2022-23 Preps Year in Review: Top comebacks, milestones and super sophomores

Jul. 16—Top comebacks

➜ Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin football. Not an injury comeback, but a scoreboard one. Blue Devils trailed Salt Fork 35-13 in the fourth quarter but stunned the Storm 43-42 behind Ayden Ingram and Michael Hackman.

➜ Colton Crowley, Mahomet-Seymour. Wasn't about to let his senior season end because of a torn MCL during individual sectionals, advancing to the Class 2A 220-pound state bracket and winning two matches.

➜ Wyatt Hilligoss, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond. Underwent surgery on his labrum prior to his senior year with the Knights, which included game-changing efforts in boys' basketball and baseball.

➜ Ben Hornaday, Tuscola. Two-way football starter suffered a torn MCL in Week 8 of that season, but spent the winter in rehabilitation and managed to qualify for the Class 1A boys' track and field state meet in a pair of relays.

➜ Nathan Kirby, Salt Fork. Kirby was hampered by hamstring woes in his senior track and field season but won state titles in the Class 1A 110-meter hurdles and 800 relay, helping the Storm repeat as team champion.

➜ Caelyn Kleparski, Unity. A broken foot couldn't slow the distance-running and pole vaulting standout for long, as she bounced back to earn a Class 2A girls' track and field state berth in pole vault.

➜ Shelby McGee, Salt Fork. Standout hurdler and jumper contracted mononucleosis during the indoor track and field season, sidelining her for more than a month. She advanced to outdoor state in three events and placed eighth in the 100-meter hurdles.

➜ Nick Nosler, Unity. A mishap at his summer job resulted in Nosler injuring his foot via a lawn mower. After missing a few football games, he returned to help Unity crack the Class 3A semifinals, then won a wrestling state title.

➜ St. Thomas More in general. Matt DeLorenzo recovered from a torn ACL in his junior year to become a standout football, basketball and baseball player as a senior. Mallory Monahan tore her ACL leading up to her senior volleyball season but still participated on the Sabers' back line in a Class 1A super-sectional run. Martin Mondala missed nearly his entire senior soccer season with a meniscus injury but rallied to score a goal in a regional final. Gianna Kreps overcame a major shoulder injury as a junior and a broken nose as a senior to start for STM's Class 1A fourth-place girls' basketball team. Ryan Hendrickson was hindered by appendicitis amid his senior baseball and track and field seasons but still managed to push Sabers baseball to the Class 1A Sweet 16 and place fifth in the Class 1A 800-meter run.

➜ Tanner Thomas, Arcola. Louisville baseball commit tore his hamstring during his sophomore football campaign, only to bounce back and star for Purple Riders baseball in its first regional title win since 1984.

Milestones

➜ Champaign Central girls' sprint relays. Group of Kennedy Ramshaw, Kyla Canales, Braelyn Alexander, Ellie Kim, Kelecia Maynor, Izzy Roundtree and Khalia Williams contributed toward school-record clockings in the 400- and 800-meter relays. The 400 relay record had stood since 1981.

➜ Maci Clodfelder, Villa Grove. All-Area softball first-team selection became the Blue Devils' all-time career home runs leader when she clubbed her 20th during a 27-7 win over Centennial. She had seven dingers this spring.

➜ Coaching milestones. Watseka's Barry Bauer surpassed Keith Baldwin for most all-time varsity basketball wins with the Warriors at 380; St. Joseph-Ogden baseball's Josh Haley garnered his 400th win; Mahomet-Seymour baseball's Nic Difilippo earned his 300th win; both Prairie Central boys' basketball's Darin Bazzell and Villa Grove softball's Jeana Block reached 100 wins.

➜ Brianna Denault, Watseka. Broke her school's single-season softball records for batting average (.597) and runs scored (49), also tying the team's on-base percentage mark (.677) during an All-Area second-team campaign.

➜ Kaden Feagin, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond. All-Area football Player of the Year and current Illini left the Knights as their all-time leader in career and single-season rushing yardage and their all-time leader in career and single-season rushing scores.

➜ Haley Garrett, Cerro Gordo/Bement. Established a single-game girls' basketball scoring record when she dropped 36 points on St. Teresa during a 56-35 Broncos win in the Macon County Tournament.

