Area Roundup: Sterling’s Johnson wins cross country title at Silver Streak Invite

Sterling’s Dale Johnson was crowned a champion at Galesburg’s Silver Streak Invite, clocking a 15:36.2 and besting Morton’s Josh Weeks, the second-place finisher, by more than 15 seconds.

Sterling’s Jordan Britt and Parker Janssen also ran well on Saturday, finishing 16th and 17th out of 145 runners. Britt recorded a time of 17:18.6 and Janssen crossed the finish line at 17:22.5. Fellow Golden Warrior Thomas Holcomb placed favorably as well, landing 25th with a time of 17:53.1.

Sterling’s Owen Anderson positioned himself in the top third, placing 42nd with a time of 18:33.7, while Brecken Peterson finished 50th, running an 18:54.6. Conner Pham ran a 19:01.5 for a 54th-place finish and Joseph Humphrey rounded out the team effort at 117th, recording a 23:11.4.

Morton was the first-place team with a 33, Dunlap was second with an 86 and Sterling was third with a 99. Thirteen boys teams competed.

The Sterling girls took sixth place out of 10 teams, led by 15th-place finisher Delia Block, who ran a 20:19.9. Megan Gingrich and Rhylee Wade came in 23rd and 25th, with the former running a 20:55.1 and the latter running a 21:00.3. Kylie Nicklaus registered a 22:41.2 to finish 49th and Laney Zuithoff came in 60th with a 23:22.1.

Emma Anderson finished 79th, running a 25:00, while Laney Block came in 84th, clocking a 25:34.3.

Boys golf

Mercer County Invite: Erie-Prophetstown scored 413 for a ninth-place finish at the 12-team tournament at Valley View Golf Course. Sherrard was the champion, scoring a 339, and Illini West was the runner-up with 344.

Blake Geuns fired a 90, finishing 15th to lead the Panthers. Bryce VanDeWostine shot a 101, Keith Goodson had a 103, Colin Ashdown totaled a 119 and Robert Winters added a 134.

Girls volleyball

Oregon Invite: Eastland went 4-1 for a fifth-place finish at the Hawks’ tournament. The Cougars lost to Aquin 25-16, 25-11, and beat Erie-Prophetstown 25-20, 25-16; Durand 25-23, 25-18; and Oregon 16-25, 25-22, 15-12 in the fifth-place match.

Stat leaders for Eastland were Trixie Carroll with 53 kills, Quinc Haverland with 37 kills, five aces and two blocks, Jocelyn Green with 35 digs and seven aces and Jenica Stoner with 92 assists. Sienna Peterson had 28 digs and Morgan McCullough chipped in 25 digs for the Cougars.

Aquin beat Genoa-Kingston in three sets in the championship match, and Dakota defeated Lena-Winslow in three sets in the third-place match. West carroll place seventh, Forreston too ninth, and Erie-Prophetstown finished 10th.

Girls swimming

Warrior Invite: Sterling took third out of eight teams at its home invite. Moline was the top team, scoring a 416, and Auburn was the runner up, tallying a 374.

Payton Purdy, Madison Austin, Hazel Pham and Sammie Knox took second in the 200-yard medley relay, clocking a 2:00.77. Austin won the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:00.47 and the 100 freestyle with time of 55.08 seconds.

Knox secured a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 IM, clocking a 2:27, and the 500 freestyle, clocking a 5:49.84. Purdy took third in the 50 freestyle, swimming a 27.79 and second in the 100 backstroke, swimming a 1:05.04.

Kate Austin, Purdy, Knox and Austin placed second in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:47.5.

College volleyball

Skyhawks split in Iowa: Sauk Valley went 2-2 at the Southeastern Iowa C.C. tournament this weekend, losing to a pair of NJCAA Division I schools and winning both matches against its fellow Division II teams.

Sauk (5-4) opened with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-19 loss to Mineral Area C.C. on Friday, then bounced back to beat host Southeastern Iowa 23-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 15-12.

On Saturday, the Skyhawks topped Southwestern Illinois 25-14, 25-15, 25-11, then finished with a loss to Indian Hills – the No. 9 team in Division I – 25-20, 25-18, 25-11.

Nicole Boelens led Sauk with 46 kills and eight aces, and she also had 48 digs. Jaelyn Fitzgerald had 29 kills and 4.5 blocks, McKenzie Hecht had 24 kills and 18 digs, and Maya Gartin added 22 kills and 8.5 blocks. Kara Stoecker finished with 11 kills and two blocks, and Kierra Collins had eight kills, 2.5 blocks and eight aces. Gabby Jones finished with 66 assists and 26 digs, Cadence Stonitsch added 44 assists and 23 digs, and Mikayla Gazo (55 digs) and Reagan Oster (39 digs) led the Skyhawks’ back-row defense.

Women’s tennis

Sauk Valley 5, Moraine Valley 4: The Skyhawks improved to 3-0 with a dual victory at home.

Sauk Valley’s Kenzie Hubbard (No. 3 singles) and Madison Hubbs (No. 5 singles) both won by default due to Moraine Valley injuries, and Roquelle Penaflor won a 6-3, 7-5 decision at No. 6 singles.

The injuries also forced Moraine Valley to default at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Saryn Seeley and Chloe Coil (No. 1 doubles) and Hubbs and Olivia Pitkin (No. 2 doubles) picked up those victories for the Skyhawks.