Galesburg High School swimmers did not advance to the finals at the Illinois High School Association state championships held Feb. 27-28 at FMC Natatorium in Westmont.
The Silver Streaks qualified two relay teams and two individual events. The 400-yard freestyle relay and 200-yard medley relay teams consisted of Mahmoud Shehata, Cole Furrow, Nolan Good and Brayden McGuire. McGuire also qualified individually in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke.
“This was a great learning experience for the boys,” head coach Jake Miller said. “We brought six swimmers to FMC Natatorium, and only one had been there before. This meet is unlike anything most of them had ever done.”
Miller noted the single-class meet is among the fastest in the country. The winners of the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke were invited to compete in the Pro Series meet alongside Katie Ledecky, Caleb Dressel and Chris Guiliano.
“All the swimmers I brought to compete will return next year, and we hope to improve our standing,” Miller said. “Galesburg has a rich history in downstate swimming, and these kids continued that standard of excellence.”
Galesburg results
200-yard medley relay
Galesburg (Cole Furrow, Brayden McGuire, Nolan Good, Mahmoud Shehata), 1:42.30 (40th)
400-yard freestyle relay
Galesburg (Mahmoud Shehata, Cole Furrow, Nolan Good, Brayden McGuire), 3:27.96 (33rd)
200-yard individual medley
Brayden McGuire, 2:00.62 (39th)
100-yard breaststroke
Brayden McGuire, 1:00.54 (42nd)
Amayah Pruitt and Dai Driana Willford represented Galesburg at the Illinois High School Association girls wrestling state championships Feb. 27-28 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
“The atmosphere of these events is a thrill every time,” head coach Greg Leibach said. “I am proud of them for the effort and perseverance they invested to achieve this goal each of them set for herself.”
At 130 pounds, Willford defeated Ava Beldo of Tolono (Unity) by decision, 12-5, in the opening round before falling by pin to Lilly White of Bartlett in the quarterfinals.
In the consolation bracket, Willford won by fall over Journey Jackson of Oak Lawn before being eliminated by Madison Heneks of Machesney Park (Harlem).
At 120 pounds, Pruitt lost by fall to Alauni Muex of Marion in the opening round. In the consolation bracket, Natasia Kobets of Lincolnshire (Stevenson) won by fall over Pruitt.
Seventeen Galesburg High School athletes were named to Western Big 6 All-Conference teams as the winter season concluded.
The Silver Streak swimmers led the way with seven first-team selections and two second-team honors. Named first team were Nolan Good, Samuel Puerta, Mahmoud Shehata, Jackson Brady, Brody McGuire, Cole Furrow and Brayden McGuire. Furrow and McGuire also earned second-team recognition.
Swimmers earn first-team honors by winning a conference championship event and second-team honors by placing second.
In girls basketball, Ella Herchenroder was named first team. Zaniyah Carter and Jozalyn Kilgore earned second-team honors, and Lily Furrow received honorable mention.
Maddie Fowler was selected first-team all-conference in bowling.
In boys basketball, Keigen Crummer and Eden Mayala were named second team, and Cesaire Bile received honorable mention.
In boys wrestling, Jack Bernardi, Anthony Makwala and Cale Johnson were selected second team.
The Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team avenged a recent loss with an 85-67 victory over Madison on Feb. 26 in the quarterfinals of the Region 4 Division II District B tournament.
Five days after the WolfPack ended Sandburg’s 10-game winning streak, the Chargers led from start to finish in the rematch.
Sandburg (22-9), the No. 10 seed, advances to face No. 2 Rock Valley at 4 p.m. March 1 at Rock Valley.
Sophomore Keauntrey Barnes tied his season high with 28 points, shooting 10-for-17 from the field and 8-for-11 from 3-point range. He also scored 28 in a Dec. 19 win over DuPage. Thursday marked his sixth 20-point game of the season.
Barnes hit consecutive 3-pointers in the opening 90 seconds and scored 18 first-half points as Sandburg built a 43-31 lead.
The Chargers led by as many as 21 points and placed three additional players in double figures. Ralph Wires finished with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Matt Bockman and Gavin Grothaus each added 11. Grothaus made all five of his field-goal attempts and led the team with seven rebounds. James Blackwell scored nine points off the bench.
Lance Miller continued his strong indoor season at the Midwest Conference Indoor Track and Field Invitational in Grinnell, Iowa, setting two program records.
On Feb. 27, Miller won the mile in 4:16.08, breaking the school record and setting a Midwest Conference indoor meet record.
On Feb. 28, he broke his own school record in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:31.09, finishing third overall.
Miller scored 16 of Knox’s 19 team points. The Prairie Fire’s other points came from the 4×200-meter relay team of Ryan Latzenhiser, Izayiah Hawes, Kneko Vazquez and Deangelo Willis, which finished seventh.
Stevan Dzolic recorded the fifth-best mark in school history in the shot put with a throw of 15.11 meters (49 feet, 7 inches).
On the women’s side, freshman Elsie Conwell set a school record in the mile (5:27.14) and ran the 10th-fastest 800-meter time in program history (2:29.22).
Stephanie Nelson finished eighth in the weight throw with a season-best 14.12 meters (46 feet, 4 inches). Delylah Briscoe moved into 10th all-time in the 60 meters (8.35). Kayleigh Jones recorded a career-best 9.16 meters in the triple jump.
Knox competes next at the NCAA Indoor Qualifier at Wartburg College on March 6-7.
The Knox College women’s basketball season ended Feb. 27 with a 76-47 loss to Lawrence University in the Midwest Conference Tournament semifinals at Ripon, Wisconsin.
Knox led 15-14 after the first quarter, but Lawrence responded with a 15-0 run and outscored the Prairie Fire 42-17 in the second and third quarters to pull away.
Nayeli Nidez Acuña led Knox with 11 points. Bria Medina scored nine, Kylee Callahan added eight and Xiyah Yarbrough had seven. Carly Smith grabbed 10 rebounds, and Callahan recorded five assists.
Knox finished 13-13 overall and placed third in the conference.
The Knox College baseball team opened its season with a three-game series loss at Anderson University.
Two of the three games were decided by one run.
In the Feb. 28 opener, Knox fell 4-3 in 12 innings. The Prairie Fire scored twice in the ninth to force extra innings before Anderson pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the 12th.
Nicholas Nitti, Jacob Halseth and Hayden Derlein each drove in a run.
Anderson won the second game 10-0 in eight innings.
In the March 1 finale, Knox pitchers Patrick Shannon, Joe Flores, Lucas Fuji and Anthony Soliz allowed one run over eight innings, but the Prairie Fire fell short. Aidan McMurtrie led Knox with two hits.
Knox (0-3) returns to action March 4 with a doubleheader at Eureka.
