Shane Hulsey, Sports Writer
QUINCY — Danielle White feels like she is right where she belongs, but sometimes it doesn’t seem real. “I catch myself like, ‘Is this really happening?’” White said. The former Carthage Middle School volleyball coach took the reins of the Quincy Notre Dame program in March, and from the first day she stepped foot on…
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QUINCY — From her time playing college volleyball, Kate Brown understands the mental battles student-athletes go through. “I was terrible with mental toughness,” Brown said. “I would get so mad at myself. It wasn’t necessarily at my team, it was at me for not doing the things I know how to do.” That personal experience…
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Coverage of the Pleasant Hill football program brought to you by: PLEASANT HILL, Ill. — Numbers are up, and so is Mike Giles’ confidence. The Pleasant Hill/Western veteran football coach expects the Wolves to immerse themselves in the playoff hunt. “You hate to jinx it, but I think we’ll be right up there,” Giles said.…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — Kevin Westhoff has welcomed the change. Primarily a midfielder in his first two seasons with the Hannibal boys soccer program, Westhoff began playing center back for JB Marine, his club team based in St. Louis, last December and is moving to the back line this fall for the Pirates. “It’s a much…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — Physical, tough and disciplined. That is Dalton Hill’s mantra. “We don’t have to beat people based upon talent, but what we are going to do is we are going to be a physical team, we’re going to be a tough team, we’re going to be a disciplined team,” the second-year Palmyra football…
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Coverage of the Illini West football program brought to you by: CARTHAGE, Ill. — The Illini West football program is stuck in the middle, and Chargers coach Jacob Calvin senses the urgency to change that. “These kids are tired of it,” Calvin said. The Chargers head into this season looking to snap a playoff drought…
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AUGUSTA, Ill. — Amanda Stephens’ troublesome knee isn’t giving her trouble any longer. A senior setter and hitter on the Southeastern volleyball team, who has committed to Indiana University-Indianapolis, missed the final 12 matches of her junior season and watched the Suns fall in the Class 1A sectional semifinals all because the pain in her…
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CARTHAGE, Ill. — Four months ago, Sawyer Johnson was finishing up her animal science degree at Iowa State University. Now, she is the head coach of an Illini West volleyball team that won a regional championship and set a school record with 35 victories in 2023. “It’s been a challenging step for sure, but we’re…
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Coverage of the Hannibal football program brought to you by: HANNIBAL, Mo. — No Aneyas Williams, no problem. This is the prevailing attitude within the Hannibal football program. “With Aneyas or without Aneyas, we’re still going to win,” senior running back Mike Ferreira said. As Williams, who rushed for 4,255 yards and racked up 3,249…
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Coverage of the West Hancock football program is brought to you by: HAMILTON, Ill. — A change in scheme yielded substantial offensive improvements for the West Hancock football team in 2023. If the Titans take a similar leap forward in 2024, it will be with a new quarterback who set a school record at wide…
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QUINCY — Jason Knuffman’s confidence in the Quincy Notre Dame girls golf team is at an all-time high. “This is probably the most talented team I’ve coached since I started in 2017,” Knuffman said. “In the last 20 years, this could be as high as we’ve finished.” Those are lofty expectations considering the Raiders have…
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QUINCY — While the Quincy High School girls golf team may not be the favorites to sit atop the Western Big 6 Conference throne, second-year coach Tommy Hosteng wants to at least give the other schools a scare. “I want to challenge everyone else, give them hell,” Hosteng said. Being the underdog is unfamiliar territory…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Ladies first. The motto and message of Western Illinois University’s Women’s Football Night came across loud and clear. “Ladies first. We mean it when we say it,” WIU cornerbacks coach Elven Walker said. Walker was one of several WIU coaches and players who helped run drills at Hanson Field on Friday night…
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CARTHAGE, Ill. — Like millions of other football fans, Roan Jackson anxiously awaited a new college football video game. “I had a PlayStation 3 and I played NCAA Football 14 for the last five years,” Jackson said. “One of my friends had NCAA 14, and that’s how I started playing. I got it for my…
