Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The Quincy Invitational took place Saturday at Flinn Stadium, just as it did in January and last fall in the QHS gym, and last August at Westview Golf Course. Each was a different sport, each with the same name for its event. That’s a travesty that has taken too long to fix. But…
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QUINCY — The manner in which Quincy University athletic director Josh Rabe approaches hiring head coaches is quite simple. Know the person, know the system, know the product. And for the candidates he doesn’t enjoy a previous relationship with, Rabe doubles back to colleagues, former bosses and former players to gain a sense of what…
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QUINCY — Courtney Boyd didn’t recognize the phone number associated with the text message she received at the start of this week or the area code from where it was placed. “I had not put my name in for any position,” said Boyd, coming off her second season as the Quincy University women’s basketball coach…
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FOWLER, Ill. — Ben Dutton tried to swerve past the cracks and crevices that had formed in the tire ruts along the grassy lane leading to the back pasture where he was confident he’d hear turkey gobbling on this clear morning. About halfway to his ultimate destination, Dutton didn’t swerve in time and bounced hard…
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QUINCY — What took place on the backend of each of the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team’s scoring opportunities is what gets remembered. It’s the build-up to those opportunities that Raiders coach Mark Thomas likes to see. The off-the-ball movement of forwards Makayla Patton and Addie Flesch and the control of midfielders Sage Stratton…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team got a taste of what the Class 1A postseason path may look like, and it was no April fool’s joke. The Raiders played Alton Marquette to a scoreless tie Monday night at Advance Physical Therapy Field, finding the Explorers’ defense difficult to generate an attack against…
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QUINCY — A pair of local college baseball standouts earned Player of the Week honors from their respective conferences. Quincy University outfielder Matt Mateo and Culver-Stockton College right-hander Davin Meier picked up weekly accolades from the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Mateo helped the Hawks earn a weekend split…
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QUINCY — Riley Martin continues inching closer to living out every baseball player’s boyhood dream. Dayson Croes and Brock Boynton haven’t given up on their pursuit of that either. And Johnny Ray is doing all he can to keep the dream alive. The minor league and independent league seasons begin this week with four players…
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QUINCY — Roman Harrison is still in the adjustment phase. A back-of-the-bullpen performer since the day he joined the Quincy University baseball program, the junior left-hander made 44 relief appearances before ever being asked to be a starter. “It’s different for sure,” Harrison said. “I’m not really used to it quite yet, so I just…
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WAUKESHA, Wis. — Maddie O’Brien figures she better start saving her dollar bills now. Come August, her Carroll University women’s golf teammates expect her to spend them freely. That’s when the Quincy High School graduate turns 21 years old and can legally partake in one of the game’s unwritten but widely embraced rules. If you…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Dalton Barnes could sympathize with what the Pittsfield community was enduring. In turn, the Saukees empathize with what Barnes and his family were going through. In the wake of the tragic auto accident that took the life of Pittsfield freshman basketball standout Reese Ramsey and hospitalized two of her teammates, Barnes and…
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CANTON, Mo. — Following his team’s Class 2 state championship victory over Canton, Eugene boys basketball coach Brian Wilde suggested Canton senior forward Preston Brewer should be the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 2 Player of the Year. How prohetic. The 6-foot-8 Brewer, who led the Tigers to their state runner-up finish, which was the…
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QUINCY — Standing in the hallway leading from the locker room to the gym in Illini West High School, Sage Stratton experienced a moment that set her up to be a leader, a contributor and arguably one of Quincy Notre Dame’s all-time greats. The Raiders had just beaten Illini West 40-38 in a battle of…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Piper Henry put pressure on her older sister, Grace, to come through in the clutch to make a historic moment complete. The senior delivered. With the Pittsfield softball team on the verge of finishing off its 24-7 victory over Southeastern on Tuesday, Grace Henry came to the plate with one out in…
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QUINCY — Eventually, AJ Stewart was going to be out of position, out of time or out of luck. It’s what Bella Brown, Leah Knudson and the rest of the Quincy High School girls soccer players were banking on. Stewart, the Rock Island junior goalkeeper, made six saves in the first half of Tuesday night’s…
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QUINCY — A new era of summer baseball has a new brand and a new name. The Quincy Doggy Paddlers. Golden Rule Entertainment, the company that owns the Quincy Baseball Club and made the decision to bring Prospect League baseball back to the Gem City, announced the team name and unveiled its logos Friday afternoon.…
