Williams named all-state football
Williamsville senior lineman/linebacker Keith Williams has been named to the all-state team by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association.
Williams, who averaged only 13 tackles per game for the 10-2 Bullets, was one of three Sangamo players honored in 2A, with Auburn’s Michael Bates and
Sangamon Valley running back Dan Rentschler.
Trojans end Bullets’ run in quarterfinals
The Williamsville Bullets football team got beat at its own game Saturday on a blustery, windy day at Paul
Jenkins Field. (more)
Bullet boys second at New Berlin
The Williamsville Bullets boys basketball team led for all of 8.6 seconds, but Bryon Graven’s squad nearly
stole the championship of the Gene Bergschneider New Berlin Turkey Tournament Saturday before falling 52-
51 to Winchester West Central. (more)
Lady Bullets pull away from Plains
The host Williamsville Lady Bullets girls basketball team took the lead for good midway through the second
quarter and cruised past Pleasant Plains 50-26 Friday night in Sangamo Conference action. WHS led 8-7
after one period, then the Lady Cardinals took a short-lived 12-10 lead early in the second after a bucket from
Abby Kulavic and a free throw from Hannah Hergenrother. Then Tamara Abu-Tayeh scored two buckets nine
seconds apart, the second after a steal in the backcourt, and Williamsville finished the second stanza on a
12-3 run to go up 22-15 at intermission. WHS added to the advantage with a 14-6 run in the third and 14-5
spurt in the fourth period. The Lady Bullets, who had a whopping 21 offensive rebounds, got 20 points and
eight rebounds from Kathryn Spenn. Lauren Hollinshead contributed 13 points and four steals, whlie
Abu-Tayeh had eight points and five steals. Taylor Edwards grabbed eight rebounds, like Spenn finishing with
six offensive boards. For the Lady Cardinals, Hergenrother had eight, Tiffani Johnson seven (and five boards)
and Kulavic five. The squads played a J-V game Thursday night, with WHS winning 35-25 as Jordan French
scored 14, Clair Stoecker eight, Paige Peterman seven and Kelsey Easton six.
Saturday at the Riverton Shootout, the Lady Bullets outscored Staunton 12-4 in the final period to pull away for
a 40-31 win. Spenn had 17 points and 11 rebounds, with Hollinshead totaling 15 points and five assists.
Abu-Tayeh and Edwards rounded out the scoring with four points each. The Lady Bullets were scheduled to
play Monday vs. Varna-Midland but it was postponed because of weather. No makeup date has been
announced as of press time.
Lady Bullets win State Farm consolation title,
rout Illini Central
After losing in their opener in a game that did not end until around 11 p.m., the Williamsville Lady Bullets girls
basketball team won three straight games over the next two days to claim the consolation title at the State
Farm Classic with a 50-41 win over Champaign St. Thomas More in the final. WHS led 14-11 after one period
and 24-20 at the half before a 15-8 run in the third quarter. Kathryn Spenn tossed in 16 points and Lauren
Hollinshead 11, while Tamara Abu-Tayeh and Anna Butterfield were next with six. Earlier in the day
Wednesday, the Lady Bullets slipped past St. Joseph-Ogden 38-35 as Spenn scored 14, Abu-Tayeh seven
and Hollinshead six. WHS led 8-5 and 17-12 at the first two quarter stops before the Lady Spartans went on a
10-4 run in the third to take a 22-21 lead.
In their first consolation bracket game, the Lady Bullets cruised past Downs Tri-Valley 50-33. WHS led 19-10
after one period and 30-16 at the half, though it was outscored 12-5 in the third. Hollinshead had a dozen
points, one more than Spenn, while Abu-Tayeh chipped in nine, Butterfield eight and Jordan French six. The
game was played at 11 a.m., less than 12 hours after the previous WHS game ended, a 51-40 loss to Camp
Point Central/Augusta Southeastern. The Lady Bullets led 10-7 after eight minutes and 22-19 at the half; it
was 32-32 heading into the final quarter. Hollinshead and French both scored eight and Spenn seven for the
Lady Bullets, with Butterfield contributing six.
