Despite a layoff of more than a week created by storms, the Galesburg girls soccer team didn’t cool off, winning at Beardstown 7-0 on April 3.
Games against Canton, Alleman and Mattoon were postponed because of storms, and the Silver Streaks had to fight the elements to get in their game against Beardstown.
“It was a wild one,” coach Jessica Jones said. “There was sunshine, clouds, thunder and absolute downpours. The girls persevered through it all and played hard the entire time. The varsity got their first half done, then we had a lightning delay at the half.”
With the score 7-0 at halftime, officials decided to call the game and allow the junior varsity to play. Galesburg and Beardstown tied 0-0 in the JV contest.
Madalyn Lardi led the Streaks with three goals. Leairah Harrison added two, while Jayme Jezek-Irle and Haleigh Jezek-Irle scored one each.
Lardi’s 17 goals rank her No. 2 in Illinois and No. 1 in Class 2A and the Western Big 6 Conference, according to MaxPreps.
The win improves the Streaks to 5-1. All five wins came on the road, and all were shutouts. Galesburg’s only home match was an 8-2 loss to Western Big 6 rival United Township.
The Streaks have three road games this week: 6 p.m. April 7 at Sterling, 6:30 p.m. April 9 at Pekin and 10 a.m. April 11 at Metamora.
Galesburg’s girls track and field team turned in several strong performances Friday at the Gene Shipley Invitational in Moline, finishing sixth with 122 points.
Rock Island won with 295 points, followed by Pleasant Valley with 243 and Moline with 223.
Ava Marty led Galesburg with a second-place finish in the 200-meter A race in 26.33 seconds. Rachelle McCellan placed second in the 200 B race in 27.40.
McCellan also won the B division of the triple jump with a mark of 9.47 meters.
Relay teams also scored heavily. The 4×200 team of Ella Herchenroder, Taylor Herchenroder, Marty and McCellan placed second in 1:45.06. The 4×400 team of Taylor Herchenroder, Ella Herchenroder, Grace Herchenroder and Izzy Kennedy finished third in 4:11.92. The 4×100 team of Kalei Rice, Ella Herchenroder, Taylor Herchenroder and Marty placed fourth in 51.02.
Ella Herchenroder placed third in the A flight of the long jump at 4.89 meters, and Grace Herchenroder cleared 1.47 meters to place fourth in the high jump. Nora Phelps added a fourth-place finish in the B division of the shot put with a throw of 8.90 meters.
Grae Boone placed second in the 3,200 B race in 13:08.18 and fourth in the 1,600 B race in 6:04.19. Rebekah Descalzo placed third in the 1,600 C race in 6:31.11 and fifth in the 800 C race in 3:02.42.
Kennedy finished sixth in the 800 A race in 2:52.37. Keerah Cooper was fifth in the 800 B race in 2:48.50 and second in the 300 hurdles C race in 54.24.
Other scoring efforts included Rice finishing sixth in the 400 A race in 1:06.55, Kaliyah Randolph taking fifth in the 100 A race in 14.30 and fifth in the 200 C race in 29.61, and Molly Tomeo placing third in the C division of the triple jump at 8.45 meters.
Galesburg’s boys track and field team posted several strong finishes April 4 at the Springfield High School Open, highlighted by a second-place finish in the 4×400 relay and a runner-up effort by Antwon Walker in the high jump.
Demetrius Watson, Shawn Taylor, James Bidingua and Praise Nwagbo placed second in the 4×400 in 3:39.88.
The sprint medley relay team of Kevin Phillips, Chadrack Bizau, Rahkim McCellan and Nwagbo placed sixth in 1:42.93. The distance medley team of Jalen Abbott, Cameron Gibbons, Robby Keller and Silas Descalzo also finished sixth in 12:36.91.
Walker cleared 6 feet, 2 inches to place second in the high jump. Daxton Eastburg was third in the shot put at 44-6. Taylor added a sixth-place finish in the triple jump at 38-7.
