By Ben Cox
Jacksonville Middle School Track
The Jacksonville Middle School girls track team was the top squad at the Pleasant Plains Relays Tuesday, April 22. Jacksonville Middle School’s sprint medley and 4x100m relay teams of Lamarie Fortune, Kaynee Moore, Adalyn Heinemann and Alivia Heinemann set meet records.
The sprint medley team turned in a time of 1:58. The 4x100m relay of the same group turned in a time of 53.01. The JMS girls also secured top finishes in four other events at the 14-team meet.
Coaching News
West Central Class 8AA junior high boys’ basketball team head coach Adam Little was named a junior high boys’ basketball coach of the year this past week by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.
Triopia CUSD #27 announced on Wednesday, April 23 that Hunter Stockton will be the new high school boys’ basketball coach. Stockton will replace long-time coach and athletic director Rich Thompson who is retiring at the end of the school year.
Jacksonville High School Baseball
Taylorville scored 10 runs in the fourth inning and had a 10-3 lead on Monday, April 21. The Crimsons chipped away at the lead and then scored seven in the sixth, topped off by a game-winning infield single by Ethan Kruzan. Anderson Decker made a big impact no matter where he played, going 4-5 with a home run, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBI. He also pitched the final inning for the save.
Fun fact: Jacksonville is undefeated when Decker posts one or more home runs. Jacksonville then fell on the road at Normal on Tuesday 5-3. Then, the Crimsons teed off on North Greene in a makeup game on Wednesday 18-1. The Crimsons remain at .500 with a 10-10 record, 1-3 in the Central State 8.
Jacksonville High School Girls Soccer
The Lady Crimsons had a great week on the pitch, posting 3 wins. The ladies posted shutout wins against Taylorville on the road Monday 3-0, versus the Decatur Co-Op at home on Tuesday 9-0 and against non-conference foe Hillsboro on Saturday 1-0. The ladies lost to Macomb on the road on Thursday 2-0. The Lady Crimsons are now 4-9-1 and 1-4 in conference play.
Routt Catholic High School Baseball
Routt baseball finished the week 4-2. Samuel Long and Eli Olson provided the late-inning offense on Monday at Alumni Field against West Central. Long hit a two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the third inning and Olson doubled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth in the 8-6 victory over the Cougars. Olson then would score the final run of the game.
The game was a must-win for Routt to stay in the hunt for the WIVC. The Cougars’ loss was their first conference defeat on the season. The Cougars are now tied with Calhoun for the top spot in the conference. The Routt offense provided plenty of firepower while their three pitchers only allowed one run over the next three games of the week posting wins against Pleasant Hill-Western 14-0, North Greene 14-1, and Macomb 10-0. The two losses came in the final two games at the Pleasant Plains Classic against 3A teams Rochester (5-1) and Geneseo (5-4). Routt is now 13-6 overall and 4-3 in the WIVC.
Routt Catholic High School Girls’ Track
Routt freshman Millie Schumacher broke two middle distance school records on Tuesday at Auburn. Schumacher broke the 2012 school record in the 400m with a time 1:00.7, beating the previous time by more than two seconds. Then, she broke the 800m school record with a time of 2:20.23 beating the 2019 school record of 2:32.5
Illinois College Sports
The Blueboys men’s golf team took the top spot at the McNaughton Memorial meet at Jacksonville Country Club on April 21. They finished the week finishing 13th out of 20 in Decatur for a conference invitational tournament. The men’s tennis team wrapped up their season falling in the first round of the Midwest Conference Tournament in Madison, Wisconsin over the weekend.
Jacksonville Speedway
The 40-lap Hy-Vee Perks race for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature made another memorable stop in Jacksonville on Friday, April 25. Former NASCAR driver Kyle Larson avenged last year’s second place finish, coming from behind six places to take the race win. A Lap 16 slider on Carson Macedo gave him the top spot, and then he showed everyone why he’s one of the best race car drivers on the planet right now. The Elk Grove, CA native absolutely checked out in traffic. He sliced through lappers and grew his advantage north of four seconds at times. When the checkered flag flew, Larson had lapped up through 11th place. Larson’s win was his third in six tries this year. He’s won six of his last nine in World of Outlaws action dating back to last year. Brady Bacon, Macedo, Logan Schuchart and last year’s Hy-Vee Perks 40 winner David Gravel rounded out the top 5 finishers.
