Ridgewood Roundup

Vikings Take State Championship!

The Cambridge Vikings seventh grade girls had to make room on the team bus for an extra passenger on Saturday, May 14th, the first place IESA State Championship trophy had boarded the bus back to Cambridge! The seventh grade girls took home the first place trophy topping the 49 other teams down in Peoria. The Vikings scored points by placing in all seven of their events they had qualified for including two first place finishes scoring 47 points.

Mackenzie Peck was a state champion in the girls seventh grade shot put thowing 28-07.75 feet. Peck also finished fifth in the discus with a throw of 77-04, ran the first leg on the fourth place 4x400m relay which finished fourth with a time of 4:45, and ran the anchor of the 4x200m realy which placed fifth with a time of 2:03.

Jana VandeKemp was the other state champion in the 800m run, VandeKemp won with a time of 2:31. She also just missed the top spot in the 1600m run, finishing in second with a time of 5:44. VandeKemp was the anchor of the 4x400m relay team.

The eighth grade team finished in the top ten out of 41 eighth grade teams who competed in Peoria. The Vikings finished in eighth place with 25 team points. Cissna Park won the girls meet with 41.5 points. The Annawan eighth grade finished third with 34 points.

Complete Results: 200m dash. 7th grade. 3rd, Humphrey, Ella 28.22. 400m dash. 8th grade. 6th, Downing, Emily 1:06. 800m run. 7th grade. 1st, VandeKemp, Jana 2:31. 8th grade. 3rd, Downing 2:27. 1600m run. 7th grade. 2nd, VandeKemp 5:44. 8th grade. 5th, Downing 5:53. Relays. 4x200m relay. 7th grade. 5th, Humphrey, Harreld, Cambria, Beam, Caylee, Peck, Mackenzie 2:03. 4x400m relay. 7th grade. 4th, Peck, Harreld, Humphrey, VandeKemp 4:45. 8th grade. 5th, Blackert, Jolene, Jewett, Addie, Salazar, Ava, Downing 4:42. Field eventh. Shot Put. 7th grade. 1st, Peck 28-07.75. Discus. 7th grade. 5th, Peck 77-04. 8th grade. 2nd, Doubet, Ellie 101-11.

Princes Sweep Spartans

The Ridgewood Spartans traveled to Princeville on Saturday, May 7th for a twinbill. Princeville took the first game 10 to 7 and finished the sweep in the second game 10-9.

The Spartans jumped out to an early lead when Draven Smith singled in Sean Watt to put Ridgewood up 1-0. It was the top of the third which saw the Spartans take a 6-0 when they ripped off a pair of singles by Smith along with Owen Anderson to put four more runs on the board. Smith would lead the Spartans on the day going two for three with an rbi.

Princeville rallied in their half of the third scoring four runs to cut the Ridgewood lead to just two but it was a six run fifth that gave the Princes the lead for good. Sean Watt took the loss for the Spartans going two and a third innings allowing six runs, all of them earned off of seven hits while walking two and striking out one.

The Spartans jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first two innings in the second game. Garret Vincent put an rbi single to center, scoring Sean Watt in the opening frame of the game. The Spartans plated two in the first, three in the second, and two in the third including a triple from Vincent to lead 7-0.

Princeville answered in the bottom of the third inning knocking in five runs including three singles and a double to cut the Spartan lead down to 7-5. Ridgewood scored on in the fifth and one in the sixth to go ahead 9-5. A three run homerun in the bottom of the seventh tied the game and a single to third gave the Princes the 10-9 win.

Zac Arredondo took the loss in relief for Ridgewood going only one third of an inning but allowing four runs all of them earned off of four hits. Arredondo came on in relief of Keagan Hixson who went six and a third innings allowing six runs off of seven hits, walking one and striking out twelve.

Garrett Vincent led the Spartans going two for four with three rbi’s while Conner McKeag went two for three on the day with one rbi.

Heat Gets to Spartans

The West Central Heat came to town Tuesday, May 10th on a day when the thermometer was in the 90’s taking advantage of a late Spartan error to leave town with a 5-4 win.

West Central got on the board first in the top of the first inning taking advantage of a Spartan error to go ahead 1-0 off of starting pitcher Draven Smith. Smith would go four innings allowing three runs off of five hits while walking three and striking out five.

