February 27, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Knott, sprint relay shine at GCMS Invitational

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ track and field team went two weeks in between competitions.


Blame Mother Nature for that.


But the Spartans made the most of their opportunity on Tuesday at the Falcon Invitational hosted by Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, finishing fourth at the 11-team meet after being a late addition to the field.


SJO compiled 73 points, just behind Clifton Central (105), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (104) and GCMS (81). Ridgeview (61) rounded out the top five schools.

The Spartans emerged with two first-place finishes as the 400-meter relay team of Dwight Colvin, Aiden Meyer, Brayden Grimsey and Lane Gaskin blazed around the track in 44.48 seconds to top the rest of the relays.


Hayden Knott performed well in the discus, winning the field event with a toss of 138 feet, 3 inches.


SJO added 10 other efforts that resulted in top-five finishes to aid its efforts in Gibson City. Meyer placed second in the 100 with a time of 11.35 and Eric Poe also finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:07.73.


Lane Gaskin in the 200 (23.47), Ethan Vanilew in the 400 (55.73) and the 1,600 relay quartet of Keanen Swanson, Brady Buss, Meyer and Kaleb Harshbarger (3:37.65) all placed third for SJO.


Brandon Mattsey in the 1,600 (4:57.72), Isiah McCune in the 3,200 (10:47.18) and Swanson in the triple jump (37-0.5) all finished fourth, while Swanson in the 400 (56.80) and Vanilew in the high jump (5-6) brought home fifth-place finishes.


SJO is set to return to the track at 4:30 p.m. this Friday when it hosts the annual Spartan Classic. On the girls’ side, SJO is set to compete at both the Monticello Invitational and Urbana Open, with both meets starting at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Banner
Related Posts

Relays shine for SJO track and field

March 25, 2019

March 25, 2019

A St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field relay team won a title at a prestigious indoor meet, the...

Spartans find out postseason draw as weather wreaks havoc with schedule

May 2, 2019

May 2, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team hasn’t played a game in more than a week. That should change on...

Heritage softball hires new coach

March 8, 2019

March 8, 2019

Greg Immke is no longer the Heritage softball coach. The Heritage Board of Education accepted his resignation at their February...

SJO softball wins Mattoon Tournament, but fall twice in conference play

April 16, 2019

April 16, 2019

Coaches always are eager to see how their teams respond after losses. For St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball coach Larry...

Postseason quest begins for SJO baseball after strong finish to regular season

May 15, 2019

May 15, 2019

The regular season ended on a positive note for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team. Now, the Spartans hope...

SJO to name football field in Duval’s honor

May 26, 2020

May 26, 2020

Like most people who have ever known Dick Duval, Brian Brooks can remember their first-ever meeting. It happened 17 years...

Plotner’s positive attitude key to success

April 30, 2019

April 30, 2019

Jillian Plotner is having an amazing track season. The St. Joseph-Ogden junior helped the 3,200 relay team win first place...

Way to go, SJO: Spartans’ girls’ basketball heading to state!

February 19, 2019

February 19, 2019

In a season full of signature wins, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team delivered another one on Monday...

After winning Illini Prairie Conference championship, SJO girls’ basketball to play for regional title

February 18, 2022

February 18, 2022

Postseason accomplishments are significant ways to remember a season.But so are conference championships.And when this chapter is written on the...

Martinie, Frick propel SJO girls’ basketball in two straight wins

January 23, 2023

January 23, 2023

More losses than wins have unfolded so far this season for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team.But the...

Immke ties IHSA single-season home run record as SJO softball gears up for regional play

May 16, 2023

May 16, 2023

Some big home runs.Some big wins.Coincidence? Perhaps not. The St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team has recovered from a slow...

Get to know SJO Volleyball player Chloe harper

October 31, 2022

October 31, 2022

What do you think makes the team so successful? I think the motivation and fight our team has is what...

Going the Distance: Smetzer excels at Western

October 17, 2019

October 17, 2019

Ross Smetzer has goals. The 2016 St. Joseph-Ogden High School graduate runs cross country and track for Western Illinois University...

Ingram, balanced run game and opportunistic defense lead SJO football to first win

September 23, 2021

September 23, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team needed a win. In a big way. The Spartans delivered one. In a...

SJO dances through adversity and earns date at state

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

On Friday afternoon, the St. Joseph-Ogden dance team thought its season was finished. Not because of how they performed. But...

Comments
Leave a Reply