High School Sports
Four will represent Gillespie in Carlinville Rotary All-Star game
Clockwise: Nick Price, Ally Bires, Tate Wargo and Amanda Schmidt
Four members of the Gillespie High School basketball program will be among the 55 top boys and girls’ basketball seniors from South Central Illinois playing in the 15th Annual Carlinville Rotary Club/Country Financial All-Star Basketball Classic.
Representing Gillespie in the girls’ event are Amanda Schmidt and Ally Bires while Tate Wargo and Nick Price will represent the Miners in the boys’ event. Gillespie will be on the West team in both matches that will be held Sunday, March 19 at Carlinville High School. The girls’ game will start at 4:30 p.m. with a 3-point shootout being held at 4 p.m. while the boys’ game will start at 7:30 p.m. with a boys’ 3-point shootout being held at 7 p.m.
Schmidt will serve as honorary team captain after suffering a torn ACL in her final high school game last month.
A total of 22 high schools will be represented in the event that includes 28 girls and 27 boys. The All-Star Classic is sponsored by Country Financial representatives in Macoupin, Montgomery, Greene and Jersey counties.
GIRLS ALL-STAR GAME
Other players on the girls’ West squad are Olivia Olroyd, Lydia Albertine, Hannah Lair and Grace Zachary of Carlinville; Samantha Burns and Mallory Novack of Southwestern; Emily Struble, Hannah Robinson and Carley Pyatt of Carrollton; Bethany Randall of North Greene; Shea Sullivan of South County; Madelyn Allman of Bunker Hill; and Abby Palen of Roxana. Carlinville’s Darrin DeNeve will coach the West All-Stars.
Players on the girls’ East team are Courtney Kernich, Brianna Henke, Jill Niehaus, Zoe Murphy and Caitlyn Fields of Mt. Olive; Hannah Tomasko of North Mac; Jenna Dudra and Daylee Denton of Pana; Chelby Harden of Pawnee; Taylor Snow of Greenville; Denzelle Moore and Maddie Miller of Hillsboro; and Abby Brockmeyer of the Litchfield/Lincolnwood coop. Bret Tuetken of Hillsboro will coach the East All-Stars.
BOYS ALL-STAR GAME
Other players on boys’ West team with Wargo and Price are Dominic Booth and Layne Newingham of North Greene; Jake Roustio of East Alton-Wood River; Jake Ridenhour of Jersey Community; Adam Walton and Brady Jamieson of Carlinville; Collin Baumgartner of Southwestern; Cole Arnett of the Greenfield/Northwestern coop; Dane Sellars and Chase Williams of Bunker Hill; Zach Golenor of Roxana; and Jeremy Watson of Carrollton. Bunker Hill’s Jay Goltz will coach the West All-Stars.
The East boys’ squad includes Trenton Eckert and Austin Galloway of Pawnee; Ethan Swenson of Mt. Olive; Brady Simpson of Greenville; Nick McMillen, Adam Miller and Kyle Lynch of Pana; Andrew Herpstreith of Nokomis; Aubrey Beard, Tanner Bailey and Connor Berola of Auburn; Seth Foster of the Lincolnwood/Morrisonville coop; and Steven Fenske of Hillsboro. Adam Metzger of Pana will coach the East All-Stars.
Each game will be played in four 10-minute quarters. The Country Financial 3-Point Shootout for the girls will begin at 4 p.m., followed by the girls’ All-Star game at 4:30 p.m. The Country Financial 3-Point Shootout for the boys will be held between games, starting at 6:30 p.m., with the boys’ All-Star game to follow at 7:00 p.m. A Slam Dunk contest will be held at halftime of the boys’ game.
At halftime of each game, the Carlinville Rotary Club will present the “Coach of the Year” awards. An MVP award will also be given following each game.
In the girls’ game last year, the West won 82-50 led by Gillespie’s Bailey Jarman with 17 points and MVP Maddy Greeling of Southwestern scoring 16 points. Kelsey Rhoades of Southwestern won the Country Financial 3-point contest beating Helen Vargo of Litchfield in a shoot-off after both players hit 9 of 15 shots in the opening round.
