Scott Allen Among Four To Be Honored With The IHSA Distinguished Media Service Award In 2025-26

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is proud to announce its 11th class of recipients of the IHSA Distinguished Media Service Award.

The 2025-26 honorees encompass three active media members, which includes venerable Chicagoland newspaper writer Rick Armstrong, Rockford television staple Scott Leber, and a man celebrating his 50th season calling downstate Mt. Carmel High School football on the radio, Scott McCallen. Additionally, the long-time voice of preps sports in Canton, Leon Groover, is being honored in the retiree category, as he put a bow on his nearly five decades in radio back in 2020. 

The IHSA Distinguished Media Service Award was created to recognize media members who have covered high school sports and activities in Illinois for a significant period of time, while maintaining perspective on the amateur events they report on. See past winners by clicking here.

“Congratulations to each of these gentlemen on this well-deserved honor,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “Their contributions to high school sports in Illinois, and to their communities, is immeasurable. We know they are beloved figures within the areas and communities they provide coverage and look forward to having a special moment to honor each during the 2025-26 school year.”

IHSA member school personnel and veteran media members in the state are eligible to nominate individuals for the award. Beginning in 2024, the IHSA is seeking to honor at least one retired media member as a part of what is traditionally a class of four honorees.

“The IHSA Distinguished Media Service Award is only 11 years old, so we recognize that there are many deserving individuals who were retired by the time it came into existence,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Matt Troha. “We wanted to start the process of trying to recognize at least one of those individuals each year.”

The IHSA’s media advisory committee, and a select committee of veteran media members in the state vote on the nominees. Each winner will be honored at a high school event of their choosing during the 2025-26 school year.

“A vital element of this award is the recognition within the community,” said Troha. “We look forward to seeing this year’s winners being recognized in front of the students, coaches, and communities they have impacted with their exceptional work.”

A bio on each of the honorees is below:

SCOTT MCCALLEN
A native of Peoria, Scott McCallen (known by his radio name Scott Allen) graduated from Richwoods High School, where he was a three-year letterwinner in swimming. As a senior, he helped guide Richwoods to a second-place finish at the 1972 state meet, the best result ever for a downstate program at the time, which later earned he and his teammates induction into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame. 

Scott went on to attend Eastern Illinois University, initially planning to pursue a medical career like his father. However, after attending a Radio Club meeting during his freshman year, he quickly realized his true calling was broadcasting. By his sophomore year, he was already behind the mic calling EIU games.

Scott’s professional career spanned more than four decades and included stops at WEIC in Charleston, WYER and WYNG in Mt. Carmel, and WSJD in Evansville, Indiana. Along the way, he became synonymous with Mt. Carmel Golden Aces athletics, first calling games in 1979 and continuing through his retirement in 2021. Despite “retiring”, he remains on the mic for Golden Aces football games, with the 2025 season marking his 50th calling Mt. Carmel football.

For Scott, the true reward was always in serving small-town communities. He cherished being the voice that braved snowy winter nights for away games, then returned home to deliver scores and stories to listeners by sunrise. Some of his most memorable calls include Mt. Carmel’s 1981 Class 3A football playoff comeback at Nashville, 2013’s infamous 71-70 shootout with Greenville, and the Golden Aces’ return to the state basketball championship game in 2017—a special thrill in a return to his hometown of Peoria.

Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame in 2009, Scott continues to give back in retirement. He maintains the Little Illini Conference website, announces select events and championship games, and remains active with his church, where he volunteers regularly. Scott says his life has always been about his passions: broadcasting, community, and service.

Award Presentation: On Friday, September 26 during pre-game of the Mt. Carmel varsity football game at approximately 6:50 PM.

RICK ARMSTRONG
Rick is a graduate of Sycamore High School where he lettered in golf, played a year of basketball, and participated in band, jazz band, chorus, and the student newspaper. During his junior year, Rick found his calling when the school began offering a new journalism class that included work on the school newspaper. After high school, he attended Northern Illinois University and began freelancing for local weekly papers before graduating into full-time reporting.

Rick’s career has spanned nearly five decades and several Illinois newsrooms. He got his start at the Hoopeston Chronicle-Herald in 1976, then joined the DeKalb Daily Chronicle, where he worked in multiple roles, including sports editor, until 1985. From there, he spent 14 years at the Joliet Herald-News before arriving at the Aurora Beacon-News in 1999, where he continues to cover high school sports. Through the years, Rick has told the stories of countless athletes, coaches, and teams, from state champions to Olympians.