                                                                                   ***
Monday night, the Lady Bullets (13-3, 4-0) easily dispatched Sangamo foe Illini Central 54-26, as Hollinshead,
who was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line, nearly outscored the Cougars by herself after pumping in 24
points. Spenn had nine points and seven rebounds, while Butterfield had six points and Kelsey Easton five.
French and Taylor Edwards both grabbed four boards. WHS led 16-5, 24-9 and 36-19 at the quarter breaks.
The J-V also won easily, 55-14, as Emily Capranica had 15, Taylor Joerger 14, Clair Stoecker 12 and Leah
Levin eight. The Lady Bullets led 14-2, 24-4 and 35-8 at the first three quarter breaks.
The seventh grade Williamsville boys
basketball team won the Sangamon County
Tournament Saturday with a 37-32 overtime
win over Rochester. Front row, from left: MJ
Haire, John Beal, Kaleb Woods, Logan
Kramer, Cobi Estes and Arron Ackley. Back
row: Assistant coach Douglas Houser, Matt
Watson, Eddie Priester, Harrison Creswell,
Matt Higgerson, Zac Nerone, Quinn
Higginbotham, Vince Vignali and head coach
Terry Casson.
The Williamsville eighth grade boys
basketball team won the Sangamon County
Tournament Saturday with a
come-from-behind 44-40 overtime win over
the Pleasant Plains Redbirds. Front row,
from left: Luke Bleyer, Ben Kovacevich, Sam
Fanale, Noah Horton, Kyle Kent, Robert
Lawley and Jack Zibutis. Back row: Head
coach Douglas Houser, Cole Courson,
Mitchel Clark, Mitch Whitley, Mitchell Owens,
Brad Neale, Drew Keenan and assistant
coach Terry Casson. Not pictured: Evan Funk.
Bee Bees claim county titles
Both Williamsville Junior High boys basketball teams won the county tournament Saturday in New Berlin, and
both in overtime. (more)
Lady Bullets win County Classic
For the Williamsville High School girls basketball seniors, the third time truly was the charm. (more)
WJH seventh graders fall in sectional final
The Williamsville seventh grade boys basketball team came up just short in the sectional finals last Thursday, losing to unbeaten Warrensburg-Latham 36-24.
WJH led 10-9 after a quarter but trailed by six at the half. Harrison Creswell had 15 points and John Beal eight for the Bee Bees, who finished 18-2. “I am very
happy with the team’s accomplishments,” said coach Terry Casson. “They worked hard all year long and I feel they will continue to have success in their future
years.”
The eighth graders lost in the regional final Monday night in Cantrall to Lincoln 26-23. A slow start left the Bee Bees (17-5) down 9-2 after one quarter, and they
trailed 16-11 at the half and 20-17 after three. “We came out slow in the first quarter, but we played a good defensive game,” said coach Douglas Houser. Cole
Courson had 11 points, followed by Mitchell Owens with six and Ben Kovacevich, Mitch Whitley and Jack Zibutis with two each. WJH was in the regional final
after rallying to beat Auburn 45-36 last Friday night. Trailing 10-7 after a quarter, the Bee Bees went on a 19-6 run in the second quarter to take the lead. Owens
and Courson both tossed in 16 points, while Kovacevich chipped in five, Sam Fanale four, Drew Keenan three and Zibutis one.
Lady Bullets lose heartbreaker in sectional semi
The Williamsville Lady Bullets girls basketball team had the Piasa Southwestern Lady Birds right where they wanted them at halftime Tuesday night at the
Class 2A Rochester Sectional: ahead. (more)
Bullets ousted in regional final
Last Friday in the Class 2A PORTA Regional Final, the Manito Midwest Central Raiders became the latest example of why coaches have their teams work on
free throw shooting. (more)
Williams sets new school record in shot put
Williamsville senior Keith Williams set a new school record in the shot put this weekend at the Charleston Indoor at Eastern Illinois University. His best throw
was 58 feet, 6 inches, over two feet better than the 2005 school record by Ben Bishop (56 2 1/2). He had three throws over 55 feet and finished in second place,
only behind McLeansboro Hamilton County’s Jeff Stewart, whose best throw was 58-8 3/4. Williams was the only placer for the Bullets at the 40-team meet.
