High School Sports
Miners, Lady Miners both fall in title games in County Tournament
Eli Fox passes around his defender.
In front of a standing room only crowd, Gillespie was the obvious fan favorite during Saturday’s title matchups. But the decorated orange and black crowd witnessed the undesirable after Gillespie’s boys and girls basketball teams fell to their opponents in the annual Macoupin County Tournament finishing with second and fourth place respected.
Gillespie was the obvious fan favorite during Saturday’s title matchups
Miners 51, Southwestern 62
Piasa did a successful job shutting down the Price brothers who finished the game with a combined 19 points and each awarded to the All-Tournament Team. Gillespie’s Quentin Zenner carried the team and led all scorers Saturday evening with 15 points while Jacob Alepra added 10.
After trailing the Birds 12-17 after the first quarter, the Miners outscored Piasa 15-13 in the second quarter to cut the halftime deficit to 27-30 after Zenner’s two point basket with 59 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Zenner opened the second half with a field goal to put the Miners behind 29-30 with 7:30 left to play in the quarter.
Gillespie’s Quentin Zenner carried the team and led all scorers with 15 points while Jacob Alepra added 10
Paige Neimeyer takes advantage of an open paint and scores on the jumpshot.
Piasa controlled the momentum in the fourth quarter leading by as many as 13 points toward the end of the game. Gillespie, who trailed by 7 points with a minute left in the game, never stopped fighting throughout the final quarter, but struggled from the foul line. The Miners made just 14 of 24 attempts from the line to record their sixth loss of the season.
Gillespie is now 13-6 on the season with two games scheduled for this week.
Lady Miners 37, Mt. Olive 50
The young Gillespie girls’ basketball team fell to Mt. Olive on Saturday 37-50 in the third place bout after Mt. Olive’s Brianna Henke led the Wildcats with 21 points. The fifth-seeded Lady Miners finished fourth in the Macoupin County Tournament with 1 win and 2 losses after tangling with top-seeded Southwestern, Bunker Hill and Mt. Olive.
Amanda Schmidt, Gillespie’s All-Tournament Team recipient, led the team with 9 points
Paige Niemeyer carried the Lady Miners in the third stanza scoring 6 of her 8 points in the quarter as Gillespie outscored Mt. Olive 19-11 to bring the game within three points at the start of the fourth quarter, 33-36.
But Gillespie could not complete the comeback in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Miners combined for just four points in the fourth quarter leading to the 37-50 loss. Amanda Schmidt, Gillespie’s All-Tournament Team recipient, led the team with 9 points against Mt. Olive with Niemeyer and Barber posting 8 points each.
The Lady Miners returned to action on Monday, but dropped a 46-55 battle against Nokomis. Bailey Jarman led Gillespie with 18 points and Schmidt added 10. The Lady Miners are 5-17 on the season with one game remaining on the schedule this week when the team travels to Greenville on Thursday.
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The Gillespie High School baseball team had six players receive South Central Conference accolades, conference officials announced on Monday. The Miners had three named to the first team, two to the second team, and two to the third team.
Named to the first team included seniors Bryce Buhs as pitcher, Tristen Wargo as infielder, and Jesse Berry as outfielder. Wargo was also named to the conference’s second team as pitcher alongside sophomore Collin Griffith. Senior Jaydon Baker and junior Jack Kaylor were named to the third team as designated hitter/utility and outfielder, respectively.
Rounding out the conference’s first team included Nathan Matoush of Hillsboro in two places as pitcher and infielder; Marcus Payne, Rocky Darr and Hunter Newell of Southwestern; Carson Satthoff, Mathew Bywater, and Jake Gasperson of Litchfield; Aiden Hatalla of North Mac; Benjamin Hutchinson of Greenville; and Kale Konrad of Vandalia.
Joining Wargo and Griffith on the conference’s second team is Adam Hale, Colin LeMarr and Ryan Lowis of Southwestern; Carter Legendre and Dillon Pritchett of Staunton; Ethan Saathoff of Litchfield; Rowdy Sussenbach and Cohen Alstat of Greenville; Quinn Morrow of North Mac; and Andrew Kelly of Vandalia.
Third team honorees include Drake Curry, Cohen Alstat, Dominic Sanchez, and Hudson Alstat of Greenville; Carson Saathoff and Tate Dobrinich of Litchfield; Cade McCready and Collin Etter of North Mac; Ryan Karbach, Parker Moore, and Madyx Angel of Pana; Marcus Payne of Southwestern; Ayden Jones of Vandalia; and Noah Convery of Carlinville.
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Eight players from the Gillespie Miners softball team were selected to the South Central Conference All-Conference teams, conference officials announced on Monday.
Being honored on the first team from Gillespie included senior Emma Gipson, juniors Delaney Taylor and Macie Wright, and sophomores Ava Parish and Paxton Reid. Senior Wrigley Releford and sophomore Sadie Sholtis were named to the conference’s second team while freshman Laci Shuckenbrock was named to the third team.
Other first-team honorees from around the conference include Carlinville’s Hallie Gibson and Isabella Tiburzi; Staunton’s Ele Feldmann, Taylor Nolan, and Lilly Troeckler; and Alexis Bowman of North Mac.
Joining Releford and Sholtis on the second team include Taylor Keirs and Ines Oprtigosa of North Mac; Gianna Bianco of Staunton; Abby McDonald of Southwestern; Braley Wiser and Hannah Gibson of Carlinville; Zoee Englert and Haylee Clark of Greenville; Brianna Mathis of Pana; Aubrey Evans of Hillsboro; and Madison Lupton of Vandalia.
Rounding out the third team are Joey Laker and Kennedy Bowker of Pana; EmmaLeigh Wilfong and Emma Bingham of Greenville; Addison Ruyle and Olivia Kunz of Carlinville; Vivian Zurheide and Ella Kadell of Southwestern; Korryn Keehner, Kylie Lucykow, and Sam Anderson of Staunton; Elise Walch of Litchfield; Karleigh Prose of North Mac; and Peyton Chappelear of Hillsboro.
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In an emotional rollercoaster of a sectional final, Gillespie’s season came to a bittersweet end with a nail-biting 2-3 defeat at the hands of Newton this past Saturday, May 25.
Newton swooped in with a late-game rally, clinching the win over Gillespie. Tensions were high all game long. Newton made an explosive statement right out of the gates when Sally Mahaffey blasted a solo home run to right field. Gillespie’s response was swift, with a double from Emma Gipson in the bottom of the first to tie the game at one apiece.
The scoreboard remained unchanged as both teams dug in until the sixth inning, when Sadie Sholtis’ single sent a runner home, pushing Gillespie into the lead. A hit off the bat of Audrie Reich allowed Newton to tie the game up 2–2. Newton clinched the lead in the top of the eighth and held off Gillespie with three straight outs in the bottom of the eighth, taking the win.
Emma Gipson led Gillespie in the hit column, going 2 for 4 with one RBI. Sholtis went 1 for 2 at the plate with one run, one RBI, and two walks pocketed. Lauren Bertagnolli went 1 for 3 with one run plated. Wrigley Releford and Laci Shuckenbrock both had a hit in their efforts.
While this may not be the end that Gillespie hoped for, they still had a phenomenal season. Gillespie’s season record is a testament to their grit and tenacity ending 29-5 on the season. The Miners have three seniors departing the team including Lauren Bertagnolli, Emma Gipson, and Wrigley Releford.
