High School Sports
Miners baseball off to rocky start
Rylee Bernot pitches 6 innings against Greenville last week for the Miners.
The Gillespie Miners baseball team (4-5) is off to a rocky start to the season while experiencing challenges within their lineup thus far this season. Despite starting the season without three players in the lineup, the Miners opened their schedule with a pair of victories against Jerseyville and Morrisonville.
The team then slipped losing their next three games before beating Beardstown in the second game of a double header series on March 26 to even their record to 3-3. With every player eligible in the dugout last week, the Miners dropped a pair of games each by a single run, 5-6 against Edwardsville Metro-Eat Lutheran and 4-5 against Greenville.
After beating Calhoun last night 6-4 thanks to a combined performance from Owen Carter (2 hits), Blake Middleton (2 hits) and Rylee Bernot (2 RBIs), Gillespie has four more games on the schedule this week and is hoping to tack a few more wins to their record.
The team travels to Litchfield tonight, is at home against North Mac on Wednesday, then travels to Carlinville on Thursday and Roxana on Friday.
SEASON LEADERS
Eli Fox is leading the team from the plate hitting an even .500 average by recording seven hits in 14 at bats while also recording the second most walks of the team. Of his 14 at bats, Fox has four singles, three doubles and seven RBIs.
Other leaders at the plate are Tate Wargo and Blake Middleton. Wargo is batting .457 from the batter’s box with 16 hits in 35 at bats including 11 singles, four doubles, one triple and five RBIs. Middleton has recorded the only homeruns for the team this season and is also leading the team in RBIs with 13. While batting .406 from the box, he’s recorded eight singles and three doubles in addition to the pair of homeruns.
From the pitcher’s mound, Rylee Bernot (1-2) has thrown the most for Gillespie with 20 innings pitched while supporting a 3.15 earned run average, the lowest of the starting pitchers for Gillespie. Bernot has walked just three batters in his 20 innings pitched and struck out 16 so far.
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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.