Gabe Manning set a new personal best in the shot (44-3 1/2). The Bullets had three athletes qualify the the Illinois Prep Top Times Indoor Classic Meet at
Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington on Friday.  The meet is considered to be the unofficial state indoor track and field meet.  Those qualifying are: Paul
Priester and Rachel Rhodes in the high jump and Williams in the shot put.
WHS boys second at home quad
The host Williamsville Bullets track teams finished second and third, respectively, at a track quadrangular last Thursday.
On the boys side, the Rochester Rockets totaled 115 points to outdistance the Bullets (78), Auburn (42) and Pawnee (26).
Auburn (96) won the girls portion, with Rochester (79) pulling out second place. Williamsville (63) easily outpointed the Lady Indians (18) for third. WHS was
second in the 1600 relay and third in the 400 and 800 relays. In the 100 hurdles, Ryan Scheffler was third and James Buzzell fifth. In the 300 hurdles, Scheffler
was fourth and Buzzell fifth. Calvin Walter took second in the 100, and he won the 200. Corey Conklin came home second in the 800 and fourth in the 1600, one
slot ahead of Austen Horn in the latter. Zach Strocher claimed top honors in the 400, with Alex Freschi fourth. Keith Williams and Gabe Manning finished 1-2 in
both the shot put and discus. Austin Kohler was fourth and Freschi fifth in the long jump. Horn took fourth in the triple jump, and he was second in the 3200.
Paul Priester outdueled Rochester’s Alex Staton to win the pole vault, with Sam Pensabene third.
For the girls, the Lady Bullets were third in the 800 relay, second in the 3200 relay and second in the 1600 relay. Amy Pesch won the 3200, and Caitlin
Laudeman came in fifth in the 1600. Jessica Fager, who won the long jump, placed second in the 100 hurdles, two spots ahead of Amber Robbs. In the 300
hurdles, Fager and Robbs went 1-2. Megan Hanney was third and Kayla Nevill fourth in the 800. Paige Peterman, who placed fourth in the long jump, won the
400. Halston Fletcher finished third in the 1600, a spot matched by Kylie Walsh in the 200. Keeghan Pierce was third in the shot put and Robbs took fourth in
the pole vault.
Boys track team wins Pana Open
Competing against a trio of Class 2A schools, the Williamsville boys track team fared well last Tuesday in Taylorville.
Springfield Southeast finished first with 94 points, with Charleston second (86) and the Bullets third (56), well ahead of the host Tornadoes (33). Austen Horn
was third in the 3200, which Corey Conklin matched in the 1600. Calvin Walter came in fourth in the 100, one spot ahead of Jak Loutzenhiser. Walter also
placed third in the 200. Conklin finished fourth and Jon Miller fifth in the 800.  Ryan Scheffler took fifth in the 300 hurdles. Paul Priester was third in the pole vault
and also in the high jump. Keith Williams won both the shot put and discus, with Gabe Manning second in both. The Bullets took second in the three shortest
relays.
The Bullets won the weather-delayed Pana Open Monday. It was the first time in Coach Don Williams’ 18-year tenure that WHS won the Class A side of the
ledger (enrollment 423-903). WHS eked past the host Panthers, 127-120.5 to gain the victory.
Keith Williams won the shot put and discus, and Manning once again followed in second place in both. Dalton Strocher was fifth in the 100 and third in the 400,
while Scheffler finished third in the 110 hurdles. Scheffler also came in second in the 300 hurdles.
Miller was second in the 1600, and Dan Nerone was sixth. Miller also was fourth in the 800. Walter claimed top honors in the 200, with Brandon Icenogle fifth.
WHS was third in the 400 (D. Strocher, Icenogle, Zach Strocher and Walter) and 1600 (same foursome as 400) relays and first in the 800 (Walter, Icenogle, D.
Strocher and Priester). Nerone finished second in the 3200.
Priester placed third in the high jump and second in the pole vault.
WHS boys track fourth at Rochester Invite
The Williamsville boys track team finished fourth at the 17-team Rochester Invitational Saturday, with the Riverton/Tri-City squad taking seventh place. (more)