Ty Reynolds

The Sterling wrestling team placed sixth at the eight-team Western Big 6 Conference Meet on Saturday in Quincy, claiming one individual title, two runner-up finishes, a third place and five fourths.

After losing by 19 earlier this season in Quincy, the Sterling Golden Warriors fought tooth and nail at Musgrove Fieldhouse on a snowy Saturday afternoon, falling 35-33 to the Blue Devils on a pair of free throws with about a minute to play.

Neither of the two locals who competed at the IHSA Boys Bowling State Meet on Friday advanced to Day 2 at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon. Dixon sophomore Clark Bonnewell finished 75th with a 1,185m and Oregon sophomore Gavvin Surmo was 101st with a 1,121.

After a back-and-forth first half Friday night at Musgrove Fieldhouse, Sterling struggled to find its offensive rhythm in the second half, and Quincy took advantage. A pair of second-half surges gave the Blue Devils a 57-45 Western Big 6 win over the Golden Warriors.

The Dixon wrestling team claimed its fourth consecutive Big Northern Conference championship with a triangular sweep Thursday night in Byron, defeating Winnebago 66-9 and the host Tigers 54-15.

Polo senior center Lindee Poper blocked a potential game-tying shot by Addison Pertell with 10 seconds left, and Camrynn Jones’ ensuing free throws at the other end helped seal the Marcos’ 40-36 win over the host Clippers on Thursday night in an NUIC South game in Amboy.

The IHSA Boys Bowling State Meet will be a new experience for Dixon’s Clark Bonnewell and Oregon’s Gavvin Surmo. But the two sophomores, who both qualified for state at Saturday’s sectional in Rockford, have had a lot of new experiences the past few year

The Newman boys and Rock Falls girls basketball teams won conference games on the road Tuesday night, while the Rock Falls boys lost in Rochelle. The AFC and Eastland girls picked up NUIC South wins, and the Oregon wrestlers topped Stillman Valley.

Byron led by as many as eight early in the fourth quarter, but Dixon battled back before coming up just short in a 35-34 loss at Lancaster Gym. It was an instant classic between two undefeated Big Northern Conference rivals.

Amboy sophomore guard Addison Pertell has been a key addition to the varsity squad this season, and has become a perimeter scorer the Clippers can rely on.

Despite a large margin of victory in their first game this season, Bureau Valley knew that Newman wasn’t going to be a pushover on its home court Monday night. The Comets gave the Storm all they could handle, but BV pulled out a 43-41 win.

Despite a large margin of victory in their first game this season, Bureau Valley knew Newman wasn’t going to be a pushover on its home court in their Three Rivers East rematch Monday night.

The Dixon boys basketball team opened the second half with an 8-0 run and never looked back Monday night in a 61-49 win over Sycamore in a nonconference road game. It's the Dukes first win over the Spartans since Feb. 1989, snapping a six-game skid in the series.

Oregon’s Gavvin Surmo and Dixon’s Clark Bonnewell both placed in the top 13 individually Saturday at the Rockford Guilford Sectional, and earned two of the seven individual advancing spots for next weekend’s state tournament at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon.

The Rock Falls boys basketball team beat North Boone 73-55 in a Big Northern Conference road game Friday night, while the Sterling boys routed Alleman 70-25, and the Sterling girls picked up their third win of the season with a 58-45 victory in Rochelle.