JALC sports teams surpass 3.0 GPA

January 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By JOHN D. HOMAN, LOGAN MEDIA SERVICES

CARTERVILLE – The fall semester proved to be a good one for John A. Logan College student-athletes. All seven teams surpassed a “B” average with a 3.0 grade-point-average or better on a 4.0 scale.

Two-thirds or 62 of 94 total student-athletes scored 3.0 or better. Twenty-four of the 94 posted a GPA of 3.5 or greater and were named to the Vice President’s List. Eight of the 94 earned a perfect 4.0 GPA to make the President’s List.

Breaking it down by teams, the seven-member women’s golf team had the highest GPA at 3.54 collectively. Volleyball was second at 3.395 followed by men’s golf (3.186); women’s basketball (3.103); softball (3.073); baseball (3.044); and men’s basketball (3.000).

The baseball team had the most 4.0 GPAs with three, including sophomores Chris Hunt and Derek Repking and freshman Tyler McGowan. Volleyball had two student-athletes with an “A” average in sophomore Kelsey Bailey and freshman Morgan Mueller.

Other 4.0 GPAs were awarded to Sydney Skeel (softball); Dana Kaufmann (women’s golf); and Marissa Nix (women’s basketball).

JALC Athletic Director Jerry Halstead was impressed with the numbers.

“This isn’t the norm to have all seven sports score 3.0 or better,” he said. “This was a very strong semester for us academically. I’m extremely happy with the effort put forth by our student-athletes and hope that it will carry over into the spring semester.”

Halstead said athletes met with coaches and administrators at the start of the semester.

“We told the kids that our goal was for each team to reach 3.0 and we accomplished that goal. There is always room for improvement, however.”

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Warriors wrestling goes 1-2 at Campbellsville U Duals

January 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Rend Lake College Warriors finished with a win and two losses in its first wrestling duals of the 2012-13 season, the Campbellsville University Duals on Saturday in Kentucky.

Taking on Darton College early at Powell Athletic Center, RLC got wins from Eric Tozzi (Ramseur, N.C.) at 141 pounds, Skyler Procasky (Belleville, Ill.) at 149, Justin Cash (Franklin, Tenn.) at 157, Juan Stimpson (Asheboro, N.C.) at 174, Austin Warren (Newburgh, Ind.) at 197 and Coltyn Pease (Pittsfield, Ill.) at heavyweight to lead the Warriors to a 35-24 victory. Cash and Warren won by decision – 7-3, 6-0 respectively – while the rest of the Warriors won by fall.

Rend Lake lost to host CU 32-6 with Tozzi, Pease and Jameel Carter (Chicago) at 125, picking up wins. Tozzi won a 4-1 decision over Brandon Westerman and Pease won by forfeit. Carter took a 6-5 decision from Jarvis Elam.

In the third round of dual matches, it was the University of the Cumberlands defeating RLC 44-11. Tozzi extended his win streak with a 17-1 technical fall against Calon Perkins, Cash got a 6-2 decision over Javier Arellano, and Warren beat Eddie Bernal in a 4-2 decision.

In other duals during the day:
Indiana Tech 40, Darton College 12
University of the Cumberlands 38, Lindenwood-Belleville 6
Indiana Tech 42, Lindenwood-Belleville 9
University of the Cumberlands 34, Darton College 8
Campbellsville University 44, Lindenwood-Belleville 6
Complete results are available HERE.

The Warriors will be back in action on Jan. 11 at the NWCA National Wrestling Open in East St. Louis. RLC will then head to Central Missouri State University’s Roger Denker Open, Jan. 13, in Warrensburg, Mo.
For all things athletic at The Lake, visit RLC online at www.rlc.edu/warriors.

Filed Under: College Sports, Franklin Co. News, Uncategorized

BMS boys start 2013 with a pair of wins

January 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

The Benton Middle School eighth grade team got the 2013 portion of its schedule off to an excellent start with a 61-29 victory over Christopher.

The Junior Rangers showed no ill effects following a three week layoff through the Christmas holiday racing out to a 16-8 first quarter lead en route to a 32-11 halftime score.

BMS 8th grade coach John Cook said he was pleased with his teams’ performance after the 21-day holiday break.

“Going in I expected there to be a little rust and fatigue,” said Cook. “I saw some fatigue but not much rust. I thought we did an exceptional job on the defensive end holding Christopher to only three field goals in the first half. Our guards played tight on their three-point shooters and our big men did a great job of hedging and communicating on ball screens.

Cook pointed out that Christopher began the game in a triangle-and-two defense guarding Benton’s leading scorers Derek Oxford and Austin Wills man-to-man to slow their offensive output.

“I thought Tyson Houghland and Gehrig Wynn stepped up for us, combining for 17 first half points, and forced Christopher to go back to their base 2-3 zone defense in the second half,” said Cook. “I expect more teams to start playing gimmicks against us in the second half of the season but I also expect us to show teams that we aren’t a one or two-dimensional team. We have a lot of depth.”

