Published on October 12, 2026 10:37 am
Last Updated on October 12, 2026 10:37 am
Effingham Junior High School competed Saturday at the IESA Cross Country Sectionals at Taylorville.
“Today was a great day,” said EJHS Coach Nancy Ervin. “Maybe it didn’t end exactly how some had hoped, but we had so many PRs today. And honestly, that’s all you can really ask for —finishing the season with a PR and knowing you gave it everything you had.
“The girls finished ninth out of 15 complete teams while the boys finished eighth out of 13 complete teams. (17 total teams at Sectionals)
“A huge congratulations to eighth-grader C. Jolly. He dropped an incredible 41 seconds off his PR to finish 10th overall. His time was a fast 11:26. We are so proud of him and cannot wait to see what he does at State.
“There were 24 personal records today. For the boys it was C. Stewart-Wear, C. Althoff , K. Duncan, M. Ervin, I. Hagenseiker, H. White, D. Wyckoff, C. Devall, E. Gordon, H. Rosen, B. Zumbahlen, S. Glover and C. Jolly.
“For the girls it was E. Brown, K. Kellems, Q. Bloemker, S. Johnson, O. Wiedman, A. Hoelscher, K. Jones, P. Massey, A. Smith, H. Westjohn and I. Schwerman
“What an awesome day for our runners. Every second matters, every bit of improvement counts, and we couldn’t be prouder of this team.
“Congratulations to our runners of the meet: Girls Top 7: K. Jones crushed her PR by 1:09 and finished second for the team.
“In the girls Open: H. Westjohn beat her PR by 46 seconds and P. Massey beat her PR by 42 seconds. In the boys Top 7, E. Gordon beat his PR by 22 seconds and finished second for the team
“In the boys Open, B. Zumbahlen beat his PR by 32 seconds and finished fourth overall, we believe and M. Ervin crushed his PR by an incredible 1:13.
“We want to give a huge thank you to our eighth-graders for three exceptional years of EJHS cross country! You have all made incredible strides, shown tremendous improvement, and grown so much throughout your careers. It has been such a joy to watch you push yourselves, support your teammates, and become the runners you are today.
“We are going to miss you all of you so much. But this isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning of a new chapter. We can’t wait to see you out there running for the Hearts.
“What a way to finish the season. We are so proud of every single one of you. Keep chasing those goals, keep believing in yourselves, and keep running with the Hearts next year.”
Other area teams competed at Dacey Trail at Forest Park, Christian County Fairgrounds and at Chrisman High School.
Those qualifying at sectionals will advance to the State Meets Saturday with Class 1A beginning at 8:30 a.m., Class 2A at 10:05 a.m., Class 3A at 11:35 a.m. and Class 4A at 1:05 p.m.
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Class 3A Sectional G at Christian County Fairgrounds
BOYS
Effingham — 10. Caydon Jolly, 11:26; 46. Eli Gordon, 12:15.8; 52. Dawson Wyckoff, 12:38.9; 54. Cole Althoff, 12:44.2; 63. Carson Ddevall, 12:56.9; 72. Harvey Rosen, 13:15.1; 74. Sebastian Glover, 13:17.6
Jasper County — 23. Derek Anderson, 11:45.5; 42. Holden Benefiel, 12:08.9; 44. Deagan Ginder, 12:11.9; 45. Ian Niemeyer, 12:15.6; 47. Aaron Michels, 12:17.6; 53. Daniel Uebinger, 12:42.9; 57. Logan Vogt, 12:46.7
Class 2A Sectional 5 at Dacey Trail at Forest Park
GIRLS
Team Scores — Sullivan 39, Shelbyville Moulton 89, Effingham St. Anthony 104, Maryville Christian 129, Staunton 156, Windsor 175, Cumberland 189, Teutopolis 193, Gillespie 200, West Salem 234, Casey-Westfield 252, Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 320
Effingham — 32. Arya Smith, 13:14.8; 54. Kennedy Jones, 13:56.8; 56. Kaylene Kellams, 13:58.4; 61. Audrey Hoelscher, 14:18.3; 70. Izzy Schwerman, 14:42.1; 75. Maddie Ingram, 15:01.4; 76. Baylee Bierman, 15:03.9
Jasper County — 29. Sara Michels, 13:08.9; 36. Alayna Harston, 13:22.9; 46. Brooklyn Shull, 13:35.1; 51. Lola Radke, 13:51.1; 60. Bailey Holsapple, 14:17.1; 68. Harper Brooks, 14:38.3
Class 2A Sectional G at Dacey Trail at Forest Park
