SportShorts for Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Sterling football players sign with colleges

A pair of Golden Warriors will continue their athletic and academic careers at the next level by playing football in college.

David Tessman recently signed to play next year at St. Ambrose University, while Demarri Johnson will join Sterling teammate Alejandro Arellano at the College of DuPage.

Dixon duo signs with colleges

Dixon seniors Sam Tourtillott and Rylee Pfoutz will continue their academic and athletic careers at the next level.

Tourtillott will play basketball and softball at Rock Valley College in Rockford. Tourtillott, who played volleyball, basketball and softball at Dixon, was an all-conference performer in basketball and softball the past two seasons.

Pfoutz will play basketball at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. An all-conference performer this past season, Pfoutz also played soccer and tennis at DHS.

The Rock Valley softball team has won seven straight NJCAA Division III national titles, and has won 50 or more games each of the last four seasons. The basketball team won at least 22 games in six of the last seven seasons, and has lost a total of six conference games since 2014.

St. Ambrose is coming off a 24-6 season, and has had a winning record overall and in conference play each of the past four seasons. AFC grad Jaynee Prestegaard and Rochelle grad Abby Lundquist were juniors this past winter for the Fighting Bees, and AFC grad Madeline Prestegaard was a senior this past season at SAU.

Comets’ Rude headed to Central

Newman wrestling standout Will Rude will continue his athletic and academic career at Central College in Pella, Iowa, where he will wrestle for the Dutch.

Rude took third at 138 pounds in Class 1A at the IHSA state finals in February, after winning the 138-pound state title at the IWCOA state finals in 2021.

Central went 12-4 in duals this past season, and placed 21st at the NCAA Division III championships in March.

Cougars’ Sigel signs with Knox

Eastland senior Gavin Sigel will continue his athletic and academic career by playing football at Knox College next year.

Sigel will major in computer science at Knox, located in Galesburg. He played football and basketball for the Cougars, and was a first-team all-NUIC defensive lineman last fall.

Sharp, Coffey honored by IBCA

The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association honored Newman’s Ray Sharp and Fulton’s RJ Coffey as their Class 1A  boys basketball coaches of the year in District 11.

Sharp led the Comets to a 25-10 record and their seventh Sweet 16 appearance in the last 10 seasons. Newman lost to Scales Mound in the 1A Pecatonica Sectional final; the Hornets went on to place third at the state tournament.

Coffey guided the Steamers to a school-record 29 wins and a top-10 ranking in the AP Class 1A poll all season long. Fulton won the NUIC South title with a perfect 12-0 record before falling to Freeport Aquin in the 1A Eastland Regional semifinals.

Crandall inducted into IWCOA Hall of Fame

Oregon assistant wrestling coach Kip Crandall was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Hall of Fame at the 50th annual IWCOA banquet on April 30 in Countryside.

Crandall, a former Oregon High School athletic director and current principal at David L. Rahn Junior High, was presented a plaque in honor of his continued contributions to the sport of wrestling in Illinois. He is a longtime assistant coach in the OHS wrestling program.

Rock Falls’ Smith wins in Champaign

Former Rock Falls distance star and current Southern Illinois sophomore Dawson Smith recently posted a new personal best time in the 5,000-meter run with a win in the event at the Illini Invitational on April 23.

Smith clocked a 14:21.70 to win the race, contributing one of six event victories for the Salukis. Teammate Kayla Schiera won the 5,000 meters for the women as SIU swept the event.

During the indoor season, Smith ran a personal best 8:58.29 in the 3,000 meters to finish 16th at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships at the end of February.

Sterling native Schuldt 15th in half marathon

Sterling native Braxton Schuldt finished 15th overall out of 16,391 runners at the Brooklyn Half Marathon on April 24.

Schuldt, who went to Sterling High School as a freshman before transferring to Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora for his final three years of high school, was clocked in 1 hour, 13 minutes, 29 seconds to finish second in his age group (male 20-24).

Schuldt is the son of Wendy and Larry Schuldt. He ran track and cross country at Amherst College in Massachusetts, and is currently a first-year medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Holes-in-one recorded at Emerald Hill

A pair of golfers have already fired holes-in-one this golf season at Emerald Hill in Sterling.

Rich Kobbeman aced the 122-yard par-3 second hole on April 30, using a 9-iron for the shot, which was witnessed by Gregg Petrosky.

Chris Schueler also had an ace at Emerald Hill, knocking in a 7-iron on the par-3 fourth hole. The shot was witnessed by Brad Clark and Elisha Kibodeaux.

Senior bowlers roll in April

The Sauk Valley Senior Bowlers competed every Tuesday and Thursday morning through the month of April at Plum Hollow Lanes in Dixon.

High scores for the month were: Bill Bontz 188 game, 506 series; Connie Bontz 161, 429; Dave Bucher 154, 421; Korona Burkitt 127, 318; Norma Burmeister 170, 429; Steve Byars 146, 403; Chico Contreras 207, 510; Ray Craney 144, 335; Charlotte Dierdorff 120, 351; Aniti Dunphy 166, 452; Dan Dunphy 244, 651; Ron Erickson 255, 690; Mike Imel 170, 469; Barb Jacobs 183, 499; Dave Jacobs 198, 500; Carole Janes 127, 351; Terry Janes 138, 402; Dick Janssen 225, 535; Jan Kuepker 135, 380; Ken Masters 207, 538; Ron Meagher 178, 502; Doug Near 156, 424; Ron Odenthal 199, 511; Ann Prindaville 146, 348; Larry Reed 201, 532; Linda Richards 182, 505; Cruz Rivera 203, 517; Rich Senn 129, 297; Jim Shuman 168, 456; Therma Smith 145, 397; Frank Stenzel 124, 303; Karen Stenzel 101, 279; Dee Szymanski 152, 427; Ed Webb 186, 495; Shirley Webb 136, 327; Charlie Warner 167, 451; LaVerne Woesner 185, 489; Jay Wolfe 190, 533; Barbara Young 193, 481.