Aiden Connors, who helped Plainfield North win the Class 3A cross country title last fall, won the Class 3A 3,200-meter run at the IHSA state track and field meet Saturday, while Dwight's Graham Meister three-peated in the Class 1A shot put with a record throw and won discus.

Ottawa senior Joey Liebhart finished fourth in the Class 2A 300-meter hurdles in Saturday's IHSA Boys Track and Field State finals in Charleston, while Somonauk senior Landin Stillwell earned a pair of medals in 1A. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

Twin brothers Case and Caden Christensen handled the pitching, and the whole lineup chipped in on the hitting Saturday to lead Gardner-South Wilmington baseball to a 6-1, Class 1A title win at regional host Dwight.

Lincoln-Way West has entries in 12 of the 18 events at this years Class 3A boys state track and field meet

The Marquette, Serena and Dwight baseball teams won regional semifinals on Wednesday to advance to Saturday championship contests, while Earlville/Leland had its season come to a close.

Sandwich's Sunny Weber and Somonauk's Alexis Punslan earned repeat titles on Saturday at the IHSA girls track and field state championships. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Seneca boys track and field team won the Class 1A Seneca Sectional title on Wednesday and will be sending nine athletes to the state finals. Marquette's Jacoby Gooden also qualified for three events at state. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Earlville and Newark softball teams earned Class 1A Walther Christian Regional semifinal wins Tuesday and will face each other Saturday for the title, while Marquette baseball won for the 31st time this season. Plus more results from around The Times area.

The Seneca baseball team earned a walk-off victory over St. Bede in their Tri-County Conference finale on Monday, while the Ottawa boys tennis team topped Mendota. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

Kelsey Cuchra continued her strong season with a double, home run and four RBIs to help power Marquette softball to a victory over Newman on Friday, while Seneca also rolled to its 32nd win. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

Ava Balestri hit a three-run homer to get the offense going and Macy Strauch struck out 14 batters in a two-hit shutout as the St. Bede softball team beat Dwight 12-0 in five innings in the regular season finale Friday.

St. Bede defeated Dwight on Friday, May 15, 2026 at St. Bede Academy.

In almost every event in the 1A Seneca Sectional on Thursday night, a Fighting Irish track and field athlete was competing for the lead and producing points en route to another championship while advancing multiple girls to state.

Teams from Beecher, IC Catholic, Yorkville Christian, Westmont, Serena, Dwight, Somonauk, Seneca, Peotone, Earlville, Reed Custer, Marquette, Aurora Christian and Newark all competed in the Class 1A Sectional meet on Thursday, May 14, 2026 at Seneca High School.

The Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell baseball team - behind the pitching of Reece Pelnarsh - topped Henry-Senachwine for the Warriors' first win of the season on Monday. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Seneca baseball team, behind the pitching of Cam Shriey, topped Reed-Custer on Friday, while the Sandwich baseball and softball teams defeated Earlville. Plus more results from around the Times area.

The Ottawa baseball team - sparked by Adam Swanson's grand slam home run - defeated Sycamore on Thursday, while the Ottawa and Somonauk girls track teams finished runner-up in their respective conference meets. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Ottawa baseball team split a pair of games with Sycamore on Tuesday, while Somonauk and Serena both won to share the Little Ten Conference title. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Ottawa baseball team fell to Plainfield South in extra innings at Schweickert Stadium in Peru on Friday, while the Newark softball team won big. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Seneca softball team, behind the hitting of Graysen Provance and pitching of both Tessa Krull and Hayden Pfeifer, improved to 23-0 on the season with a win over Dwight on Thursday, while the Marquette baseball team fell to St. Bede for the Crusaders first loss of the season.

The Marquette softball team suffered its first Tri-County Conference loss in extra innings to St. Bede on Tuesday, while Serena blanked Somonauk/Leland in a battle of teams previously unbeaten in Little Ten Conference play. Plus more results from around the Times area.

Athletes from a dozen area teams met up at the Manteno Invite on Friday, getting in some valuable work with the outdoor season already starting to wind down.

