SVM area roundup: Dixon’s Kuehl, Ferguson win doubles title at Class 1A Rochelle Sectional

Dixon’s Leah Kuehl and Grace Ferguson claimed the doubles championship at the Class 1A Rochelle Sectional on Saturday.

After winning two matches Friday to advance to the semifinals, the top-seeded Duchesses duo defeated Sycamore’s Madyson Block and Becca Allen 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinal, then downed Elise Pecora and Elizabeth Fitzgerald from second-seeded Rockford Boylan 6-3, 6-1 in the championship match.

The Duchesses took third as a team with 18 points, trailing first-place Sycamore (31) and second-place Boylan (19).

Class 1A Geneseo Sectional: Sterling took fourth with 14 points and Newman took ninth with two points at the nine-team sectional. Dunlap was the team champion with 28 points, and Peoria Richwoods was the runner-up with 20 points.

Sterling’s Ellie Aitken advanced to the semifinals and earned a state berth with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Richwoods’ Lauryn Hudson in Round 2 and a 6-1, 6-3 win over Peoria Notre Dame’s Niamh Hinderliter in Round 3. She lost to a pair of Dunlap players in her final two matches, falling 6-2, 6-2 to Shikha Agarwal in the semfinals and 6-2, 6-2 to Maya Baman in the third-place match.

Sterling’s Layla Tablante advanced to the third round, but lost a step shy of a state berth in 6-0, 6-0 loss to Baman.

Volleyball

Linda Ludwig Memorial Tournament: Rock Falls was 4-1 and took second, while Newman went 3-2 for a fourth-place finish at the Eastland tournament.

The Rockets fell to Aquin 25-22, 25-10, in the title match, after winning their pool-play matches over Stockton (21-14, 21-14), Milledgeville (21-11, 21-10), Durand (21-15, 21-14) and Orangeville (18-21, 21-14, 15-8).

Denali Stonitsch finished with 86 assists, 29 digs, five aces and three blocks, while Claire Bickett had 34 kills and 37 digs, and Emily Lego added 22 kills and 11 blocks; all three were named to the all-tournament team. Nicolette Udell had 32 kills and 17 digs, Carli Kobbeman led the defense with 63 digs and served three aces, and Sophia Moeller (26 digs, 3 aces) and Zoe Henson (20 digs, 2 aces) also played well in the back row.

The Comets beat Oregon 23-21, 21-16, Eastland 23-21, 21-13, and Riverdale 21-12, 21-17. Their losses came against Aquin (21-9, 21-17) and Durand (25-16, 25-19).

Leaders for Newman were Jess Johns with 35 kills, 24 digs and four blocks; Kennedy Rowzee with 31 kills, nine blocks and four digs; Katie Grennan with 47 assists, 24 digs, nine kills and five aces; Molly Olson with 37 assists, 18 digs and nine kills; and Addison Foster with 32 digs, seven aces and five assists. Sam Ackman chipped in 21 digs, while Sophia Ely added 10 digs and five kills for the Comets. Rowzee was named to the all-tournament team, as were Eastland’s Trixie Carroll and Oregon’s Sophie Stender.

Eastland went 3-2 and finished fifth, closing with a 25-20, 22-25, 15-9 win over Orangeville in the fifth-place game. Milledgeville defeated Oregon 27-25, 25-21 in the seventh-place match.

Pecatonica Volleyball Classic: West Carroll went 4-1 for a second-place finish, and Amboy went 2-3 for fourth at the six-team tournament in Pecatonica. Scales Mound was the tournament champion with a 5-0 record.

Cross country

NUIC Championship: The Amboy boys won the NUIC meet with a 47, Polo came in second with 56, and Eastland took fifth with 107 in the five-team field.

Polo’s Carson Jones finished second in the 44-runner field with a 17:21.8, and teammate Ben Plachno came in sixth, timing at 18:07.6. Kameron Grobe finished 15th for the Marcos, running a 19:00.4.

Amboy’s Kyler McNinch took third, clocking a 17:36.2. Atticus Horner nabbed eighth in 18:16.8, and Charlie Dickson finished 12th in 18:25.8 for the Clippers. Kelton Schwamberger clocked a 19:12.7 for 16th.

West Carroll’s Roscoe Davis ran an 18:18.0 for ninth.

Eastland’s Hudson Groezinger clocked an 18:23.5 for 11th.

In the girls race, Leslie Mayne and Delaney Wilhlems took third and fourth for Eastland in a 28-runner field, running a 22:57.3 and 23:16.1.

Kamryn Stockton finished seventh to lead Polo, clocking a 24:05.2. Amboy’s Natalie Pratt took sixth with a 23:55.7, Samantha Nauman took eighth with a 24:15.8, and Anna Carlson came in 10th with a 24:25.1.

Addison Pertel finished 13th for Amboy with a 24:44.9, and Lily Mullen took 14th for Eastland with a 24:51.9.

Patriot Invite: The Erie-Prophetstown boys scored 282 points for a ninth-place finish, Newman scored 321 for 11th, and Bureau Valley scored 457 for 17th at the 33-team meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Riverdale claimed the boys championship with 77 points.

Lucas Schaab led the way for the Comets, placing 34th with a time of 16:37.7. Ken Boesen ran a 16:59.0 for 52nd, Lucas Simpson clocked a 17:17.0 for 73rd, Wyatt Widolff ran a 17:35.5 for 85th, and Carver Grummert clocked a 17:57.1 for 109th.

Elijah House paced the Storm, running a 16:07.7 for ninth place in the 292-runner field; Benjamin Roth ran a 17:04.9 for 58th, and Adrian Gallardo clocked a 17:48.0 for 101st.

Erie-Prophetstown’s Charlie Link finished the run in 16:19.8 to take 18th, Jacob Gibson ran a 17:05.6 for 59th, and Lucas Dreisbach clocked a 17:08.0 for 64th. Victor Bonnell placed 81st with a 17:25.4, Zane Romero took 88th with a 17:37.1, and Aidan Jepson clocked a 17:56.2 for 108th.

The E-P girls took 20th in a 32-team field, scoring 522 points, and Newman took 28th, tallying 653.

Claire Crisham led the Comets, running a 20:48.0 for 64th in the 245-runner field; Monica Healy took 153rd with a 23:34.2; and Sophia McCoy came in 175th with a 23:35.9.

The Panthers were led by Jillian Norman’s 71st-place finish in 21:06.7, Chloe Slock came in 115th with a 22:15.5, and Clara Ashdown clocked a 22:43.5 for 129th.