April 2, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Spartans shine at Distance Night

Four members of the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field program got the chance to compete in one of the more noteworthy events on the track and field calendar.


SJO qualified its distance medley relay and ran this past Saturday at Distance Night in Palatine. The quartet of Hannah Rajlich, Ashlyn Lannert, Jillian Plotner and Cassidy Bagby finished eighth with a time of 13 minutes, 6.19 seconds, competing against much larger schools from throughout the state in an event that featured a 1,200-meter run, a 400 run, 800 run and 1,600 run.


Saturday night’s performance came after the Spartans were able to go through one meet last week amid inclement weather after last Thursday’s GCMS Invitational was canceled because of bad weather. The Spartans traveled to Tolono last Tuesday for a quadrangular meet with host Unity, Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman and Salt Fork.


The Spartans picked up wins in eight events, highlighted by Maclayne Taylor’s sweep in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Taylor sped to wins in both events, taking first in the 100 in 12.55 seconds and following up with a win in the 200 in 26.54 seconds.


Rajlich also took first in the 800 (2:28.2), while the Spartans won three field events as Abbey Behrens in the high jump (4 feet, 10 inches), Grace Schmitz in the pole vault (9-4) and Atleigh Hamilton in the long jump (17-7) soared for the Spartans. SJO’s 400 relay (50.9) and 1,600 relay (4:24.8) also claimed first-place finishes.


Bagby in the 800 (2:29.8), Hamilton in the 300 hurdles (49.02) and Jenna Albrecht in the triple jump (32-11.5) all added second-place efforts, while the 800 relay (2:00.5) also came in second.


Angie Chahine in the 100 hurdles (19.05) and Lannert in the 300 hurdles (53.34) chipped in with third-place finishes in their respective events.


The SJO girls’ program is slated to take part in both the Urbana Invitational and Monticello Invitational this Friday, with both meets starting at 4:30 p.m.
Inclement weather has caused the SJO boys’ program to not compete in a meet since a quadrangular on April 9 at Rantoul.

The Monticello Invitational on April 12 and the Unity Invitational on April 18 were both canceled because of poor weather. The Spartans are slated to return to the track at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in a rescheduled Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Invitational before SJO hosts its annual Spartan Classic at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Banner
Related Posts

Showdown at BHRA on tap for SJO boys’ basketball

December 16, 2024

December 16, 2024

The St. Joseph-Ogden and Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin boys’ basketball teams are familiar with each other. That’s because the two tradition-rich programs typically...

Panthers on the prowl for state title

May 18, 2019

May 18, 2019

St. Joseph Middle School Head Track and Field Coach Zachary Steele couldn’t be prouder of his team. “We had a...

Knott named Student Athlete of the Month

May 27, 2019

May 27, 2019

Hayden Knott had a stellar track and field season. The sophomore won the Illini Prairie Conference meet shot put and...

‘Genuine excitement’ for SJO football heading into 2019 season

August 29, 2019

August 29, 2019

Lofty expectations are attached to the St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team every year. This season is no different for...

Taylor reflects on SJO coaching tenure

August 16, 2021

August 16, 2021

Kevin Taylor realized he needed to make a change. But stepping aside from coaching the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’...

Dukeman shines in classroom and in athletics

March 7, 2019

March 7, 2019

School comes easy for St. Joseph-Ogden High School junior Hannah Dukeman. Dukeman, who plays softball for SJO in addition to...

Pence looks to the future with scholarship offers

July 6, 2021

July 6, 2021

By Jim Cotter Growing up in the shadows of the University of Illinois, it was always a dream for Ty...

SJO volleyball state preview: In the players’ own words

November 15, 2019

November 15, 2019

Before the St. Joseph-Ogden High School volleyball team plays Breese Mater Dei at noon on Friday in a Class 2A...

SJO Board to discuss basketball at November meeting

November 4, 2020

November 4, 2020

Basketball isn’t a sure thing at St. Joseph-Ogden High School this winter. The district will have to decide whether to...

Smith, Pence and Wertz spark SJO football to first playoff win since 2015

November 5, 2022

November 5, 2022

The wait for a playoff victory from the St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team is no more. Hosting the program’s...

Dukeman leads Spartans to victory

April 5, 2019

April 5, 2019

Eight games. Eight wins so far for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team. The Spartans carry an 8-0 mark...

Dukeman, Martlage help SJO softball get back to winning streak

April 29, 2019

April 29, 2019

Challenging road games await the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team at the start of this week. But the Spartans...

SJO boys’ track and field looks to build upon past success

April 2, 2019

April 2, 2019

Jason Retz is no stranger to success when it comes to St.Joseph-Ogden High School athletics. The sixth-year coach of the...

SJO girls’ basketball embarks upon IHSA postseason play

February 13, 2023

February 13, 2023

Throw the records out the window.Take it one game at a time.Survive and advance.Pick any well-used cliche, and it’s applicable...

Ward, Martlage and Immke help SJO softball get back in win column

May 5, 2021

May 5, 2021

A flurry of games is usually the norm for St. Joseph-Ogden softball.But usually, at this juncture in the calendar, the...

Comments
Leave a Reply