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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Everything Ryan Hellenthal experiences this week during the SIU-Edwardsville men’s basketball team’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament is connecting his past to his present and so many of the things that have happened in between. The Cougars, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since becoming an NCAA Division I program in 2008,…
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QUINCY — A trio of Quincy High School boys basketball players received all-state honors from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and led a brigade of nine area players overall to receive plaudits. Quincy senior guard Bradley Longcor III received first-team honors in Class 4A, while Blue Devils senior forward Keshaun Thomas was a third-team selection…
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QUINCY — Three area players earned first-team honors and six others received mention on the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association girls all-state teams. Central-Southeastern senior forward Lauren Miller and Pittsfield freshman guard Reese Ramsey were first-team picks in Class 2A, while Brown County sophomore guard Kenzie Kassing was a first-team selection in Class 1A. Receiving second-team…
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QUINCY — Blair Eftink is taking more than her 3-point prowess across town. A handful of accolades are going with her. The John Wood Community College sophomore guard, who has committed to play at Quincy University next season, recently received All-Region 24 honors and second-team All-Mid-West Athletic Conference plaudits. Eftink, a 5-foot-8 guard who was…
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ALLENDALE, Mich. — The Quincy University women’s basketball team found itself where it wasn’t expected to be Friday night. Still playing. Hawks coach Courtney Boyd wanted her players to take note of that. Their season ended with a 108-72 loss to top-seeded Grand Valley State in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional…
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QUINCY — Jake Wallingford continues to show what he is capable of doing when fully healthy. The 6-foot-9 forward battled injuries his senior season with the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team and his freshman season at John Wood Community, but he played in 26 games this past season and averaged more than 23 minutes…
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QUINCY — A remarkable turnaround in the second year of Courtney Boyd’s tenure as the head coach of the Quincy University women’s basketball program means the Hawks are back on the national stage. After winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship, the Hawks are returning to the NCAA Division II national tournament for the…
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QUINCY — The Quincy University women’s basketball team is making its 11th NCAA Division II national tournament appearance this week and first since the 2015-16 season as it heads to Allendale, Mich., for the Midwest Regional. The eighth-seeded Hawks will face top-seeded Grand Valley State at 4 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals on the Lakers’…
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NORMAL, Ill. — Reality hit Bradley Longcor III all at once as he took a seat on the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s bench. With 19 seconds remaining in regulation Monday night in the Class 4A Normal Super-Sectional at Illinois State University’s CEFCU Arena and the Blue Devils trailing by five points, Longcor fouled…
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QUINCY — The Quincy University men’s basketball team’s roster is getting an overhaul. Since the Hawks’ season ended March 1 with an 89-77 victory over Indianapolis at Pepsi Arena, six players on the 16-man roster have entered the transfer portal. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 750 men’s college basketball players had entered the transfer…
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NORMAL, Ill. — Andy Douglas didn’t remember what he said in the locker room because he didn’t know what to say when he walked in there. Tasked with offering some sense of comfort to his Quincy High School boys basketball team following its 58-50 loss Monday night to Lisle Benet Academy in the Class 4A…
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QUINCY — Each time Kamren Wires stood up to walk, the pain surged through his left foot and ankle, and that cast further doubt on the possibility he’d play anymore this postseason. “The doctors said I was out for three or four weeks, and I believed them,” said the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — After what had been a restless night with little to no sleep, Andy Douglas got the phone call he was expecting. On the other end was Tom Lepper, the voice Douglas needed to hear. This was only 12 hours or so after the Quincy High School boys basketball team had lost 44-43…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — No over-the-counter remedy could help those associated with the Quincy High School boys basketball program overcome the gnawing disappointment which had lingered for the equivalent of a calendar year. This wasn’t heartburn. This was heartache. “We know what it feels like to be one inch away,” said senior point guard Kamren Wires,…
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