Byron, Oregon, Forreston compete at Columbus Day Invitational
By EARLEEN HINTON ehinton@shawmedia.com
Teams from 38 area high schools, including Oregon, Byron, Forreston, Polo and Winnebago converged on the Shady Oaks Golf Club east of Amboy for the 52nd annual Columbus Day Invitational on Monday, Oct. 13.
Winnebago dominated the girls race with five runners placing in the top 12. Winnebago’s Molly Webb finished first in 17:55.
Byron’s Ashley Potter was 10th and Gracyn Smith was 16th.
Oregon placed sixth with Anya Anaya finishing 26th (20:41), followed by Madeline Rogers (32nd, 21:02), and Jillian Hammer (37th, 21:37). Also running for Oregon were Evelyn Anderson, Christine Ramirez, Mari Rager and Abbie Ludwig.
Runners for Polo-Forreston were Aubrey Herndon (71st), followed by Nevaeh Scheffner, Avalyn Henry and Hayden Harvey.
In the boys race, Byron’s Tim Starwalt took third in 15:15, finishing behind Johnsburg’s Grady Smith (15:05) and Elmwood’s Aiden Faulkner (15:09).
Oregon’s Daniel Gonzalez, running with an injury, was 61st (18:19). Other runners for Oregon were Chayse Rosenbalm, Stephen Delphonse, Mason Surmo and Finningan Ruane.
Polo-Forreston’s Levi Bocker finished 49th (17:59), followed by Noah Genandt 51st (18:01). Other runners for Polo Forreston were Taryn Heather, Eli Weilacher, Casen Grobe and Ivan Reyna.
Oct. 13, at Shady
All 6 Ogle County football teams appear headed for playoffs
It’s looking like all six Ogle County football teams will be in the playoffs. The only question mark is Forreston, which has had the toughest road of all.
In another must-win situation, the Cardinals travel to LeRoy for a nonconference tilt on Saturday. Both teams are 4-3 and are underdogs the following week. With so much on the line, a postseason atmosphere will be prevalent in LeRoy.
Lately, Oregon and Stillman Valley have engaged in a very competitive rivalry and Friday’s game was no exception with the Cardinals taking advantage of missed Hawks opportunities in the fourth quarter.
Ahead 15-13, Oregon failed to convert on fourth down and SV went 88 yards on the next play to go ahead for good, 21-15.
Later in the quarter, the Hawks were driving and fumbled near the red zone. Oregon also was hurt all night by SV’s run game up the middle.
Byron and Dixon continue to put up
VIEWS
Andy Colbert
outrageous numbers against Big Northern Conference foes.
At the rate Landon Knigge was going against Winnebago, he was on target for 1,000 yards gained rushing, something that probably never has been done in the history of football at any level. In the first quarter alone, the Dixon standout had 250 yards on eight carries, along with five touchdowns.
Caden Considine of Byron was equally unstoppable with over 300 yards on the ground against Genoa-Kingston.
Maybe the best mark of all came from Polo and that was the 100th career win by football coach Ted Alston. Ted is one of a whole bunch of all-around good people that I’ve had the pleasure of covering at Polo over the years.
It was an emotional scene at Kaneland, where Rochelle took to the football field for the first time since Dylan Manning’s brain surgery. Although it was Kaneland’s homecoming, the school went out of its way to honor Dylan and the Hub community.
Before the game, both teams knelt in prayer in the middle of the field. The Kaneland dance team had Dylan’s No. 10 painted on their faces and so on.
The week before, fans from Morris, where the injury occurred, drove all the way to Rochelle for a community prayer service. Schools from all over the state have been expressing their support.
All of this outpouring of love is bigger than the game itself, which Rochelle won in a mild upset, 21-20.
Games are fun things we get to do. A community of togetherness is a way of living, which brings true joy, even in times of adversity.
Amateur golfers out there can relate to that one round where everything falls into place — driving, chipping and
putting. It’s rare and one never knows when it will occur, if ever.
Sarah Eckardt of Oregon had one such round and the timing couldn’t have been better. It is her senior year, her dad is the team’s coach and it was at the IHSA tournament.
Never scoring better than 87, she carded a 79 for 18 holes. To finish eight strokes ahead of one’s previous best is unheard of. Compounding matters is pulling it off in the pressure cooker of the state meet, the final day, no less.
The day before, a 90 left her in 58th place. The 79 rocketed her to 29th.
The real star of the county was Byron’s talented Alayna Brandt, who shot 83/77 to place 13th. Brandt still has one more year left to chase that elusive state title, a distinction achieved by Byron’s Elizabeth Curtiss in 2010.
• Andy Colbert is a longtime Ogle County resident with years of experience covering sports and more for multiple area publications.
Earleen Hinton
Byron’s Tim Starwalt sprints to the finish line at the Amboy Columbus Day Cross Country Invitational on Monday,
Oaks Country Club near Amboy. Starwalt finished third.