Among the highlights of his career are covering Waubonsie Valley’s Morolake Akinosun, who went on to win Olympic gold in 2016, and West Aurora’s Lauren Carlini, a 2024 Olympic silver medalist in volleyball. He also chronicled the careers of prep basketball greats like Flying Illini member Kenny Battle of West Aurora and East Aurora’s Ryan Boatright, who became a co-Mr. Basketball in Illinois and later a national champion at Connecticut. Rick has also been on the sidelines for numerous state title teams across football, basketball, volleyball, and softball, making him a trusted chronicler of Fox Valley athletics.

For Rick, the best part of the job has always been getting to know young athletes and coaches and sharing their stories with the community. Married to his wife Debbie, he is also the proud father of Derek (Erin) Armstrong and grandfather to Clara, Barrett, and Sutton.

Award Presentation: On Friday, January 9 at the West Aurora High School as a part of the West Aurora-East Aurora varsity boys basketball game.

LEON GROOVER
A lifelong native of Canton, Illinois, Leon graduated from Canton High School in 1972. He set the stage for a future in the media during his time as a Little Giant, where he was a team manager and handled stats for the high school athletic teams. Leon went on to attend Lakeland Junior College, where he studied Radio Broadcasting with the intention of becoming a radio DJ. He was later given the opportunity to do radio play-by-play and found his calling there. He went on to serve as the voice of Canton High School athletics for 36 years, covering basketball, football, baseball and softball along the way. He concluded his career at WBYS 1560 AM in Canton on June 19, 2020, after 46 years.

Leon calls his career in radio “very rewarding” and said is favorite part of the job was “promoting the student-athletes’ accomplishments on the field and in the classroom.” He also mentions the positive experiences of interacting with the coaches, student-athletes and their families, as well as the athletic administrators he worked with through the years.

Leon said it was a thrill simply getting to broadcast his hometown sports on the radio, along with the neighboring communities like Cuba, Farmington, Lewistown, Illini Bluffs, North Fulton and South Fulton.  “The local area has been a tremendous supporter of myself and Canton radio,” said Leon.

A few moments that standout from Leon’s career include Canton’s undefeated football season in 2003 and the Little Giants semifinal appearance on the gridiron in 2016. State basketball runs by the Illini Bluffs girls, Farmington boys, and the Lewistown boys and girls programs are also treasured memories. 

A member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) and Canton Sports Halls of Fame, Leon has been supported in his career his mother Myrna, brother Rick, son Christopher, daughter-in-law Cait, and his two grandchildren, Camdyn and Cora. He stays busy in retirement watching his grandkids, dirt track racing, playing fantasy sports, and providing scores of area games on social media.  

Award Presentation: On Friday, December 19 at Canton High School as a part of the Canton-Dunlap varsity boys basketball game.


SCOTT LEBER
Scott is a graduate of South Central High School in Greenwich, Ohio, where he was a standout runner in track and cross country. He set school records in the 3200 meters and in cross country, won conference titles, and was a state final meet qualifier. Scott matriculated to Ashland University after high school, where he majored in Communications/Radio-TV, and also got experience calling games on WLKR Radio in Norwalk, Ohio.

Scott’s professional career began at WHIZ TV/Radio in Zanesville, Ohio, where he worked from 1985–1989 covering sports, production, and even weather. In 1989, he moved to Rockford, Illinois, joining WTVO-TV as a sports reporter and anchor. By 1995, he was promoted to sports director, a role he continues to hold today. Around 2005, he also took on the same position at WQRF FOX 39, simultaneously serving as sports director for both Rockford stations. Over his 36 years in the Rockford market, Scott has become a trusted voice of high school athletics in northern Illinois, as he traverses Rockford and the surrounding communities to cover as many games and tell as many stories as possible.

Scott says his favorite part of the job has always been the coaches and the communities. Having grown up admiring his own high school coaches, he has enjoyed building relationships with Illinois coaching legends such as Mike Lalor, Ric Arand, Jeff Boyer, Sean Considine, Steve Goers, and Joe Murphy to name a few. He also treasures the small-town spirit of northern Illinois, where communities like Byron, Stillman Valley, Lena-Winslow, and Winnebago pack the stands to support their teams.

Through the years, Scott has covered multiple generations of athletes and families, taking pride in spotlighting their accomplishments on and off the field. Away from work, Scott enjoys walks, reading, and spending time with his son, Sam, who lives and works in Milwaukee.

Award Presentation: On Thursday, February 5 at Stillman Valley High School as a part of the Stillman Valley-Byron varsity girls basketball game.

Randall & Rooney Lead MCHS Cross Country At Norris City

The Girls Varsity race was a 2.95 mile course with 18 girls running. The top runner for the Lady Aces was Soph. Zoie Randall coming in 5th place with a time of 25:33.

The Boys Varsity race was the same 2.95 mile course with 26 runners. The top finisher for the Aces was Soph. Wyatt Rooney placing 6th place with a time of 20:49.

