Muddy River Sports
March 18, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
ST. LOUIS — Noah Harbin gave the Maryville baseball team a leg up in the Great Lakes Valley Conference title chase by slamming the door on his hometown team. The former Quincy High School right-handed pitcher stranded the tying run at first base in the top of the ninth inning Sunday, striking out Quincy University’s…
Read Full Article March 16, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
KANKAKEE, Ill. — The Western eighth grade girls volleyball team pushed the powerhouse Pontiac St. Mary’s squad further than anyone. Still, St. Mary’s continued its reign. Western rallied for a 28-26 victory in the second set of Saturday’s Illinois Elementary School Association Class 8-1A state championship match, but St. Mary’s finished off back-to-back titles with…
Read Full Article March 16, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The first crosstown showdown of the spring took place 110 miles from the Gem City, but it didn’t lack any down-to-the-last-out drama. With a runner on first base and the Quincy High School baseball team holding a two-run lead in the top of the seventh inning, right-handed reliever Jansen Lawson induced a…
Read Full Article March 15, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The 2024 Illinois spring trout fishing season will open Saturday, April 6, at 58 ponds, lakes and streams throughout the state. An early opportunity at select trout sites — the spring catch-and-release fishing season — will open March 23. No trout may be kept during the catch-and-release period, but anglers can keep…
Read Full Article March 13, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
KINDERHOOK, Ill. — The Western eighth grade girls volleyball team is headed to the Illinois Elementary School Association state tournament. So are the Unity eighth graders. Western won its Class 8-1A sectional championship, beating Concord Triopia 25-12, 25-16 on Tuesday night at Jacksonville Routt High School. Western (19-3) will face Royal Prairieview Odgen (20-3) at…
Read Full Article March 13, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — The Quincy Champions wrestling club is sending a strong contingent of grapplers to the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation state tournament this weekend at the Decatur Civic Center. The Champions club had five wrestlers qualify in the Bantam division and three grapplers advance in the Intermediate division. The Champions club won the team title…
Read Full Article March 12, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
HANNIBAL, Mo. — Four area basketball players were named Player of the Year in their respective districts by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and four coaches received the top district honor as well. The MBCA all-district selections are not based on district tournament performances. They are supposed to be an overview of the entire season…
Read Full Article March 11, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
INA, Ill. — The way the first half of Sunday’s Region 24 championship game went back and forth had John Wood Community College men’s basketball coach Brad Hoyt sensing his team was in a championship dogfight. “It was physical,” Hoyt said. “And it was a game of runs. I expected more of that to happen…
Read Full Article March 11, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
LIBERTY, Mo. — The Quincy University baseball team is back on track. Sunday’s 16-10 victory over William Jewell at Talley Stadium punctuated a series victory in the first weekend of Great Lakes Valley Conference play, gave the Hawks back-to-back series wins and put the 0-7 start on the season-opening trip to Georgia completely in the…
Read Full Article March 10, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
DEKALB, Ill. — Brylin Hill repeated as an Illinois Elementary School Association state wrestling champion and four other Quincy Junior High School wrestlers earned state medals, helping the Comets finish in third place at the Class AA tournament Saturday. Hill, an eighth grader wrestling at 145 pounds, dominated the field. He opened with a 6-0…
Read Full Article March 10, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
INA, Ill. — It isn’t often John Wood Community College men’s basketball coach Brad Hoyt decides to have the Trail Blazers play zone defense. It’s even rarer for them to play that style for an extended period. Saturday was that rare occurrence where it was needed. Trailing by four points at halftime of the Region…
Read Full Article March 10, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The patented second-half comeback was happening yet again. Only this time, it stalled out. The John Wood Community College women’s basketball team trailed top-seeded Parkland 58-39 at the end of the third quarter Saturday in the semifinals of the Region 24 tournament at Lincoln Land Community College. Three minutes later, on the…
Read Full Article March 10, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
HANNIBAL, Mo. — A week before the high school baseball season officially begins, Hannibal hosted a jamboree at the Veterans Field complex with Palmyra and Bowling Green taking part. Photographer Mathew Kirby spent time at the field Saturday and put together this photo gallery:
Read Full Article March 9, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — Nick Moore’s high school career can be summed up best by Al Davis’ catchphrase. Just win baby. The Camp Point Central senior, who was named a Class 1A second-team all-stater by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association this week, will graduate with a three-year winning percentage of .787 as the Panthers’ starting shooting guard…
Read Full Article March 9, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Through the first 12 minutes Friday night, the fourth-seeded Western Illinois University men’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with top-seeded Little Rock in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals. The eight minutes that followed is where the Leathernecks lost their edge. Tied at 21 following Drew Cisse’s layin with 8:20 remaining in the…
