All-Conference Athletes Named

The Golden State Warriors won their fourth NBA championship in eight seasons last Thursday night. The Warriors took down the Boston Celtics in a 103-90 Game 6 road win to take the series 4-2. This year’s championship for the Warriors was the franchise’s seventh overall. Something about the Warriors' title this year seemed more impressive than the last three they have won since 2015. The Warriors have faced many ups and downs over the past three years, including multiple season-ending injuries to star shooting guard Klay Thompson, losing superstar Kevin Durant in free agency, and struggling to be a championship-caliber team for the past few years. Many thought that this adversity in Golden State meant that the Warriors dynasty was slowly coming to an end. This championship proved that the Warriors dynasty is still present and that Steph Curry still has what it takes to lead a team to a title, even at the age of 34 years old. Curry has been the face of the franchise in Golden State for the last decade. Steph had led the Warriors to their three previous championships, but had never won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, until this season’s title. In this year’s NBA Finals, Steph Curry averaged 31.2 points per game, a career high in his six NBA Finals appearances. 

Last week, eight college baseball teams punched their tickets to the 2022 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. This year’s super regional games were very exciting, as quite a few underdogs ended up winning the series and making it into the College World Series. 

Many recent Olympia High School grads are going on to pursue athletics in college. From a class of only 86 students, 5 females and 4 males will be continuing their athletic careers. Most of them will be staying right here in Illinois, with just a few moving over to the bordering states. 

On Tuesday, June 7th, the Los Angeles Angels lost their 12th game in a row, the longest single-season losing streak in the franchise's history. In response to their recent struggles on the field, the Angels' front office decided to fire their manager, Joe Maddon. The Angels will now be managed by their former third base coach Phil Nevin for the remainder of the 2022 season. After the Angeles 1-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, the Angels' general manager, Perry Minasian decided that it was time to move on from Maddon. Minasian told reporters that he went to Maddon’s home on Tuesday to inform him of the decision. Minasian also said that the firing was not something that he thought would have to happen three weeks ago, making it very clear that the ongoing losing streak severely jeopardized Maddon’s job status. Minasian also confirmed that the Angels’ owner Arte Moreno was on board with the decision to move on from Maddon amidst the losing streak. As of Wednesday, 

The 2022 NBA Finals will feature a best of 7 game series between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors. Game 1 of the series took place on Thursday night, but Game 2 will be played this Sunday, June 5th. This series should be a very exciting battle between a Warriors team that has been to the NBA Finals six times in the last eight years and a young Celtics team that is making their first appearance in the NBA Finals since 2010. The Warriors have had their fair share of success in recent years, they will be trying to win their fourth championship since just 2015. On the other hand, the Celtics have had their struggles in the last decade, but have one of the most successful franchises in the history of the NBA. Boston has brought home 17 total NBA Championships and will be looking to add their first one since 2008. 

The sports season for OHS in the 2021-2022 school year concluded on Friday. Friday was the state track & field meet for our boys' team. The boys competed in the prelims on Friday but did not end up making it to the finals on Saturday. The qualifying 3200-meter team consisted of Anthony Ragland, Cooper Phillips, Owen Dare, and Brad Schardan. Owen and Brad wanted to save their energy for the 800 so the alternates, Logan Demling and Caden Clark ran instead. The team ran an 8:42.37 relay. Then, Brad Schardan ran the 800-meters at a personal best time of 2:00.20. Owen Dare was right behind him with a time of 2:00.26. Then, Keagan Uphoff did the 300-meter hurdles and had a time of 44.40. With Keagan being just a sophomore, he has a lot more potential to advance further in the coming years. He is off to a great start and ready for more! 

New York Yankees star right fielder Aaron Judge is off to an incredible start in the 2022 MLB season. So far this year, Judge is batting .314 with a .386 on base percentage and a .692 slugging percentage. Judge comes in at number eight in the league in batting average, number four in the league in runs batted in, and at the top of the league in home runs with 17 total, five more home runs than the next closest player. This incredible production of home runs that we have seen from judge so far this season is due to the fact that he leads the majors in barrel percentage per plate appearance and hard hit percentage. He is also second in the league in average exit velocity, only behind his teammate and fellow Yankee outfielder, Giancarlo Stanton. 