On the JH side of things, the Boys and Girls Varsity races were a 2.05 mile course.

In the Girls Varsity it was Ava Alka leading the way placing 2nd overall with a time of 14:18. There were 36 runners in the Girls Varsity race.

On the Boys side it was 8th grader Eli Wilcox leading the way for the Aces placing 7th place out of 42 boys, with a time of 13:29. The Jr. Aces also had 8th grader Ian Emmons landing in the top 10. Ian placed 9th with a time of 14:00.

On the JV side of things the course was 1.2 miles. 

The Boys JV there were 39 runners and it was 6th grader Chase Krajec finishing as the top Jr. Aces runner placing 9th place with a time of 7:54.

In the Girls JV run there were 40 runners in all. 6th grader Chloe Alka finished as the top Lady Ace finishing in 6th place with a time of 8:12. 6th grader Emry Wilcox also placed in the top 10 with a 9th place finish with a time of 8:33.

The JV Lady Aces also brought home some hardware placing 2nd place as a team overall!

On Saturday the Golden Aces XC Team ran at the Olney Invite. The course was ran at OCC and was 3 miles long.

In the Varsity Girls race there were 101 girls in the race. Soph. Zoie Randall was the top finisher for the Lady Aces placing 72nd with a time of 25:34

In the Varsity Boys run there were 162 runners. For the Golden Aces Soph. Wyatt Rooney was the top runner, finishing 103 place. Wyatt's time was 21:11

The Aces XC team runs again Thursday Sept. 25th at Newton.

Lady Aces Win LIC Battle Over Robinson

The Lady Aces hosted Robinson Thursday night. 

The team came out on an early scoring spree. The big jump took the Aces to a dominate 25-13 win. 

The second set the girls did it again, steam rolling to a big 13-0 lead.  Robinson made some adjustment and did cut the score down, but the Aces overtook the Maroons in two sets with the final set score 25-17.  Senior Tenley Davis lead the back row with  6 aces and 9 digs, while Maycee Randall lead the front with 9 kills. 

Stats for the night were Mattie Armstrong 1 kill, 8 assists, 4 digs,  Jayla Johnson 1 ace, 4 kills, 

 4 digs, Maycee Randall, 3 aces, 9 kills, 2 digs, Tenley Davis 6 aces, 9 digs, 2 assists, Lyla Keepes 1 kill, 1 assist, 5 digs, Kyleigh Smith 4 kills, Tensley Dunlap 2 kills, 1 dig, Avery Coston 1 kill, Gabby Schneider 8 assist, 1 dig. 

The JV team had their best start of the season. Communication, serving, receive and attacking were all firing. The Aces won the set 25-13. The second set the Maroons stayed right with the Aces back and forth till the end, but Maroons took it 24-26. I really thought our girls had it when we got a 4 point lead early in the third, and maintained it but a few errors shifted momentum and the Maroons took the set 15-17. There was many long volleys, and it the girls played some good volleyball. It was a progressive loss. 

Player stats Leah Lewis 3 aces, 4 digs, 7 kills, Avery Coston 3 aces, 1 dig, 7 kills, Gracee Haggard, 1 dig, 6 kills, Mylee Farmer 13 digs, 1 assists, Mercedes Dillard 1 ace, 5 digs, Quincy Keepes 4 digs, 20 assists, Journey Loudermilk 1 dig, 1 kill, Ryleigh Gill 2 digs, Leila Sweeney 1 ace, 6 digs, Addison Mobley 1 dig, Josie James 1 kill. 

The Freshman team lost first set 16-25, and the second set  12-25. They didn’t get the win, but they are making some progress.

The Aces will return back to the hilltop Monday with Freshman starting at 5 against Gibson Southern. 


Alka & Wilcox Lead Jr. Aces Cross Country At Salem

From Coach Matt McCarty: The Jr. Aces XC team participated in the Lee Evans meet in Salem on 9/17. There were 5 races in total. 

In the Varsity Girls race, it was a 1.8 mile course with 124 girls running. The top Jr. Lady Ace runner was 8th grader Ava Alka, placing 20th place with a time of 12:30.

The Boys varsity was also a 1.8 mile course with 124 runners as well. In this race it was 8th grader Eli Wilcox coming in as the top runner for the Jr. Aces. Eli placed 11th place with a time of 11:17.

We also had a Boys and Girls JV race as well as an Open race. The length of all 3 of these runs were 1.25 miles.

In the Girls JV race there were 122 runners. 6th grader Chloe Alka was the top runner for the Jr. Lady Aces finishing in 18th place with a time of 9:10.

The Boys JV there were 134 runners. The top Jr. Aces runner was 5th grader Zayne Krup finishing in 41st place. Zayne's time was 8:35.

