Coles County Sports

09/18/2023

Logan Gowin, a seventh grader at St. John’s in Mattoon, fired a 70 to capture the IESA boys middle school golf championship this past weekend. He won by one stroke over three other golfers across 18 holes at the Metamora Fields course.

09/11/2023

We regret that we won’t be able to continue Coles County Sports.

We are sad. Heartbroken.

But we see no other choice.

We do not have enough reporters and cannot afford to move to the next level to offer the local sports news we had delivered in the past. It is also increasingly difficult to get results.

Finding quality reporters is difficult enough, finding those willing to work for a small stipend is even tougher.

We have tried to cover as much as possible during our three years, even if that was not our original goal. When we started almost exactly three years ago, we had just wanted to supplement the receding sports coverage in the local newspaper. We felt local athletes deserved more coverage than they had been receiving.

We never intended to be the primary sports news source for the area.

Despite that, we produced 1,759 stories on the website and at least three to four times that many more stories on Facebook.

As a result, we have had more than 1 million views on Facebook and nearly 700,000 reads on our website – along with equally strong interaction on Instagram.

But we can no longer keep pace. We have been fortunate to receive donations from several local sponsors whom are listed on the website. But reporting news at this level requires more funding than we could generate through donations. We would need to hire a full-time writer to keep Coles County Sports going at the current level.

Plus, we have struggled more than ever this fall in staffing local events and in receiving details from several high school teams. (But we get it: High school coaches are as busy as we are, working two jobs. So thanks so much, coaches, for your efforts with local athletes.)

Therefore, we have decided to retire Coles County Sports.

We wish all local athletes and teams the best. You deserve it. As always, we’ll be rooting for you all.

09/11/2023

Mallory Ramage, the all-time girls basketball scoring leader at Mattoon High, is set to begin her second season playing for Loyola. Ramage appeared in 29 games as a freshman, making six starts. She averaged 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals per game and shot 29.2 percent from the field, 23.7 percent from 3-point line and. 87.5 percent from the line. Ramage score a season-high 14 points against Fordham in early February. She recently spoke with Jeff Owens.

Mallory Ramage, the all-time girls basketball scoring leader at Mattoon High, is set to begin her second season playing for Loyola. Ramage appeared in 29 games as a freshman, making six starts. She…

09/11/2023

Charleston girls cross country coach Chris Hawk knows this will be a rebuilding season.

The fifth-year coach has only one senior returning to a young squad that includes six juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen.

“Losing five seniors to graduation last year was a pretty big hit to us as those girls have been a backbone of the team for several years now,” said Hawk. “ I have been pleasantly surprised with our group of newcomers this year; however, six of our 14 girls have never run high school cross country before, so it has been an adjustment for all of us.

By Mike Monahan Charleston girls cross country coach Chris Hawk knows this will be a rebuilding season. The fifth-year coach has only one senior returning to a young squad that includes six juniors…

09/11/2023

Mattoon High's new boys soccer coach, Alex Carie, takes over for the retired Ryan Ghere, who spent more than two decades coaching the boys and girls soccer teams.

“I am a competitor. I enjoy the challenge of following Ryan,” he said. “I know the expectations for this program are high, and I look forward to taking that head on. I know it will be different for some of the returning players but I have a good coaching staff around me in Craig Henness and Ryan Croy that understand the expectations of the Mattoon soccer program.”

Story and photos by Chet Piotrowski Jr. Mattoon’s new boys varsity coach looked the part. Effingham native Alex Carie was unmistakably seen pacing the sidelines throughout the match adorned i…

09/11/2023

Mattoon boys soccer might have a change in a new coach in Alex Carie, but it will have the same high expectations the program has had under previous coach Ryan Ghere.

“Our goals will always be to compete at a high level in all of our tournaments and in conference,” Carie said. “The main goal is to be playing our best soccer by the end of the season to compete for a regional championship.”