This was regional week for the softball and baseball teams! To begin, the baseball team played Clinton on Monday night, coming away with a 3-2 win. This advanced them to play Pontiac on Thursday. The Spartans were not as good as Pontiac’s baseball team and lost 1-14. Pontiac is now going to the regional championship game on Monday vs Tremont. Olympia High School hosted all these regional baseball games. The high school baseball season has now ended and the boys are ready to play travel ball. The baseball program is grateful for finally having a full season that was very fun and memorable, too!

Last Sunday, May 15, the Cincinnati Reds wrapped up their series in Pittsburg by throwing a no-hitter against the Pirates. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, the Pirates managed to get one run across while holding the Reds' offense to no runs in the game. The Reds became the first team since 2008 to throw a no-hitter and lose the game. Reds’ rookie pitcher Hunter Greene and reliever Art Warren combined to allow zero hits in a complete game. Hunter Greene went seven and a third innings and had nine strikeouts and only three walks before the eight inning, when he walked two batters. Art Warren came in and walked one batter to load the bases. The Pirates then managed to get a groundout to the second baseman that drove in their only run of the day. 

Post-season for Olympia High School athletics is coming into full gear. Just this week Girls Track and Field competed in their IHSA Sectional Meet. Anna Beiber qualified for State at the meet with a time of 2:21.68, just 2 seconds under the state qualifying time. Melissa Bieber just barely missed the qualifying time by .29 seconds with a 47.98 in the 300 hurdles, which is less than a second off the school record. Boys Track and Field will compete in their Sectional this coming week on the 18th.

Central Illinois native Reid Detmers threw the first solo no-hitter of the 2022 MLB season on Tuesday night for the Los Angeles Angeles. Detmers, who was making just his sixth start of his rookie year, helped guide the Angeles to a 12-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Detmers threw a career-high 108 pitches and struck out just two batters while walking only one in his no-hitter. Tuesday night’s no-hitter from Detmers was the Angels’ first no-hitter since July 12, 2019, which was a combined no-hitter. Detmers’ two strikeouts were the fewest in a no-hitter since 2011. His solo no-hit performance was also the first for the Angeles since 2012. Detmers also became the youngest Angel to throw a no-hitter and the first lefty since 1970. Detmers tossed the 12th no-hitter in Angels franchise history. Before Tuesday night, Detmers had never gone more than 6 innings in any of his previous major league starts. To make this incredible performance by Detmers even more impressive, the Tampa Bay Rays entered Tuesday night’s game as the only team in the American League that had yet to be shut out in 2022. 

The Spartans started off the week with a win. The girls' soccer team played Decatur Lutheran for their senior night. But, instead of the traditional senior night, they had a foreign exchange student night. The three girls include Kaat Biskanter, Lea Gersdorf, and Sofia del Val. The soccer team won with a score of 4-1. Raquel Birky earned a hat trick. Brooke Rogers also scored a goal. Assists by Tarah Hilt, Grace Birkey, Kensie Kleinschmidt, and Andi Ewalt. Congrats on such a fun game! They had three more games this week too. It was a tie against IVC 2-2, a loss of 0-4 against St. Thomas More, and a lose 1-8 against Bloomington.

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker put himself in elite company on Tuesday night when he won his 2,000th game as a Major League manager. If he was not already a lock to get into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Baker will surely get in after reaching this incredible milestone. At 72 years old, Dusty Baker became just the 12th MLB manager to reach 2,000 wins, and the first black manager to ever join the 2,000 win club. Of the 11 previous managers who reached 2,000 career wins, 10 of them have already been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The only one who has not yet been inducted, Bruce Bochy, has not yet been eligible for induction. It is safe to say that Baker has most likely earned himself a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

The Boys Track and Field Team started off their week successfully in Heyworth with multiple first-place finishes. Owen Dare got first in the 400, Caden Clark got first in the 3200, Keagan Uphoff placed first in the 110 and 300 hurdles, and the 4x200 team came in first as well as the 4x400 and 4x800 teams. In the high jump, Olympia took the top two spots with Chase Litwiller in first and Keagan Uphoff in second, and Chase Ragar placed first in the boy’s triple jump. 

