Led by race winner Dale Johnson, the Sterling boys cross country team took second at the Western Big 6 Conference Meet on Thursday afternoon at Empire Park in Hampton.

Johnson clocked a 15:23.5 to win by almost 10 seconds over Quincy’s Eric McClelland (15:33.0). The Blue Devils won the team title with 66 points, two fewer than Sterling; Geneseo was third with 78.

Parker Janssen added a fifth-place finish (16:16.5) for the Golden Warriors, and Thomas Holcomb (12th, 16:29.3) and Jordan Britt (17th, 16:45.2) also finished in the top 20. Parker Blakeslee rounded out the team score in 33rd (17:30.5), while Aalin Schmidt (17:37.1), Connor Pham (17:37.9) and Brecken Peterson (17:39.6) finished 39-40-41.

Girls cross country

Sterling 2nd at WB6 meet: The Golden Warriors had four runners in the top 25 to take second at the Western Big 6 Meet at Empire Park in Hampton.

Quincy won the team title with 34 points, followed by Sterling (74) and Geneseo (81). United Township’s Rubi Tapia-Macias won the race in 18:06.2, with Quincy’s Olivia Schuering taking second (18:09.4).

Rhylee Wade led the Warriors in fifth place (19:32.6), while Kylie Nicklaus took 11th (20:12.8). Delia Block finished 14th (20:19.6), and Laney Zuithoff took 22nd (20:51.2). Mergan Gingrich rounded out the team score in 26th (21:23.2), while Emma Anderson (34th, 21:57.5), Laney Block (37th, 22:11.6) and Connie Ibarra (42nd, 22:32.8) also finished in the top 50.

Volleyball

Oregon def. Winnebago 25-21, 25-14: The Hawks rolled to a Big Northern road win, led by Ava Wight’s 14 digs and three kills.

Kenna Wubbena added 11 digs, four kills and an ace, and Olivia Wynn finished with eight assists, five digs, four kills and four aces for Oregon (16-6, 6-2 BNC).

Erie-Prophetstown def. Riverdale 25-14, 25-15: The Panthers picked up a Three Rivers West win at home over the Rams.

Kennedy Buck had 19 assists and five kills, Aylah Jones added five kills and five digs, and Jamie Neumiller finished with 10 digs and four aces for Erie-Prophetstown. Sarii Kochevar also spiked five kills, and Claire Reymer stuffed four blocks.

Rockridge def. Morrison 25-18, 25-20: The Fillies fell in a Three Rivers West road match.

Milledgeville def. Polo 22-25, 25-15, 25-15: The Missiles bounced back after losing the first set to win an NUIC road match against the rival Marcos.

Marissa Sturrup led the way with eight kills, and Lily Smith added seven kills, 10 digs, two assists and an ace for Milledgeville. Emma Foster stuffed the stat sheet with 18 assists, eight digs, six kills, three aces and two blocks, Lydia Faulkner finished with 13 digs, four aces, four kills and two blocks, and Maliah Grenoble had nine assists and seven digs. Kendra Kingsby chipped in three kills and a block, and Skyler Hartman had eight digs for the Missiles.

AFC def. Amboy 20-25, 25-22, 30-28: The Raiders picked up their first conference win of the season, outlasting the Clippers in a nip-and-tuck NUIC match that went three sets and beyond.

Taylor Jahn spiked five kills and served 10 points, and Lillian Searing added three kills and a block for AFC (5-17, 1-10 NUIC). Brianna Gonnerman dished 14 assists, Rhylee McCaslin had 10 points and a block, and Nadezda Cater led the way with two digs.

Forreston def. Eastland 14-25, 25-19, 25-21: The Cardinals downed the Cougars in three sets in an NUIC match in Forreston.

Jaiden Schneiderman had 16 kills and an ace, and Rylee Broshous added eight digs and five kills for Forreston (19-8-1, 10-0 NUIC). Brooke Boettner finished with 17 assists, four kills and three aces, Maddie Schoonhoven added three blocks and three aces, Dixie Johnson served four aces, and Jenna Greenfield stuffed four blocks.

Leaders for Eastland (13-14, 5-6 NUIC) were Quinc Haverland with 11 kills and two blocks, Jocelyn Green with 11 digs and three aces, and Jenica Stoner with 21 assists. Audrey Sunquist added two blocks for the Cougars.

Boys soccer

Sycamore 5, Sterling 0: The Golden Warriors closed out the regular season with a nonconference loss to the Spartans on Senior Night at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

DeKalb 3, Dixon 0: The Dukes lost their regular-season finale to the Barbs in a nonconference game on the road Thursday.

In Wednesday’s home finale at A.C. Bowers Field – a game rescheduled from Tuesday due to inclement weather – Dixon fell 2-0 to LaSalle-Peru, which scored a goal in each half.