The 8th grade team was paced in scoring by Oxford who scored 21 points and also led the team in rebounding with nine. Houghland also turned in a solid outing hitting double figures with 12 points. Rounding out the Benton scoring was Jordan Richey with six points, Austin Wills, Oliver Davis and Gehrig Wynn with five points each, Blane Pankey with three points, Scott Mosely and Troy Tillman with two each. Also seeing action in the 8th grade game was Hamilton Page, Jourdan Garbo, Parker Williams and Brett Bonenberger.

BMS was also victorious in the 7th grade game notching a 47-22 victory over the Bearcats. Benton jumped out to a 13-4 first quarter score and then outscored Christopher 15-5 in the second frame to take a 28-9 halftime lead. Benton upped the advantage to 37-12 after three quarter and coasted to the victory. Benton’s 7th grade team is now 9-2 overall with the win.

Brett Bonenberger led the way for coach Andy Davis’ team with 14 points followed closely by Blane Pankey who added 12. Also scoring for Benton was Drew Owens with six points, Triston Summers and Mason Wills with 4 each, Parker Williams with three, Hamilton Page and Parker McGuire with two each. Also seeing action in the 7th grade contest was Gehrig Wynn, Eldon Owens, Joey Craig, Robbie Moore, Braxton Lutz, Ethan Kreiger, Branden Luster, Peyton Mosely, Logan Darr and Jordan Bowlin.

Both BMS teams are back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when they host Harrisburg. The 7th grade game begins at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity game following.

Filed Under: Benton Junior High Sports, Junior High Sports, Uncategorized

Lady Redbirds crushed at Eldorado

January 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

A new page may have been torn from the calendar, but West Frankfort Lady Redbird coach Matt Hampleman found the same major problem carrying over from 2012 into the new year: no offense. A 22-2 first quarter lifted the hst Eldorado Lady Eagles to a 57-16 win, Saturday afternoon.

The Redbirds could make up no ground in the other quarters as well,outscored:12-1, 12-7, and 11-6.

Individual scoring for West Frankfort saw Wilce lead the way with 13 points.

Filed Under: High School Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports Tagged With: , , , ,

Football teammates, basketball rivals meet

January 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

STAFF REPORT

Fans at the Christopher / Zeigler-Royalton basketball game Friday should have felt right at home sitting together.

After all, in football and some other sports, the two schools co-op to field a team made up of athletes from both schools. In high school basketball, they divide back into geographic rivals. Friday night, fans and parents sat together again – just on separate gymnasium sides as the two teams squared off.

Both teams came into the game with a modest amount of momentum. Christopher had won 5 of their past 7 games. Zeigler-Royalton  was on a 3-game win streak themselves.

Early on, Eric Stallman’s Bearcats decided to go inside against the Tornadoes. In the first quarter, Christopher received 8 of their 16 points inside the paint. ZR would score 8 points total for that quarter. And, just three minutes into the second quarter the Bearcats achieved their first double digit lead. They never looked back easily outscoring the Tornadoes in each second half quarter as well.

Echoing that early inside attack, big men Kevin Mercks, and R.J. Kuh paced the home team with 16 points apiece. Adding depth and balance, Towers broke double digits as well with 11. Matt Morgan’s ZR squad was paced by Weddle’s 11 points.

With the win, the Bearcats move to 9-3 overall, and back to .500 in the conference with a 2-2 mark in the Black Diamond West.

With the loss, Zeigler-Royalton drops to 13-5 overall, and the same 2-2 even water mark in the BDW.

Filed Under: High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Zeigler-Royalton High School Sports Tagged With: , , , , ,

Thompsonville beats Hardin County

January 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
STAFF REPORT
The Thompsonville Tigers and Hardin County Cougars appeared to be locked into a four-quarter struggle Friday night. After one period, seeing considerable offensive success for both teams, the hosts led by two buckets, 17-13.
In quarter No. 2, the Tigers put some distance between themselves and their opponents based on a 16-5 advantage in the second eight minutes. That halftime edge of 15 points propelled them on to a win by virtually the same margin 51-38.
Ryan Darnell blistered the nets for 16 points, and Lance Darnell nearly matched it with 11 as the only Tigers in double figures.
Hardin County had the game high scorer in Austin with 17 points on the night.
With the win, Thompsonville ran their record to 9-6 for this season.
Filed Under: High School Sports, Thompsonville High School Sports Tagged With: , , , , ,