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CANTON, Mo. — As the calendar flips to August, Tom Sallay and the Culver-Stockton football team hope to turn over a new leaf. The Wildcats posted just one win in 2023 — their fewest since 2017 not including the 2020 COVID impacted season — and lost their final seven games by an average of 32…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Sometimes when it feels like all hope is lost, the stars align perfectly. The Pittsfield and Jacksonville football teams can thank their lucky stars having found a Week One game after both schools’ originally scheduled opponents announced they weren’t going to play. “I wasn’t too sure we’d find a game,” Pittsfield coach…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — Jansen Lawson couldn’t possibly do it, too, could he? Yes, he could. And he did. After Quincy High School graduate Brady Lowe hit an inside-the-park grand slam in the top of the first inning of Saturday’s Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star Game at the Veterans Sports Complex, Lawson, also a former Blue Devil,…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — It felt different for Jacob Rich this time around. But at the same time, it all felt familiar. The South Shelby baseball coach took the reins of the Missouri team for Saturday’s 10th annual Missouri vs. Illinois All-Star Game at the Veterans Sports Complex. By doing so, he became the first person…
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QUINCY — Billiards has taken Kelly Fisher all over the world. This week, it has brought her here. Fisher, the No. 1-ranked player by the Women’s Professional Billiards Association, is playing in the America’s Heyball Championships at the Oakley-Lindsay Center, the first tournament of its kind in Quincy. Fisher’s resume is impressive and dynamic —…
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QUINCY — Through all of the chaos playing professional basketball overseas can create, former Quincy University standout Tanner Stuckman has held tight to one mantra. “Nothing is impossible,” said Stuckman, who walked on at QU following his prep career at Quincy Notre Dame and developed into a first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection by his…
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QUINCY — The prospects of bringing summer college baseball back to Quincy in 2025 are growing stronger. Quincy Mayor Mike Troup said since the fall of 2023, he and representatives of Quincy University have been in conversations with an ownership group with ties to the Prospect League’s Springfield Lucky Horseshoes about bringing a team to…
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QUINCY — Quinn Thomas all but had a Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships title wrapped up heading to the final hole on Wednesday. He led by six shots at the time, but his style points put a cherry on top of a lopsided victory. The Hannibal High School graduate chipped in for birdie from just…
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QUINCY — Brady Cross didn’t know exactly how many shots separated him and leader Anson Munzlinger heading to the final hole of the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships on Wednesday. “I had no idea,” Cross said. “I was just trying to play my best golf.” He trailed by one shot, but knew he had a…
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QUINCY — Ty Novosel didn’t flinch when things went awry. “Experience plays a big part in confidence,” Novosel said. “I was able to stay confident and hit some good shots.” That kept the Quincy High School sophomore in contention in the boys 14-15 division of the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships. Novosel, a two-time Little…
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QUINCY — Fresh off a Missouri Class 4 state championship, what more is there for Quinn Thomas to accomplish in 2024? A Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships title would be a welcomed addition to the trophy case. The Hannibal High School graduate leads the boys 16-17 division by one shot over Andrew Kuykendall, of Charleston,…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Service Club has embraced the task of running the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships with gusto. “It’s stressful, but it’s exciting,” tournament director Mark Christensen said. This week’s 51st edition of the junior golf tournament will feature 284 golfers — a signifcant rise in participation from recent years when the field…
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QUINCY — Matt Pugh recalled the conversation he had with his daughter, Baylee, when they learned she had been selected to play in this Saturday’s third annual Muddy River Showcase. “She told me, ‘Dad, I don’t know if I’m good enough to be playing in this game. I don’t ever score,’” Matt Pugh said. His…
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LEWISTOWN, Mo. — Brady Campen couldn’t recall the age he began playing basketball. “My mom got me started really young,” Campen said. Not a bad person to learn from. Campen’s mother — Amber Law Campen — starred at Carthage (Ill.) High School, where she averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals and…
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LEWISTOWN, Mo. — Sometimes an injury can be a blessing in disguise. While he couldn’t play the sports he loved, Brayden Logsdon found his calling in coaching. Logsdon tore his right meniscus as he ran a quarterback keeper up the middle during the Highland football team’s Week 5 game against Macon on September 22, 2023.…
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QUINCY — Lillie Woodworth’s hand has healed, and she’s ready to go. That’s not good news for the Missouri all-stars. Two months after suffering a pair of broken bones in her right hand playing softball, the West Hancock all-state basketball player is back playing in open gyms at her future college home — Lincoln Land…
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