Kevin Phillips placed fifth in the 100 meters in 11.52 seconds and fourth in the 200 in 23.95. Watson placed seventh in the 110 hurdles (17.19) and 300 hurdles (45.24).
Brayden McGuire placed seventh in the 1,600 in 5:00.09. Charles Anderton finished 11th in the 800 in 2:14.49, followed by McGuire (12th) and Franklin Hilligoss (13th).
Galesburg’s 4×100 team of Phillips, Bizau, Nwagbo and Rahkim McCellan finished sixth in 45.07.
Carl Sandburg College dropped all four games over the weekend, falling twice to Joliet Junior College on April 3 and twice to Black Hawk College on April 4. The Chargers lost 13-3 and 11-1 at Joliet, then were swept 10-2 and 9-2 by Black Hawk in Moline.
Sandburg scored just eight runs in the four-game stretch and was hurt by defensive problems, committing 17 errors.
Against Joliet, the Chargers managed eight hits in the two games. In the opener, Colton Allen doubled and scored twice, Landon Binder went 2 for 2 with an RBI, and Chuck Hathaway and Jameson Dickerson also drove in runs in a 13-3 loss.
In the nightcap, Allen again led Sandburg, going 2 for 2 with an RBI double, while Carter Chapin added a hit and scored the Chargers’ only run in an 11-1 defeat.
Against Black Hawk, Sandburg collected 13 hits but again could not overcome early deficits. In Game 1, Damien Snell, Binder and Carter Ramsey each had two hits. Ramsey tripled and drove in a run, and Kody Knecht added an RBI in a 10-2 loss.
In the second game, Snell doubled and drove in Sandburg’s only RBI, while Colton Allen, Chuck Hathaway and Jameson Dickerson each had a hit in a 9-2 loss.
Allen was Sandburg’s most productive hitter over the four games, going 4 for 7 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored. Snell also had a strong day Saturday against Black Hawk, collecting three hits in the doubleheader, including two doubles and an RBI. Binder went 4 for 5 in the four games, and Ramsey had four hits, including a triple, with one RBI.
On the mound, Brody Toland, Ethan Krei, Clayton Cawley and Nathan Hill took losses for the Chargers. Brandon Barrientos provided the best relief outing of the weekend, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the second game against Black Hawk.
Carl Sandburg College dropped a pair of one-run softball games to Kishwaukee College on April 3, falling 4-3 in eight innings in the opener and 3-2 in the second game in Malta.
The Chargers matched Kishwaukee for stretches of both games but were unable to finish off either contest despite solid pitching and timely hitting.
In the opener, Sandburg scored twice in the first inning and added another run in the seventh to force extra innings before Kishwaukee pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. Hannah Pyle had two hits and an RBI, Jalie Eller added two hits and an RBI, and Emma Racka drove in a run. Jordyn Climer also scored a run for the Chargers.
Cheyanne Rodgers went the distance in the circle for Sandburg, allowing four runs, two earned, on 10 hits while striking out two. Kishwaukee’s Sami Simms led the hosts, going 4 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs.
In the second game, Sandburg again was within reach late. The Chargers scored once in the third and once in the seventh, but Kishwaukee broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the sixth and held on for the sweep.
Pyle supplied Sandburg’s biggest hit in Game 2 with a solo home run. She finished with one hit, one RBI and one run scored. Jaylynn Hamilton also drove in a run, while Rodgers, Madalynn Knapp, Jalie Eller and Reese Poole added hits.
Climer pitched a complete game for the Chargers, allowing three runs, none earned, on eight hits with three strikeouts.
Across the doubleheader, Pyle went 3 for 7 with a home run and two RBIs, while Eller collected three hits and Rodgers contributed both in the circle and at the plate.
