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LCHS golfers compete in Quincy Regional

[OCT. 5, 2000]  Lincoln High School’s men’s golf team competed in the Quincy Regional Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at the par-71 Westview Golf Course. Aaron Freesmeier qualified for the individual sectionals with an 80. The other players scores’ were as follows: Josh Specketer 83, J.T. Ashley 84, Bradon Fults 86, Jason Fitzpatrick 95 and Blinn Bates 97. Lincoln’s team score was 333, and they will not advance to the team sectional.

Olympia girls make waves over Peoria Manual

[OCT. 5, 2000]  In a tidal wave at Stanford on Tuesday, Oct. 3, it was Olympia 145, Peoria Manual 19 in high school girls swimming. Individual and relay results follow.

200-yard medley relay – Olympia: Mary Clark, Emily Melick, Katie Fraher, Emily Dare, 2:23.94

200 freestyle – Olympia: Deanna Fluty, 2:37.53

200 intermediate medley – Olympia: Jessica Legner, 3:00.06

50 freestyle – Peoria Manual: Baker, 32.65 sec.

Diving – Olympia: Rebecca Alberts, 160.85

100 butterfly – Olympia: Ashley Mahaffey, 1:28.94

100 freestyle – Olympia: Fraher, 1:06.95

500 freestyle – Olympia: Melick, 6:06.45

200 freestyle relay – Olympia: Erin Canopy, Jen Nafziger, Melick, Laci Smith, 2:04.41

100 backstroke – Olympia: Mahaffey, 1:24.87

100 breaststroke – Olympia: Katie Hentzen, 1:26.59

400 freestyle relay – Olympia: Gina Rawlins, Smith, Jennifer Bell, Legner, 4:50.76

Hartsburg-Emden volleys with Illini Central

[OCT. 5, 2000]  Hartsburg-Emden High School’s girls volleyball team defeated Illini Central 15-1, 15-5. The game was at Hartsburg on Tuesday afternoon. Hartsburg-Emden’s top players were Kate Wrage with 17 service points, Tasha Williams with nine kills, Carrie Rayburn with eight blocks, and Beth Guy with 20 assists. Hartsburg-Emden’s overall record is now 15-5, and their Tomahawk Conference record is 3-0. Hartsburg Emden’s junior varsity players also defeated Illini Central’s junior varsity team 15-1, 15-5.

Lincoln College volleys with Lincoln Land
[OCT. 5, 2000]  Lincoln College’s Lady Lynx volleyball played Lincoln Land yesterday at home. Lincoln Land beat Lincoln College 15-7, 15-9, 15-9. Lynx Coach Tina Rogers-Smith said, "We actually played pretty well. We had been going backwards; however, we had a good practice Tuesday and played well tonight. I think we are going to surprise some people. I certainly haven’t given up on them."

Candace Sheley was a huge asset to the Lady Lynx with nine kills, two blocks, five digs and two aces. Some of the other girls also made significant contributions to the game. Christine Lott made seven kills and four blocks. Adie Harmon had four kills, three digs and two aces. Amanda Pikert helped with five kills and four blocks. Bonnie Brown assisted 21 times.

Lincoln College’s record now stands at 1-19. They will compete in a tournament at Parkland on Friday and Saturday.

Meeting required for parents of LCHS winter athletes
[OCT. 5, 2000]  All LCHS winter athletes are required to have their athletic permit card on file in the activity director’s office before they may try out or practice for any sports. All parents/guardian of all athletes must attend a mandatory meeting Monday, Oct. 16, at 6:30 p.m. in the LCHS auditorium.  This 15-minute meeting will cover the athletic permit card, extracurricular code and parent/coach involvement. No athletes will be allowed to try out or practice until their parents/guardian attend this meeting. If you attended the fall parents meeting in August, you do not need to attend this meeting. If you cannot attend, please call Darrell Hanslow, activity director, to set up an appointment with him, (217) 732-4131, Ext. 250.