Story and photos by Chet Piotrowski Jr. Mattoon boys soccer might have a change in a new coach in Alex Carie, but it will have the same high expectations the program has had under previous coach Ry…

09/09/2023

Vanessa Freitas had 14 kills and Brielle Crose posted 14 digs to lead Lake Land College volleyball to a victory over Frontier College. Avery Bruns hit .500 for the third time this season. Mia Wade set a team record for serve-receive passing.

Freitas also had 24 kills in a win over Millikin's JV. Crose added 10 kills and 12 digs while Wade made 21 digs. Luciana Araujo recorded 22 assists and 10 digs.

09/09/2023

Mattoon High is in fourth place among 32 boys teams midway through the Craig Dixon golf tournament held at both Meadowview and Mattoon Country Club courses.

Mattoon needed 301 strokes from its top four golfers Friday. Evan Diedrich posted a team-best 71, followed by Cole Larson (73), Will Pullen (77) and Madden Johnson (80).

Other MHS scores: Hunter Basham (82), Brock Taylor (92).

Charleston is in seven place with 310 strokes led by Hudson Meister's 72.

09/09/2023

Logan Gowin of St. John's Lutheran School captured the IESA middle school sectional boys golf title Friday after shooting 69 at Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Paris.

Gowin, a seventh grader, won the individual title by one stroke over a Mahomet Middle School golfer.

Charleston Middle's Dylan Way carded an 88 to finish tied for 12th, missing the cut for state by a few strokes.

Mabrey VanHoveln (6th grade, St. John's) qualified for state in the girls tournament by finishing sixth in the individual competition with a score of 103 at the Rantoul Sectional at Willow Pond Golf Course.

Mattoon Middle's Madisyn Frank (6th gradel) also qualified for state by finishing tied for 7th in the individual competition with a score of 105.

The IESA state golf tournament takes place at Metamora Fields Golf Club this Thursday and Friday.

St. John's had two other boy golfers that competed: Becket Westra shot a 112 and Benne Hocking shot a 126.

Charleston Middle School had two other boys golfers compete: Brayden Fuller at 131 and Colby Metzger at 140.

Photo: Frank with MMS coach Jenna Dallas.

09/09/2023

Big plays kept the Mattoon football team close with a storied Highland football program through three quarters Friday night. In the end, the Bulldogs’ potent running attack kept the Mattoon offense off the field for most of the fourth quarter, preventing any Green Wave comeback.

“It was us beating us in this one,” Mattoon head coach Jarad Kimbro said. “We can’t get off the field on third and fourth and long when we needed to.”

Specifically, Hunter Frey’s 53 yard run on fourth and long early in the fourth quarter provided more than enough offense for the homestanding Bulldogs, propelling them to the 44-22 win.

By Greg Powers Big plays kept the Mattoon football team close with a storied Highland football program through three quarters Friday night.  In the end, the Bulldogs’ potent running atta…

09/09/2023

Charleston High's Andrew Kuykendall (pictured) fired an even-par 36 while two teammates shot below 40 as well to lead CHS to three boys golf wins in a quad match Thursday at Charleston Country Club.

Alex Kuykendall carded a 37 and Hudson Meister had a 38 on the front nine. Rhyland Brady shot 41 to give the Trojans a 153 stroke total, nine better than runner-up Effingham. Teutopolis shot 169 and Mahomet had a 171.

Chi is now 6-0 in dual matches.

09/07/2023

We recently reached 4,000 followers on Facebook, which means we have far more people each year than the year before. New athletic seasons always means new readers so here is some background about us.