Knox College earned its first Midwest Conference baseball series victory of the season by taking two of three games from Cornell, winning 5-2 on April 3 and splitting a doubleheader April 4 with a 10-5 win and a 9-8 loss in Galesburg.
The Prairie Fire moved to 4-19 overall and 2-4 in the Midwest Conference.
Knox opened the series Friday behind strong pitching from Anthony Soliz and Brady Bertrand. Soliz struck out seven and allowed two runs on two hits over six innings for the win, while Bertrand fanned four over the final three innings for the save.
The Prairie Fire broke through with three runs in the third inning. Andrew Garrett reached after being hit by a pitch, Hayden Derlein singled and Nicholas Nitti drove in Garrett with a single to left. After Thomas Wilmot walked, a passed ball brought home another run, and Jacob Halseth added a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
Knox added two more runs in the fourth. Tyler Kemp was hit by a pitch, Owen Shannon walked, and after both runners advanced on steals, Derlein delivered a two-run single to make it 5-0. Cornell scored twice in the bottom of the inning but got no closer.
In Saturday’s opener, Jeff Ripka set the tone for Knox, allowing one hit over six scoreless innings. Jeff Baker and Patrick Shannon worked the final three innings to secure the 10-5 victory.
Knox scored in the first on Nitti’s sacrifice fly, then added four runs in the second. Garrett had a sacrifice fly, Derlein scored on a wild pitch, and Wilmot followed with a two-run double. The Prairie Fire added single runs in the fourth and fifth before breaking it open with three runs in the sixth. Derlein again scored on a wild pitch, Parker Engel drove in a run with a groundout and Kemp drew an RBI walk.
In the nightcap, Knox fell behind 9-2 by the fifth inning before rallying. The Prairie Fire scored three runs in the fifth, added one in the seventh and two in the eighth, but could not complete the comeback in a 9-8 loss.
Knox returns to Midwest Conference play Tuesday at home against Beloit.
The Knox College men’s golf team finished 29th at the 41-team Illinois Wesleyan Invite on April 3-4.
The Prairie Fire posted a two-day total of 629 after shooting 301 in the first round and 328 in the second.
Illinois Wesleyan A won the team title with a 578. Illinois Wesleyan’s Pablo Castro and Central Iowa’s Carter Yurgae tied for medalist honors at 140.
Pranav Nandakumar led Knox, tying for 11th at 145. He opened with a 3-under-par 68 and followed with a 77.
Nathaniel Zug was next for Knox, tying for 149th at 159. Gabe Newman tied for 175th at 161, Saransh Raina tied for 204th at 164 and Jaxson Forman tied for 249th at 178.
Knox returns to action at the Monmouth Fighting Scots Invite on April 11-12.
The Knox College men’s and women’s track and field teams each finished fifth at the Cornell Invitational on April 4.
The Knox men scored 36 points, led by a strong showing in the field events. Ethan Strutzel won the javelin, while Izayiah Hawes placed fifth and Austin Cernich seventh in the same event. Stevan Dzolic added a seventh-place finish in the hammer, and Colson Elisme was seventh in the discus.
On the track, Ryan Lautzenhiser placed eighth in both the 400 and 200. Lance Miller finished third in the 800, and the 4×400 relay team of Lautzenhiser, Miller, Kneko Vasquez and Deangelo Willis took fourth.
The Knox women scored 58 points. Elsie Conwell won the 800, while Nicolette Walsh placed sixth and Eileen Sheetz seventh. Lily Cuddy finished fourth in the 400 hurdles and added an eighth-place finish in the 100 hurdles.
In the field events, Kayleigh Jones placed third in the triple jump. In the long jump, Elle Haddon was third, Jones fourth and Altynai Ruslanova fifth. Haddon also finished second in the javelin, and Kendell Lade was sixth. Stephanie Nelson placed sixth in the discus and seventh in the hammer.
Knox will split its roster this week, with athletes competing Friday at the UW-Platteville Invite and April 11 at the Dick Young Grinnell Classic.
