Area wrestlers compete in the IHSA Class 2A Harvard Regional wrestling meet on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Harvard High School.

Coal City had 11 wrestlers place first and all 14 advance to sectionals in a dominant Class 1A Coal City Regional performance, Kankakee advanced six wrestlers out of the 2A Oak Forest Regional and more in Saturday's Daily Journal roundup.

Lincoln-Way West won the IHSA Class 3A Rich Township Regional title on Saturday and advanced 10 wrestlers to sectionals, while Lincoln-Way Central also advanced 10, Lincoln-Way East advanced seven, and Bradley-Bourbonnais advanced four.

Individuals from Amboy, Dixon, Hall-Putnam County, Mendota, Marquette, St. Bede Princeton, and Sandwich all competed during the Class 1A Regional meet on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Princeton High School.

When Kathy Colclasure graduated from Bradley-Bourbonnais in 1983, she never would have imagined returning to her alma mater. But since returning to coach in 1990, Colclasure, still the girls golf coach, has coached a combined 66 seasons of badminton, tennis and golf.

Mendota defeated Newman 65-46 on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 at Mendota High School. The Rockets suffer their first loss of the season as the Trojans improve their record to 20-5.

Reed-Custer beat Illinois Central Eight Conference opponent Coal City for its seventh straight win, Milford downed Schlarman in an overtime Vermilion Valley Conference thriller, and more in Friday's Daily Journal roundup.

The Bishop McNamara community came together on Friday to host the River Valley Special Rec's basketball teams, the Raccoons and the Rebels, as they had their 2025-26 seasons come to an end.

In their first home game in three weeks, Kankakee got off to a slow start against Thornwood before picking things up down the stretch for an 11-point win, powered by a 28-point night from Lincoln Williams.

Marquette defeated Woodland 53-29 to win the 99th annual Tri-County Conference Championship on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 at Putnam County High School.

Huntley faces Crystal Lake South in a Fox Valley Conference boys basketball game on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at Crystal Lake South High School.

Huntley faces Crystal Lake South in a Fox Valley Conference girls basketball game on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at Crystal Lake South High School.

Alden-Hebron defeats Woodlands Academy in a nononference girls basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, at Alden-Hebron High School in Hebron.

Kankakee's Malea Harrison, Manteno's Maddie Gesky and Grant Park's Taylor Panozzo and Abi Roberts all had double-doubles, plus more in Thursday's Daily Journal roundup.

Wilmington came out on top of a back-and-forth Illinois Central Eight Conference battle with Herscher at home on Thursday, beating the Tigers 52-50.

Cameron Gray's 19 points led Gardner-South Wilmington in a double overtime thriller over Herscher, Reed-Custer's Eddie Bryan and Cissna Park's Addison Lucht each broke the 20-point mark and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

After trailing by double digits early in the third quarter, Alex Chenoweth helped spark a dominant third-quarter run before Ethan McNeil took over in the fourth quarter to give Peotone a 64-52 win over Beecher Wednesday.

East Peoria defeated Streator 64-36 on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026 in Pops Dale Gymnasium at Streator High School. Check out photos from the game by Tom Sistak.

Bureau Valley defeated Hall 55-53 on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026 at Hall High School.

Richmond-Burton faces Woodstock in a Kishwaukee River Conference girls basketball game on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, at Woodstock High School.

Despite trailing by 16 points in the second quarter, Morris came back for a 56-48 win over Kankakee on Tuesday, its second straight road victory over a team with more than twice as many wins.

St. Anne beat Tri-Point 66-30 to clinch an unbeaten River Valley Conference season, Kankakee beat Bloom 67-47 to improve to 8-0 in Southland Athletic Conference play and more in Tuesdays' Daily Journal roundup.

Thanks to a game-high 16 points from AJ Kenney and a pair of Carter Nicholson buckets that capped a 12-0 third-quarter run, Coal City scored its first Illinois Central Eight Conference win of the season at Herscher on Tuesday.

