A look at the final softball statistical leaders in the NewsTribune area for the 2026 season.

A look at the top softball players in the NewsTribune area for the 2026 season.

Avah Oertel batted .607 with a school single-season record 17 homers, 59 RBIs, 19 doubles and 55 runs scored. The NewsTribune Softball Player of the Year is already Princeton’s career leader for home runs (35), RBIs (137) and doubles (35).

A young man with a deep faith and deep ties to area was recalled for being a team player and mentor after he and another ex-Wheaton College football player drowned in Michigan.

The Three Rivers Athletic Conference released its All-Conference baseball and softball teams this week. Newman and Erie-Prophetstown both had multiple players recognized in the TRAC East.

Congratulations to the 2026 Times Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year, Ottawa hurdler and state medalist Joey Liebhart.

Presented here are The Times area’s state qualifiers and their postseason accomplishments, the 2026 Times Boys Track and Field All-Area Honor Roll.

A look at the top girls soccer players in the NewsTribune area for the 2026 season.

La Salle-Peru senior Vicky Tejada is the 2026 NewsTribune Girls Soccer Player of the Year after scoring an area-best 25 goals and helped the Cavaliers improve by 10 wins.

Here are The Times area’s state qualifiers and their postseason accomplishments, the 2026 Times Girls Track and Field All-Area Honor Roll.

Two former Wheaton College football teammates drowned in Lake Michigan over the weekend, including one who also played at Yorkville High and was a coach and mentor in the area and newly married.

The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association released its All-State teams on Tuesday and five area players were selected.

NewsTribune-area softball players have hit more home runs in each of the last five seasons. This spring, 44 players combined to hit 146 home runs, with four players hitting double-digit homers.

In the short term, when the Marquette baseball team won the Class 2A St. Bede Supersectional, it sent the Crusaders back to the IHSA State Finals. In the long term, it also guaranteed Marquette will remain in Class 2A for baseball through at least the 2028 season.

Eight different area teams had players earn spots on the 2026 Illinois Coaches Association All-State softball team.

Putnam County's Johnathon Stunkel, Henry's Carson Rowe earn IHSBCA First-Team All State, IVCC is offering basketball and volleyball camps and more in the NewsTribune sports briefs.

Putnam County seniors Traxton Mattingly and Johnathon Stunkel left their legacy with the Panthers, leading them to a Class 1A second-place finish. Now, they'll continue their careers together at Illinois Central College.

After an uncharacteristically quiet performance the night before, Marquette baseball's offense came out swinging Saturday with three runs in the home half of the first inning. It proved to be the difference in Marquette’s 4-1 win over Freeburg in 2A's third-place game.

The Putnam County baseball team lost 10-0 in five innings to Tremont in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday in Champaign.

The Marquette baseball team managed just four hits off St. Joseph-Ogden's Asher Pruemer in a 6-1 loss in Friday night's IHSA Class 2A State semifinal at Illinois Field in Champaign. The Crusaders play Freeburg for third place at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The Putnam County baseball team beat North Clay 4-3 in 8 innings on Friday in Champaign to advance to the Class 1A state championship game. The Panthers will play Tremont at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Marquette baseball team hopes to stay hot when it faces St. Joseph-Ogden (38-2) in Friday’s IHSA Class 2A semifinals at 7 p.m. on Illinois Field in Champaign. The Crusaders, which are coming off back-to-back 1A state championships, enter the contest with a 37-3 record.

The Tri-County, Three Rivers East and Little Ten announced all-conference teams, plus more in the NewsTribune sports briefs.

The Putnam County baseball program has qualified for state in every full decade since the school opened. The 2026 Panthers play North Clay in Friday's semifinals in the school's seventh state appearance.

A look at the four teams competing this weekend in the Class 1A state baseball tournament in Champaign.

The Illinois Coaches Association this week announced its lists of ICA All-State selections from the recently completed 2026 softball season, with numerous Times-area standouts honored.

A look at the top boys tennis players in the NewsTribune area for the 2026 season.

