Villa Grove softball off to IESA Regional championship
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By Tony Hooker
Volleyball
Outdueled by Warriors
Despite 6 kills and 4 blocks from Baylee Martin, VGVB fell in 3 sets to Casey-Westfield 24-26, 25-21, 16-24 on September 9. Jobella Crafton slammed 4 kills and had 7 digs, Carly Eads hammered 4 kills and passed out 10 assists, and Piper Kiser dished out 7 assists of her own. Hayden Thomas chipped in defensively with 6 digs.
Out clash Titans
Crafton hammered down 10 kills to lead the Blue Devils to a straight set, 27-25, 25-13 win over Tri-County on September 12. Eads added 10 assists and 5 kills, r Kiser dished out 11 assists and Thomas had 4 digs for VG.
Cross Country
Kurt Zimmerman powered his way to a 4th place finish at the Shelbyville Trail Invite on September 14.
Golf
Girls finish 2nd at Sullivan
Ella Schweighart’s 41 was good enough to earn herself medalist honors and lead her squad to a second-place finish at Sullivan CC on September 9. Eva Piercy shot a 56, Ryan Lillard had a 64, and Bekka Bloom and Anna Kincaid each shot 70’s for the Blue Devils.
Boys finish 4th
Karder Kirkman’s 45 paced the boys squad. Cole Price backed him with a 46, Will Schweighart fired a 48 and Jackson Smith shot a 59 to round out the blue devils scoring.
Girls squad finishes
second at Tuscola
Schweighart continued her stellar fall campaign, firing a 39 to earn medalist honors once again at Tuscola’s Ironhorse CC on September 12. Piercy shot a 60, Bloom had a 63, and Kincaid fired a 70 for the Blue Devils.
Football
Overrun by Redskins
An outmatched, out-sized Villa Grove 11 found tough sledding in a 62-13 home shellacking on September 13. Max Wilson’s 21-yard halfback TD pass to Thomas Vandeventer was the highlight of the first half, and sophomore Jackson Gire, pressed into action due to an injury to starter Lukas Shadwick, found freshman Nolan Shadwick for an 8-yard score, late in the 4th quarter. The Blue Devils managed less than 30 yards of total offense on the night. Defensively, VG was led by Noah Wilcoxen, who had 8 tackles. Sophomores Jacob Golightly and Jesse Gire each had 7 stops, and Nolan Morse chipped in with 5. Villa Grove returns to action on September 20 with a road contest at Cumberland.
Junior high
softball
Outclimb hilltoppers
Maggi Clodfelder fired a 3 inning no hitter, fanning 9 and walking none, as VGJH opened IESA regional tournament play with a 17-0 win over Danville Schlarman on September 12. Areigha Hauversburk slammed two homers to power the Blue Devils at the plate. Clodfelder and Sylvia Thompson Burton smacked homers of their own as VG tallied 17 runs in two innings to end the contest. In all, 11 Devils dented the plate as Villa Grove advanced.
Cage Eagles
Amijah Riggleman slammed a pair of doubles and drove in two runs to lead the Blue Devils to an 11-5 win over Paris Crestwood on Saturday, September 14. Anna Craig doubled and drove in a run, and Quinn Lillard, Areigha Hauversburk, and Riayn Cisna scored two runs each for VGJH. On the hill, Maggi Clodfelder went the distance allowing 5 runs (3 earned) while fanning 8 and issuing 8 free passes. With the win, Villa Grove advances to the IESA regional final at Champaign’s St Thomas More High School, where they’ll face Champaign St. Mathews.
Clawed by Tigers
Payton Cravens went 1-2 with a homer and a pair of RBI’s but it wasn’t enough as VGJH dropped a 14-6 decision to Westville on September 11. Reece Vandeventer and Matthew Wilson each scored a pair of runs. Cooper Leith took the loss, giving up 9 runs.
Trash Titans
Payton Cravens went 4-4 with a pair of RBI’s and 3 runs scored to lead Villa Grove to a 12-0 win over Tri County on September 12. Cooper Leith, Graham Hudson and Jake Jensen each tallied two runs in the win. Cravens was stellar on the mound, allowing just 2 hits while fanning 14 to earn the victory.
Junior High
Cross Country
Reece Vandeventer cruised to a 20th place finish to lead VGJH to 9th place at the Shelbyville Trail Invite on September 14. Miles Swigart was just behind, finishing in 22nd. Jameson Arthur, a 5th grader, ran 61st, Cooper Leith finished in 68th, and Jonathan Mitsdarfer came in 70th.
5th grader Tatum Faust paced the girls’ squad, finishing 78th. Julie Swigart ran 99th, Gabriella Esteban-Rafael finished in 108th, Mary Shaw came in 110th, and Teaghan Henderson ran 112th for the Blue Devils.