➜ Josiah Hortin, Tuscola. Three-sport star with the Warriors established a boys' track and field school record in the 800-meter run, with a best time of 1 minute, 54.89 seconds, breaking a 90-year-old record held by Wayne Rideout.

➜ Shayne Immke, St. Joseph-Ogden. All-Area softball Player of the Year first set team single-season and career triples records before becoming both the Spartans' and IHSA's all-time single-season home runs leader with 25.

➜ Mahomet-Seymour wrestling. Bulldogs reached 1,000 dual wins as a program on Dec. 10 against Mascoutah; Mateo Casillas is the team's all-time career pinfalls leader (85) and is tied with Brett Camden for career wins (175); Brennan Houser is the program's career and single-season technical falls leader (49/29), and he also set program records for near-fall points in a career and season (655/305); Camden Harms broke the team record for single-season falls (40); coach Rob Ledin received an Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

➜ Mitchel Myers, Arcola. Before placing second in both the Class 1A boys' shot put and discus state competitions, Myers broke a 59-year-old school record in discus by throwing 183 feet, 3/4 inches, surpassing Terry Miller.

➜ One-thousand point basketball scorers. Cissna Park's Mikayla Knake on Nov. 18 against Bishop McNamara; Fisher's Kallie Evans on Dec. 12 against Tri-Valley; Mahomet-Seymour's Savannah Orgeron on Dec. 28 against Champaign Central; Iroquois West's Cannon Leonard on Jan. 7 against Herscher; Champaign Central's Addy McLeod on Jan. 7 against Peoria; Oakwood's Addie Wright on Jan. 9 against Milford; Milford's Adin Portwood on Jan. 10 against Oakwood; Salt Fork's Alexa Jamison on Jan. 20 against Armstrong-Potomac; Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond's Wyatt Hilligoss on Jan. 27 against Argenta-Oreana; Armstrong-Potomac's Kyla Bullington on Jan. 30 against Hoopeston Area; Cerro Gordo/Bement's Haley Garrett on Feb. 2 against Blue Ridge; Oakwood's Dalton Hobick on Feb. 3 against Iroquois West; Prairie Central's Dylan Bazzell on Feb. 7 against Bloomington Central Catholic; Salt Fork's Garrett Taylor on Feb. 7 against Oakwood; Cerro Gordo/Bement's Tyson Moore on Feb. 10 against Blue Ridge; Salt Fork's Blake Norton on Feb. 14 against Schlarman; Le Roy's Jack Edmundson on Feb. 16 against Blue Ridge.

➜ Ty Pence, St. Joseph-Ogden. All-Area boys' basketball Player of the Year first reached 2,000 career points on Jan. 20 against Chillicothe IVC, then became the Spartans' all-time basketball scoring leader with his 2,116th point on Jan. 30 against Bloomington Central Catholic.

➜ Abby Sabalaskey, Westville. Sensational softball pitcher's junior season included her 500th career strikeout, recorded in a March victory over Centennial. She's sitting on nearly 750 career punchouts now.

➜ Ema Simpson, Arcola. As a freshman, Simpson became the Purple Riders' all-time leader in the girls' track and field 400-meter dash (1 minute, 0.17 seconds) and long jump (16 feet, 83/4 inches).

➜ Karson Stevenson, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin. Football quarterback fueled a typically run-heavy team with his arm, throwing for school-record 421 yards plus four scores in a playoff win over Westville.

➜ Trey Welter, Monticello. Though not the tallest player on the basketball floor, the 5-foot-5 guard still has a big shot. He drained a program record-tying seven three-pointers in a win over Newton on Jan. 7.

➜ Mick Wright, Monticello. Surpassed a 69-year-old record in the boys' 200-meter dash, finishing with a personal-best time of 22.04 seconds. He holds school records in the 100 dash, 400 relay and 800 relay, too.

Super sophomores

➜ Hudson Ault, Prairie Central. Started at cornerback for a Hawks football team that went undefeated in the regular season and also boasted 682 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing.

➜ Ronald Baker III, Babette Bradley, Chris Bush, Olivia Dempsey, Kelecia Maynor and Abel Vines, Champaign Central. Baker was one of Maroons football's biggest offensive weapons and qualified for Class 2A boys' track and field state; Bradley is our reigning All-Area girls' swimming and diving Athlete of the Year, joined on the All-Area first team by Dempsey; Bush was an All-Area boys' basketball second-teamer, with Maynor accomplishing the same feat in girls' track and field; and Vines was an All-Area boys' tennis first-teamer for Class 1A state's third-place program.

