Sports

  Two Vandals captured first place at the IHSA Girls Wrestling Regional Tournament at West Frankfort. Sophie Bowers won the championship in the 125-pound class, and Brynn Swyers was the champion of the 140-pound class. 125 Sophie Bowers (20-7) placed 1st and scored 28.5 team points. Champ. Round 1 – Sophie Bowers (Vandalia) 20-7 received…

By Rich Bauer Vandalia wrestlers from several generations joined together last Thursday to celebrate the VCHS program becoming the ninth in state history to accumulate 1,000 wins. The Vandals reached the 1,000-win plateau after the first win in a triangular in which they defeated Litchfield and Highland. The list of programs with 1,000 wins as…

St. Elmo/Brownstown won the 63rd annual St. Elmo Holiday Tournament in convincing fashion, outscoring their opponents by an average of almost 25 points. The Eagles won the title by defeating Windsor/Stew-Stras in the championship game, 73-48, after topping Mulberry Grove, 73-39, in the opening round and Cumberland, 50-36 in the second round. The outcome of…

  Photo by Rich Bauer The all-tournament team at the St. Elmo Holiday Tournament is pictured above. In front, from left to right, are second-team selections: Conner Manhart of Windsor/Stew-Stras; Josiah Maxey of SEB; Collin Maxey of SEB; and Clayton Wojcik of Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City. In back are first-team selections: Jackson Gurgel of WSS (MVP); Nathan…

Photo by Rich Bauer The St. Elmo/Brownstown cheerleaders won the cheerleading competition at the St. Elmo Holiday Tournament. The squad also won the cheer competition at the FNB Community Bank Mulberry Grove Thanksgiving Tournament. The Ramsey cheerleaders placed second at both the SEHT and Mulberry Grove tournament.

With his team down by 10 points at halftime, St. Elmo/Brownstown coach Greg Feezel told his players that the championship game of the FNB Community Bank Mulberry Grove Tournament was not going to end in a loss. Feezel was right, with the Eagles outscoring South Central 12-6 in the third quarter and 16-7 in the…

Andrew Kelly’s stellar season has culminated with him being named an All-Stater. The Vandals’ quarterback was one of 18 players to be named by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association to the organization’s All-State team. Kelly is the eighth player during Jason Clay’s tenure as the Vandals’ head coach to receive all-state recognition. Others…

The 2023-24 Vandalia Lady Vandals recently handed out their postseason awards.      

The Vandalia Vandals football records were updated after the season-ending playoff loss against Shelbyville. The records information has been provided by Hannah and Zach Edgar. These are single season records [playoff totals are included here] TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS by an individual (Passing/Rushing combined) 1. 47 – Andrew Kelly, 2023  (includes 2 playoff games) 2. 41 – Matthew…