Rivers delivers ‘big shot’ as Alton takes down No. 2-ranked West Alton beats West on Rivers’ 3 at buzzer Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com  Updated  10:44 pm CST, Wednesday, February 20, 2019                             by Taboola ...

Alton’s Westbrook rallies for 28th at state tourney Pete Hayes, phayes@thetelegraph.com  Published  4:37 pm CST, Saturday, February 16, 2019                             Photo: Submitted Photo IMAGE 1 OF 3 Alton bowler Ashley Westbrook finished 28th among individuals Saturday at the IHSA Girls State Bowling Tournament at The Cherry Bowl in Rockford. Alton’s Ashley Westbrook came started strong on Day 2 of the IHSA Girls State Bowling Tournament, but a low score starting the afternoon session was too difficult to overcome. But she rallied and still placed 28th overall out of 72 individual bowlers at The Cherry Bowl in Rockford. Recommended Video   00:06 01:12 “She was really doing well after the morning ession,” Alton bowling team coach Dave Meyer said of Westbrook. “She was 17th and only about 20 pins out of the top 12, which would earn a medal.” Westbrook, a senior, had a strong morning session. It started with her high game for the day, a 246. She followed that with a 217 and a 191. But after the lunch break, Westbrook rolled a 139, which dropped her from 17th place down to 33rd. But she rallied with a 216 and finished with a 181 for a total two-day pinfall of 2,382 and a 198.5 average. “I think somebody must’ve told her wher she was in the stahdings,” Meyer said. “We never discuss it with our bowlers. They really don’t want to know. “If you start thinking too much about that, you try too hard. Your grip on the ball changes and it can be a problem. “But even though she dropped down, she regrouped and moved back up.” Westbrook had advanced to the second day of the two-day tourney by finishing 29th overall Friday and 12th among the individual bowlers not on advancing teams. Saturday, she moved up two spots to 10th among bowler not from advancing teams. “Ashley had a great season and a very exciting last two weeks with the regional and sectional,” Meyer said. “She did a great job and I’m very proud of her.” Meanwhile, Edwardsville senior Sydney Sahuri finsihed 57th overall with 2,241 pins and a 186.8 average Saturday. Her high game was a 235 in the fifth game. Her low game was a 161 in her first of the morning session. Rebecca Haderman of Harlem was the individual state champion with a two-day total of 2,670. Laruen Tomazszewski was second with1,552. O’Fallon won the team state championship, getting past runner-up Machesney Park Harlem. O’Fallon had 2,938 ins Saturday and a two-day total of 12,122. Harlem had 2,899 Saturday and a total of 12,024. Minooka took the third -place trophy with 11,856 pins. “We took a picture of all the Southwestern Conference girls,” Meyer said. “They all advanced to Day 2 at the state tournaemnt, and that is something to be proud of. “Ashley and all the girls did a great job. They were representing not only their schools, but also our conference and the southern part of the state.” These Cars Will Soon Be Worthless – Cars Plummeting In ValueHousediver| ...

