Published on January 2, 2026 7:56 am
Last Updated on January 2, 2026 9:22 am
Teutopolis won the Effingham/Teutopolis Christmas Classic. Tyler Repking photos
BY MILLIE LANGE
After 32 games, a champion stepped forward at the Effingham/Teutopolis Christmas Classic and it’s one of the local teams.
Teutopolis High School captured the tourney title with a 37-36 win over Tolono Unity Wednesday evening.
Eight games were contested on the final day of the tourney with the last game of the day, the championship contest.
Teutopolis moved into an 8-5 opening quarter lead on Tolono Unity. The Wooden Shoes led 18-13 at halftime.
But here came Tolono Unity with a 14-8 third quarter to move ahead 27-26 going into the final period.
T-town then put together an 11-8 final period to pull out the one-point victory.
Only one player finished in double figures for the Shoes and six scored in the game.
Landyn Thoele connected on eight of 12 from the field for 16 points and also led the team in rebounds with 10. Gavin Addis chipped in with nine boards.
Tolono Unity was led by two players in double figures. Tre Hoggard finished with 12 while Colton Langendorf added 11.
Teutopolis placed two players on the All-Tournament Team and those were Gavin Addis and Landyn Thoele.
Third place went to Lawrenceville over Centennial, 74-70.
Fifth place was claimed by Effingham St. Anthony with a 55-51 tally in overtime against Lutheran North.
The Bulldogs trailed Lutheran North 15-8 after the opening quarter.
But St. Anthony turned that around with a 16-9 second period to tie the score at 24-24 at halftime.
The Bulldogs continued the momentum with a 16-11 third quarter to move ahead 40-35. But here came Lutheran North again, regaining that momentum for a 10-5 final period to knot the score at 45-45.
In the overtime period, the Bulldogs took control and finished with the four-point victory.
Miles Waldhoff led the way in scoring with 12 points on five field goals and two of two at the line. Also in double digits was Jonny Gannaway with 10. Aiden Lauritzen and Keenan Griffith chipped in with nine each and Freddie Jansen added eight.
Lauritzen, Griffith and Gannaway had six rebounds each.
Griffith was named to the All-Tournament Team for the Bulldogs.
Effingham won the 11th place game over Newton, 61-57.
The Eagles moved into a 16-14 opening quarter lead and led 38-27 at halftime.
But the Hearts rallied and moved ahead 48-44 in the third quarter then held on for the victory.
Two players scored 12 points each for the Hearts. Cole Phillips connected on five field goals and two free throws while Jenner Pals hit four field goals and three free throws. He put in one three-pointer. Phillips led the team in rebounds with five.
Newton had three players finish in double figures. Drake Wolf led the way with 17 points on four field goals, three from beyond the arc, and six of six at the line. Hayden Mulvey added 14 and Kody Bergbower 10.
Kody Bergbower was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Seventh place went to Oregon over Belvidere, 66-61.
The consolation championship went to Mattoon over Chicago Brooks, 81-69.
Dixon placed 13th with a 48-36 win over Pleasant Plains. Central A&M was 15th with a 51-48 edge against Charleston.
Others named to the All-Tournament Team besides area players were Tyler Oakley (Charleston), Kyren Evans (Lutheran North), Dominic Alvarado (Belvidere), Elijah Curl (Chicago Brooks), Tyler Haacke (Mattoon), Isaiah Allen (Centennial), Sherrod Clark (Centennial), Jayden Goff (Lawrenceville), Noah Wilson (Lawrenceville), Tyler Henry (Tolono Unity) and Colton Langendorf (Tolono Unity).
Christmas Classic
Championship Game
TEUTOPOLIS (37)
McWhorter 1-1 — 3, Jo. Probst 1-0 — 2, Ja. Probst 2-3 — 8, L. Buening 1-0 — 3, G. Buening 0-0 — 0, Mette 0-0 — 0, Addis 2-0 — 5, L. Thoele 8-0 — 16, Worman 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 15 FG, 4 FT.
TOLONO UNITY (36)
O’Neill 0-0 — 0, Schmid 1-0 — 3, B. Henry 0-1 — 1, T. Henry 3-0 — 6, Hoggard 3-4 — 12, Langendorf 5-1 — 11, Styan 0-0 — 0, Eisenmenger 0-3 — 3. TOTALS 12 FG, 9 FT.
Teutopolis 8 10 8 11 — 37
Tolono Unity 5 8 14 9 — 36
3-point FG — Teutopolis 3 (McWhorter Ja. Probst 1, Addis 1), Tolono Unity 3 (Hoggard 2, Schmid 1).
Fifth Place Game
ST. ANTHONY (55)
Verdeyen 2-0 — 4, Waldhoff 5-2 — 12, Sehy 0-0 — 0, Bierman 1-0 — 3, Lauritzen 4-1 — 9, Jansen 3-2 — 8, Griffith 4-1 — 9, Gannaway 3-4 — 10. TOTALS 22 FG, 10 FT.
LUTHERAN NORTH (51)
Evans 8-7 — 24, Tate 1-1 — 3, Jefferson 0-0 — 0, Bateman 2-2 — 6, Bledsoe 1-1 — 3, Reed 3-0 — 6, Whitfield 4-1 — 9. TOTALS 19 FG, 12 FT.
St. Anthony 8 16 16 5 10 — 55
Lutheran North 15 9 11 10 6 — 51
3-point FG — St. Anthony 1 (Bierman 1), Lutheran North 1 (Evans 1).
11th Place Game
NEWTON (57)
Mulvey 5-0 — 14, Bergbower 3-3 — 10, E. Wolf 1-4 — 7, Mulvey 0-0 — 0, Volk 2-0 — 5, Oldham 2-0 — 4, D. Wolf 4-6 — 17. TOTALS 17 FG, 13 FT.
EFFINGHAM (61)
Fearday 1-1 — 3, Niebrugge 4-1 — 9, Bockhorn 0-5 — 5, Pals 4-3 — 12, Thompson 1-0 — 3, Buzzard 3-2 — 8, Traub 2-0 — 6, Phillips 5-2 — 12, Love 1-1 — 3. TOTALS 21 FG, 15 FT.
Newton 16 22 6 13 — 57
Effingham 14 13 21 13 — 61
3-point FG — Newton 10 (Mulvey 4, D. Wolf 3, Bergbower 1, E. Wolf 1, Volk 1), Effingham 4 (Traub 2, Pals 1, Thompson 1).
Teutopolis High School ‘s, left to right, Gavin Addis and Landyn Thoele.
St. Anthony’s Keenan Griffith.
Newton’s Kody Bergbower