➜ Lindy Bates and Emily Decker, Unity. Bates rated as an All-Area first-team softball player for the regional-champion Rockets, and Decker stepped up to help Unity girls' cross-country win another Class 1A team state championship.

➜ Elle Bodznick, Allison Nebelsick and Maddux Quick, Monticello. Both Bodznick and Nebelsick played crucial roles in a best-ever season for Sages girls' soccer, and Quick was a big part of Sages boys' golf qualifying for state.

➜ Robert Boyd-Meents, Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Soft-spoken but powerful athlete was hard to stop as the Panthers' lead football running back, and he also qualified for the Class 1A boys' track and field state meet in three events.

➜ Ava Boyer, Lia Patterson and Kam Sweetnam, Tuscola. Boyer has Warriors girls' basketball and softball in good hands for the next two years, Patterson won the Class 1A girls' 200-meter dash and 300 hurdles state titles, and Sweetnam started for the Warriors' 1A third-place boys' basketball team.

➜ Holden Brazelton, Savanna Franzen and Coy Taylor, St. Joseph-Ogden. Brazelton earned All-Area first-team status as a wrestler, Franzen was an All-Area girls' cross-country first-teamer, and Taylor was an All-Area football second-teamer with huge receiving statistics.

➜ Reis Claybrooke, Mahomet-Seymour. One of the best young golfers the area has to offer, Claybrooke was at the forefront of a Class 2A regional-championship season for the Bulldogs and was an All-Area first-teamer.

➜ Chaz Dubois, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin. Made his presence felt as a three-sport athlete with the Blue Devils, serving as a two-way football starter, sixth man in basketball and cleanup hitter in baseball.

➜ Noelle Hunt, Payton Kaiser, Voldy Makabu and Tyler Oatman, Centennial. Hunt grabbed All-Area girls' track and field second-team honors, Kaiser was an All-Area girls' soccer first-teamer, Makabu won the Class 3A boys' high jump state championship and Oatman was an All-Area first-teamer in boys' swimming and diving.

➜ Alexa Jamison and Pedro Rangel, Salt Fork. Jamison already has eclipsed 1,000 career basketball points and also excels in volleyball and softball, while Rangel assisted the Oakwood/Salt Fork wrestling cooperative in earning its first dual team state trophy.

➜ Mary Katheryn Kluesner, Shannon Monahan and Ashley Wells, St. Thomas More. Kluesner garnered All-Area first-team recognition in girls' soccer, Monahan did the same in volleyball and Wells had impactful seasons in both golf and basketball.

➜ Lilly Long and Emily Mennenga, Le Roy. Two key members of the first-ever Panthers softball team to qualify for state, Long and Mennenga claimed All-Area first-team recognition after Le Roy's third-place finish.

➜ Drew McTaggart, Watseka. Established a school record in the 3,200-meter run during a season in which he also won sectional and Vermilion Valley titles in that event, additionally qualifying for the Class 1A state meet.

➜ Ella Miller, Westville. An All-Area second-team pick in volleyball, Miller continued putting her athleticism on display once girls' track and field season rolled around by qualifying for Class 1A state in two events.

➜ Braden Phillips, Kacie Sisk and Tanner Thomas, Arcola. Phillips and Thomas both helped Purple Riders baseball to its first regional title since 1984, with Thomas also quarterbacking in football. Sisk was an All-Area second-teamer in volleyball and starred in softball.

➜ Diddy Robinson, Reese Rundle and Nickiya Shields, Danville. Robinson secured All-Area first-team status in boys' basketball, Rundle aided Vikings girls' tennis to a state trophy and Shields won two Class 3A girls' hurdling state medals.

➜ Cameron Steinbaugh, Georgetown-Ridge Farm. Following in the footsteps of older brothers Conor and Cale, Cameron is leading the Buffaloes' basketball and baseball outfits, as an All-Area second-teamer in the latter.

➜ Jacob Tighe, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond. An All-Lincoln Prairie Conference pick as both an offensive lineman and defensive lineman on the football field, he projects as a critical two-way starter moving forward.

➜ Angel Zamora, Hoopeston Area. Zamora cracked the All-Area football team in the honorable-mention category and then put together a state-qualifying wrestling campaign, which made him an All-Area second-teamer.