St. Anthony — 5. Maeve Niebrugge, 13:08.0; 22. Morgan Kabbes, 14:00.3; 23. Madelynn Yockey, 14:02.1; 25. Anna Mae Scheidenmantel, 14:10.9; 29. Elizabeth Fearday, 14:16.0; 85. Emily Mattson, 22:31.9
Teutopolis — 6. Monroe Hemmen, 13:13.9; 16. Stella Weber, 13:49.6; 50. June Tegeler, 15:13.6; 52. Luellen Donsbach, 15:18.6; 71. Abigail Meyer, 17:46.1; 75. Kallie Meyer, 18:30.0; 80. Leslie Westendorf, 19:06.0
Windsor — Emily Hille, 13:45.9; 32. Naomi Pruemer, 14:23.8; 38. Anna Pruemer, 14:35.1; 62. Caroline Kaufman, 16:16.8
Cumberland — 17. Charlee Roedl, 13:53.2; 27. Eden Fitch, 14:15.3; 41. Elizabeth Sudkamp, 14:38.3; 49. Marley Bierman, 15:03.9; 55. Cheney Dittamore, 15:31.5; 58. River Brummer, 15:56.5; 61. Fae Holsapple, 16;11.2;
Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City — 47. Scarlett Flores, 15:00.9; 67. Aubree Towler, 17:18.1; 69. Elli Wheeler, 17:22.5; 70. Lizzie Nelson, 17:44.1; 74. Ashlyn Knight, 18:27.5; 76. Lydia Nohren, 18:37.4; 84. Lorelei Maxedon, 22:26.9
Altamont Lutheran — 66. Meredith Probst, 17:11.2; 82. Annelise Gentry, 20:27.6; 83. Emerson Caraway, 21:31.9
BOYS
Team Scores — Shelbyville Moulton 61, Altamont Lutheran 63, Sullivan 67, Maryville Christian 76, Teutopolis 126, Illiopolis Sangamon 127, Effingham St. Anthony 231, Staunton 246, Cumberland 260, Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 303, West Salem 320, Casey-Westfield 330, Gillespie 350
Altamont Lutheran –– 7. Weston Nelson, 11:30.0; 9. Easton Caraway, 11:38.1; 13. Griffin Kroening, 11:42.0; 15. Graham Murray, 11:44.9; 24. Atticus Osteen, 12:08.1; 33. Gentry Sefton, 12:32.9; 34. Cooper Wendling, 12:33.1
Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City — 45. Rhett Richards, 13:21.0; 79. Ezekial Bowlin, 16:11.7; 80. Kaden Tucker, 16:15.8; 83. Jordan Stalnaker, 16:39.6; 85. Lincoln Nohren, 17:05.8
Cumberland — 31. Adam Flessner, 12:19.2; 51. Maverick Clapp, 14:08.2; 51. Maverick Clapp, 14:08.2; 55. Tucker Kemper, 14:20.7; 66. Murphy Wellbaum, 14:49.1; 71. Graham Braden, 15:04.9; 72. Gracy Cash, 15:11.4
Effingham St. Anthony — 36. Rhett Douthit, 12:45.7; 46. Russell Mammoser, 13:22.3; 47. Logan Huebner, 13:23.1; 53. Evan Pape, 14:15.7; 46. Russell Mammoser, 13:22.3; 47. Logan Huebner, 13:23.1; 58. Evan Pape, 14:15.7; 59. Abel Wilson, 14:36.9; 78. Karter Overbeck, 16:01.8
Teutopolis — 6. Santiago Brummer, 11:22.5; 16. Dominic Mette, 11:46.6; 27. Gage Wernsing, 12:10.2; 39. Robert Niemerg, 13:01.6; 44. Noah Runde, 13:14.8; 54. Shane Breer, 14:18.7; 69. Lane Beckman, 14:59.9
Windsor — 4. Jaiden King, 11:13.8; 58. Corbyn Reel, 14:36.7; 65. Jackson Tabbert, 14:48.3
Class 1A Sectional at Chrisman High School
BOYS
Team Scores — Chrisman Scottland 54, Sigel St. Michael 66, Villa Grove 69, Homer Heritage 114, Mattoon St. John’s 124, Oblong 140, Dieterich 157, Rossville-Alvin 185, Potomac 239, Hutsonville 247, Findlay Okaw Valley 288
Sigel St. Michael — 7. Simon Miller, 12:20.1; 11. Will Dasenbrock, 12:36.3; 20. Harvey McWhorter, 13:04.6; 22. Jack Sudkamp, 13:06.3; 25. Benny Niemerg, 13:14.8; 28. Kevin Kreke, 13:26.7; 51. Evan Altgilbers, 14:30.6
Neoga — 27. Micaiah Coy, 13:30.4; 62. Noah Strobl, 15:06.0; 78. Cameron Strohl, 17:42.4
North Clay — 9. Jazey Keller, 12:29.9
Dieterich — 29. Logan Wright, 13:38.5; 31. Henry Probst, 13:40.9; 32. Nolan Bohnhoff, 13:42.9; 46. Leo Niemerg, 14:13.7; 49. Cody Goeckner, 14:24.0; 55. Dawson Niemerg, 14:39.3; 57. Luke Wohltman, 14:42.1
GIRLS
Team Scores — Sigel St. Michael 24, Mattoon St. John’s 67, Danville Schlarman 94, Rossville-Alvin 102, Chrisman Scottland 103, Potomac 140
Sigel St. Michael –– 2. Nora Schumacher, 13:03.6; 3. Violet Walk, 13;09.9; 5. Vayda Walk, 13:38.5; 8. Madalie Hoene, 14:08.9; 12. Alicia Rivas, 14:42.9; 13. Molli Dasenbrock, 14:46.6; 14. Reece Niebrugge, 14:55.4
Neoga — 4. Nora Hartke, 13:33.5;
Dieterich — 9. Jenna Bohnhoff, 14:21.6; 15. Jenna Ambuehl, 14:58.7; 39. Ella Niemerg, 17:22.1; 55. Layla Baxter, 22:47.8
North Clay — 17. Madi Sparks, 15:12.0
Effingham Sacred Heart — 54. Daisy Rodgers, 21:54.7; 60. Lillian Rodgers, 29:12.1