'

With everything under the sun cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and rightfully so), you can’t help but see signs of people mourning the loss of events that they were looking forward … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/2/20

Litchfield track coach Dan Newkirk talks strategy with Bailey Powell (385) from the stands at the 2018 IHSA State Track Meet in Charleston. Newkirk, who is in his 30th year of coaching, said that he has never encountered a season like the 2020 campaign, which has seen more than a third of the team's meets cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more cancellations expected.

‘Hopefully, We Will Never See Anything Like It Again’

For the first time since 1979, Dan Newkirk has had the spring off, but it’s definitely not by choice for the veteran coach of the Litchfield High School boys track team. “This is year … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/2/20

It’s been a tough stretch for Lincolnwood Head Coach Greg Neisler (far right), whose team ended their season early after the death of a fellow student in 2019, followed by a delay to the 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 virus. Still, Neisler and the Lady Lancers have tried to focus on the positive and “leave it all on the field,” both literally and figuratively.

Lady Lancers Keep Focus On The Positive

“Warm sunny days, missing time spent with the players, and just not able to play this great sport has been very difficult,” said Lincolnwood softball coach Greg Neisler, in regards to … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/2/20

New Challenges Appear For New Look Hiltoppers

Things were already going to be different in the 2020 season than in Dave Mattson’s first five years as coach of the Hillsboro High School girls soccer team, even before the COVID-19 pandemic … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/2/20

Delay Tough On Buerkett, Toppers

If you know Hillsboro tennis coach Dyke Buerkett, you know that the shelter-in part of the COVID-19 outbreak has hit the avid cyclist hard. "The hardest thing, not just for me but for those of us … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/2/20

IHSA Addresses Stay-In Extension, Playing In June

On Wednesday, April 1, IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson released a statement regarding COVID-19 and its effect on high school sports in Illinois. “First and foremost, the IHSA … more

4/2/20

Litchfield High School graduate Victoria Francis (back row, second from right) had hopes to see her teammates from the U.S. national wrestling team in State College, PA, this coming weekend, but the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the U.S. Wrestling Olympic Trials on April 4-5. A few days after the trials were postponed, the Olympic Committee did the same to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, pushing them back to 2021.

Covid-19 Delays Francis’ Olympic Hopes

While it didn’t become official until March 24, Victoria Francis wasn’t surprised when the decision was made to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until 2021. more

by Kyle Herschelman | 3/30/20

Olympics, Real World On Hold For Held

When the Covid-19 outbreak first hit, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Ryan Held feared the worst. “In my mind, I thought postponement equaled cancellation,” said Held, a graduate of Sacred … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 3/30/20

IHSA Considering Extension For Spring Sports

Things are still at a standstill in the world of high school sports, and in the world in general, but IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson hinted on March 25 that the governing body may be willing … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 3/30/20