1. We are mostly volunteers trying to give local athletes and teams coverage they would not otherwise receive. We all have other full-time jobs.
2. We are a not-for-profit 501(c)(3). So far, neither of the publishers have ever received compensation despite working on thousands of stories, posts, along with state/federal reports and soliciting for donors.
3. We created Coles County Sports this week in September 2019.
4. We pay a few experienced reporters below-market value to help us cover local events. They do this, as we do, to help offer information for our community – despite their spending hours at events with sometimes less sleep than they would like.
5. We report details on events we ourselves cannot cover in person if athletic directors, coaches or assigned team managers send us information through text, email or FB messenger. Email: [email protected].
6. The more specific the information that is sent, the more likely we can write longer stories.
7. Anybody can send us photos from events.
8. Our donors buoy our coverage, offering anywhere from $25 for individual donors to thousands for business donors. We appreciate them all.
9. We all are part of our community.
10. We follow the SPJ Code of Ethics.
11. Coverage is primarily determined by two factors — personnel and funding. If you’d like to report for us, send a note to me (Joe Gisondi) by email or FB message. If you’d like to send a donation, either submit online through the link atop our FB page or by mail to: Coles County Sports, PO Box 362, Charleston, IL 61920.
12. We privately root for kids and teams from our community, but we cover all aspects of games – the positive and the negative.
13. We are on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. We try to frequently post on those platforms, as well.
14. We are glad that our coverage has highlighted area coaches and athletes for three years. That is our primary purpose.
15. Thanks for reading.

09/06/2023

Charleston High girls tennis coach Eric Selstad said his team played tough in its matches despite the shutout loss to Effingham.

“A good effort was put in by our girls,” Selstad said, “but at this point I would love to see our girls start getting prepared sooner and hit the ball harder. If that means balls coming flying over the fence, so be it.”

Here’s his breakdown of the matches. Full results are included as well.

* “Christine Pschirrer played a strong opponent at No. 1 singles and put in a good effort. She is still learning to adapt to the pace of play at the top position and continues to improve.”
* “Kailee Gough at No. 2 singles played a tough first set but regrouped and was more competitive in the second set. Kailee continues to improve. Kaillee and Christine teamed up for No. 1 doubles and were competitive and are becoming stronger in doubles with every match.”
* “Mia Carcasi at No. 3 singles also had a tough first set, but regrouped and was much stronger in her second set.”
* “Taryn Cole played No. 4 singles and had a tough match; she will continue to improve over time. Taryn and Mia at No. 2 doubles put in a good effort.”
* “Ella Kenner played No. 5 singles and was in the hunt for the first set. Her play has really improved and continues to hit the ball better and better.”
* “Julie Richardson was also competitive in her first set and put in a good effort.”
* “Ella Kenner teamed up with Raylin Cox at No. 3 doubles and played highly competitive match, losing in a tiebreaker. Ella and Raylin stayed in the match the entire time, focused, and competing until the end.”

Effingham (H.S.) - 9, Charleston - 0, ��Singles:�No. 1 - Izzy Volpi, Effingham (H.S.) def. Christine Pschirrer, Charleston, 6-0 , 6-0 , -;�No. 2 - Charly Kreke, Effingham (H.S.) def. Kailee Gough, Charleston, 6-0 , 6-3 , -;�No. 3 - Kristen Armstrong, Effingham (H.S.) def. Mia Carcasi, Charleston, 6-0 , 6-3 , -;�No. 4 - Scarlette Sorling, Effingham (H.S.) def. Taryn Cole, Charleston, 6-0 , 6-0 , -;�No. 5 - Makenna Duckwitz, Effingham (H.S.) def. Ella Kenner, Charleston, 6-4 , 6-1 , -;�No. 6 - Kendyll Schoonover, Effingham (H.S.) def. Julianna Richardson, Charleston, 6-4 , 6-1 , -;��Doubles:�No. 1 - Izzy Volpi, Effingham (H.S.) - Kristen Armstrong, Effingham (H.S.) def. Christine Pschirrer, Charleston - Kailee Gough, Charleston, 6-2 , 6-2 , -;�No. 2 - Charly Kreke, Effingham (H.S.) - Cora Hartmann, Effingham (H.S.) def. Mia Carcasi, Charleston - Taryn Cole, Charleston, 6-1 , 6-1 , -;�No. 3 - Lindy Kalber, Effingham (H.S.) - Addy Hemrich, Effingham (H.S.) def. Ella Kenner, Charleston - Raylin Cox, Charleston, 6-4 , 7-6 (3)

09/06/2023

Evan Chaney scored a first-half goal at the 16th minute but Mattoon failed to take a shot on goal in the second half in a 2-1 loss to Effingham in boys soccer.

