David Adam, MRN Editor
December 15, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
Read Full Article December 13, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
Read Full Article December 12, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
CANTON, Mo. — Culver-Stockton College celebrated Saturday the return of its 2019-20 women’s basketball team, which qualified for the NAIA national tournament before it was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wildcats coach Janette Burgin wanted to ask a couple of her former players to grab a jersey to stop nationally-ranked Clarke (Iowa) in the…
Read Full Article December 12, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
CANTON, Mo. — The final score read Clarke 67, Culver-Stockton College 64. The fans at Saturday afternoon’s Heart of America Athletic Conference game at Charles Field House, however, were upset with different numbers on the scoreboard. The scoreboard showed the team fouls were 10-2 in favor of Clarke, but that’s only because the scoreboard operator…
Read Full Article December 11, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — A 40-22 lead at halftime wasn’t good enough for Kaci Bailey. “I don’t care what the scoreboard says. I was really mad at half,” the first-year Quincy University women’s basketball coach said. “We were up, but I didn’t care. This is a game where we need to work on us. We need to…
Read Full Article December 11, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — One sequence late in the second half of Friday night’s game summarized the frustration of the Quincy University men’s basketball team. The Hawks trailed by 10 points but had built a little momentum with back-to-back 3-pointers by Silas Crisler. Jamaurie Coakley had the ball in the corner and drove to the basket for…
Read Full Article December 4, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — Take a good look, Quincy Notre Dame fans. The level of play exhibited by the Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin boys basketball team on Friday is likely the standard any Class 2A team in western and central Illinois will need to meet if it hopes to make a deep postseason run. And not just this…
Read Full Article November 28, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — Each time Jake Hoyt darted to the basket, he knew punishment was coming. “That was pretty much the thought process,” he said. “I knew I had to try to score.” Hoyt completed one old-fashioned three-point play in the fourth quarter, then made two more in overtime and finished with a career-high 24 points…
Read Full Article November 28, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — The second verse was the same as the first. Twenty-four hours after using a 17-point run to close the first quarter and take command in a victory over Belleville Althoff, the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team scored 20 consecutive points to close the first quarter on its way to a 51-25 victory…
Read Full Article November 27, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Steinkamp will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QND’s boys basketball game.) Wayne Steinkamp’s story is similar to many people who volunteer at Quincy Notre Dame. He offers to help with whatever needs…
Read Full Article November 27, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — Forty-seven straight points. It doesn’t happen often in football, but we’ve seen teams score seven straight touchdowns before. When was the last time you saw it happen in basketball? After Quincy Notre Dame’s Jake Hoyt and Gateway STEM’s Jaylen Ross traded 3-point baskets in the opening minutes, the Raiders scored the next 45…
Read Full Article November 27, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — Any worries about Blair Eftink’s broken wrist should be alleviated. The junior guard didn’t make any 3-pointers in the first half of Friday night’s game in the Gully Transportation Shootout at the Pit, but she made three in the second half and finished with 23 points in Quincy Notre Dame’s 72-31 victory over…
Read Full Article November 26, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Terwelp will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QND’s boys basketball game.) Joe Terwelp enjoyed one of the greatest careers of any basketball player in QND history, and he also was an accomplished…
Read Full Article November 26, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. The 2003-04 boys basketball team will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QND’s boys basketball game.) When the discussion of the best boys basketball teams in school history is held, the 2003-04 team…
Read Full Article November 24, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Morrell will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QND’s boys basketball game.) It would be difficult to find a pitcher who put up better statistics than Brian Morrell did during his junior and…
Read Full Article November 24, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — When Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne says he hopes junior Abbey Schreacke averages fewer points per game this season, he isn’t crazy. Schreacke, who averaged 25.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.5 steals and 3.4 blocks per game during a shortened sophomore season, has been contacted by and/or offered a…
