Knox College senior Lance Miller races in the 8K at the Midwest Conference Cross Country Championships on Nov. 1 at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He shattered his own school record in 24:28.7. (Photo by Knox College)

Spotlight: Miller shatters Knox cross country record

Knox College senior Lance Miller shattered his own school record in the 8K at the Midwest Conference Cross Country Championships on Nov. 1, hosted by Cornell College at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Miller completed the course in 24:28.7, placing second for the second straight year. The top finisher for the Prairie Fire women’s team in the 6K was first-year runner Elsie Conwell in 23:39.9, placing 34th.

Led by Miller, the Knox men finished fifth overall in the nine-team field with 155 points. Lawrence University (34 points) beat out Grinnell College (62) for the title. The host Rams placed third with 95 points, and Ripon College was fourth with 107.

In the women’s race, Grinnell edged Cornell 40-51, with Ripon close behind at 58. Illinois College (204) finished just ahead of Knox (221) in the standings.

Only All-American Isaac VanWestrienen of Cornell outran Miller for his second straight MWC title, finishing in 23:57.9. His teammate, Jacob Bach, was 5.5 seconds behind Miller to reach the podium as well.

All but one of Knox’s women runners set a personal best, and the remaining competitor ran a season best. After Conwell’s 23:39.9 — the fifth-fastest 6K in program history and just 14 seconds off the record — junior Cecilia Goodin finished in 24:44.1 (48th) and sophomore Mary Stockdale in 26:13.3 (64th).

The other scoring runners were senior Eileen Sheetz (26:50.3, 72nd), more than a minute faster than her time last year, and junior Alenis Rios (27:55.0, 82nd). Taking gold was Cornell’s Linda Dahlman in 21:00.2, nine seconds ahead of Ripon’s Joley Berger.

Next up for Knox is the NCAA Midwest Regional hosted by Wartburg College on Nov. 15.

Carl Sandburg College

Sandburg men win basketball opener, 83-53

Gavin Grothaus was perfect from long range and led the Sandburg men’s basketball team in scoring in an 83-53 season-opening win Nov. 2 at home over Culver-Stockton JV.

Grothaus, a freshman from West Hancock High School, finished 5 of 6 from the field and made all four of his 3-point attempts. He scored 16 points as one of four Chargers in double figures.

Freshman Rylan Carton added 15 points in his Sandburg debut. The Sherrard High School product was 6 of 12 from the field, including a right-handed slam early in the second half.

Sophomore transfer Keauntrey Barnes added 11 points, punctuated by a pair of alley-oops, and had six rebounds. Sophomore Larry Olivier Jr. delivered 11 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting, and sophomore point guard Ralph Wires had nine points and seven assists.

Sandburg led 44-22 at halftime and extended its lead with a 10-2 run to open the second half.

Kisler leads Sandburg women in basketball opener, 83-78

Antonia Kisler set a career high for points as the Sandburg women’s basketball team rallied from a big first-half deficit to beat Culver-Stockton JV 83-78 in Sunday’s season opener.

Kisler, an All-Region 4 and All-Arrowhead Conference pick last season, started her sophomore campaign strong. She tallied 33 points on 10-of-20 shooting and went 12 of 14 from the free-throw line.

Trailing 67-64, Kisler banked in a 3-pointer with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter to even the score. Two Kisler free throws at 1:07 gave the Chargers a 69-67 lead, but Culver-Stockton JV’s Bailey Berry forced overtime by hitting a 3 at the buzzer.

Sandburg, which trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, never fell behind in overtime. Kisler opened the extra period with a midrange jumper. Her previous career high was 29 points in a Jan. 21 win last season against Black Hawk. She also grabbed 12 rebounds in Sunday’s win.

Sophomore Tiera Hall added a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive end. She also had four steals. Freshman Camryn Atterberg finished with 11 points and six rebounds in her collegiate debut.

Knox College

Knox football rally vs. Cornell falls short

Knox College’s Julian Sanderson recorded 10 tackles and a sack in Saturday’s game against Cornell College.

