ELMWOOD, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) – Rainy days with practice inside don’t seem to bother Mya Strahm anymore. Not after what she had to endure last year. “I tore my hamstring in January. then my first practice back (with the team) I tore my bicep,” said Strahm. “I’ve gotten a lot stronger and fast. I’ve been training […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Are you an aspiring soccer player in Central Illinois? The Peoria City soccer team and the Central Illinois Soccer Academy have just announced a new program to help young players in the area strengthen their skills on the field. Players entering junior high all the way to college students can participate […]

TREMONT, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — The estimated population of Tremont is 2,250. That’s a small town. But it’s a small town with a big sports tradition. That sports legacy is on display this spring at the Tremont Museum which has put together an exhibit highlighting top athletes from the town in Tazewell County. “We have 30-some […]

PEORIA. Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Louisville recruit Ethan Eberle struck out 15 hitters as Normal Community won at Normal West, 6-1, in a Big 12 baseball game Monday. Eberle allowed one run on two hits in improving Normal Community’s record to 16-1 this season. The Ironmen opened the season with a 15-game winning streak before a […]

NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Seth Glatz has a new home at Illinois State. But he already says it feels like it’s a home he’s been in for a while. Glatz transferred to ISU after two seasons at Western Illinois. He enrolled in classes in January and joined the Redbirds for spring football. “It feels good […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Maddie Stickelmaier scored a goal and assisted on another to lead Notre Dame past Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, 3-1, in girls soccer at She Stadium on Friday night. Stickelmaier started the scoring in the 11th minute. Ava Lafollette’s pass to the box bounced off a defender and out to Stickelmaier who was […]

PONTIAC, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — She’s a big-time high school softball player now but Elena Krause remembers when she first started playing softball. She wasn’t crazy about it. “For a while I didn’t like it but now I love it because of my teammates and coaches,” Krause said. “I remember playing when I was eight. My […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Senior Braden Vanderheydt threw two-hit baseball over five innings and pitched Washington to a 9-1 win over host Pekin in Mid-Illini Conference baseball on Wednesday. Vanderheydt allowed a run and four walks while striking out three to get the win. Garrett Cox was on base three times, drove in a run […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Freshman Eli Michanicou had three hits and knocked in three runs as Dunlap beat visiting IVC, 11-2, in a non-conference high school baseball game on Tuesday. Dunlap scored four runs in the first and two in the second on its way to improving to 10-2 on the season. Morton, Limestone, Farmington […]

METAMORA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Margie Wright was back at Metamora this weekend. And was quick to point out how things have changed since she started her coaching career there in 1975. “I had to coach five sports when I was here. Now they have a coach for each sport,” said Wright. “It gives young women […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — He’s back in Peoria and healthy. And that’s the big news for Cardinals 2022 first round draft pick Cooper Hjerpe. An elbow injury stopped the lefty starter’s 2023 season after he pitched only 41 innings for the Chiefs. He was out four months after having elbow surgery. “It could have been […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Ellie Schaffer delivered an RBI single to left in the eighth inning to lift Metamora to a 2-1 win over visiting Washington in the Mid-Illini Conference softball opener for both teams on Monday. Schaffer drove in both runs for the Redbirds. Her sacrifice fly in the fifth scored Kaidance Till with […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — It’ll be a homecoming for Connor Dillon. The former Peoria Notre Dame star is transferring to Bradley, he announced on X, formerly called Twitter, on Friday. Dillon played the past four seasons at Div. II Winona State in Minnesota. “Thanks you to the (Bradley) coaching staff for this great opportunity,” Dillon […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Pretty good Friday night for Dunlap’s Sutton Centoni. The sophomore drove in a run and pitched a six-inning no-hitter as Dunlap beat Brimfield, 3-0, on the first night of the Peoria Notre Dame Softball Invitational at the Louisville Slugger Complex. Centoni fanned 12 and allowed just one walk in getting the […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Ava Lafollette is making quite the first impression at Notre Dame. Lafollette scored a hat trick to lead the Irish to a 9-0 win over Danville in the Big 12 Conference girls soccer opener for both schools on Thursday. Lafollette, who transferred to PND from Metamora, scored all three of her […]

CHILLICOTHE, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — She’s an honor roll student taking college-level classes. And multi-sport athlete Lizzy Short is enjoying every minute of her final year at IVC High School. “It has definitely been a good senior year, one of the best years I’ve had,” said Short. “I’m definitely exited to go to college but I’m […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — The 2024-25 Chiefs have arrived. The team, which broke spring training camp over the weekend, is getting ready for the Midwest League season. The High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals held its first Peoria practice on Wednesday inside the Louisville Slugger Dome as snow flurries blew around outside. The Chiefs’ […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Darius Hannah isn’t ready to leave Peoria yet. The 6-9 forward announced on his social media accounts he is returning to Bradley for a fifth season. Hannah started all 35 games last season for Bradley, which finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference and played two games in the NIT. He […]

NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — He feels like he’s home. Washington High School grad JJ Guedet is closing out his college career at Illinois State. The Minnesota transfer enrolled in classes in January and is going through spring workouts with the Redbirds. “I wanted to be close to home and that relationship already (was there),” said […]

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — It’s been 25 years. A quarter century ago, something big came to Peoria. “April 2, 1999. It’s like we took a sport, a team, a coach, fans, a community, characters and community. We put it in Carver Arena, mixed it up and there it was,” said former Peoria Pirates assistant coach […]