Tuscola had many highlights in sports
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By Mike Monahan
TUSCOLA – There were many highlights for Tuscola in the 2025-26 school year, including football, boys basketball, boys track and baseball.
Football
The football team, coached by Andy Romine, went 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the Heart of Illinois Conference small school division. The Warriors wins were against Shelbyville (16-14), Tri-Valley (28-27), Clinton (39-0), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (20-14), Central A&M (35-14), Fisher (1-0 forfeit), and LeRoy (38-28). Tuscola won five straight games from the Tri-Valley win through the Fisher forfeit. The Warriors were eliminated in the Class 1A playoffs in the first round by Nokomis (28-19).
Earning all-HOIC small school first team division honors were Dylan Graves, Cooper Lyons, Brayden Weaver, Caiden Russo, Keadan Chenoweth and Evan Vearil.
Golf
In boys golf, coached by James Young, Lance McCall placed in a tie for ninth in the Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin at Turtle Run Golf Club in Danville with an 89. The sophomore to be was 81st in the Timothy Christian at Oak Brook Golf Club with a 96. Evan Englehardt led the Warriors in the CIC by placing eighth overall with an 83.
In girls golf Laine Yantis earned all-CIC honors with a 99, good for fifth place overall. She was the lone golfer for coach Shane Wasilowski and advanced from the regional to the sectional with a 102 at Moweaqua.
Cross country
In girls cross county, coached by Drew Sterkel, Kate Foltz finished fifth in the Class 1A state with a time of 16:30.24 at Peoria’s Detweiller Park. The girls placed third in the CIC as Foltz won with a time of 17:02.33.
Foltz is the only Tuscola girl to place in the state meet. She finished placing 24th, 3rd and now 5th.
In boys cross country, coached by Neal Garrison, the Warriors were second in the CIC meet at Shelbyville’s General Darcy Trial October 14, 2025. Blake McLeese had the top finish for Tuscola by placing second with a time of 15:41.41 while Ky Gardner was eighth with a time of 16:42.70.
McLeese earned third place in the state meet Nov. 8 with a time of 14:46.45. He tied with Jackson Barrett (2024), Robert Hanners (1999 and 1997) for the second best finish at state by a Tuscola boy. In 2015 Eric Ponder had the top finish by placing second.
Boys basketball
The boys, coached by Justin Bozarth, won a Class 1A regional and finished 28-7 overall and 3-2 in the Central Illinois Conference, good for third place.
The Warriors opened the season with 17 consecutive wins as they beat Paxton-Buckley-Loda (56-36), Villa Grove (75-28), Salt Fork (48-13), Okaw Valley (62-37), Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond (72-25), Cornerstone Christian (67-31), Sullivan (69-54), Heritage (72-36), Altamont (64-53), Tri-County (77-37), PBL (51-27), Oakwood (75-49), Clinton (63-36), Monticello (51-43), Casey-Westfield (65-55), Arcola (51-31), and Shelbyville (54-40). After four straight losses the Warriors returned to its winning ways beating Arthur Christian (79-29), St. Joseph-Ogden (54-44), Central A&M (69-44). After a loss Tuscola downed Shelbyville (63-45), Meridian (74-30), Decatur St. Teresa (62-34). They also defeated Neoga (61-24), Central A&M (56-35), Martinsville (75-27), Tri-County (71-56), Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg (62-34 in regional title game) before being eliminated by Altamont (61-58) in the sectional semifinal at Meridian..
Eastern Illinois bound Logan Kurtz, a senior at Tuscola, was a unanimous first team all-Central Illinois Conference boys basketball player.
Girls basketball
The girls, coached by Michael Rosenbaum, finished 9-20 overall and 3-2 in the CIC, good for a second place tie with Shelbyville.
Victories were against ALAH (37-34), Arcola (68-34), Shelbyville (55-39), Warrensburg-Latham (50-42), Tolono Unity (56-38), Central A&M (60-45), Tri-County (45-42), Central A&M (54-53), Argenta-Oreana (50-28). The Lady Warriors reached the Class 1A regional title game before losing to Tri-County (49-46 in overtime).
Reece Davis earned first team all-CIC honors.
Boys track
The Tuscola boys’ track team, coached by Ryan Hornaday, finished in a tie for fourth place in Class 1A with Dixon and won their third straight sectional.
Flenner, a recent graduate of Tuscola, and he was also named the Outstanding Track Performer in the Illinois High School Association Class 1A state track meet Flenner was fourth in the 100 (10.73); second in the 200 (21.35); part of the sixth place 4×100 that ran a time of 42.84 (others were Bradlee Washington, Sawyer Beachy and Clavin Cook) as well as part of the second place 4×800 that finished in a time of 1:28.21 (same four as the 4×100 competed).