Sean Watt answered for the Spartans in the third inning with a single that scored Zac Arredondo to put the Spartans up 2-1. West Central answered with two runs in the third inning to take the lead back 3-2.

After a fourth West Central run the Spartans tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to back to back singles by Keagan Hixson and Garrett Vincent, Vincent was two for three on the day.

The score stayed tied until the seventh inning when a walk, a dropped third strike, and an error plated what would be the winning run for West Central off of relief pitcher Kholby Grant who went three innings allowing two runs off of two hits while walking two and striking out two.

Ridgewood Rallies to Stay in the Hunt

The Ridgewood Spartans hosted the Annawan Wethersfield Titans on Tuesday, May 10th. The Spartans cruised to a 4-0 win in the first game but needed a sixth inning rally to stay in the hunt for the LTC title topping A&W 7-5 in the nightcap.

The Spartans put all four runs together in the bottom of the second inning in the first game. Taylor Pace started the Spartan attack with a single to right field followed by a pair of errors by the Titans and capped off by back to back singles by Clara Franks and Alexis Yarborough to put Ridgewood up 4-0.

It was all Mya Brown needed as the sophomore sat down eighteen of the possible twenty one outs by herself. Brown walked one and allowed just three hits going the distance for the win. Both Brown and Pace led Ridgewood offensively, going two for three on the day.

Things looked like smooth sailing for the Spartans in the second game as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the second inning. However, the Titans plated four in the third inning off of starting pitcher Clara Franks to take a 4-3 lead. Franks went the distance to get the win, throwing seven innings, allowing five runs off of twelve hits while walking two and striking out six.

A single run in the fifth inning by Annawan Wethersfield put the Titans up 5-3. A Titan error in the bottom of the sixth scored Kerigan Lewis to cut the lead to 5-4. Lewis had reached on a single. Enter Hallica Warren Anderson who was 0-6 up to this point of the game. The senior took the first pitch deep over the center field fence to plate three runs and give the Spartans the 7-5 win. Becca Lindsey was two for three on the day and Kerigan Lewis was two for two to pace the Spartans.

Ridgewood Runs in Galva Invite

The Ridgewood Spartans traveled to Galva for a track meet on Monday, May 9th. The girls placed third against nine teams. The Spartans scored 92 points, Monmouth Roseville won the girls meet with 181.50 points. Top finishers Kira Messerly winning the high jump and Kylee Berry taking first in the long jump.

The boys finished fifth with 67 points, Monmouth Roseville took home the boys title too tallying 110.50 points. Fernando Avila Rubio won the 1600m run, Avila Rubio also finished second in the 800m run.

