CHAMPAIGN — It's been a busy week around the Unity and SJ-O school districts. Here are some photos from postseason events.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Spartans, Rockets heading for crash course
CHAMPAIGN — The 2009 Monticello boys' track sectional is going to be a showdown, and for the first time in seven years, the host Sages aren't going to be a factor.
Unity and St. Joseph-Ogden both rolled to their respective conference titles Monday and now appear to be heading for a showdown at next Friday's sectional meet. The two teams are far and away the most complete squads in the sectional, and with Monticello stumbling to the finish line, both coaches expect a two-team race for the sectional plaque.
It should make for exciting theatre.
"We talk about season goals once or twice a week and the guys know what we’re going up against,” SJ-O coach Jon Jamison said after the Spartans topped Watseka by 52 Monday to win the Sangamon Valley title. “Looking at the results of the Okaw (meet) in the paper, Unity is going to be there at the end. I think they’ve been holding some of their cards a little and we saw some of that yesterday.”
"There's still a lot of the season left," Unity coach Tim Gateley said after Unity won the Okaw Valley meet by 68 points Monday. "We have to make sure we enjoy this and we should, we worked very hard for this, but at the same time it’s back to work Saturday at Shelbyville."
Both teams have one regular season meet left before the N-G
Honor Roll meet next week and sectionals Friday. The coaches said Monday's wins won't excuse poor performances next Friday."This doesn't make or break our season," Gateley said. "It's nice, but it's not our only goal."
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
IHSA Playoff Pairings announced
CHAMPAIGN — The IHSA announced the pairings for the upcoming baseball and softball state tournaments last last month, and here are the regional pairings for our local teams.
The No. 4-ranked St. Joseph-Ogden (22-0) softball team will open the postseason May 19 at home against Georgetown-Ridge Farm. The Spartans are the top seed in their own regional, and should advance into sectionals fairly easily. Granted, nothing in the playoffs is ever guaranteed, but its doubtful a team as focused as the Spartans would drop a home game in regionals. If the Spartans do advance to sectionals in Paxton, they will face the winner of the Watseka Regional. Hoopeston is the No. 1 seed in that regional, while Prairie Central is second and the host Warriors are third. SJ-O has yet to face any of those teams this season, though the Spartans did 10-run rule No. 5 seed Bismarck-Henning.
The Unity Rockets (7-15) have a much more difficult road to hoe in order to advance to the Paxton Sectional. The Rockets open their postseason at St. Teresa on May 18, a team they lost to 10-0 just last week. Unity is 1-8 in the Okaw Valley and all five teams in the Monticello Sectional are conference rivals. The Rockets have lost to other regional teams in Maroa-Forsyth and Monticello, though they did clip Clinton 2-1 Monday. The winner of the Monticello Regional will play the winner of the Olympia Regional in Paxton. The top-ranked and top-seeded Spartans are 23-1 and are coming off an ugly loss in last year's state title game. Whoever gets Oly in sectionals will get their money's worth.
Monticello Regional
Mon., May 18
Game 1 at 4:30 pm: (5) Unity at (4) St. Teresa
Tue., May 19
Game 2 at 4:30 pm: (1) Maroa-Forsyth vs. Winner Game 1
Wed., May 20
Game 3 at 4:30 pm: (2) Monticello vs. (3) Clinton
Sat., May 23
Game 4 at 11:00 am: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
St. Joseph-Ogden Regional
Tue., May 19
Game 1 at 4:30 pm: (1) St. Joseph-Ogden vs. (4) Georgetown.-Ridge Farm
Game 2 at 7:00 pm: (2) St. Thomas More vs. (3) Westville
Sat., May 23
Game 3 at 11:00 am: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Baseball
There will be no crash course playoff runs for the Unity and SJ-O baseball teams; instead the two rivals will play each other in first round of regionals. The Spartans (9-15-2) are the No. 2 seed in the Unity Regional while the host Rockets (8-14) are seeded third. The winner of that game will most likely play top-seeded St. Thomas More for the regional crown. Unity fell 6-4 to the Sabers Monday, while the Spartans aren't scheduled to see their conference rivals until next week. Unity and SJ-O do however play each other Friday, which should be a good judge of where the teams are entering the postseason.
Unity Regional
Mon., May 18
Game 1 at 4:30 pm: (5) Westville at (4) Bismarck-Henning
Wed., May 20
Game 2 at 4:30 pm: (1) St. Thomas More vs. Winner Game 1
Thu., May 21
Game 3 at 4:30 pm: (2) St. Joseph-Ogden vs. (3) Unity
Sat., May 23
Game 4 at 11:00 am: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
The No. 4-ranked St. Joseph-Ogden (22-0) softball team will open the postseason May 19 at home against Georgetown-Ridge Farm. The Spartans are the top seed in their own regional, and should advance into sectionals fairly easily. Granted, nothing in the playoffs is ever guaranteed, but its doubtful a team as focused as the Spartans would drop a home game in regionals. If the Spartans do advance to sectionals in Paxton, they will face the winner of the Watseka Regional. Hoopeston is the No. 1 seed in that regional, while Prairie Central is second and the host Warriors are third. SJ-O has yet to face any of those teams this season, though the Spartans did 10-run rule No. 5 seed Bismarck-Henning.
The Unity Rockets (7-15) have a much more difficult road to hoe in order to advance to the Paxton Sectional. The Rockets open their postseason at St. Teresa on May 18, a team they lost to 10-0 just last week. Unity is 1-8 in the Okaw Valley and all five teams in the Monticello Sectional are conference rivals. The Rockets have lost to other regional teams in Maroa-Forsyth and Monticello, though they did clip Clinton 2-1 Monday. The winner of the Monticello Regional will play the winner of the Olympia Regional in Paxton. The top-ranked and top-seeded Spartans are 23-1 and are coming off an ugly loss in last year's state title game. Whoever gets Oly in sectionals will get their money's worth.
Monticello Regional
Mon., May 18
Game 1 at 4:30 pm: (5) Unity at (4) St. Teresa
Tue., May 19
Game 2 at 4:30 pm: (1) Maroa-Forsyth vs. Winner Game 1
Wed., May 20
Game 3 at 4:30 pm: (2) Monticello vs. (3) Clinton
Sat., May 23
Game 4 at 11:00 am: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
St. Joseph-Ogden Regional
Tue., May 19
Game 1 at 4:30 pm: (1) St. Joseph-Ogden vs. (4) Georgetown.-Ridge Farm
Game 2 at 7:00 pm: (2) St. Thomas More vs. (3) Westville
Sat., May 23
Game 3 at 11:00 am: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Baseball
There will be no crash course playoff runs for the Unity and SJ-O baseball teams; instead the two rivals will play each other in first round of regionals. The Spartans (9-15-2) are the No. 2 seed in the Unity Regional while the host Rockets (8-14) are seeded third. The winner of that game will most likely play top-seeded St. Thomas More for the regional crown. Unity fell 6-4 to the Sabers Monday, while the Spartans aren't scheduled to see their conference rivals until next week. Unity and SJ-O do however play each other Friday, which should be a good judge of where the teams are entering the postseason.
Unity Regional
Mon., May 18
Game 1 at 4:30 pm: (5) Westville at (4) Bismarck-Henning
Wed., May 20
Game 2 at 4:30 pm: (1) St. Thomas More vs. Winner Game 1
Thu., May 21
Game 3 at 4:30 pm: (2) St. Joseph-Ogden vs. (3) Unity
Sat., May 23
Game 4 at 11:00 am: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
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