MONTICELLO – The spring sports season hit its full stride last week with every Monticello team in action at some point. Here is a recap of last week’s action.
The Monticello boys track team swept the distance events and won three of four field events to eke out a 69-65 victory against Champaign Central on Tuesday at McKinley Field.
Jacob Elston won the 1,600-meter run in 5 minutes, 2.9 seconds for the Sages, with Logan Sikorski running 11:05.7 to place first in the 3,200-meter run. Elston also teamed up with Ayden LeGrande, Caleb Wood and Rylan Good to win the 3,200-meter relay in 8:50.6.
Champaign Central won 12 of 18 events and beat Monticello 106-39 in Tuesday’s dual meet at McKinley Field. Monticello’s Mabry Bruhn was a double winner in the 400-meter dash and 3,200-meter run. The Illinois-bound Bruhn won the 400 in 1 minute, 4.4 seconds — a victory of nearly 6 seconds — and was even more dominant in the 3,200. Bruhn won the distance event by nearly 90 seconds with a time of 11:06.8.
Baseball
Monticello 8, Lincoln 1. Jack Buckalew did a bit of everything for the visiting Sages (3-1), who tallied eight unanswered runs en route to a non-league triumph on Monday. Buckalew threw six innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight hitters, and he also went 3 for 4 with two RBI as a batter. Biniam Lienhart (2 for 4, two runs) and Colton Vance (1 for 4, two RBI) also propelled Monticello’s offense.
Monticello 8, Champaign Central 1. Colton Vance collected two hits — including a double — to pace Monticello (4-1) in a nonconference win on the Sages’ home field Wednesday. Luke Teschke chipped in a hit and punched out 10 batters in five innings of work on the mound.
Monticello 13, Prairie Central 0. An eight-run sixth inning permitted the visiting Sages (5-1) to down the Hawks (1-3) in an Illini Prairie Conference meeting. Ike Young was impressive on the mound for Monticello, throwing five innings of one-hit ball with no walks and five strikeouts. Vance went 3 for 3 with RBI to pace the Sages’ offense, which claimed three RBI from Kyle Peake and two hits apiece from Lienhart and Buckalew.
Softball
Monticello 20, Prairie Central 9. The visiting Sages (3-2) racked up at least 20 runs for the second consecutive game on Thursday, this time doing so versus the Hawks (0-3) in an Illini Prairie Conference game. All nine of Monticello’s starters ended with at least one hit. Isa Beery went 4 for 4 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored, while Avery Schweitzer finished 2 for 4 with five RBI and two runs scored. Marrissa Miller slashed a pair of home runs on her way to four RBI and three runs scored, while Emma Stoerger went 3 for 4 with a homer, three RBI and three runs scored.
Soccer
Centennial 1, Monticello 0. Centennial scored a nonconference home win over Monticello Wednesday after Yameli Salinas scored in the 55th minute of the game and keeper Emma Shield tallied a save with six minutes remaining in regulation.
Monticello 7, Chillicothe IVC 0. The host Sages (3-4) pulled away from a 2-0 halftime lead to capture an Illini Prairie Conference victory on Saturday. Elle Bodznick recorded a hat trick with three goals while Tynley Jackson added a pair of scores. Leah Renne and Alice Swanson produced goals of their own. Monticello’s defense largely kept the Grey Ghosts away from the net, as Sages goalkeeper Allison Nebelsick didn’t have to face a shot attempt on goal in the win.
Piatt County
Baseball
Westville 24, Blue Ridge 0. Cade Schaumburg tossed a four-inning no-hitter for the visiting Tigers (5-1), who won their third consecutive game by overwhelming the Knights (0-2) in a nonconference tilt on Monday.
Taylorville 12, Cerro Gordo/Bement 6. Cerro Gordo/Bement regained its lead Tuesday against Taylorville with a four-run effort in the top of the fourth inning and added an insurance run in the fifth, but the Tornadoes scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth to secure the nonconference victory.
Brenden Puckett went 1 of 3 with a double and three RBI for the Broncos (0-3), and Tyson Moore, Michael Freese and Brody Somers had two hits each in the loss.
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 6, Tuscola 0. Nathan Hale collected three hits for the Knights (1-1), who jetted out to a 5-0 lead in the opening stages of their nonconference home win over Tuscola.
Hale scored three runs and collected two hits, a figure that was matched by Wyatt Hilligoss and Maddix Stirrett. Tuscola (1-4) was held to just one hit.
Softball
Westville 11, Blue Ridge 0. The Knights fell to 0-3 with the loss.
Deer Creek-Mackinaw 14, Blue Ridge 3. Blue Ridge managed to answer a strong start from Deer Creek-Mackinaw with three runs in the top of the second, but Dee-Mack scored 11 unanswered runs — nine in the second and third innings combined — for the win. Carsyn Stiger went 2 of 3 with an RBI to pace the Knights (0-4). Carmen Ellis was also 1 of 2 with an RBI, but she took the loss after giving up eight runs on nine hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Oakwood 8, Blue Ridge 3. Samantha Dunavan and Lacey Harrison combined to drive in seven of Oakwood’s eight runs in a nonconference home win over Blue Ridge (1-4) that included a four-run sixth inning. The Comets (2-5) surrendered just five hits, three of which came off the bat of Carsyn Stiger.
Blue Ridge 6, Schlarman 1. The host Knights (1-5) produced two first-inning runs versus the Hilltoppers (0-1), which proved to be enough offense to support the pitching duo of Carmen Ellis and Ellie Schlieper during a nonconference victory on Thursday. The two combined to allow two hits while striking out 10 batters in the circle. Lily Summers went 3 for 3 with two RBI and one run scored to front Blue Ridge’s offense, which added three hits, one RBI and two runs scored from Alexis Wike.
Boys track
Tuesday
At Arcola. Lyle Adcock’s double helped Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond top Arcola and Villa Grove in a three-team meet at Arcola. Adcock won the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 7.79 seconds, and added a win in the 1,600-meter run in 4:57.34. Landon Waldrop also had two wins for the Knights, placing first in the 300-meter hurdles in 44.32 seconds and first in the long jump at 20 feet, 8 inches. ALAH’s Max Duzan did something similar with a time of 11.89 seconds to win the 100-meter dash and a mark of 5-4 1/2 to win the high jump.
Girls track
Tuesday
At Arcola. Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond won five events and used its depth to beat Arcola and Villa Grove in a three-team meet at Arcola. Emma Edwards dominated the Knights-only 300-meter hurdles with a winning time of 57.28 seconds and also ran on ALAH’s winning 400- and 800-meter relay teams.