The Chicago Cubs made one huge offseason signing before the 2022 season by going out and getting the highly sought-after Japanese free agent, Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs made the Japanese slugging outfielder their next right fielder for a five-year, $85 million deal. In just his first couple of weeks in Chicago, Seiya is already making his presence felt. As of Thursday, April 28, Suzuki had played in all 18 of the Cubs’ first 18 games. Already, throughout his first 18 games, Seiya has five multi-hit games, including a two-homerun day against the Pittsburg Pirates on April 12th, Suzuki’s fourth game of his MLB career. With a .333 batting average, 4 home runs, 14 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.090, Suzuki is in the top 15 of any MLB player in batting average, home runs, RBIs, and OPS. Maybe one of the most impressive things about Seiya Suzuki's short MLB career is his incredible plate discipline. Suzuki very rarely swings at pitches outside of the strike zone, which is a great way to ensure the high on-base percentage which Suzuki has so far. His incredible understanding of the strike zone also helps him hit the ball really hard. Suzuki had the fifth-highest barrel rate in the MLB, as of Tuesday, April 26th. Suzuki’s barrel rate was 21.2%, essentially what this means is that 21.2% of the time that Suzuki hit the ball, it came off the bat with an exit velocity of 98 miles per hour or higher.

The softball team was keeping busy this week. They began at Pontiac on Tuesday, coming away with a 2-0 hard-fought win. Shelby Finchum had a great fake throw to turn into a double play, keeping the Indians scoreless. Danika Frazier followed this with a 2-run home run. The JV team then picked up a 7-1 victory. On Thursday, the girls had a home game against rival Central Catholic. They won 10-0, scoring all 10 runs in the last inning. A double by Kat Springer started the rally by scoring Jordyn Turner. Other highlights include Shelby Finchum hitting a grand slam and a 2-run homer by Julia Winterland. On the defensive side, Danika Frazier threw a 2-hitter while striking out 10. JV softball followed with a 6-5 win. Saturday was a big tournament at Mt. Zion with at least 3 varsity softball games for the Spartans!

The 2022 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 28 and there is a ton of talented football players looking for their next home. The NFL Draft is where franchisees can be turned into dynasties, making every teams’ selections incredibly important to their future. This upcoming Thursday can be a turning point for teams like the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Houston Texans if they have a great draft. The Draft can also serve as a boost to the already more talented rosters in the NFL like the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and the Los Angeles Rams, three of the top teams in the NFL. Let's take a look at some of the best prospects these teams have been looking at for the past couple of months. 

With lots of meets and games throughout the week, Olympia High School athletes had an eventful, and successful, week. Track and Field had first-place finishes at the Metamora Coed Invite with Brad Schardan in the 400-meter, Owen Dare in the 800-meter, a boys 4x400 meter relay, a boys 4x800 meter relay, a girls 4x800 meter relay, and had a third-place finish from Anna Bieber in the 800 meter. The boy’s track and field team continued their success at the Monticello Invite with Owen Dare once again finishing first in the 800-meter, the 4x400 relay team getting a first-place finish, a second-place finish in the 4x800 relay, and Keagan Uphoff achieved third in the 300-meter.

One of the greatest traditions in the MLB, Jackie Robinson Day, took place on Friday, April 15. Jackie Robinson Day is the only day during the MLB season that you will see the number 42 on a jersey, in fact, you will see 42 on every jersey in the MLB on Jackie Robinson Day. Number 42, Jackie Robinson’s number, was retired by the whole league on April 15, 1997, the 50-year anniversary of Jackie’s first Major League Baseball game. For this reason, the MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson’s legacy every year on April 15th. The decision to retire Jackie Robinson’s 42 was clear and obvious for the MLB, after the incredible impact that he made on the league in the late 1940s and into the 1950s.  Jackie Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in the MLB. Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Before the Dodgers signed Jackie, there was racial segregation in professional baseball. This racial segregation forced African American baseball players to play in the Negro League instead of Major League Baseball. Breaking the color barrier in baseball took a huge amount of courage and bravery from Jackie Robinson. Everyday, Jackie would get racist threats just for being on the Dodgers, regardless of his performance. Still, throughout all the hate and controversy he faced, Jackie Robinson was able to have a hall of fame career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. 

