SVM area roundup: Dixon’s Kitzman finishes fourth, Dukes take third at BNC golf tourney; Sterling swim & dive sweeps Galesburg

Rockford Lutheran was the first-place finisher in a 10-team field at the Big Northern Conference Tournament at Timber Pointe Golf Course on Wednesday afternoon, scoring a 322. Byron was the runner-up with 326, and Dixon came in third with 341.

Landing in sixth place was Oregon with 385, and in seventh, Rock Falls with 390.

Rockford Lutheran and Byron tied for the conference championship, which takes into account dual meet results and the conference tournament.

Lutheran’s Jake Guse was medalist with a 70, six strokes better than runner-up Gavin Huffman of Rockford Christian; Byron’s Maison Brandt was third with a 77.

Steven Kitzman’s 78 was the fourth-best overall score, and top score for the Dukes. Mason Weigle shot an 84 (tied for seventh overall), Ben Oros had an 89, and Alex Harrison chipped in a 90 to fill out the team score. Jayce Kastner (95) and Cade Hey (102) also competed for Dixon.

Kylar Early led the way for the Hawks with a round of 93, Dom Terlikowski shot a 95, Jackson Messenger fired a 96, and Brogan Wilkinson added a 101 to round out the team score. Noel Campos (102) and Logan Sarver (106) also competed for Oregon.

Conner Porter’s 95 was the top score for Rock Falls, while Carter Dillon and Nick Vickers’ 96s were next-best. Brody VanWeelden turned in a 103 to round out the team score, and Jayce Eriks and Riley Anderson added a 104 and 105.

Galesburg 167, Sterling 174: Mason Hubbard tied Jason Runbom’s 36-stroke round to lead the field, but it wasn’t enough as the Golden Warriors fell to the Silver Streaks in a Western Big 6 dual at Emerald Hill Golf Course.

Braden Hartman, Bryce Hartman, Cam O’Brien, Carter Morris and Trevor Dir all shot 46s for Sterling.

Girls swimming

Sterling 137, United Township 24: The Golden Warriors won all 12 varsity events, rolling to a 113-point victory over the Panthers in a Western Big 6 dual meet.

Madison Austin had two first-place finishes individually for Sterling in the 200 IM (2:19.47) and the 100 butterfly (1:03.75). Austin also swam on the 200 medley relay team with Payton Purdy, Macie Lofgren and Sydney Graves (2:05.52), and the 200 freestyle relay team with Michelle Henderson-Bellows, Sammie Knox and Lofgren (1:55.20).

Purdy topped the field individually in the 500 freestyle (6:09.82) and the 100 breaststroke (1:18.96), while Knox was first to finish in the 50 freestyle (:28.45) and the 100 backstroke (1:06.51).

Hazel Pham took first individually in the 200 freestyle (2:12.69), and as part of the 400 freestyle relay team with Maggie Morris, Chloe Clark and Lofgren, clocking a 4:38.92.

Presley Winters was the top diver, scoring 160.55 points, and Kate Austin was the fastest in the 100 freestyle, clocking a 1:01.84.

Girls volleyball

Rockford Christian def. Dixon 25-21, 25-18: The Duchesses struggled with serving and serve-receive in a Big Northern Conference loss at Lancaster Gym.

Sydney Hargrave dished 14 assists, and Madyson Tichler led Dixon (9-5, 2-1 BNC) with eight kills. Joey Brumbly spiked seven kills, and Ella Govig added four kills.

Genoa-Kingston def. Oregon 25-14, 25-15: The Cogs defeated the Hawks in two sets in Big Northern Conference play.

Leading Oregon were Olivia Wynn with six assists, five digs and two blocks, Ava Wight with six digs and two kills, Sophie Stender with five digs, and Liz Mois with two blocks and two kills.

Eastland def. Amboy 27-25, 25-13: The Cougars topped the Clippers in an NUIC match in Lanark.

Quinc Haverland had seven kills, four aces and a block for Eastland, while Trixie Carroll spiked seven hills and Sienna Peterson served four aces. Jenica Stoner dished 16 assists, and Jocelyn Green chipped in 11 digs.

Elly Jones had five kills and eight digs, Tyrah Vaessen added 11 assists and six digs, and Kiera Karlson chipped in six digs for Amboy.

Forreston def. Polo 23-25, 25-13, 25-21: The Marcos won the first, set but the Cardinals stormed back for a three-set NUIC win at home.

Jaiden Schneiderman had 21 kills and two aces for Forreston, while Rylee Broshous added 19 digs and eight kills, and Brooke Boettner finished with 23 assists and four kills.

Leading Polo were Lindee Poper with seven kills and two blocks, Teah Almasy with 12 assists and four kills, Sydnei Rahn and Ali Danekas with four kills apiece, and Ellie Wells with seven assists and three kills. Bekah Zeigler chipped in three kills, while Courtney Grobe added two kills for the Marcos.

Erie-Prophetstown def. Rockridge 18-25, 26-24, 25-19: The Panthers bounced back from a first-set loss for a three-set Three Rivers Conference victory on the road.

Leaders for Erie-Prophetstown were Jamie Neumiller with 20 digs, Aylah Jones with eight digs and seven kills, Lauren Abbott with seven kills, and Kennedy Buck with 30 assists and four blocks. Hailey Bush chipped in six kills for the Panthers, while Jenna Gibson and Sarii Kochevar served two aces apiece.

Girls golf

Princeton 217, Sterling 246: The Golden Warriors got a win over Kewanee by forfeit, but fell to the Tigers in a three-team meet in Princeton.

Orion 214, Bureau Valley 238, Erie-Prophetstown 239: The Storm took second and the Panthers took third in a Three Rivers quadrangular hosted by Newman at Emerald Hill Golf Course. Orion’s Sofia Fernandez was medalist with a 42.

Bureau Valley’s Callie Schoff was the runner-up with a 50. Layne Sproston shot a 61, Cassidy Peterson had a 62, and Mattie Michlig fired a 65 for the Storm. Lynzie Cady (69) and Taylor Tedesco (71) also played.

McKenzie Winckler had a 52 to lead Erie-Prophetstown, Izzy Johnston carded a 60, Hannah Huisman fired a 63, and Taylor Wilson added a 64. Michelle Naftzger had a 71, and Sarah Huizenga chipped in a 77 for the Panthers.

Sophia Ely shot a 59 as the lone Newman golfer.

Cross country

Hawks run well at home: The Oregon girls claimed the top four spots in a field of 21 at their home cross country meet at Oregon Park West, as they defeated Stillman Valley 17-44.

Ella Dannhorn was the leader of the pack, running a 21:55.59, Ellen Hodson took second with a 24:56.2, Natalie Tremble was third with a 25:22.4, and Hadley Lutz came in fourth with a 25:45.4.

The Hawks also had the seventh- through ninth-place runners, as Katelyn Bowers finished in 26:33.4, Abbie Ludwig finished in 26:49.2, and Valerie Nyderek came across in 26:53.9.

Polo’s Carson Jones was the top runner on the boys side, clocking an 18:05. The Marcos finished first with 31 points, Stillman Valley was second with 41, and Oregon took third with 52.

Ben Plachno nabbed fourth for Polo, running a 19:32.7, while Kameron Grobe and Kale Grobe secured 10th and 11th for the Marcos, clocking a 21:00.2 and a 21:13.3.

Aidan Guida and Christopher Bolisenga were the seventh- and eighth-place finishers for Oregon, running 20:29.59 and 20:39.59.