Today's Sports

EAST PEORIA – Oh, the drama.

For anyone with a rooting interest in Curtis Gordon’s pole vault performance at Saturday’s Illinois Elementary School Association state championships, it was tough to stand still throughout the final four heights.

Battling Parkside’s Ryan Ashenbremer in 3-inch increments in the Class AA finals, the tension rose on every attempt as Gordon and Ashenbremer matched heights up to 12 feet, 9 inches.

For all of the excitement of two Vandalia boys track athletes making the state meet, there was just as much disappointment, as a senior missed qualifying by just a fraction of a second.

Senior Ryan Ambuehl qualified in two events and sophomore Ben Strobel qualified in one for this weekend’s Illinois High School Association state track championships on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

In the 800-meter run, senior Wade Cowger placed third, and his time was just six-hundreths of a second over the automatic state-qualifying time.

MACON – Senior Shaunna Rainey got one last home run trot, but otherwise, there wasn’t much excitement for Ramsey in its final game of the season.

The Lady Rams held an early 2-2 tie, but the sectional semifinal game slipped out of hand in the top of the fourth when Cumberland added eight runs on the way a 13-3 win in six innings at Meridian High School.

ST. ELMO – Mulberry Grove was outlasted by Altamont in a 12-inning regional championship game last Friday, losing 4-3 on a bloop single in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Deidre Ledbetter’s flare to left was the third straight single of the 12th, and easily brought in the winning run at the St. Elmo Regional, ending a hard-fought game that saw both teams bring a tremendous amount of effort.