April 21, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

SJO girls’ track and field wins Spartan Classic, prep for postseason

Winning meets on their own track has become a consistent theme for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field team through the years.


The Spartans kept up the tradition this past Friday night, winning the 15-team Spartan Classic that SJO hosted.


SJO compiled 133.5 points to top runner-up Monticello (120). Paxton-Buckley-Loda (67), Uni High (61) and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (41) rounded out the top five schools in SJO’s final meet of the regular season.


A trio of SJO individuals and one relay team all won their respective events, leading the way for the Spartans.


Maclayne Taylor
blazed to a first-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.93 seconds, while Jillian Plotner won the 800 with a time of 2:26.69. Atleigh Hamilton added a win in a field event for SJO with a leap of 16 feet, 10 inches to take home the long jump title and the 1,600 relay of Rylee Sjuts, Ashlyn Lannert, Hope Rajlich and Danie Kelso clocked in first at 4:24.42.


But it wasn’t just those first-place finishes that propelled SJO to win its own invitational. Depth helped, too.


Taylor placed second in the 200 in 26.25, one of seven runner-up performances produced by SJO. Hannah Rajlich in the 800 (2:29.21), Olivia Klotz in the 3,200 (13:19.73), Abby Behrens in the high jump (4-8) and Jenna Albrecht in the triple jump (32-1.5) also chipped in by placing second. The 400 relay of Kelso, Taylor, Hailey Birt and Hamilton took second in 51.00 and the 3,200 relay of Lannert, Addie Allen, Ally Monk and Brianna Suits also took second in 10:50.59.


Hamilton in the 200 (26.36), Hanna Eastin in the 3,200 (13:21.73), Grace Schmitz in the pole vault (9-0) and Payton Vallee in the discus (106-8) added third-place finishes. Sjuts in the 300 hurdles (51.29) and the 800 relay team of Mimi Allen, Malorie Sarnecki, Alyssa Hamilton and Hailey Gaines (1:58.76) finished fourth, while Albrecht in the 400 (1:08.61) and Lindsey Aden in the shot put (30-7.5) contributed fifth-place finishes.


The Spartans will now spend the upcoming week prepping for their first postseason meet. SJO is slated to host a 17-team Class 1A sectional meet that begins at 4 p.m. on Friday with field events before running events are slated to start at 5:30 p.m.

Banner
Related Posts

Spartans learn postseason foe, lose close game at Charleston

May 2, 2019

May 2, 2019

Playing for the first time in a week after inclement weather caused multiple postponements, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball...

Bree Trimble Working Out With Siblings and Father

July 7, 2020

July 7, 2020

Like all athletes, Bree Trimble plans on coming back to the Parkland College Cobra women’s basketball team as a bigger,...

Total team effort keeps SJO baseball on a roll

May 19, 2021

May 19, 2021

About the only opponent to slow down St. Joseph-Ogden baseball recently is the weather.Persistent rain postponed Tuesday’s home showdown with...

Knap, Jones lead balanced SJO girls’ cross-country effort in Monticello

October 24, 2020

October 24, 2020

Consistent running is key for any cross-country team. Not having one runner separate themselves too far from their teammates or...

Scholarship honors, remembers Dick Duval: ‘His legend will live on in St. Joe’

October 5, 2021

October 5, 2021

If you want to know who Dick Duval truly was, all you have to do is ask St. Joseph-Ogden Superintendent...

Jacob, Cramer and Barnes help SJO girls’ basketball top Prairie Central

January 20, 2020

January 20, 2020

Needing a big win, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team delivered last Thursday night. The Spartans stopped a...

SJO football bows out in first round of playoffs

November 4, 2019

November 4, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team saw its season end this past Saturday with a 54-26 loss at Williamsville...

SJO baseball hits 20-win mark, pushes win streak to four games

May 10, 2019

May 10, 2019

Every year Josh Haley has coached the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team, the Spartans have won at least 20...

McCune accomplishes personal goal

May 14, 2021

May 14, 2021

At the beginning of his sophomore track season at University of Illinois-Springfield, St. Joseph-Ogden graduate Isiah McCune had a goal...

SJO announces winter sport letter and award winners

March 27, 2019

March 27, 2019

Basketball CheerleadingBrooke Butorac, Sr.Keely McCorkle, Sr.Megan Mitchell, Sr.Alyssa Whitlock, Sr.Kaylee Blackburn, Jr.Faith Dahman, Jr.Eliza Lewis, Jr.Lexi Ribbe, Jr.Makenzie Barron, So.Raegan...

5 Question friday

August 26, 2022

August 26, 2022

Each Friday we will ask some SJO athletes five questions. Up first, junior football player Ethan McElroy. What made you...

They’re going to state! SJO volleyball continues dream season

November 9, 2019

November 9, 2019

All season long, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School volleyball team has risen to the occasion. The Spartans did so again...

SJO girls’ basketball looks to bounce back against Tuscola

November 29, 2021

November 29, 2021

Playing the Paris girls’ basketball team is always a challenge, with the Tigers as one of the premier small-school programs...

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...

On the call: Sjuts delivers in PA role for Spartans

September 20, 2019

September 20, 2019

Even if you don’t know his name, chances are you know his voice. For nearly 20 years Keith Sjuts has...

Comments
Leave a Reply