Olympia High School athletics had a successful week as many teams picked up wins throughout the week. Starting with girls’ track and field, the team placed 3rd out of 17 teams at the overnight meet in Greenville with only 4 points separating them from first. To achieve this placing the girls brought home 25 medals with Amelia Kistner finishing first in the 2-mile, Anna Bieber finishing second in the 800, Abby Litwiller placing third in the mile, Hannah Cleveland getting third in shot-put, Melissa Bieber finishing third in both the triple jumps and 400, Kourtney Fann placing 3rd in the 300 hurdles, and Chrystal Cornwell, Madison Bales, Anna Bieber, and Kaylie Dare got third in the 4x800.

The Chicago White Sox had one of their best seasons in a decade last year. In the 2021 season, the White Sox won the AL Central division for the first time since 2008. Although the White Sox entered the offseason looking like the guaranteed favorite to run away with the AL Central again in 2022, now that the offseason is over, that is not exactly the case anymore. The Minnesota Twins had a huge offseason with their top move being the signing of top free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa. The Detriot Tigers also have a very talented young core of players, so they could have a chance to really compete in the AL Central along with the White Sox and Twins. Although the AL Central may be a little more competitive than originally anticipated, the White Sox should still be everyone’s favorite to come away with the division title and make it back into the playoffs. 

Back from winter sports, Taylor Nowaskie earned yet another basketball accomplishment. She made it on the Pantagraph All-Area girls’ team. Taylor is at the top of the area team averaging 24.7 points per game. 

The Chicago Cubs were in a state of transition during the 2021 MLB season. The team that broke the World Series curse for the Cubs in 2016 fell apart right in front of all of the fans’ eyes. Theo Epstein, an MLB legend when it comes to executives, stepped down in 2021. Epstein also built the Boston Red Sox team that broke Boston’s World Series curse in 2004. That Red Sox team would go on to win three more World Series titles in the 21st century, with Epstein responsible for building all of those championship rosters. The fate of the Chicago Cubs and Theo Epstein championship roster was unfortunately not the same as the fate of those Red Sox teams. After Epstein stepped down in 2021, the Chicago Cubs also shipped off many key members of the 2016 World Series Champion Team. Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, and the 2016 National League Most Valuable Player Kris Bryant were all traded for prospects, ending an era of one of the best teams that the Chicago Cubs had ever put onto the field. Taking over for Theo Epstein as the new general manager of the Chicago Cubs is Jed Hoyer. Hoyer has no intention to tank and rebuild, he wants to win as soon as this season with the Cubs. 

Cold weather, rain, and harsh winds prevented many Olympia High School sports from competing this week with many of the games being canceled. Olympia boys and girls track and field didn’t face these cancellations due to their indoor season. Just this week four members of the boy’s team qualified for the Class 2A Illinois Top Times Indoor Championship Track meet held at Wesleyan’s Shirk Center. Of these members are seniors Owen Dare and Brad Schardan who will run the 800 and 400-meter races and will also be competing with sophomore Keagan Uphoff and freshmen Cohen Alexander in the 1600 meter relay. From the girl’s team, Anna Bieber qualified for Illinois Top Times in the 400-meter dash and will also be competing at the Wesleyan Shirk Center.

The Indianapolis Colts are making big-time moves at arguably the most important position in football this offseason, quarterback. Their first move in the offseason was trading quarterback Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders. After this trade, many Colts fans began to worry about the aggressiveness of the team to find a replacement for Wentz for the 2022 season. While the rest of the NFL was going all in making signing after signing and improving their teams to a championship level, Indy took a more patient approach before ultimately settling on a couple of well-calculated moves. The Colts landed their quarterback by sending just a third-round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons for Matt Ryan.