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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Illinois athletics
Illinois women’s track and field continued its impressive turnaround by winning the Big Ten indoor title on Saturday in Geneva, Ohio.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. How about that Illinois women’s track and field team? The Illini made waves this winter by finding themselves ranked first in the country. Now, they’re Big Ten indoor champions. Quite the turnaround for Petros Kyprianou and his program.
➜ 2. If the weather forecast stays true, Illinois baseball is set to host Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Illinois Field. On an ideal day (highs in the low 70s) for baseball in Champaign in late February.
➜ 3. Thank you to the 300-plus high school athletes who stopped by The News-Gazette for our Faces of the Spring event on Sunday. It’s always one of the more enjoyable days in our office, with their photos set to start running in these pages in mid-March.
Tanner Siems, left, a junior with the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ basketball team defends against Unity sophomore Coleton Langendorf when the two teams met on Feb. 9 in Tolono. If SJ-O wins Tuesday night and Unity wins Wednesday night, the two long-time rivals could meet Friday night in a Class 2A sectional championship game in Shelbyville.
St. Joseph-Ogden’s Tanner Siems (11) and Unity’s Coleton Langendorf (30) in a prep boys basketball game at Unity in Tolono on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024.
Numbers game: 6
Area boys’ basketball teams who are still standing in the postseason after winning regional championships this past Friday night before sectional semifinal games tip off Tuesday night and Wednesday night. In Class 2A, St. Joseph-Ogden and Unity are both in the Shelbyville Sectional and could meet Friday night in the Sweet 16. Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, meanwhile, heads north to Clifton Central on Wednesday night. In 1A, St. Thomas More goes to Danville Area Community College on Tuesday night, while Arcola and Tuscola go south to Effingham for the St. Anthony Sectional, with the Purple Riders playing Tuesday night and the Warriors tipping off on Wednesday night.
Quincy Guerrier and the Illini will vie for their second straight home win at State Farm Center on Wednesday night when Minnesota visits Champaign.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Cissna Park vs. Altamont girls’ basketball. Cissna Park volleyball already reached CEFCU Arena this school year by playing in the Class 1A state tournament. Can the Timberwolves’ girls’ basketball program do so as well? Find out Monday.
➜ 2. Minnesota at Illinois men’s basketball. The second-to-last home game for the Illini tips off at 8 p.m. Wednesday at State Farm Center. Will Illinois top 100 points against the Gophers? It’s possible.
➜ 3. Arcola vs. Webber boys’ basketball. Purple Riders upset St. Anthony to win a Class 1A regional title and will play on Bulldogs’ home court in Class 1A sectional semifinal game that tips at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Effingham.
Veteran Fisher coach Ken Ingold leads the Bunnies’ girls’ basketball team and softball team. Softball practice starts Monday for high school teams across Illinois.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Fisher girls’ basketball and softball coach Ken Ingold. The veteran coach with the Bunnies can start practices with the Fisher softball team today after the girls’ basketball season ended earlier this month:
➜ 1. My favorite sports teams are … the Chicago Blackhawks and the Fisher Bunnies.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Tony Dungy, Joel Quneeville and Tom Izzo.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeves are … high school athletes who “specialize” in one sport.
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