In the Open run there were 120 runners. The top Mt. Carmel runner to finish was 5th grader Liddy Allender. Liddy finished in 85th place with a time of 11:13

8th Grade Day For Jr. Aces Cross Country

From Coach Matt McCarty:

The Jr. Aces celebrated 8th Grade Day on Friday Sept. 12th. Allendale/St. Mary's and Lawrenceville came and ran in two meets. Each meet was 1.8 miles.

In the Girls race it was 8th grader Ava Alka leading the way and coming in 1st place out of 35 girls with a time of 12:17. The Jr. Lady Aces also placed three more in the top 10! 8th graders Norah Meeks (3rd place),  Arianna Glick (4th place), and 6th grader Chloe Alka (5th place).

In the Boys race there were 17 runners with 8th grader Eli Wilcox finishing 1st place with a time of 12:18. The Mt. Carmel Boys also put eight other boys in the top 10. 8th grader Ian Emmons (2nd place), 7th grader Cade Wilcox (4th place), 5th grader Stryker Pearson (5th place), 7th grader Griffin Schilb (6th place), 6th grader Chase Krajec (7th place), 7th grader Jase Alka (8th place), 5th grader Jacob Pohl (9th place), and 7th grader Max Allender (10th place)

Aces Shine At Marion

From Coach Abbey Carpenter:

Great day for Aces golf, the boys played well on a challenging course. 

We had two players in top 10. Zane Wilcox with a 75 having an eagle on his 2nd hole #13 and Hatcher Kanipe with 76 having 2 birdies.  

Joel Schneider had a great day with a score of 85. 

The Aces placed 4th out of 15 teams. Great start to post season play with the conference tournament on Wednesday Sept 24th. Go Aces. 

Big Senior Day Win For Lady Aces

Mount Carmel Lady Aces Golf

vs Olney, Robinson, Edwards County

West Berwick Golf Club

September 18, 2025

Coach Karin Kelsey

Medalist Miley Kennard

Mount Carmel   140

Miley Kennard 34 (-2)

Elyse Swansonn 35 (-1)

Zeme Moore 35 (-1)

Ava Brumagin 36 

Ella Turner 37

Miranda Kennard 37

Makaya Bolden 41

Lola Meador 42

Sarah Ireland 45

Makenlee Seals 59

Robinson   201

Leah Correll 41

Addie Stewart 51

Natalie Richards 54

Mya Wright 55

Olney  214

Emma Hefferman 51

Mallory Richardson 54

Addalyn runyon 54

Aubrie Weidner 55

Edwards Count  NTS

Carlin St. Ledger  47

From Coach Karin Kelsey:

There are no words to express how much respect and admiration I have for the Lady Aces seniors. Ava, Miley, Zeme and Elyse are every coaches "dream team!" I have had the honor of guiding these girls in their golf journey for the past 4-6 years. It doesn't seem real that they are seniors and will all soon be on a college team making their future coach as proud of them as I am. As good as it is now, I know their best is yet to come. Congratulations to our seniors! But we still have more work to do LIC, Regional, Sectional and State here we come!

Next up for the Lady Aces is the LIC tournament in Olney on Wednesday September 24, 2025. 

Jr. Aces baseball finish the regular season with 8-7 win over Olney

Chase Price drove in the go ahead run scoring Bryden Tougaw in the top of the 7th to give the Jr. Aces the lead. That they would never relinquish.


The Jr. Aces collected 10 hits in the game. Aran Guanipa and Bryden Tougaw led the way with two hits. Tate Buss, Brantley Krup, Wade Duckworth, Ridge Keepes, Chase Price, and Landon Zuber added one hit each in the contest.

Tate Buss took the mound first for the Aces. He allowed four hits and two earned runs in four innings of work, striking out two. Landon Zuber pitched one inning allowing zero earned runs. Aran Guanipa threw two innings of shut out ball in relief. He allowed only one hit, striking out two and walking none.

Next up the Jr. Aces start regional play as the number #1 seed. They will travel to Flora to take on #4 Carmi on Thursday September 25th at 3:00 p.m.

Lady Aces Lose Late To Cisne

The MTC Lady Aces hosted Cisne on Monday night. The Varisty team had a bit of a roller coaster evening. They started out on the low side with Cisne up for much of the first set losing 17-25, but the second set was flipped with the Aces wining 25-20. The third set the Aces came out fired up and we had a 8-0 lead. The Aces made it to 15 first, but it was a 3rd set to 25 this time. Cisne dug in and took the lead a 21, winning 21-25. It was hard for the team to lose a match when they were up by that margin, but the Aces strung together to many errors at the end.  Maycee Randall led with 8 kills. 