It was second win in a row for the West All-Stars, but the East still leads the overall series 8-5.
In the boys’ game last year, the East beat the West 122-104 led by MVP Garrett Gillette of Pawnee with 24 points. The boys three-point contest was won by Luke Gillingham of Carrollton, who made 11. Joe Bates of Carlinville became the first Cavalier player to capture the slam-dunk contest with a score of 39.
The victory halted a 4-game winning streak by the West, which still leads the all-time series 10-4.
All proceeds from the day’s events will go to the Carlinville Rotary Club to help with community projects throughout the year. Admission to the Carlinville Rotary All-Star Basketball Classic is $6 with children 6 and under admitted free. The Carlinville Rotary Club will provide concessions with pizza by slice, popcorn, and candy along with Gatorade, soda and bottled water.
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In a decisive finish that underscored his rising dominance in Illinois Class 1A cross country, senior Chaz Oberkfell of Gillespie High School claimed the state title with a time of 14:31.10 at the IHSA State Cross Country Championships held at Detweiller Park on Saturday, November 8.
Finishing just behind Oberkfell, sophomore Evan Knobloch of Toulon (Stark County) crossed the line in 14:46.25, placing second. Rounding out the top five were senior Blake McLeese of Tuscola (14:46.45), senior Luca Bryja of Elgin (Harvest Christian Academy) with 14:48.38, and senior Elijah Teefey of Pleasant Plains at 14:49.02.
This victory marks Oberkfell’s second IHSA Class 1A state championship. He also won the state crown as a junior in 2024 with a time of 14:31.87. In his sophomore year, he finished 21st with a 15:21.43 season-best time.
Looking ahead, Oberkfell is set to compete in the New Balance NXR Midwest Regional Championships on Sunday, November 16, at the LaVerne Gibson Course in Indiana. The meet serves as a critical stepping stone toward the national championships, and Oberkfell will look to carry his state momentum into the regional stage.
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In a nail-biting showdown that will be remembered for years to come, the Gillespie Miners girls basketball team captured the South Central Conference title with a hard-fought 55-52 victory over the Pana Panthers on Thursday night, February 13. This marks Gillespie’s first conference championship since their back-to-back titles in 2001-02, when they shared the honors with Southwestern both finishing with a 9-1 conference record.
The game held at Pana High School was anything but straightforward. After a tumultuous 13-minute delay due to injuries and a technical foul controversy, the Miners rallied their spirits to secure the win. Amari Vickery led the charge with a stellar performance, scoring 21 points, while Mia Brawner added 11, Maggie Heyen contributed 10, Delaney Taylor posted 5, Sadie Sholtis scored 4, and Lainey Edwards and Corrine Fellin each had 2 points.
From the opening tip, it was clear that Pana was not going to roll over easily. The Panthers held leads at the end of the first two quarters, 15-14 and 28-26, showcasing their tenacity. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Pana had edged ahead 44-42, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
However, the game took a chaotic turn in the fourth quarter when a collision between Vickery and teammate Sloane Brawner resulted in both players going down with injuries. Sloane was not able to return the game but Vickery did. The Miners also lost both Delaney Taylor and Sadie Sholtis to fouls and Gillespie was assessed a technical foul under controversial circumstances which tied the game at 49. But Heyen carried the weight through the fourth quarter recording 6 of her 10 points in the final quarter of play.
Despite the setbacks, the Miners displayed remarkable teamwork resilience under the leadership of Nikki and Matt Brawner. With the SCC championship secured and the regular season concluded with a 22-8 overall record and 9-0 conference record, the Miners now shift their focus to the upcoming regional which is being hosted in Gillespie.
Gillespie hosts Alton Marquette on Monday, Feb. 17 for the regional semi-finals after Alton Marquette knocked East-Alton Wood River, 36-29, to face the Miners. The winner advances to the regional championship that will be played on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in Gillespie versus the winner of Staunton/Roxana.