Read Full Article November 23, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Awerkamp will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QND’s boys basketball game.) Kyle Awerkamp doesn’t have any individual state championships on his resume, but few golfers in Illinois history can say they finished…
Read Full Article November 22, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Moulton Kimm will be inducted on Saturday, Nov. 27 before QND’s boys basketball game.) The Quincy Notre Dame softball program has had many outstanding pitchers, but none of them struck out more hitters than…
Read Full Article November 21, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. The 1985 baseball team will be inducted on Friday, Nov. 26 before QND’s boys basketball game.) The 1985 boys baseball team is one of only three teams in school history to reach the semifinals…
Read Full Article November 21, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Reis will be inducted on Friday, Nov. 26 before QND’s boys basketball game.) When fans of Quincy Notre Dame’s athletic teams get to enjoy the facilities where the games are played, few of them realize…
Read Full Article November 20, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Deters will be inducted on Friday, Nov. 26 before QND’s boys basketball game.) Brian Deters quietly turned in one of the best soccer careers in school history. He had four goals and nine assists and…
Read Full Article November 19, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. The 2010 girls soccer team will be inducted on Friday, Nov. 26 before QND’s boys basketball game.) The 2010 girls soccer team started a run of dominance that hasn’t been matched in the state,…
Read Full Article November 18, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Ridder will be inducted on Friday, Nov. 26 before QND’s boys basketball game.) Excelling in one sport is great. Excelling in two sports is exceptional. Ridder, a 2004 graduate, was a three-time all-sectional selection for…
Read Full Article November 17, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2020 and 2021 classes are being inducted into the Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame together this year. Boltz will be inducted on Friday, Nov. 26 before QND’s boys basketball game.) Dan Boltz was one of the top basketball players for Quincy Notre Dame during the 1950s when the Raiders strung together…
Read Full Article November 13, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
NORMAL, Ill. — When asked during Saturday’s post-match press conference how many times Southeastern volleyball coach Tim Kerr had cried, senior Taylor Wagner said, “Too many to count.” “Counting here? Probably 10 at least,” said Tim’s daughter, Ani. Tim is known for getting choked up about just about anything, ranging from college signings, athletic banquets…
Read Full Article November 13, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
NORMAL, Ill. — The incomplete team with the imperfect defense nearly pulled off the improbable upset. Tiny Augusta Southeastern, vying to become the school with the smallest enrollment to win the Illinois High School Association Class 1A volleyball state championship, stunned No. 1-ranked Champaign St. Thomas More 25-22 to win the first set Saturday morning…
Read Full Article November 13, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
NORMAL, Ill. — Carrie Shaffer couldn’t help herself. Shaffer, a setter on the last Augusta Southeastern team to reach the state volleyball tournament, sent a note to her daughter, Abigail, on Thursday night to offer thoughts about what to expect in Friday morning’s semifinal match. Well, maybe more than a note. “I sent her a…
Read Full Article November 13, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
NORMAL, Ill. — It’s difficult to believe any team that has won 39 of 41 games could be considered an underdog. The Southeastern volleyball team seems to have embraced this unlikely role for two weeks. The Suns’ last four victories have been against teams ranked in the top 10 of the MaxPreps Class 1A state…
Read Full Article November 13, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
NORMAL, Ill. — Christine Stephens got to watch most of her daughter’s volleyball matches this fall, but not in the way most moms do. Arguably the best high school volleyball official in West-Central Illinois, Stephens is in gymnasiums many nights during the fall. When her freshman daughter, Amanda, takes the floor for the Augusta Southeastern…
Read Full Article November 12, 2021 | By David Adam, MRN Editor
NORMAL, Ill. — Springfield Lutheran volleyball coach Katie McCulley knew what was coming. Her team played Southeastern in the finals of the New Berlin Tournament in September, and she saw first-hand what 5-foot-10 freshman Amanda Stephens could do when the Suns won in two sets. So it didn’t surprise McCulley when Stephens dominated Friday morning’s…
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