Alton’s Clancy, Akal advance to state in two events each; EHS wins team title Pete Hayes, phayes@thetelegraph.com  Updated  6:47 pm CST, Saturday, February 16, 2019                             Photo: Scott Marion | Hearst Illinois Alton’s Noah Clancy heads for the wall on his way to a first-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke at Saturday’s Edwardsville Boys Swim and Dive Sectional Meet at the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center. EDWARDSVILLE — For Alton High swimmers Noah Clancy and Caden Akal, the approach to reaching the IHSA Boys state Swim Meet has been a bit different than last season. But one things remained the same - they had to advance from sectional action before worrying about state. That detail was taken care of in a big way Saturday at the Edwardsville Sectional Meet at the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center. Recommended Video   00:30 01:12 Clancy, a junior, advanced to the state meet by winning the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard breaststroke. Akal, a senior, swam state-qualifying times in the 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle. The IHSA Boys State Swim and Dive Meet is set for Friday and Saturday at New Trier High School in Winnetka. Swimmers at Saturday’s sectional advanced by winning events or swimming state-qualifying standards. “It feels great,” Akal said. “I’m really looking forward to the state meet. I think last year’s experience there will help me get ready for what’s coming. It’s a different kind of meet from any other meet I swim.” Last year, Akal and Clancy, along with now-graduated Cole Akal and Matt Daniel put together a state-qualifying performance unmatched in AHS history by advancing to state in two relays and five individual events. “We approached it a little differently this year,” Clancy said. “Last year, I think we had a little more pressure on us. We still are business-like about it, but I think there’s less pressure.” In the backstroke, Clancy won in a time of 49.57 seconds, beating Mascoutah’s Cole junker, who was second in a state-qualifying time of 50.32. Michael Meyer of O’Fallon was third in a state time of 53.06. In the breaststroke, Clancy’s winning time was 58.18 and runner-up McLain Oertle of Edwardsville had a state time of 59.63. Akal, was one of four state qualifiers in the 50 freestyle. He was third in 21.52 seconds. Carter Nelson of Columbia was first in 21.02, followed by Edwardsville’s Porter LeVasseur in 21.19, Akal and Waterloo Gibault’s Max Kostelac in 21.72. Akal’s state time of 47.28 in the 100 freestyle also came in a third-place finish. Nelson was first in 45.47 and LeVasseur was second in 46.93. “I knew (Nelson and LeVasseur) would be tough to beat,” Akal said. “But I’m happy with my time. I’m glad to swim against fast swimmers like them because it makes you swim harder. “I’d rather have a good time and finish third than win with a slow time.” Clancy and Akal joined a pair of Edwardsville individuals and three Tigers relay teams as state qualifiers. The Tigers’ LeVasseur advanced in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle, while Oertle qualified for state in the 100 breaststroke with a runner-up performance to Clancy. Also qualifying was EHS diver Owen Kaufmann, the lone diver in the competition. He accumulated 391.85 points in his victory. All three Tigers relay teams advanced with first-place performances, including the EHS 200 medley relay team of Matt Doyle, Oertle, Logan Mills and Matt Mendez; the 200 freestyle relay team of Mendez, Mills, Oertle and LeVasseur and the 400 freestyle relay team of Doyle, Noah May, LeVasseur and Oertle. “Most races went as we expected,” Edwardsville coach Christian Rhoten said. “Getting all three relays to state is huge. And we had individuals who did a really good job.” The state meet will be the first for all the Edwardsville swimmers except LeVasseur, who advanced to state in the 100 backstroke last year. “It’s a different kind of meet,” Rhoten said of the state meet. “Looking ahead at it, I think we have a chance to get to a relay team to finals. Also, Porter will be focusing on making it to the finals. And we’ll put the experience in our back pocket and use hopefully be able to draw upon it in the future as well.” As expected, Edwardsville won the team championship easily. Schools from the Springfield area, including last year’s runner-up Chatham Glenwood, were assigned to the Champaign Central Sectional, leaving EHS to beat only three other teams, O’Fallon, Jacksonville and Jacksonville Routt, for the crown. The Tigers won with 278 points, followed by ‘Fallon with 153, Jacksonville 90 and Routt 28. “It’s a lot more working when you’re hosting the sectional,” Rhoten said. “But it’s totally worth it to be in a first-class facility the swimmers are used to.” 6 Key Characteristics of Leading CFOsConcur Resources| ...

PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Hot-shooting Redbirds too much for Tigers Scott Marion, smarion@edwpub.net  Published  10:42 pm CST, Thursday, February 14, 2019   &nb...

BOYS SWIMMING: Ready to make a splash by AdVantage ...

GIRLS SECTIONAL BOWLING: Alton’s Westbrook, Tigers’ Sahuri advance to state Pete Hayes, phayes@thetelegraph.com  Published  7:37 pm CST, Saturday, February 9, 2019...

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SATURDAY’S PREP BOYS ROUNDUP: Alton pulls out Galesburg Shootout win over Rock Island Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com  Updated  12:24 pm CST, Sunday, January 27, 2019                             Photo: Greg Shashack / The Telegraph IMAGE 1 OF 3 Alton’s Donovan Clay (11) rises up in the lane for a shot over Edwardsville defenders during the Redbirds’ Southwestern Conference victory on Tuesday at Alton High in Godfrey. The Redbirds were in Galesburg ... more ...

IHSA STATE BOWLING: State’s top boys bowlers set to descend on St. Clair Bowl Pete Hayes, phayes@thetelegraph.com  Published  4:30 pm CST, Thursday, January 24, 2019 ...