Sterling 2nd at sectional
Erie volleyball wins tournament title in Lanark
Having already secured a berth at this weekend’s state tennis meet, a trio of Sterling Golden Warriors earned fourth-place finishes Saturday at the Moline Sectional.
Brooke Hendricks lost 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals of the singles bracket, then fell to Geneseo’s Michelle Legatzke 6-2, 6-2 in the third-place match.
In doubles play, Sterling’s Callie Sinn and Emily Parsons lost 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals before falling to Moline Alyssa Ray and Marina Johnson 6-2, 6-4 in the third-place match.
Team-wise, Sterling tied Alleman with 16 points, good for second place behind the host Maroons (23). Dixon finished fifth (12).
All singles players and doubles team who advanced into Saturday’s semifinals automatically qualify for the state meet.
Boys cross country
Newman 4th at Peoria: The Comets’ top five runners all placed 51st or better in the 33-team, 235-runner Patriot Invite at Detweiller Park.
Bryson Reyes led the way in 16th (16:25), while Micah Trancoso (32nd, 16:47) and Quincy Coomes (39th, 16:56) also placed in the top 40. Alex DeForest (44th, 17:02) and Drew Rosengren (51st, 17:15) also scored for Newman, which had 162 points. Elmwood-Brimfield won with 80.
Bureau Valley was sixth (209), led by Ryan Taylor in 20th (16:28). Logan Hoffert (43rd, 17:01), Kane Eastwood (50th 17:15) and Daniel Trone (54th, 17:18) added top-55 finishes.
Amboy was 22nd (580), with Skylar Wheeler leading the way in 66th (17:27). Erie-Prophetstown placed 29th (822), led by Jared Cole (163rd, 19:36). Beecher’s Grant Nykaza won in 14:48.
Girls cross country
Weidner 3rd at Peoria: Bureau Valley sophomore Regan Weidner was third among 182 runners at the Patriot Invite, clocking an 18:28 at Detweiller Park.
Weidner finished behind Midwest Central’s Cassie Mundekis (18:09) and Marquette’s Dani Aurit (18:26). Newman’s Haley Simpson placed 10th in 19:35.
Team-wise, BV placed 19th with 420 points, Newman was 21st with 507, Amboy was 22nd with 513 and Erie-Prophetstown was 24th with 539. Kankakee McNamara won the team title (89 points).
Jennifer Popovich led the Clippers in 66th place (21:19), while Emily Hanover led the Panthers in 101st (22:39).
Volleyball
Erie wins title in Lanark: The Cardinals finished 5-0 in the first Linda Ludwig Memorial Tournament at Eastland High School, while the host Cougars were second at 4-1 and Newman was third at 3-2.
Erie’s 27-25, 25-23 win over Eastland in the teams’ second match of the day proved to be the decisive one. Those two teams are also the top two seeds in the 1A Erie Regional, which begins next Monday.
College volleyball
Sauk 3rd in suburbs: The Skyhawks went 3-1 at the Prairie State Tournament in Chicago Heights on Friday and Saturday.
After sweeping Elgin and falling in five sets to Ancilla College on Friday, Sauk beat South Suburban in five sets before downing Prairie State 25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 25-17, 16-14 in the third-place match.
Kalli Scheppers ripped 72 kills in the tournament, Karly Koch dished 141 assists and Nicole Shaffer had 90 digs for the Skyhawks (21-11). Jessica Bonnell (36 kills, 10 blocks), Stacy Stewart (34 kills), Kayla Kurz (18 kills, 14 blocks) and Randi Wilken (18 kills, 12 blocks) also played well at the net, and Mariah Long chipped in 60 digs.
College cross country
Skyhawks host invite: The Sauk Valley women placed eighth out of 10 teams and the Sauk Valley men took ninth out of nine teams at the Skyhawk Invitational on Saturday at SVCC.
Maryssa Nusbaum led the Sauk women in 36th place (22:40.27) in a 5K race, while Ken Catton led the Sauk men in 55th (32:02.49) in an 8K race. The Sauk women scored 244 points, the men 248.
DuPage won the men’s team title (34) and Judson won the women’s team title (49). Judson’s Meaghan Gard took first in 19:18.20, while Sergio Miranda, running unattached, won the men’s race in 27:06.48.