Complete Results: 100m dash. Girls. 5th, Berry, Kylee 15.09. 7th, Paul, Bella 15.34. Boys. 15th, Stromquist, Brendan 13.47. 16th, Herring, Ray 13.61. 18th, Gully, Luke 13.89. 200m dash. Girls. 4th, Barham, Lilly 32.47. 7th, Harrell, Maddie 37.45. Boys. 15th, Gully 27.01. 17th, Herring 28.11. 18th, Stromquist 28.31. 400m dash. Girls. 2nd, Poppy, Emma 1:21. 4th, Losey, Ruth 1:30. Boys. 4th, Francis, Ryan 56.62. 10th, McDonough, Gavin 58.62. 800m run. Boys. 2nd, Avila Rubio, Fernando 2:11. 5th, VanHyfte, Matt 2:21. 9th, VerHeecke, Gavin 2:29. 1600m run. Boys. 1st, Avila-Rubio 4:59. 6th, Larson, Kaden 5:30. 8th, VanHyfte 5:47. 3200m run. Boys. 7th, Larson 13:09. 100m hurdles. Girls. 3rd, Barham 21.98. 110 hurdles. Boys. 10th, Harrell, Lucas 21.57. 300m hurdles. Girls. 2nd, Messerly 1:02. Boys. 6th, Maness, Lukas 47.40. 10th, Gotthardt, Aaron 48.30. 16th, Harrell 54.36. Relay Races. 4x100m relay. Girls. 4th, Bennett, Mollie, Downing, Kendra, Reed, Miranda, Humphrey, Brooklyn 1:03. 5th, Poppy, Losey, Harrell, Silvestro, Vittoria 1:08. Boys. 10th, Snook, Taylor, Moriarity, Preston, Gully, Catour, Ryle 49.43. 11th, Veloz, Meric, Stromquist, Herring, Maness 49.58. 4x200m relay. Girls. 2nd, Barham, Berry, Paul, Messerly 2:08. 4th, Bennett, Humphrey, Reed, Downing 2:12. Boys. 6th, Askelson, Talon, Snook, Gully, Catour 1:45. 8th, Veloz, Gotthardt, Stromquist, Herring 1:46. 4x400m relay. Boys. 4th, Nodine, Carson, McDonough, Maness, Francis 4:00.10. 5th, Snook, Sandberg, Roy, VerHeecke, Moriarity 4:00.73 4x800m relay. Boys. 6th, Pace, Cameron, Askelson, Jewett, Jack, Burbridge, Ryker 11:16. Field Events. High Jump. Girls. 1st, Messerly 5-00. 3rd, Paul 4-08. Boys. 4th, Sandberg 5-04. Long Jump. Girls. 1st, Berry 14-02. 5th, Barham 13-00. Boys. 8th, Nodine, 17-02.5. 18th, Harrell 13-09.50. Triple Jump. Girls. 4th, Berry 29-00.75. Boys. 2nd, Gotthardt 40-05.25. 3rd, VanHyfte 40-05.25. 17th, Askelson 28-08.50. Shot Put. Girls. 7th, Harrell 17-08. 8th, Keever 14-07.25. Boys. 12th, Anderson, Ty 33-10.75. 15th, Helms, Conner 31-07.25. 18th, Johnson, Jake 30-02. Discus. Girls. 7th, Messerly 52-06.50. 15th, Harrell 52-01. 10th, Keever 34-06. Boys. 9th, Johnson 103-09. 16th, Anderson 88-00. 20th, Snook 67-01.

Spartan Girls Sectional

The Ridgewood Spartan Girls’ track ended their season at the IHSA Sectional meet in Bureau Valley on Wednesday, May 11th. An athlete needs to either place in the top two spots or hit the qualifying time/distance to advance to the State Track meet and none of the Spartans made it through. The team placed 13th with six points, Annawan Wethersfield was crowned Sectional Champions finishing with 125 points.

Complete Results: 100m dash. 21st, Berry, Kylee 14.57. 29th, Silvestro, Vittoria 16.85. 200m dash. 16th, Berry 29.75. 22nd, Barham, Lilly 31.09. 400m dash. 16th, Paul, Bella 1:12. 20th, Bennett, Mollie 1:25. 800m run. 4th, Downing, Kendra 2:33. 14th, Poppy, Emma 3:27. 1600m run. 12th, Humphrey, Brooklyn 7:41. 3200m run. 5th, Bennett 15:05. 100m Hurdles. 12th, Barham 21.39. Relays. 4x200m relay. 11th, Olson, Tobi, Poppy, Losey, Ruth, Harrell, Maddie 2:28. 4x800m relay. 6th, Olson, Humphrey, Poppy, Losey 13:42. Field Events. Shot Put. 26th, Harrell 5.88m. 29th, Watt, Alex 5.28m. Discus 17th, Harrell 19.57m. 23rd, Watt 16.53. High Jump. 9th, Messerly, Kira 1.37m. 10th, Paul 1.37m. Long Jump. 16th, Moore, Summer 3.99m. 17th, Berry 3.95m. Triple Jump. 13th, Berry 8.87m.

Spartans Sail by Steamers

Gabi Dean threw a one hit shutout Wednesday, May 11th as the Ridgewood Spartans moved to 20-2 with a 11-0 non-conference win over the Fulton Steamers. Dean struck out five with no walks to get the win.

The Spartans manufactured two runs in the top of the first with Clara Franks scoring after tagging up on a pop fly followed by a sacrifice by Dean which brought in Mya Brown. The third inning was the big inning for Ridgewood with singles by Brown, Becca Lindsey, and Dean topped off by a double by second baseman Kerigan Lewis to put the Spartans up 6-0. Brown and Dean each had multiple hits in the Spartan win.