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

Johnsburg faces Richmond-Burton in a Kishwaukee River Conference boys basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, at Richmond-Burton High School.

Seneca defeated Roanoke-Benson 56-48 during the Tri-County Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026 at Putnam County High School.

From breezy afternoon games to tournament wins and travel-ready paddles, more people are embracing the growing sport of pickleball – whose quick learning curve and social energy keep drawing more players to the net. There are many places to play throughout northwest Illinois.

Bishop McNamara's active defense helped fuel a dominant 67-27 conference win over Chicago Christian on Monday in which the Fightin' Irish also set a new season high in points scored.

Watseka/Milford girls basketball reached the 20-win mark and stayed undefeated in the Vermilion Valley, Gardner-South Wilmington earned its second win in its last three games and more in Monday's Daily Journal roundup.

Woodstock North faces Crystal Lake Central in a nonconference basketball game on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, at Crystal Lake Central High School.

Marquette defeated Midland 66-57 during the Tri-County Conference Tournament on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026 at Putnam County High School.

Lincoln Bode of Glen Ellyn is participating in the 777 World Marathon Challenge — seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

Woodland defeated Henry-Senachwine 61-45 during the Tri-County Conference Tournament on Monday, Jan. 26, 2025 at Putnam County High School.

In a closely contested girls basketball game between Byron and Dixon, it was the Tigers emerging on top in overtime. From the opening tip-off until the final score of 46-43, it was tight all the way between the pair of state-ranked teams.

Meet the Daily Journal's Athlete of the Week, Bradley-Bourbonnais girls wrestler Aubrianna Rapier.

The Boilermaker dance team is headed to state, Bishop McNamara's Tristin Golden is a conference champion on the mats and more in Saturday's Daily Journal roundup.

Brothers Luke and Jake Munsterman were two of 12 Coal City wrestlers to win individual titles at the Illinois Central Eight Conference tournament on Saturday, where the Coalers ran away with a team title with 276.5 points.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s track and field team started its 2026 indoor season on Jan. 17. The outdoor season starts March 27.

Wilmington head coach Jeff Reents has spent the last three decades building the Wildcats into one of the state's premier football programs, and after winning his fourth state title in 2025, he is the Daily Journal Male Sports Citizen of the Year.

Reed-Custer downed Illinois Central Eight Conference opponent Herscher for its fourth straight win, Gardner-South Wilmington improved to 8-1 in River Valley Conference play and more in Friday's Daily Journal roundup.

Cary-Grove faces Crystal Lake South in a Fox Valley Conference boys basketball game on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, at Crystal Lake South High School.

St. Anne made it eight straight wins in boys basketball, Coal City wrestling stayed perfect on the season and more in Thursday's Daily Journal roundup.

Kaneland, Princeton and L-P girls and boys wrestling teams competed duing a wrestling meet on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 in Sellett Gymnasium at L-P Hich School.

Huntley faces Prairie Ridge in a Fox Valley Conference boys wrestling meet on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Prairie Ridge High School Crystal Lake.

The Kishwaukee College men's basketball team played a home game against the Rockford University JV team Thursday night in Malta.

Take a look from above of the newly proposed sports complex behind John F. Kennedy School on the north side of town. Earlier this month, Gov. JB Pritzker announced a$245,000 grant funding through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to pave the way for a future sports complex in Spring Valley.

Hall of Fame basketball coach Russ Zick, who coached for 40 years, led Rochelle to six regional titles and also coached at Ashton-Franklin Center and Kaneland, died at age 72 on Jan. 13. He is remembered by former players and colleagues. 'He impacted so many people.'

The Chicago Bears had a memorable 2025 season in head coach Ben Johnson's first year in charge. Shaw Local's Michal Dwojak and Joe Aguilar look back at the season and look ahead to the offseason

Manteno clinched its second straight 20-win season with a 57-52 road win over Watseka/Milford on Wednesday in a battle between two of the top Class 2A teams in the state.

The Kays earned a one-point win on the mats, Cissna Park stayed perfect in Vermilion Valley Conference girls basketball action and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.