Abramson, Pletcher, Sims and McGrath headed to IHSA State Competition, Soccer sets record, Essien pitches shutout
By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
Mahomet-Seymour will be represented at the girls’ track and field state meet, which starts for Class 2A competitors on Friday in Charleston, by four individuals.
The Bulldogs had two qualifiers in both the pole vault and the 3,200 meters in a sectional meet held on Thursday at Unity High School, in Tolono.
Freshman Cece Abramson and junior Mara Pletcher advanced in the pole vault. They finished third and fourth, respectively.
Abramson cleared 10 feet, 7 inches. Pletcher made 10-1. They each met the pre-determined qualification standard.
In the 3,200 meters, freshman Elizabeth Sims was fourth and senior Brisa McGrath was seventh. They both bettered the pre-set standard for automatic qualification as only the top two finishers in an event are guaranteed of state-meet berths.
Sims’ time was 11 minutes, 35.65 seconds. McGrath was timed in 11:40.68.
M-S placed eighth in the 15-school event with 28 points.
The meet champion was Monticello – coached by M-S graduate Cully Welter – with 96 points.
The Sages have won five consecutive sectional crowns in girls’ track and field.
The Bulldogs had five other individual top nine finishers as well as all four relays scoring among the top nine.
Chloe Allen was third in the 800 meters (2 minutes, 29.99 seconds), Lakeida Nichols was fourth in the 100-meter dash (12.79 seconds), Sims was fifth in the 1,600 meters (5:34.68), McGrath was seventh in the 1,600 meters (5:36.65) and Hailee McCall-Ochs was ninth in the shot put (32-1 ½).
The 3,200-meter relay was fifth (10:49.74), the 1,600-meter relay was seventh (4:31.34), the 800-meter relay was eighth (1:53.94) and the 400-meter relay was ninth (52.77 seconds).
The 3,200 runners were Klein Powell, Emily Bednar, Gretchen Scheele and Allen.
The 1,600 foursome consisted of Amaya Francom, Madi Balbach, Scheele and Allen.
The 800 unit featured Francom, Destiny Pryor, Sylvia Byron and Ireland Walsh.
The 400 relay included Francom, Pryor, Byron and Nichols.
McGrath, Nichols and Gracie Rutz were the seniors on this year’s team.
Soccer
Cayla Koerner, Grace Lietz and Lauren Schnepper all scored two goals on Thursday as the Bulldogs set a season record for shutouts, registering their 16th in a 7-0 triumph over Normal University High.
The first Bulldog goal was scored by Mackenzie Moore.
Nyah Biegler had two assists. Koerner and Schnepper each had one assist as did teammates Ainsley Jessup and Maddison Wade.
Goalkeeper Grace Larson had her second straight five-save game.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs completed their home schedule with a record-setting 2-1 triumph over Morton.
The victory enabled the Bulldogs (22-1) to set a single-season record for wins with their 13th consecutive victory.
Biegler and Koerner had the goals against Morton. Brea Benson had the team’s lone assist.
Larson collected three saves.
M-S returns to action on Tuesday against Danville in a 7 p.m. Class 2A regional game at Urbana.
Entering the postseason, M-S has outscored its 23 opponents by a combined 128-7 margin.
Nine squad members have scored at least five goals, led by Maddison Wade (25), Koerner (24) and Benson (17). Wade has a team-high 23 assists, followed by Koerner (18) and Lester (17).
Softball
The Bulldogs celebrated Senior Night on Thursday by winning their third consecutive game, 5-2 over visiting Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley.
Aubrie Shore pitched a five-hitter. She walked three and struck out 10.
Ashley Wheeler had two hits and two runs batted in.
Seniors Sam Tamburo and Allison Nofziger each had a hit and stole a base. Tamburo had one RBI.
The third M-S senior is Madison Maring.
Julia McNaught scored two runs.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs and Charleston traded wins by the 10-run rule. The visiting Trojans won the opener 14-4 before M-S rebounded for a 17-5 victory in Game 2.
Tamburo was the only Bulldog with hits in both games. She had two RBI in each game and finished the doubleheader 3-for-5 from the plate.
In the second game, Wheeler was 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Shore was 2-for-2 with a double and a homer and six runs batted in. She scored four runs.
Carlee Scott also had two hits in the second game. Ashlyn Webb scored three runs.
Abigail Akers earned the win. She relieved Karley Yergler after one inning and didn’t allow an earned run in her three-inning stint. Shore worked two scoreless innings to finish off the six-inning conquest.
The Bulldogs scored three runs in the third inning to overcome a 5-3 deficit and take the lead for good.
The Bulldogs (16-9) return to action on Friday at Danville.
Baseball
Kobe Essien pitched a seven-inning no-hitter on Friday at home, walking four batters and striking out eight in a 4-0 conquest of Tri-Valley.
The shutout was the team’s fifth of the season. Essien is the fourth squad member to be the winning pitcher in a shutout.
Jordan Veldman, who drove in two runs, and Dawson Finch belted doubles.
The other M-S hits were by Kyle Kinney, Jon Latham, Jack McHale and Nate McFall.
On Saturday, C.J. McKinney and Rick Bohlen teamed up for a 3-1 Apollo Conference conquest at Charleston. McKinney struck out four in 3 2/3 innings. Bohlen fanned two in 3 1/3 innings.
Veldman led the offense with two hits and scored two runs. Jake Anderson scored one run. Kyle Kinney drove in one run.
Anderson and Veldman each stole two bases.
In their last seven games, the Bulldogs are 5-1-1 and have held five of those opponents to no more than two runs.
The Bulldogs (15-6-2) return to action today at home against Normal Community.