The Knox College football team spotted visiting Cornell College 21 points and was unable to climb out of that hole despite reaching the red zone five times in a 35-14 loss Saturday afternoon at the Knosher Bowl.

BooBoo Browning ran for 116 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rams (3-5, 3-4 Midwest Conference) to the road win, while the Prairie Fire fell to 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the league.

Knox amassed a season-high 331 total yards and matched another with 25 first downs, but the Cornell defense found a way, more often than not, to keep the Prairie Fire out of the end zone. Senior quarterback Reese Miller set season highs with 13 completions and 167 yards through the air, including a 15-yard touchdown toss to junior Mario Byrd, who posted career highs with six receptions and 87 yards.

Junior Julian Sanderson led the Prairie Fire defense with 10 tackles, including a sack.

Knox will play its final home game of the 2025 season Nov. 8, when Lake Forest (5-3, 5-2 MWC) visits for a noon kickoff and senior day.

Second half lifts Grinnell past Knox women

After playing the first half to a draw, the Knox College women’s soccer team could not contain visiting Grinnell College in the second half as the Pioneers (6-7-4, 3-3-2 Midwest Conference) left Jorge Prats Field with a 3-0 victory.

With the win, Grinnell secured a berth in next week’s Midwest Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Prairie Fire ended their season 4-10-3 overall and 1-5-2 in the league.

Knox volleyball falls short at Cornell

The Knox College volleyball team rallied to take the third set at Cornell College on Nov. 1, but the Prairie Fire (3-25, 1-6 Midwest Conference) were unable to complete the comeback in a 3-1 loss to the league-leading Rams (15-10, 7-0 MWC) at the Small Athletic and Wellness Center (25-15, 25-3, 20-25, 25-11).

With the victory, Cornell clinched the MWC regular-season title for the 13th straight year.

Knox will conclude its season Nov. 8 at Lake Forest College (4-15, 1-6 MWC).

Knox volleyball falls to Grinnell in three sets

After a nine-day break from matches, the Knox College volleyball team was unable to slow host Grinnell College on Oct. 31 as the Pioneers (12-12, 5-1 Midwest Conference) stayed one game behind unbeaten Cornell in the standings with a 25-12, 25-18, 25-12 victory over the Prairie Fire (3-24, 1-5 MWC).

Grinnell showcased an efficient attack, hitting .463 with just five errors for the match. The Pioneers led wire to wire in the third set, opening a 10-point advantage at 16-6 to close out the sweep.

Senior Amelia Gamez led the Prairie Fire attack with seven kills and a season-high attack percentage of .353 and added two of the team’s four service aces. Senior libero Sam Black had a game-high 14 digs, and sophomore Rebeca Hernandez-Rivera led Knox with eight assists.

Knox men fail to qualify for conference tournament

Needing a win to clinch a berth in next week’s Midwest Conference Tournament, the Knox College men’s soccer team was unable to find the back of the net in a 1-0 loss to visiting Grinnell College on Nov. 1 at Jorge Prats Field.

The Pioneers (5-7-5, 4-2-2 MWC) ended the regular season tied for second to secure their spot, while the Prairie Fire finished 7-5-4 overall and 3-4-1 in league play.

This marks just the second time in the last 11 seasons that Knox did not qualify for the conference tournament (the other was 2023).

On the Schedule

Tuesday, Nov. 4
• Carl Sandburg women’s basketball vs. Southeastern Community College, 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 7
• Carl Sandburg men’s basketball at Black Hawk Classic vs. Lake County, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 8
• NJCAA Nationals at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa
• Knox football vs. Lake Forest College, noon
• Carl Sandburg men’s basketball at Black Hawk Classic vs. Oakton, 1 p.m.
• Knox men’s basketball vs. Westminster College (Mo.), 4 p.m.
• Galesburg High School girls varsity swimming IHSA sectional

Sunday, Nov. 9
• Carl Sandburg men’s basketball vs. Eureka JV, 1 p.m.