The Marquette baseball team earned a third consecutive trip to the IHSA State Finals with a 9-6 victory over Brimfield in Tuesday's Class 2A St. Bede Supersectional. The Crusaders entered the season back-to-back Class 1A champions.

The Putnam County baseball team beat Galena 7-4 on Tuesday to win the IHSA Class 1A NIU Supersectional and earn its first trip to state since 2013.

L-P's Taylor Vescogni and Princeton's Avah Oertel were voted Illinois Coaches Association First-Team All State, while nine other NewsTribune-area players were honored.

Bill Booker still loves baseball, there’s no denying that. But baseball has made it difficult for Booker to spend time with his four children - who are spread around the country - and grandchild, so he decided to retire after nearly 40 years in area dugouts.

Seneca seniors Lexie Buis, Camryn Stecken and Tessa Krull led the Fighting Irish softball team to a runner-up finish at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals at Peoria's Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.

The Putnam County baseball team scored three runs in the first inning and led throughout in an 11-2 victory over Fulton to win the Class 1A Putnam County Sectional title, the Panthers' first sectional crown since 2013.

The Seneca softball team battled to the very end but came up just short in a 3-1 loss to Carterville in Saturday's IHSA Class 2A championship on OSF Healthcare Field inside the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria. The Fighting Irish ended the season 39-3.

After more than three decades and nearly 600 wins as a head baseball coach, Bill Booker has retired, St. Bede announced in a press release Friday.

The Illinois Elementary School Association completed its 2025-26 school year with the Class 3A/4A IESA State Meet at Eastside Centre in East Peoria, with multiple area large-school student-athletes capturing all-state honors.

Sterling baseball player Eli Penne is the Sauk Valley Athlete of the Week, presented by Loescher Heating and Air Conditioning. He pitched a one-hitter in a 2-0 win over Dixon in the regional semifinals. Here is a Q&A with Penne, who will attend UW-Plateville.

Some unlikely heroes – and some likely ones too – came through when the Seneca softball team needed it most Thursday in the Fighting Irish’s wild 8-6 Class 2A state semifinal victory over IC Catholic at Peoria’s Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.

La Salle-Peru baseball, softball and soccer players earned All-Interstate 8 Conference honors, plus more in the NewsTribune sports briefs.

The Forreston baseball team got off to a tough start and just could not get over the hump in a 10-7 loss during Wednesday’s Class 1A Forreston Sectional baseball semifinal matchup against Galena.

Putnam County's Johnathon Stunkel struck out the side in the top of the first inning and the Panthers scored two runs in the bottom half to set the tone early in an 11-1, five-inning victory over Newark in a Class 1A Putnam County Sectional semifinal Wednesday.

The Marquette baseball team banged out 15 hits, including four home runs, in a 15-3 victory over IC Catholic Prep in Wednesday's Class 2A Herscher Sectional semifinal. The Crusaders will take on Wilmington at 10 a.m. Saturday in the championship game.

Chase Dykstra was dominant on the mound and Fulton capitalized on seven Parkview Christian errors to win 12-1 in five innings in a Class 1A Putnam County Sectional semifinal Wednesday.

Henry-Midland's Daniella Bumber starts the next chapter of her life June 25 as she goes to basic training ahead of her college career at the Naval Academy, where she'll also run track and field.

Sterling had multiple athletes named All-Western Big 6 Conference in baseball, softball and girls soccer.

The Seneca softball team is looking to take two more steps, starting with Thursday's 2:30 p.m. IHSA Class 2A state semifinal against IC Catholic at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria.

Seneca junior pitcher Hayden Pfeifer scattered four hits, walked one and struck out 11 in leading the softball Fighting Irish to a 3-0 Class 2A supersectional victory over Brimfield at EastSide Centre on Monday.

Dixon's Owen LeSage won the IHSA state shot put title to lead the Dukes' medalists on Saturday. Sterling's 4x400 relay took third.

The Morrison boys repeated as IHSA state track and field champions in Class 1A and set multiple records on Saturday. Amboy, Forreston-Polo, Erie-Prophetstown and Oregon also earned hardware.

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.