Area Athletes Compete At State Tennis, Girls Track Meets Thursday

Tennis

One Effingham High School and three Effingham St. Anthony High School tennis players will be in action in the Chicago area.

Effingham's Thad Dillow, a sophomore, will take part in singles play and is going to meet Will Benford, a junior from Chicago Latin School, at Wheeling High School Thursday.

Also in singles play, St. Anthony's Noah Tegeler, a senior, will square off against Sean Robertson, a senior from Quincy Notre Dame, at Vernon Hills High School.

Mother and daughter tennis coaches are facing each other as two more Bulldog players will take part in doubles action. Henry Kemme, a junior, and Aiden Tegeler, a sophomore, will meet Noah Clark and Dylan Haddox, both juniors from Bloomington Central Catholic, at Palatine High School.

Darlene Esker is the St. Anthony coach while her daughter Hannah Meece is the Bloomington Central Catholic coach. 

The first, second and third rounds of the main draw and the first, second and third rounds of the back draw will be played Thursday. On Friday, the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the main draw and the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds of the back draw will be played.

On Saturday, the final round of the main draw and the semi and final rounds of the back draw will be played.

Girls Track

Class 1A girls athletes will be competing at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Stadium track Thursday. The field events begin at noon while the track events will take place starting at 2 p.m.

Athletes competing will be:

Altamont -- Grace Nelson (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 200). Nelson has the top time in the 100 hurdles in 15.12 seconds and the second best in the 300 hurdles in 45.16 seconds.

Efifngham St. Anthony -- Sydney Kibler (discus), Allison Geen (pole vault)

Teutopolis -- Isabelle Hemmen (pole vault), Kaitlyn Vahling (100, 200). Hemmen has the fifth best height in the pole vault at 11 feet.

Newton -- Whitney Zumbahlen (400, long jump), Grace Smithenry (high jump), Amber Russell (shot), Alexis Hetzer (triple jump), Laney Hemrich (400) and the 1600 relay team with members Heidi Lindemann, Madison Phillips, Hemrich and Zumbahlen. The 1600 relay team has the sixth best time listed at 4:16.42 minutes.

Effingham High School's Shelby Rieman will take part in the Class 2A State Meet at Eastern Friday. Rieman will compete in the high jump where she has the ninth best height at 5 feet, 1 3/4 inches.

Also Thursday, Effingham St. Anthony will meet Casey-Westfield at 4:30 p.m. in the championship game of the Class 1A Sectional in softball. If the Bulldogs win, they will be competing at the Class 1A Johnston City Super-Sectional Monday.