Fleener becomes the first Tuscola individual on the boys side to earn four medals since Tyler Carter did it in 2008 in Class A (under the one class system). Carter won the long jump and 110-meter high hurdles, was second in the triple jump and was on the second place 4×200 relay team.
At the IHSA state meet in Charleston In the 3,200 McLeese placed 15th with a time of 10:07.08; the 4×800 team of Hunter Smith, Jonas, Michael Picazo and Gardner placed 31st in state with a time of 8:50.23; Brayden Weaver was eight in the shot put, while Waldrop was 15th with throws of 52-5 ½ and 50-6 respectively. Weaver was 15th in the discus (148-5), while Waldrop was 29th (139-2) at the state meet.
In the CIC meet Flenner won the 100 (10.68), 200 (21.40), and was part of the 4×100 (43.50) and 4×200 (1:34.15). The relay teams consisted of Kale Wilcox, Lawson Kurtz, Bradlee Washington (4×200) and Washington, Sawyer Beachy and Calvin Cook (4×100). The 4×400 team of Kurtz, Beachy, Cook and James Jonas won with a time of 3:39.31. Trey Waldrop won the shot put with a heave of 53-4.
Girls track
The Tuscola girls track and field team, coached by Sterkel, finished third in the CIC meet at Shelbyville.
Foltz, who is headed to the University of Illinois to get an education and to run in cross country and track, finished 12th in the 1,600 with a time of 5:21.82 and was fifth in the 3,200 with a time of 11:01.21. Kail Gilpin tied for 11th in the state in the high jump at 5-1 and Ava Kleiss placed 24th in the long jump at 15-10.
In the CIC Foltz won the 3,200 (11:18.34), while Gilpin won the high jump at 5-3 ¾ and Kleiss won the long jump at 16-8 ¾. Kleiss was also second in the 200 (28.34).
Baseball
The baseball team was coached by Caleb Englehardt and went 18-15 overall and 5-5 in the Central Illinois Conference.
The wins were against Benton (3-2 in eight innings), Ziegler-Royalton (10-0), Urbana (10-0), Villa Grove (9-4), Robinson (3-1 in 10 innings). The five game winning streak came to an end with a 9-3 loss to WSS. The Warriors beat Warrensburg-Latham 5-4, Arthur Christian (10-0), Decatur St. Teresa (12-2), Central A&M (3-1), Altamont (8-7 in 11 innings), Shelbyville (10-3), Heritage (8-1) before their five game winning streak came to an end in a 2-0 setback to Clinton. Tuscola beat Meridian (13-4), Central A&M (7-1), Salt Fork (15-4), Arcola (5-3 in 9 innings), Oakwood (7-2) and Meridian (5-0) before being eliminated by Okaw Valley (3-0) in the Class 1A regional championship.
It was their best season since going 30-3 in 2019 under Adam Carver.
Earning all-CIC honors were Connor Musgrave and Jon Pettry, who will be seniors this fall. Musgrave led the Warriors in batting average at .385. He also led in runs batted in with 36, doubles (11) and home runs (5) along with 12 stolen bases. On the mound he had a 2.24 earned run average. He pitched 34 ⅓ innings and had 41 strikeouts and just 14 walks (team low). He was 4-1.
Pettry hit .322 (third on the team) and he led the Warriors in lowest earned run average at 1.90. He went 6-5 (six wins tied for first) and allowed just 16 earned runs in 59 innings. He had 56 strikeouts.
Softball
The softball team coached by Halle Kerns, went 10-17 overall and 1-8 in the CIC with the wins in the season and conference coming against Maroa-Forsyth (10-6), Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (12-11), Argenta-Oreana (4-3), Arcola (9-4), ALAH (13-12), Decatur St. Teresa (8-4), Clinton (7-0), Hamilton County (5-3), Decatur St. Teresa (12-7) and Argenta-Oreana (4-3) before being eliminated by Meridian (11-1) in the regional semifinal. Meridian made it to the supersectional.
Kenzie Cleland, a unanimous first team all-CIC player, who will be a senior, led the Lady Warriors with a .396 batting average. She also led in doubles (8). She did not make an error in 29 chances. Cleland also led the squad in the pitcher’s circle as she had a 3.66 earned run average with 24 appearances, in a team-leading 105 ⅓ innings. She had 109 strikeouts and just 20 walks.