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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Former Illini Jordyn Poulter has won two Olympic medals at each of the last two Summer Olympics playing for the United States women’s volleyball team.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Two-time Olympic medalist and former Illinois volleyball standout Jordyn Poulter will be in attendance when the Illini host Maryland at 1 p.m. Sunday at Huff Hall in Champaign.
➜ 2. Voting continues until noon on Thursday at our website for the latest high school Athletes of the Week.
➜ 3. The male finalists are Hudson Ault (Prairie Central football), Parker Baillie (Fisher/Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley soccer), Camden Fairbanks (Unity cross-country) and Dylan Graves (Tuscola football). The female finalists are Emily Decker (Unity cross-country), Anna Houpt (Danville tennis), Mady Melton (Monticello volleyball) and Alayna Plank (Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond volleyball).
Monticello senior Andrew Neef follows through on his tee shot at the seventh hole during the Class 2A Centennial Sectional tournament on Oct. 7 at the University of Illinois Golf Course in Savoy. Neef shot a 74, good enough to advance to the 2A state tournament that begins this Friday at Weibring Golf Club in Normal.
Numbers game: 10
area high school golfers who will tee off on Friday at the IHSA state tournament. On the boys’ side, Reis Claybrooke (Mahomet-Seymour), Easton Friedman (Prairie Central), Andrew Neef (Monticello) and Maddux Quick (Monticello) are in the Class 2A field at Weibring Golf Club in Normal, while Ethan McFarling (Fisher) and Brycen Umstattd (LeRoy) are in the 1A event at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington. On the girls’ front, Shae Ellis (Sullivan), Taylor Page (Hoopeston Area), Macy Printy (Monticello) and Ashley Wells (St. Thomas More) are in the 1A tournament at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur.
A 1924 aerial photo of Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Michigan at Illinois football. Before the 2:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, a rededication ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Friday in Grange Grove, 100 years to the day Red Grange helped the Illini beat Michigan in Memorial Stadium’s dedication game.
➜ 2. Illinois at Indiana women’s soccer. Only three regular-season matches remain for the Illini (6-7-2, 2-5-1 Big Ten) starting at 6 p.m. Thursday against the Hoosiers (6-6-2, 1-6-1) at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.
➜ 3. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at LeRoy football. Two area state-ranked teams with undefeated 7-0 records square off at 7 p.m. Friday at L.A. McKean Field.
St. Thomas More girls’ basketball coach Kenny Hanshew coaching the Sabers during a game in December 2023.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with St. Thomas More girls’ basketball coach Kenny Hanshew, who begins his second season in charge of the Sabers:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is … the Chicago Cubs.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Bobby Knight, Geno Auriemma and Bill Self.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … those who want to win, but don’t want to put the work in to make it happen.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/4IUNT6UU6JCXZDBPZDKZGFW6MY.jpg "Enjoy a luxury holiday shopping experience or family adventure in Oak Brook this season")