Eleven area schools competed in the Manteno Track Invite on Friday, April 24, 2026.

The Marquette baseball team defeated Henry-Senachwine to improve to 18-0 this season on Thursday while the Seneca softball team rolled past Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell to move to 20-0 on the campaign. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Ottawa softball team recorded a walk-off Interstate 8 Conference win over Kaneland on Wednesday, while Seneca's Tessa Krull pitched a perfect game and also homered in a Tri-County Conference victory over Midland. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

After starting the season 0-3, Wilmington has won its last 12 games. Read about that and more in this week's Herald-News softball notebook.

Here is a look at boys track and field teams for the 2026 season in The Herald-News area.

Here are five boys track and field athletes to keep an eye on throughout the 2026 season in Will and Grundy Counties

See how the Herald-News area is expected to fare in girls track and field this season.

With standouts from across the greater Will and Grundy county area, see who made the 2025-26 Herald-News All-Area Boys Basketball Team.

See who made the cut for the 2026 Herald-News Girls Wrestling All-Area team.

A team-by-team 2026 season preview for baseball teams across The Times coverage area, including Newark, Serena, Earlville/Leland, Seneca, Dwight, Fieldcrest and Sandwich.

See how each team throughout the area is expected to fare this season in baseball.

A team-by-team 2026 season preview for softball teams across The Times coverage area, including Newark, Serena, Earlville, Somonauk/Leland, WFC, Dwight, Fieldcrest and Sandwich.

Lockport's Claudia Heeney won her third consecutive state championship to close out her outstanding career.

Ottawa's Juliana Thrush advanced to the state championship match at 235 pounds, the best result for anyone in the Illinois Valley.

Marquette and St. Bede advanced to Friday's championship of the Class 1A Serena Regional with semifinal wins over Midland and Dwight on Wednesday night on Al Stegman Court.

The fifth IHSA girls state wrestling tournament is this weekend and as per usual, there are a ton of wrestlers from the Herald-News area to keep an eye on. Here is the preview.

Dwight defeated Marquette 70-65 on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026 at Marseilles Elementary School. Check out photos from the game by MaKade Rios.

The Dwight boys basketball team grabbed the early lead in Saturday night's Tri-County Conference game against Marquette and hung on down the stretch for a 70-65 triumph at Marseilles Elementary School.

Marquette avenged a 30-point loss from earlier in the season to beat Dwight 65-56 for the Class 1A Amboy Regional title. It is the Crusaders' first regional title since 2012.

Lockport's Justin Wardlow, JCA's Jason Hampton and Coal City's Brody Widlowski are all searching for their fourth state medal this weekend in Champaign

Woodland's boys basketball team shot a blazing 62.8% from the field and held off a frantic fourth-quarter comeback effort from Dwight to clinch at least a share of the Tri-County Conference title with a 77-69 win Friday night.

Illinois’ 2025-26 girls basketball postseason tips off this Saturday for small schools and next Monday for larger schools. Here's a look at what awaits teams from across The Times coverage area.

Providence is a No. 1 sectional seed in Class 3A, while Minooka is a No. 2 seed and Bolingbrook No. 4 in Class 4A as the IHSA girls basketball postseason is set to begin.

The IHSA girls wrestling postseason opens this weekend, with Herald-News area wrestlers facing two separate and distinct roads to the finals in Bloomington.

Joliet Catholic (3A), Providence (2A) and Coal City (1A) are all highly ranked heading into the boys wrestling postseason

No. 3 Seneca defeated No. 6 Roanoke-Benson and No. 5 Dwight beat No. 4 St. Bede in Tri-County Conference quarterfinals Tuesday.

Dwight defeated St. Bede 63-55 during the Tri-County Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026 at Putnam County High School.

St. Bede defeated Dwight 57-46 during the Tri County Conference Tournament semifinals on Monday, Jan. 20, 2026 at Dwight High School. The Lady Bruins will play Mildand in the title game on Thursday at 8p.m. Check out photos from the game by MaKade Rios.