ROUNDUP: Sterling boys 4x800 relay team takes Western Big 6 conference title

The Sterling boys track team finished seventh in the Western Big 6 Meet at Rock Island on Wednesday, scoring 44 points. Moline put up 144 points to win the conference championship.

The Golden Warriors’ 4x800 relay of Javon Bruce, Thomas Holcomb, Dale Johnson and Sam Brown took first with a time of 8:25.22.

Johnson also had a second-place finish in the 1,600. Bruce, Owen Anderson, Jordan Britt and Manuel Cano were fourth in the 4x400. Andrew Bland was fifth in the high jump and sixth in the long jump, and Bruce was sixth in the 800.

Panthers third at conference meet: Erie-Prophetstown scored 109 points to place third at the Three Rivers East meet in Manlius. Newman took fifth with 69, and Bureau Valley was sixth with 64. Princeton won the meet with 184.5 points; it’s the Tigers’ second straight TRAC East title, having won it in 2019, with no season in 2020.

The Panthers’ lone event win came in the pole vault, where Parker Holdorf cleared 3.96 meters. Erie-Prophetstown also ran to second in the 4x200 (Cameron Stout, Braxton Froeliger, Tyler Ballard, Michael Carlson), while Stout was third in the 200, Froeliger was third in the long jump, Alex Gustaf was third in the 400, and Trevor Cobo took third in the high jump. The Panthers also ran to third place in the 4x100 and 4x800 relays.

The Comets got a 4x800 relay win from Lucas Simpson, Noah Welty, Thomas Powers and Jacob Donald in 8:48.37. Simpson, Powers, Donald and Owen McBride took second in the 4x400, while Garrett Williams was third in both the shot put and discus. Kaden Welty took third in the 1,600, and Lucas Schaab was third in the 3,200.

Elijah House led Bureau Valley with a runner-up finish in the 800. He also teamed with Davey Dietz, Evan Entas and Benjamin Roth to take second in the 4x800 relay.

Forreston-Polo 87, Fulton 51, Stockton 49, Pearl City 17: The Cardinals took first in a home quadrangular.

Forreston-Polo’s Ethan Cain won the 800 in 2:10.36 and cleared 1.78 meters to win the high jump. Carter Daws threw 29.31 meters to win the discus. Bennett Soltow swept the hurdles with a 15.63 in the 110 hurdles and a 40.56 in the 300 hurdles. Avery Grenoble won the 100 in 11.98 seconds.

Fulton got a shot put win from Joey Huizenga with a toss of 11.95 meters. The Steamers’ Carson Wherry, Kyler Pessman, Michael Apostolos and Josh Vanderploeg won the 4x100 in 45.54, and Wherry, Vanderploeg, Kyler Pessman and Daken Pessman won the 4x200 in 1:36.10. Sam Stephan won the 1,600 in 5:17.33, and Dysin Rathburn won the 400 in 1:01.25.

Baseball

2A regional

Mendota 16, Oregon 9: Andres Castaneda hit a grand slam and a triple, drove in six runs and scored three runs Wednesday to help the No. 8-seeded Trojans to a win over the No. 9 Hawks in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal in Mendota.

Ted Landgraf was 1-for-1 with three RBIs and a run, while Dominik Stamberger went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Stamberger also earned the win on the mound.

The Trojans advance to play at No. 1 Princeton at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Bureau Valley 10, West Carroll 0 (5 inn.): The No. 7-seeded Storm scored seven runs in the first inning en route to a five-inning victory over the No. 10 Thunder in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal Wednesday in Manlius.

Justin Kopp was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs, while Sam Wright and Payton Dye drove in two runs each. Dye earned the win on the mound as he allowed one hit while striking out four batters and walking none in three scoreless innings.

Bureau Valley (5-12) advances to play at No. 2 Stillman Valley in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Softball

3A Regional

Rock Island 8, Dixon 3: The Duchesses’ season came to an end with a 3A regional semifinal loss in Rock Island.

Sam Tourtillott, Kierstyn Mays and Mallory Coley all drove in runs for Dixon, with Tourtillott, Olivia Mowery and Izzi McCommons scoring runs. Tourtillott allowed eight runs – only three earned due to five Dixon errors – and nine hits in a complete-game effort, walking two.

Taylor Pannell hit a solo home run for the Rocks, and Delia Schwartz singled, doubled and drove in four runs. Gabriella Taber added two singles, a double and an RBI. Schwartz and Lexi Carroll combined to allow three earned runs and four hits, with two strikeouts and three walks.

2A Regional

Bureau Valley 14, West Carroll 3, 6 inn.: Darla Kepner capped off a four-run bottom of the sixth with a three-run home run to invoke the run rule as the Storm topped the Thunder in Manlius.

Bre Broers had three hits, all singles, and scored three times for Bureau Valley. Tyra Sayler hit a two-run homer in the first. Katelyn Stoller, Olivia Eckberg and Paige Wagner all had two hits.

The Thunder managed six hits, all singles. Lacey Eissens and Erika Rice drove in runs for West Carroll.

1A Regional

Galena 12, Milledgeville 2: The Missiles’ postseason run came to an end at the hands of the No. 8-seeded Pirates.

Galena moves on to the regional semifinal to face No. 1 seed Orangeville.

South Beloit 11, AFC 1: The SoBos knocked the No. 6-seeded Raiders out of the postseason in the regional semifinals in South Beloit. South Beloit moves on to face Dakota in the regional championship game.

Amboy def. Morrison: The Clippers advanced to the 1A regional semifinals after the Fillies forfeited their first-round game. Amboy will play at top-seeded Biggsville West Central today.

Wethersfield 7, Fulton 2: The Steamers, the No. 6 seed, lost in the regional semifinal. Wethersfield will face Monmouth United in the regional final.

Wrestling

Polo earns split: The Marcos beat Freeport 39-36, but lost 48-18 to Dakota.

Braydon Altherr got a win for Polo in the 160-pound match against Dakota with a pin in 3:48.