Sports starting dates

Girls basketball, Oct. 30

Boys basketball, Nov. 6

Wrestling, Nov. 6

Boys swimming, Nov. 20

Mount Pulaski defeats Pleasant Plains in volleyball

[OCT. 4, 2000]  Mount Pulaski High School volleyball team defeated Pleasant Plains 15-9, 9-15 and 15-10. Mount Pulaski’s Lindsay Clements served up 12 points and blocked four shots. Mary Olson also blocked four shots. Sarah Stratton made 12 kills, and Tiffany Conaway assisted 36 times! Pleasant Plains’ top scorer was Allison Sweet, with eight service points. Alex Liveratore made eight kills. Mount Pulaski’s new record is 16-4. Pleasant Plains’ record is now 20-4. Mount Pulaski also beat Pleasant Plains in junior varsity play, 15-1, 15-7.

Mistakes doom Railers to defeat

By Rick Hobler
[SEPT. 30, 2000]  As a teacher I know that repetition leads to memorization. If that is true, then the Railers will always remember two things about last night's game: the name of Springfield High School's Ulexis Williams and the word "turnovers."

In Springfield's 41-0 drubbing of the Railers last night, it was Ulexis here, Ulexis there, Ulexis everywhere. On defense he repeatedly tackled the Railer running backs and knocked down pass after pass intended for Railer receivers. When SHS had the ball, he was sprinting around the Railer defense, catching passes and crossing the goal line. On special teams he kicked off and received kickoffs, he punted and returned punts. He kicked extra points. He was everywhere, all night, and wherever he was the SHS Senators had success. While one player can never get credit for a victory in a team sport, Ulexis Williams certainly was impressive all night.

For the LCHS Railers the word of the night was "turnovers." The Railer offense did move the ball on several sustained drives, but each time they got some momentum and approached midfield, a misguided pass or a fumble found its way into the hands of an SHS defender, ending the drive. I stopped counting the interceptions at five. While Lincoln quarterback Marty Ryan had several successful short passes and gutted out several first downs on quarterback keepers over the middle, behind the blocking of Morgan Murphy, he was picked off and sacked so many times that his valiant effort was nullified.

Sam Moore, the Railers' leading running back, was repeatedly stuffed by the SHS defense, and his fourth down miscue on a punt, right before halftime, deep in Railer territory, led to the Senators quickly scoring an additional touchdown.

The Gallagher brothers, Tommy John and Josh, made several excellent pass catches, but a crucial dropped pass by Tommy John Gallagher, wide open in the end zone in the second quarter, when the Railers were down only 14-0, was a serious missed opportunity.

At the half, the score was SHS 20, Railers 0.

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Some of the few positive notes for the Railers were the play of Ryan Bast, the running of Chad "Chico" Tungate and a couple impressive defensive stands. Ryan Bast played well for the Railers on offense and defense, catching passes, intercepting a pass and making numerous tackles in the secondary. Tungate, playing in his first game this season, ran with intensity and picked up several Railer first downs. The Railer defense, guided by Assistant Coach Chris Hammer, stopped the Senators on several occasions. Of special note was a strong defensive stand in the second half after an interception placed the Senators on the Railer 22-yard line. At the end of this particular series, due to the "never say die" attitude of Railer players like Shaw, Letterly, Snyder, Workman, Charron, Barton, Hobler, Bast and others, the Senators found themselves pushed back to the Railers' 36-yard line. These were the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal evening for the Railers.

By the end of the third quarter it was 41-0 in favor of SHS, and the best IHSA rule to kick in at that time was that the clock ran continuously until the game was over.

In spite of the loss, a large contingent of Railer fans showed up at a Springfield pizza establishment after the game to applaud and feed the Railer players, coaches and cheerleaders. The Football Boosters, led by the untiring efforts of Rick and Carol Charron, and the unselfish and sacrificial efforts of many other parents and fans treated the team to great pizza and time of affirmation for their hard work. If I were showing a highlight film for the evening, this after-game event would be on it. In high school athletics it is effort, not results that should be rewarded and praised.

The Railers will prepare this week for perhaps their toughest challenge of the season, a meeting with undefeated and state-ranked Sacred Heart-Griffin. The Railers meet SHG at Memorial Field in Springfield next Friday night. A great memory to create next week would be an unexpected upset. GO RAILERS!

[Rick Hobler]

Hear it here Friday night!

Football

Oct. 6:  Lincoln vs. SH-Griffin

[click here]

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