Stats for the night were Mattie Armstrong 1 ace, 1 kill, 8 assists, 14 digs,  Jayla Johnson 3 digs, 3

 kills, 10 digs, Maycee Randall, 3 aces, 8 kills, 3 blocks, 2 digs, 3 assists, Tenley Davis 1 ace, 5 digs,  2 assists, Lyla Keepes 6 kills, 4 digs, Kyleigh Smith 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 block. Tensley Dunlap  2 kills, 3 blocks, Avery Coston 2 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks, Gabby Schneider 1 ace, 12 assist, 4 digs.  

The JV team fared well having a very strong serve receive night, and consistent attacking. They won in two sets 25-16, 25-16. They played together as a team the best have this season. 

Player stats Leah Lewis 3 aces, 1 dig, Avery Coston 3 kills, Gracee Haggard, 2 digs, 8 kills, Mylee Farmer 3 digs, Mercedes Dillard 3 digs, 1 ace, Quincy Keepes 1 ace, 22 assists, 1 dig, 2 kills, Journey Loudermilk 2 kills, Riley Gill 4 digs, Leila Sweeney 1 dig,  Addison Mobley 2 kills. 

The Aces will be home again on Thursday facing Robinson another LIC opponent. Freshman game starts at 5 at the grade school, while the high school gym gets new basketball goals. 

Comments by Assistant Coach Bonnie Keepes 

Photo credit Nichole Loudermilk 

JR. LADY ACES WIN WITH AUTHORITY IN 8TH GRADE NIGHT SHOWDOWN WITH GRAYVILLE



Big Third Inning Leads Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces Past Junior Bison

By GameChanger Media

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces scored eight runs in the third inning, which helped them defeat Junior Bison 15-0 on Tuesday. Matalei Greer singled, scoring one run, Harper Warnken drew a walk, scoring one run, Aveah Miller doubled, scoring three runs, Alyvia Toutloff doubled, scoring two runs, and Willow Gayer singled, scoring one run.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces jumped out to the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Addison Carmickle singled, scoring two runs, and a passed ball scored one run.

A single by Harper, and a ground out by Addison helped Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces extend their early lead in the second.

Brylee Patterson stepped in the circle first for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces. The pitcher surrendered two hits and zero runs over three innings, striking out five and walking none. Peyton Hoowell stepped in the circle first for Junior Bison. The hurler allowed 11 hits and 15 runs (12 earned) over two and two-thirds innings, striking out none and walking four.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces piled up 11 hits in the game. Aveah and Harper were a force together in the lineup, as they each collected two hits for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces. Addison drove the middle of the lineup, leading Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces with three runs batted in. The cleanup hitter went 1-for-2 on the day. Addison stole two bases. Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces were sure-handed in the field and didn't commit a single error. Alyvia had the most chances in the field with five.

Adelyn C and Peyton each collected one hit for Junior Bison.

Lady Aces Continue To Dominate

From Coach Karin Kelsey:

Lady Aces hosted Fairfield and Newton today. Mount Carmel 140, Fairfield 203 and Newton only had two girls playing, not enough for a team score.

Miley was tonight'MEDALIST with her 33 (-3) it was great to have a home match after two weeks on the road. We love when all 10 girls play!

Mount Carmel Lady Aces Golf

vs Fairfield, Newton

West Berwick Golf Club

September 16, 2025

Coach Karin Kelsey

Medalist Miley Kennard

Mount Carmel   140

Miley Kennard 33 (-3)

Zeme Moore 35 (-1)

Ava Brumagin 35 (-1)

Elyse Swanson 37

Ella Turner 42

Makaya Bolden 44

Mirand Kennard 45

Lola Meador 49

Sarah Ireland 51

Makenlee Seals 67

Fairfield 203

Amelia Hopfinger 48

Lela Duckworth 50

Eden Duckworth 51

Carly Colclasure 54

Newton NTS

Haley Ochs 43

Peyton Lindley 46


Jr Lady Aces Come Back To Defeat New Hope


What started out as a slow performance by the Jr Lady Aces turned in to an exciting win to knock off the undefeated New Hope Lady Panthers 13-5 on Monday evening.

New Hope jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a few fielding errors and a rough 3 innings at the plate for the Aces before the bats came alive.

The Jr Aces scored 1 run in the 4th on a single by Aveah Miller who scored on a triple from Addi Carmickle.

After a scoreless 5th inning, the Jr Aces started the 6th inning with a quick 2 outs before loading the bases on singles by Alyvia Toutloff and Olivia Wall followed by a walk to Lexi Sisson. Willow Gayer then drove in all 3 runs with a hit to right field.

The inning continued with a single by TaeLynn Wade to left field and a 2-run double to center field by Harper Warnken. Aveah Miller followed next with a single and Warnken scored on Addi Carmickle’s hit to make the score 8-5.

