Coal City Courant

I-8 names All-Conference wrestling team

Published by admin on Tue, 03/12/2019 - 4:05pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    Sixteen area wrestlers have earned All Conference honors in the Interstate Eight Conference.
    Coal City leads the list with 12 wrestlers.
    Alex Friddle, 2A state champion at 132, completed his senior year with a perfect 53-0 record, an individual title and contributed in a second place finish during the state dual team finals.
    Joining him on the team is junior 2A champion at 182, Daniel Jezik, who finished the year 28-0.
    Jezik and Friddle were also named I-8 Wrestlers of The Year.

Lady Warriors advancing to state volleyball finals

Published by admin on Tue, 03/12/2019 - 4:04pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    The Coal City middle school varsity volleyball team (17-2) battled Homer Glen Homer in the Sectional Championship Monday in Chanahon and came up victorious in three hard- fought games, 20-25, 26-24, 25-20.
    The victory advances then to the state finals on Friday.
    They will play Champaign Edison (25-2) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in the class 4A state tournament at the Mt. Zion High School.
CCMS 25, 25
Chanahon 17, 19

Carly Ford second at girls state wrestling

Published by admin on Tue, 03/12/2019 - 4:01pm

    Coal City freshman wrestler Carly Ford placed second during the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) Girls State Championships held Saturday and Sunday in Springfield.
    Ford (132) began her road to the title game with a 54-second pin of Alan B. Shepard’s Amy Erlain.
    That sent Ford into the quarterfinal round with Kewanee’s Tristan Nolan and the Coaler sophomore pinned her in 29-seconds to advance into the semifinal match.

High expectations for record-breaking Coalers

Published by admin on Tue, 03/05/2019 - 5:45pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    The Coal City baseball program welcomes back several key players from the 2018 team that made it to the super sectionals and had a record breaking year.
    Coach Greg Wills is back for his second year at the helm, assisted by Nate Wills, Jerry McDowell, Brett Lardi, Brad Boresi and Larry Shepkowski.
    The Coalers boast a 34-6 (14-2) season where they set a record in wins, captured regional and sectional titles but fell short of a Final Four appearance

Lady Coaler kickers look to have a leg up on the I-8

Published by admin on Tue, 03/05/2019 - 5:42pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    The Coal City soccer team had a solid year in conference and posted a record right at .500 during 2018. This year, they intend to improve upon that finish.
    Head coach Todd Painter is back for another year. He will be assisted by Mike Kostbade.
    Coal City finished 8-8 overall, 6-3 in the conference to rank third and had wins over Peotone and Manteno, two teams who were high ranked teams in the conference.

Top-ranked Coalers knocked off by Indians

Published by admin on Tue, 03/05/2019 - 5:41pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    The Coal City boys basketball team competed in the Class 3A Regional at Sandwich against Sandwich, ending their season in a 63-59 loss.
    “We played a tough game against a physical and defensively-strong Sandwich team,” said CC coach Keith Kiper. “We outscored them in the second but just could not get the bucket to put us over the top.”
    The Coalers trailed 37-26 at the half after giving up just too many points under the board.

Wildcat tracksters back with state qualifiers

Published by admin on Tue, 03/05/2019 - 5:39pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    The Wilmington track team is back with three state qualifers in four different events, two of which made it to state finals.
    The girls team was their strong side last year.
    Eric Dillon is back for his fourth season as the boys varsity coach. Taylor Riccolo will coach the girls.   They will be assisted by Bill Adelmann, Stephanie Stickel, Larry Readman and Angel Formenti.
    Their goals are simple: Continue to develop the program that has mostly young athletes.

I-8 names best in girls basketball

Published by admin on Tue, 02/26/2019 - 5:23pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    The votes are in and eight area girls are looking at basketball All-Conference honors with one having an All-State honorable mention.
    Reed-Custer standouts Antoinette Hill, Kylie Balgemann and Jaden Christian were named to the 2019 Interstate Eight All Conference Team.

Coalers leash the Bulldogs to clinch I-8

Published by admin on Tue, 02/26/2019 - 5:19pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    The Coaler boys basketball program clinched the conference title, getting a 65-62 win over Streator by outscoring the Bulldogs in the second half on Friday.
    The Coalers (17-8, 9-1) were down by two points at the half. The Coalers jumped on the Bulldogs, scoring 23 and letting up 20 to gain the lead over the Bulldogs with one quarter left to play.
    They extended their cushion and sealed their title in the fourth quarter, outscoring Streator, 12-10.

Second best in State ain’t bad

Published by admin on Tue, 02/26/2019 - 5:10pm

by shawn long
staff writer
    A state championship eluded the Coal City wrestling program a ninth time Saturday as the Coalers finished their impressive 2019 season second in the state. Preventing them from the first place trophy was defending champions Washington. The Coalers celebrated some victories against the Panthers but in the end, Washington won the 2A title 45-21.