Newman’s Rowzee, fifth in shot, leads 1A state track finalists: Thursday’s Sauk Valley Media Sports Roundup

Girls track and field

Class 1A state meet: Newman Central Catholic senior Kennedy Rowzee is in fifth place in the Class 1A shot put after an attempt of 11.50 meters in Thursday’s preliminaries at the IHSA Girls State Track Meet at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, leading area qualifiers into Saturday’s finals. Erie-Prophetstown’s Kennedy Buck is in sixth place in the shot put with a throw of 11.39 meters, and Forreston’s Sydni Badertscher in seventh with an attempt of 11.26 meters. Badertscher is also eighth in the discus with a throw of 34.05 meters, while Newman’s Ella Ford advanced to the high jump finals, clearing 1.53 meters.

On the track, Newman’s Elaina Allen advanced in the 100 meters (eighth-best time, 12.60 seconds). Riverdale’s Makenna Bode advanced in the 400 (seventh, 59.03), Fulton’s Emery Wherry (seventh, 15.91) and Amboy’s Elly Jones (eighth, 16.16) advanced in the 100 hurdles. Fulton’s 4x100 relay team of Paige Cramer, Brooklyn Thoms, Haley Smither and Miraya Pessman advanced with the fourth-best time of 49.48; Bureau Valley’s team of Connie Gibson, Taylor Neuhalfen, Kate Salisbury and McKinley Canady advancing with the sixth-best time of 50.76; and Forreston’s Elsa Monaco, Bree Schneiderman, Letrese Buisker and Autum Pritchard with the ninth-best time of 51.13. Fulton’s 4x200 relay team of Thoms, Annaka Hackett, Grace Dykstra and Miraya Pessman advanced with the fourth-best time of 1:45.93; Forreston’s Monaco, Schneiderman, Buisker and Pritchard advanced with the seventh-best time of 1:48.68; and Bureau Valley’s Gibson, Neuhalfen, Salisbury and Canady advanced with an eighth-best time of 1:49.03.

Softball

Newman 8, Midland 0: Jessalin Johns threw a four-hitter with 17 strikeouts, and Madison Duhon was 3 for 4 with a homer, double, five RBIs and a run scored for the Lady Comets in a Class 1A Putnam County Regional semifinal. Amiya Rodriguez was 2 for 3 with two runs scored.

Sterling 5, Geneseo 0: Sienna Stingley struck out 10 in a five-hit shutout and went 2 for 4 with a homer, four RBIs and a run scored for the Golden Warriors. Ady Waldschmidt was 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored. Sterling won the outright Western Big 6 title with a 13-1 league record. United Township finished 12-2.

Baseball

Sycamore 2, Dixon 0: Sycamore’s Cal Harbecke tossed a three-hit shutout with five strikeouts, and the host Spartans scored a run in the first inning and one in the sixth for the nonconference win. Dixon’s Bryce Feit struck out five and allowed two runs on five hits over six innings in the loss and had two of the Dukes’ three hits.

DeKalb 13, Sterling 3: The Golden Warriors came up short in a nonconference game.