Rangers lose at home to Massac County

January 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
STAFF REPORT
In essence saying “do the math,” Benton Ranger coach Ron Winemiller pointed out something following Benton’s 66-46 loss at home to Massac County Friday night.
Winemiller said, “We played three good quarters of basketball. But as we all know, the game is four quarters long.”
What the Ranger head coach was referring to was a huge first quarter deficit that his club could not make up. After one quarter, Massac County did what every visiting team sets as a goal: survive and thrive the opening of the game in front of their opponent’s home crowd. At the end of the first quarter, the Patriots led 28-6.
For the next three periods, the Rangers played almost even basketball with Massac, even outscoring them in the second frame, 12-11. However, giving up 39 first-half points proved to be too much to overcome. Winemiller pointed to a problem for his club being confidence. “We needed to see the ball go into the hole more often.”
The Rangers, pressured by the Joe Hosmon-coached  signature defensive intensity, felt pressure from the opening tip. Another signature Patriot calling card is their ability to shoot behind the arc. Massac hit six 3-pointers while Benton could only manage three ( Higgins 2 and Head 1).
Massac was led in scoring by emerging star Daz Nickerson with 13 points. The Patriot offense featured balanced scoring with four players in double figures.
Game high-scoring honors went to Nathaniel Higginson with 17 points. Other Ranger output included: Sheeks 9, Forby 8, Head 3, Ward 3, and Hughes 2.
The Rangers fell to 5-9 for the season and to .500 in the conference splitting four league games.
Up next for Benton is undefeated Harrisburg at 15-0 for the season. The Bulldogs are looking for a sweep of Franklin County as they knocked off West Frankfort Friday night.
Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, High School Sports Tagged With: , , , , ,

Redbird boys drop 2013 opener

January 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

The second meeting of the Harrisburg Bulldogs and the West Frankfort Redbirds was quite similar to the first meeting between the two clubs. The first meeting came in the second round of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament. That game was won by Harrisburg 72-41.

Game One began with the Redbirds aggressively attacking the Bulldog defense, and holding a first quarter lead. But, Harrisburg came storming back to put the game out of reach by halftime.

Friday night, Dan Dewerff’s team stayed with the same battle plan. Early, that plan worked. At the high point of  the first quarter the ‘Birds held a 10-4 lead over their visitors. But, following a time out, and lecture by Harrisburg Coach Randy Smithpeters, the Bulldogs refocused, regrouped and went on a 12-0 run to end the quarter with a 16-14 lead.

Much of the first half momentum for the area’s best team came from a stifling full-court defense. The Redbirds wilted under the press, with frequent turnovers and mistakes.

At the half, the game was not in doubt as Harrisburg led 46-25 having doubled up their opponent’s second quarter scoring 30-15.

That second quarter pull-away for the Bulldogs was punctuated with three 3-point shots from Ryne Roper who had 11 in that frame alone.  By third quarter’s conclusion, Harrisburg was cruising 63-41.

Going into the final quarter, Harrisburg had cleared their bench leading 63-41 . The end result was another lopsided Bulldog win of 76-54.

Harrisburg remains unbeaten 15-0. The Redbird record is now 3-9. The ‘Birds are winless in the Ohio Division with a 0-4 mark.
Harrisburg placed all of their five starters in double figures. They were lead by the14 points of Tyler Smithpeters and 14 for Ryne Roper, 12 for Eli Taborn-Scott, 11 for Dakota Upchurch, 10 for Capal Henshaw.
The Redbirds had one player in double figures with 5-8 Senior Trenton Easley scoring 16 points. This was followed by:  Williams 9, Dunning 8,Fort 7.Koel 5,Sisk 4, Maller,Bartoni and Keller with 2 points, each.
Harrisburg completed the sweep of the night on the road having won the JV game easily crushing the Redbirds 75-35.
Tuesday, the Redbirds play host to Hamilton County in a non-conference game at Max Morris Gym. The JV game begins at 6:15 pm.
Filed Under: High School Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports Tagged With: , , , ,

Lady Redbirds to play 2013 calendar opener Saturday

January 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By BRUCE A. FASOL

A reminder, the West Frankfort Lady Redbirds will open the 2013 portion of their schedule this afternoon. Matt Hampleman’s Lady Birds will try to improve on 2012 as they head to Eldorado.

Tip-off at Duff-Kingston Gymnasium is set for 1 p.m. this afternoon against their Black Diamond Conference foe. Ohio Division play resumes for the girls Tuesday, at Massac County.

Filed Under: High School Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bulldogs come to West Frankfort

January 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

West Frankfort senior Trenton Easley dribbles past Harrisburg defenders during the team’s Dec. 29 match-up at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament. Harrisburg travels to Max Morris Gymnasium on Friday night to take on the Redbirds in the first game of 2013.

By BRUCE A. FASOL

The West Frankfort Redbird boys varsity basketball team believes that they are an improved ball club over the course of the season. and, they believed that they showed some of that improvement in the just completed Eldorado Holiday Basketball Tournament. The Harrisburg Bulldogs say: “Prove it.”

The champions of the recently concluded EHT invade West Frankfort’s Max Morris Gym Friday night as both teams get the 2013 portion of their schedules underway. They have one meeting already under their belts as Harrisburg pulled away from the ‘Birds for an easy win in the EHT second round. The Redbirds actually led by a bucket at first quarters end in that game.

The JV game begins at 6 p.m., and the varsity contest starts at approximately 7:45 p.m. Friday. It is an Ohio Division ballgame.

The Redbirds open 2013 with a 3-8 record, and are winless in the conference so far.

Filed Under: High School Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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