School Sports
Vandal golfers set for SCC Championships
The golf season is winding down, and the Vandals will head to Springfield next Monday for the South Central Conference Championships.
Playing at The Rail Golf Course, starting at 9:30 a.m., Vandalia (7-12-1) will seek to meet its preseason goal of finishing in the top three.
The Vandals have struggled of late, failing score less than 190 in six of the last seven nine-hole events, and will be extended to an 18-hole event on Monday.
Read MorePHOTOS: Old Capitol Classic Begins
The annual Old Capitol Classic junior high girls basketball tournament opened on Tuesday. Vandalia's seventh-graders went 2-0, and will play for the title on Friday, while the eighth-graders went 0-2 and willl play for fifth place on Friday.
Read MoreThe Next Level: Graduate athlete roundup (Sept. 26)
Many athletes who spent their high school years in Fayette County have moved on to play for college or professional teams. Below are the athletes who recently made headlines.
Ryan Ambuehl • Freshman • Football • Belleville-Lindenwood
•Sept. 21 – Ambuehl, a Vandalia graduate, recorded a tackle assist during a 49-29 win against Kentucky Wesleyan.
Read MoreSports Roundup – Sept. 24, 2013
At the Egyptian-Illini Conference Tournament, No. 4 Ramsey defeated No. 5 Mulberry Grove, 6-3, on Monday afternoon. The event continues on Tuesday at Vandalia Mutual Field, with Ramsey taking on top-seeded Patoka at 4:15 p.m., and No. 2 Brownstown/St. Elmo facing No. 3 Beecher City/Cowden-Herrick at 7 p.m.
For Vandalia, the tennis team lost, 5-4, at Greenville, and the golf team placed third at Hillsboro, shooting a 193.
The South Central volleyball team lost to Stew-Stras, 25-19, 20-25, 21-25.
Read MoreSports Roundup – Sept. 23, 2013
It was a busy weekend for area sports teams.
The Vandalia football team fell to Roxana, 49-36, on Friday night.
The Vandalia volleyball team finished second in its own tournament on Saturday, with a 3-1 record. The Lady Vandals went 1-2 at the Hillsboro Freshman Tournament.
South Central's volleyball team finished sixth at the event, with a 1-3 record.
The Vandalia soccer team fell to Roxana, 5-0, on Saturday.
The St. Elmo/Brownstown volleyball team went 2-3 at the Flora Invitational.
Read MoreLady Vandals place second at Vandalia Tournament
VANDALIA – The Lady Vandals finished second at their own volleyball tournament on Saturday, falling to Greenville in the title game for the only loss of the day.
That 23-25, 16-25 loss sets up a preview of what is to come on Oct. 3, when Greenville comes to town for the annual Volley for a Cure game.
In winning Pool A of the tournament, Vandalia defeated South Central, 24-26, 26-24, 15-11, East Alton-Wood River, 25-25, 25-10, and Lebanon, 25-8, 25-13.
More information about the tournament will be published in the Sept. 26 edition of The Leader-Union.
Read MoreVandals pile on points, but still fall to Roxana
VANDALIA – The Vandals had three times as many points as in any of the first three games, but for the fourth time in four games allowed more than 40 in a 49-36 loss to Roxana on Friday.
Vandalia (0-4) failed to stop Roxana (1-3) on all but one third down in the game, allowing the Shells to post a season-high number of points.
The offense, however, looked sharp, as several running backs ran effectively, and Collin Nestleroad racked up plenty of yards in the passing game, connecting on several plays of more than 30 yards.
Read MoreSports Roundup – Sept. 20, 2013
The Vandalia volleyball team picked up a win against Hillsboro, taking the South Central Conference match, 25-23, 25-18.
The Vandal soccer team picked up its second draw of the season, tying Christ Our Rock Lutheran, 2-2.
Patoka volleyball was a 25-21, 22-25, 26-24 winner against CORL.
South Central volleyball earned its first National Trail Conference win of the season, with a 25-17, 25-13 win at Dieterich.
St. Elmo/Brownstown volleyball took a loss to Stew-Stras, 17-25, 20-25.
Read MoreVandals look to break winless streak vs. Roxana
VANDALIA – There is guaranteed to be one less winless team in the South Central Conference after Friday night.
The Vandals are sure hoping it’s them.
Both Vandalia and Roxana come in Friday’s night homecoming game without a victory on the young season, and the Vandals finally have most of their players healthy for the first time this season.
But just because the Shells don’t have a victory doesn’t mean that the Vandals won’t have a tough challenge.
Read MoreVandalia Tournament is on Saturday
The Vandalia volleyball tournament will close out its second decade of existence on Saturday.
The 20th annual event will began at 8 a.m., with pool play at Vandalia High School and Vandalia Junior High, and two teams from Fayette County will be in action.
Vandalia – the defending champions – and South Central – last season’s runner-up – each have new-look teams and will be playing in Pool A at the high school.
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