After getting a quick 3 outs, the Aces headed back to the plate, where they had a base hit by Jennah Lewis, Olivia Wall reached on a fielders choice, Lexi Sisson bunted and reached on an error and a fielders choice by Willow Gayer puts 2 runners on when Harper Warnken hit a single and scored those two runs. Addi Carmickle hit a triple to knock home Warnken and make the score 13-5 before going to the bottom of the 7th. After holding the Panthers scoreless in that half-inning, the Jr Lady Aces got the win and improved their record to 14-2.

Harper Warnken earned the win on the mound for the Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces. The starting pitcher gave up eight hits and five runs (four earned) over seven innings, striking out 11 and walking two.

Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces racked up 17 hits in the game. TaeLynn Wade, Aveah Miller and Addison Carmickle each collected three hits, with Harper Warnken and Willow Gayer both getting 2 hits and Alyvia Toutloff, Lexi Sisson, Olivia Wall and Jennah Lewis each having a hit also! Willow Gayer and Harper Warnken both with 4 RBI’s to lead the team.

Next up for Mt Carmel Jr Lady Aces is a game against Junior Bison on Tuesday. This is the Jr Lady Aces 8th Grade Recognition as well. Game time is 4:30 with the recognition taking place prior.


Lady Aces Tennis Compete At Herrin Invitational

Waterloo (H.S.) - 9, Mt. Carmel - 5, Salem - 6, Marion (H.S.) - 5, Herrin (H.S.) - 6, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - 9, Carmi (C.-White County) - 3, Benton - 2,

Singles:
No. 1 - Katya Chyzhyk, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Trinity Carter, Carmi (C.-White County), 10-0 , -, -;
No. 1 - Katya Chyzhyk, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Ellie Weston, Marion (H.S.), 6-2 , 6-0 , -;
No. 1 - Katya Chyzhyk, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Ella Brown, Waterloo (H.S.), 6-1 , 6-2 , -;
No. 1 - Ella Brown, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Trinity Phelps, Benton, 10-0 , -, -;
No. 1 - Ella Brown, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Brooklyn Brandon, Herrin (H.S.), 6-3 , 6-1 , -;
No. 1 - Ellie Weston, Marion (H.S.) def. Kate Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 10-1 , -, -;
No. 1 - Brooklyn Brandon, Herrin (H.S.) def. Katee Sellers, Salem, 10-4 , -, -;
No. 1 - Brooklyn Brandon, Herrin (H.S.) def. Ellie Weston, Marion (H.S.), 10-7 , -, -;
No. 1 - Trinity Carter, Carmi (C.-White County) def. Kate Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 10-5 , -, -;
No. 1 - Katee Sellers, Salem def. Trinity Phelps, Benton, 10-3 , -, -;
No. 1 - Katee Sellers, Salem def. Trinity Carter, Carmi (C.-White County), 10-2 , -, -;
No. 2 - Kara Moore, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Alexandra Hall, Benton, 10-1 , -, -;
No. 2 - Kara Moore, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Abbi Patrick, Salem, 6-0 , 6-0 , -;
No. 2 - Kara Moore, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Lucy Baldwin, Waterloo (H.S.), 6-1 , 6-1 , -;
No. 2 - Lucy Baldwin, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Bayley Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 10-0 , -, -;
No. 2 - Lucy Baldwin, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Madelyn Montgomery, Marion (H.S.), 1-6 , 6-4 , 10-3 ;
No. 2 - Abbi Patrick, Salem def. Peyton Billingsley, Herrin (H.S.), 10-8 , -, -;
No. 2 - Madelyn Montgomery, Marion (H.S.) def. Emily Hollingsworth, Carmi (C.-White County), 10-0 , -, -;
No. 2 - Madelyn Montgomery, Marion (H.S.) def. Abbi Patrick, Salem, 10-1 , -, -;
No. 2 - Peyton Billingsley, Herrin (H.S.) def. Alexandra Hall, Benton, 10-5 , -, -;
No. 2 - Bayley Andrews, Mt. Carmel def. Emily Hollingsworth, Carmi (C.-White County), 10-1 , -, -;
No. 2 - Peyton Billingsley, Herrin (H.S.) def. Bayley Andrews, Mt. Carmel, 10-2 , -, -;
No. 2 - Alexandra Hall, Benton def. Emily Hollingsworth, Carmi (C.-White County), 10-1 , -, -;