Read Full Article March 8, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Chad Boudreau chose not to call a timeout. Ryan Myers made it look like a genius move. A free throw by Tennessee State’s Kinyon Hodges with 17 seconds remaining in regulation Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament tied the game at 59 and gave Western…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — Lauren Miller’s ability to create scoring opportunities for herself and her Central-Southeastern girls basketball teammates elevated her game to that of a first-team all-stater. The 5-foot-10 junior forward was named to the Class 2A all-state first team by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, one of three CSE players to be honored by the…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
MACOMB, Ill. — Had anyone other than Western Illinois University guard Raegan McCowan been named the Ohio Valley Conference’s women’s basketball Freshman of the Year, it would have been a bigger upset than 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson beating top-seeded Purdue in last year’s NCAA Tournament. McCowan won the OVC Freshman of the Week honor 13 times…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
MACOMB, Ill. — Drew Cisse’s impact on the defensive end of the floor for the Western Illinois University men’s basketball team could not be overstated. He altered shots and cleaned the glass as well as anyone. The 6-foot-11, 230-pound senior center was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Macomb boys basketball team learned just how difficult it can be to score against Williamsville’s ultra-aggressive 1-3-1 zone defense Monday night, getting held to 16 points over the final three quarters of a 36-32 loss in the Class 2A Springfield Super-Sectional at the Bank of Springfield Center. Photographer Andrea Ratermann shared…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — Here are the scores from the Illinois boys basketball super-sectionals and the pairing for the state tournament: Class 4A DeKalb Super-Sectional Palatine 55, Gurnee Warren 53 Normal Super-Sectional Normal Community 53, Downers Grove North 29 Chicago Super-Sectional Homewood-Flossmoor 60, Chicago Curie 58 Hoffman Estates Super-Sectional New Trier 65, Glenbard North 41 Friday’s games…
Read Full Article March 4, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Quincy Junior High School wrestling team crowned one individual champion at last Saturday’s Class AA sectional, finished second as a team and is sending six wrestlers to the state tournament. QJHS eighth grader Brylin Hill won the 145-pound weight class, beating Normal Parkside eighth grader Dayson Williams in the title match.…
Read Full Article March 3, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
HANNIBAL, Mo. — Pickleball is not only the fastest-growing sport, it is also a welcoming sport. Newcomers are always encouraged to join, especially during Drop-in Pickleball, which will be offered Tuesday night at the Admiral Coontz Recreation Center from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on March 5, 12, 19 and 26 and on April 9, 16,…
Read Full Article March 2, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
CANTON, Ill. — Ian Case didn’t have to concern himself as much with getting in position to snare an offensive rebound as he did with getting back on defense. There weren’t many shots coming off the rim anyway. “Every shot that went up, I had to put a three up,” said Case, a 6-foot-7 senior…
Read Full Article March 2, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
ABINGDON, Ill. — Size eventually won out, no matter what the Camp Point Central boys basketball team did to negate it. The Panthers neutralized Illini Bluffs’ height advantage — 6-foot-9 Hank Alvey towers above most Class 1A post players — for the better part of the first half Friday night in the Class 1A Abingdon-Avon…
Read Full Article March 2, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — Welcome home. After enduring a seven-game losing streak on its season-opening road trip and falling out of the NCBWA Division II Top 25, the Quincy University baseball team used Friday’s home opener as a fresh start and took advantage of the comfortable confines of QU Stadium. Junior left-handed starter Griffin Kirn threw 6…
Read Full Article March 2, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
CANTON, Ill. — The Macomb boys basketball team went 1 of 12 from 3-point range in suffering a 36-33 loss to Rockridge in the championship game of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. Friday night, in a rematch with the Rockets in the Class 2A Canton Sectional championship game, the Bombers hit every target. Macomb went 9…
Read Full Article March 1, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — For the third consecutive year, Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman earned top-10 honors in multiple writing categories in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing and photography contest. The APSE recognizes the best in sports journalism nationwide through its annual contest with more than 2,000 entries this year. The organization announced the top…
Read Full Article March 1, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
Class 4A Pekin Sectional Championship Quincy High School (31-3) vs. Normal Community (29-5) Where: Dawdy Hawkins Gym, Pekin High School When: 7 p.m. Friday Livestream: Pekin Community High School YouTube page Radio: WGEM 105.1 FM Scouting the Blue Devils: Led by the inside-outside combo of junior forward Keshaun Thomas and junior guard Bradley Longcor III…
Read Full Article March 1, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
Class 2A Canton Sectional Championship Macomb (27-5) vs. Rockridge (24-6) Where: Alice Ingersoll Gym, Canton High School When: 6 p.m. Friday Livestream: Bomber Sports Network Radio: WRMJ 102.3 FM Scouting the Bombers: Coming off the sectional semifinal upset of title favorite Peoria Manual, the Bombers’ biggest challenge will be to not have a letdown. Facing…
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