One more time looking back at the sports stories and people from 2025 through the eyes of your local sports editor.

The Charlie: One of the categories for this piece each year is what I call “feel good” moments. This year, I’m dedicating this segment to my friend and former colleague Charle Ellerbrock, the much beloved sportswriter, who sadly passed away early this year. I’m calling it the “Charlie Award.”

In the midst of sorrow, the Princeton Tiger basketball team shined the most last season. The Tigers picked up the family of teammate Jackson Mason following the sudden death of his father, Pat, with each team member presenting his mom, Heather, with a carnation before they took the floor for warmups. Jackson capped the night by hitting a 3-pointer in his dad’s memory.

Best quotes: Princeton’s Jordan Reinhardt and Noah LaPorte had different descriptions of Rock Falls’ big man Cole Mulnix and his damage in the sectional championship game. Reinhardt said he was a “huge dude,” and LaPorte called him a “tank.”

In remembering his Neponset Zephyr teammate Roger Cannon, Chuck Blake said, “We farm community kids played many a pickup game on a dirt court behind his house and drank from a garden hose as well.”

After an early-season 9-0 win over IVC, Princeton girls soccer coach David Gray didn’t want his team to get too overconfident.

“It’s going to help our confidence. But we’ve got some pretty big dragons out there to slay that we’ve got to get ready for,” he said.

Best interview: When Hall sophomore Caroline Morris made the game-tying free throws at the end of regulation and added the game-winning 3-pointer to beat rival Princeton at the buzzer, she wanted to talk more about her teammates and their leadership than about her hero shot. It was refreshing to see a young athlete put the team first in her shining moment.

Favorite game to cover: There’s always a lot of “big” games in the course of the year. One that stands out is when Noah LaPorte scored the game-winning basket for Princeton against Byron in the final seconds and broke the all-time school scoring record.

My favorite story: Writing about this year’s PHS grad Jordan Reinhardt, who was nearly killed in a 2012 Easter Day UTV accident. I called it the “Easter Sunday Miracle.” Jordan overcame lingering issues and two sinus surgeries to become a standout in baseball and basketball for the Tigers.

Worst story to cover: Tragedy struck Lake DePue when boat racer Dustin Pearson, 40, of Mt. Pleasant, Mich., died Aug. 1 as a result of his injuries racing on July 25. He lived life and racing in the fast lane, writing in his Facebook profile, “Once a driver seriously considers safety an issue, you know his fastest days are over.”

Pearson was the third driver killed racing at Lake DePue in the last 31 years, including Gerry Drake, 57, of Florida in 1994 and Nick Davis, 37, of Chillicothe in 2006.

My most talked about stories: Three that come to mind are the Jordan Reinhardt story and my tributes to beloved Princeton Logan Hall of Fame coach Bill Kaiser and former BV football/track star Todd Maynard, who lost his battle to cancer.

Wildest finish: Down to their last out, the St. Bede baseball team scored three runs on one hit and a rundown to defeat rival Hall 4-3 at Schweickert Stadium in Peru.

Sadly lost: We’ve lost a lot of good people in the sports world and friends this past year, including Pat Mason, Charlie Ellerbrock, Bill Kaiser and Dustin Pearson, along with Gary Vujanov (football coach), Roger Cannon (Neponset all-time scoring leader, IBCA, Bureau County Hall of Fame coach), Jeanie Gelsomino (friend and former BCR columnist), Todd Maynard (former BV football captain/all-stater), Eleanor Michael (big Spring Valley sports fan who always called me to talk sports or ask a sports question), Ed Duffy (longtime Ohio High school basketball scorebook keeper), Pam Pratt (former BCR co-worker) Adam Sanden (past BCR Track Athlete of the Year), Fred Bell (former LaMoille softball coach), Ann Sprowls (Western Ram/Storm fan), Max Lauritzen (longtime Little League umpire/District 20 administrator) and Rich Fulkerson (longtime Little League, high school umpire).

Kevin Hieronymus has covered Bureau County sports as the BCR Sports Editor since 1986. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com