Doubles:
No. 1 - Ella Robinson, Salem - Madison Keserauskis, Salem def. Aly Albright, Carmi (C.-White County) - Natalie Goemaat, Carmi (C.-White County), 11-9 , -, -;
No. 1 - Ella Robinson, Salem - Madison Keserauskis, Salem def. Ava Giese, Mt. Carmel - Alivia Peach, Mt. Carmel, 6-3 , 6-7 (6), 10-7 ;
No. 1 - Ella Robinson, Salem - Madison Keserauskis, Salem def. Lily Starek, Waterloo (H.S.) - Ava Hemmer, Waterloo (H.S.), 6-7 (1), 6-4 , 10-4 ;
No. 1 - Lily Starek, Waterloo (H.S.) - Ava Hemmer, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Bailee Todich, Benton - Paris Cantrell, Benton, 10-1 , -, -;
No. 1 - Lily Starek, Waterloo (H.S.) - Ava Hemmer, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Gabriella George, Herrin (H.S.) - Madison Monchino, Herrin (H.S.), 6-1 , 6-4 , -;
No. 1 - Ava Giese, Mt. Carmel - Alivia Peach, Mt. Carmel def. Calli Whiting, Marion (H.S.) - Hope Evans, Marion (H.S.), 10-4 , -, -;
No. 1 - Gabriella George, Herrin (H.S.) - Madison Monchino, Herrin (H.S.) def. Emerson Scherschel, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - Clara Park, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, 10-4 , -, -;
No. 1 - Ava Giese, Mt. Carmel - Alivia Peach, Mt. Carmel def. Gabriella George, Herrin (H.S.) - Madison Monchino, Herrin (H.S.), 10-7 , -, -;
No. 1 - Aly Albright, Carmi (C.-White County) - Natalie Goemaat, Carmi (C.-White County) def. Calli Whiting, Marion (H.S.) - Hope Evans, Marion (H.S.), 10-5 , -, -;
No. 1 - Emerson Scherschel, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - Clara Park, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Bailee Todich, Benton - Paris Cantrell, Benton, 10-7 , -, -;
No. 1 - Aly Albright, Carmi (C.-White County) - Natalie Goemaat, Carmi (C.-White County) def. Emerson Scherschel, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - Clara Park, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, 10-2 , -, -;
No. 1 - Calli Whiting, Marion (H.S.) - Hope Evans, Marion (H.S.) def. Bailee Todich, Benton - Paris Cantrell, Benton, 10-2 , -, -;
No. 2 - Zoey Jones, Waterloo (H.S.) - Marie Starek, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Kinsey Jarrett, Salem - Allie Hustedde, Salem, 10-2 , -, -;
No. 2 - Zoey Jones, Waterloo (H.S.) - Marie Starek, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Katrina Huang, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - Kalli Jones, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, 6-1 , 6-0 , -;
No. 2 - Zoey Jones, Waterloo (H.S.) - Marie Starek, Waterloo (H.S.) def. Hazel Earnest, Mt. Carmel - Madi Riggs, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-1 , -;
No. 2 - Hazel Earnest, Mt. Carmel - Madi Riggs, Mt. Carmel def. Jenna James, Carmi (C.-White County) - Casandra McPherson, Carmi (C.-White County), 10-2 , -, -;
No. 2 - Hazel Earnest, Mt. Carmel - Madi Riggs, Mt. Carmel def. Alexandra Blades, Benton - Isabella Miller, Benton, 6-1 , 6-4 , -;
No. 2 - Alexandra Blades, Benton - Isabella Miller, Benton def. Linlee Beck, Marion (H.S.) - Avery Mann, Marion (H.S.), 11-10 (4), -, -;
No. 2 - Katrina Huang, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - Kalli Jones, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Addi Hert , Herrin (H.S.) - Madison Dickerson, Herrin (H.S.), 10-4 , -, -;
No. 2 - Katrina Huang, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - Kalli Jones, CARTERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL def. Alexandra Blades, Benton - Isabella Miller, Benton, 11-10 (7), -, -;
No. 2 - Linlee Beck, Marion (H.S.) - Avery Mann, Marion (H.S.) def. Jenna James, Carmi (C.-White County) - Casandra McPherson, Carmi (C.-White County), 10-4 , -, -;
No. 2 - Addi Hert , Herrin (H.S.) - Madison Dickerson, Herrin (H.S.) def. Kinsey Jarrett, Salem - Allie Hustedde, Salem, 10-8 , -, -;

Soccer Aces Lose To Harrisburg

From Coach Ed Berberich: The Soccer Aces were back at home Saturday hosting the Harrisburg Bulldogs, a game they would end up losing 7-2 despite putting up a strong fight. The Bulldogs scored first in the 5th minute, but the Aces got the equalizer 14 minutes later when Ty Hipsher slotted a free kick into goal from approximately 35 yards out. Harrisburg would regain the lead 8 minutes later and the half almost ended with the Aces down just 1, but the Bulldogs were able to get their 3rd goal with 30 seconds left in the 1st half to make it 1-3. The Aces then pulled back within 1 goal 5 minutes into the 2nd half when Wyatt Howder scored on an assist from Wyatt Rooney to make it 2-3. Harrisburg secured a little bit of breathing room when they scored in the 52nd minute to put the score at 2-4. That's how the game remained until the Bulldogs scored 3 goals late to finish it off with the 2-7 final score. For the match the Aces took 7 shots on goal, 4 on frame, they had 3 chances created & 4 interceptions. Michael Read had 8 saves in goal. Harrisburg took 18 shots on goal, 10 on frame.

