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Area Sports

Plenty of area connections for Class 2A runner-up Benton

By Mike Monahan CHAMPAIGN – I attended the last six games of the IHSA state boys’ basketball tournament and went to some of the press conferences as well. The IHSA had a three-year deal with the boys’ state tournament being in Champaign and they are to decide in the next month where it gets to…

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Arcola softball to be strong in the top half of the lineup

By Mike Monahan ARCOLA–Last season Arcola’s softball team finished 15-10-1 its best record since Craig VanDeveer guided the 2013 team to a 15-7 record and the last Class 1A regional championship. The Lady Riders Arcola lost seven seniors, or nearly half of the team of 16 in Reyli Vega, Gracie Wagoner, Makenna Waogner, Makenzie Thomas,…

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Braden Phillips AP, IBCA all-state

By Mike Monahan CRYSTAL LAKE– Arcola junior Braden Philips had quite a week regarding awards as he was first named to the 30-member honorable mention Associated Press Class 1A Honorable Mention team. Phillips was listed as the 27th best player in Class 1A and top seven juniors in Class 1A. The poll is voted on…

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Arcola baseball looking for more

By Mike Monahan ARCOLA –Last season the Arcola baseball team went 14-5 and won a regional championship for the first time since 1984, which was the only other time. The Purple Riders nipped Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg 3-2 at Tuscola for the regional title. Now the boys basketball team had its best season in terms of wins since…

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