The guys played their best match of the season before starting to wear down midway through the 2nd half. This was a conditioning loss for us, as we were in this game until we ran out of gas in the 2nd. We've had some injuries & sicknesses hit us in the past couple games. The we lost another player for the match in the 1st half, but these things happen & it just drives home how important the summer conditioning program is. When you start losing players for whatever reason then the ones still standing need to be able to play all 80 minutes if need be. Some of the guys can do it but we're not all there yet, so we're still playing ourselves into shape overall. But outside of all that, we coaches were really proud of the way the guys played today. Most of the team is still new to the sport but they're starting to show some development in key areas...now we just need to keep that up while working on our chemistry together. In the past 2 games they bounced back from a poor showing against Robinson last week, and in this game in particular they really started to show some of things we've been working on.  

The Aces will be back on home on Monday evening, hosting Robinson at 4:30 pm.

Lady Aces take down Lady Lions in LIC opener

The Mt. Carmel Lady Aces traveled to Marshall to start off their LIC conference season Thursday night.  The Aces started the first set in a bit of serve receive trouble, but they got on a roll with some aggressive ace serving by Lyla Keepes. They took the lead and never looked back. The team started playing with great momentum winning 25-18.  Maycee Randall, and Jayla Johnson led the team in kills. The second set we got down by 5 quick, but scrappy defense by Mattie Armstrong, aggressive swinging, and a long 10 point serving run sprinkled with aces by Gabby Schneider heavily outmatched the Lions. The Aces took the second set 25-12.

Stats for the night were Mattie Armstrong 1 ace, 7 assists, 9 digs,  Jayla Johnson 3 digs, 6

 kills, 6 digs, Maycee Randall, 1 ace, 4 kills, 1 dig, 3 assists, Tenley Davis 1 ace, 4 digs, 4 assists, Lyla Keepes 4 aces, 3 kills, 5 digs, 1 block, 1 assist, Kyleigh Smith 4 kills, 1 block. Tensley Dunlap  4 kills, 1 block, Avery Coston 2 kills, 2 digs, Gabby Schneider 3 aces, 8 assist, 2 digs.

The JV team struggled with attacking errors the first set losing 21-25. The second set Riley Gill had a huge serving run with 9 in a row. We were up 15  to 8 at one point, but we started playing tight tipping to much, and Marshall kept slowing creeping back up for the win 23-25. 

Player stats Leah Lewis 6 digs, 2 kills, Tensley Dunlap, 3 kills, 1 block, Gabby Schneider 3 digs, 7 assists, Avery Coston 1 ace, 1 dig, 3 kills, 2 blocks, Mylee Farmer 2 digs, Mercedes Dillard 4 digs, 1 ace, Quincy Keepes 2 kills, 5 assists,  Journey Loudermilk 3 kills, Riley Gill 4 digs, Leila Sweeney 2 digs, Addison Mobley 1 dig.

The Lady Aces will be back at the hilltop Monday with JV starting at 6 vs Cisne. 

Comments by Assistant Coach Bonnie Keepes 

Jr. Lady Aces Place Two In Top Ten At Fairfield Cross Country Invitational

The Mt. Carmel Jr. Aces Cross Country team ran at the Fairfield Invitational on Wednesday. 

The first meet was the Girls Varsity run. It was a 1.8 mile course and there were 49 girls in the race.  The Lady Aces placed two in the top 10. 8th grader Ava Alka placed 1st with a time of 13:52 and 8th grader Arianna Glick placed 10th with a time of 15:14.

Next was the Boys Varsity run and it was also a 1.8 mile course. In the boys race there were 54 runners. The top finisher for the boys was 8th grader Eli Wilcox. Eli placed 11th with a time of 13:40.

There were also two JV races. The JV course is 1.3 miles long. 

In the Girls JV run there were 37 runners. The Lady Aces placed two in the top 10. 6th grader Josie Lashbrook placed 7th with a time of 10:55 and 6th grader Emry Wilcox came in 10th place with a time of 11:07

In the Boys JV race there were 52 runners. The top Boy runner for the Jr. Aces was 6th grader Chase Krajec placing 15th with a time of 10:02.

The Jr. Aces next meet is 8th Grade Day at Home, 9/12/25 at MCGS.