09/04/2023

Jessica Hoh and Eva Zheng each won two individual events and Charleston High captured two relays in a 33-31 dual meet victory against St. Thomas More held at EIU's swimming facility.

Zheng won the 100 freestyle in 1 minute, 7.72 seconds and 100 breaststroke in 1:14.22.

Hoh took first in both the 100 backstroke (1:14.22) and 50 free (28.93), the latter event 4 seconds ahead of teammate Alexis Gray.

All three competed in both the winning 200 medley and 200 free relays.

09/03/2023

Emilio Pucheta took a touch to his left and fired a shot into the bottom right corner of the net for a tying goal in the first half, but CHS boys soccer eventually lost to Newton 5-2 to drop to 1-4 this season. It was Pucheta's first goal.

Grant Kattenbraker later scored his team-leading fourth goal off a corner kick when a deflected ball landed near him. He drilled a low shot into the left corner of the net to again tie the score, 2-2, early in the second half.

Newton scored three goals in an eight-minute span to earn the win.

09/03/2023

Blake Homann posted the best local finish in Saturday’s Charleston Cross Country Invitational held at EIU’s Panther Trail. We have complete local results and a photo gallery from the meet on the link below.

Photos and information by Dominic BaimaBlake Homann posted the best local finish in Saturday’s Charleston Cross Country Invitational held at EIU’s Panther Trail. The CHS junior ran the …

09/02/2023

Trysten Sewell ran for nearly 200 yards and scored twice to help Mattoon High football defeat Olney, 33-6, on Friday night.

By Greg Powers Festivities abounded at the rededication of Mattoon High School’s Gaines Field Friday night. The Green Wave football team was happy to put the exclamation point on a special night. …

09/02/2023

Charleston High football relied on a tough defense and prolific offense to roll past Paris, 56-20, on Friday night and remain unbeaten through its opening two games.

Story and Photos by Dominic BaimaCharleston traveled to Paris Friday night where both teams were looking to keep a perfect start to the season. Charleston would make that happen with a decisive 56-…

09/02/2023

Grant Kattenbraker scored his third goal of the season, but it was not enough for Charleston in a 3-1 loss to Arthur Okaw Christian in boy soccer action.

09/01/2023

Friday will be a special night at Gaines Field.

Not only will the Green Wave be playing host to Olney and hoping for its first win.

But there will be a rededication of Gaines Field along with many other festivities.

Both teams are coming off a loss. Mattoon fell to Troy Triad 56-20 while Olney lost to Taylorville, 41-6. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

By Mike Monahan Friday will be a special night at Gaines Field. Not only will the Green Wave be playing host to Olney and hoping for its first win. But there will be a rededication of Gaines Field …

09/01/2023

Alex Kuykendall shot even-par 35 to lead Charleston High boys golf to match wins over Mattoon and Paris on Thursday at Mattoon Country Club.

Alex Kuykendall shot even-par 35 to lead Charleston High boys golf to match wins over Mattoon and Paris on Thursday at Mattoon Country Club. Kuykendall recorded par on each of the nine holes played…

08/31/2023

Blair Powers fired 39 to help Mattoon High girls golf post low team score in a quad meet Tuesday at Red Tail Run in Decatur.

Mattoon needed 181 strokes among its top four golfers, 43 better than runner-up Champaign Central.

TEAM SCORES
Mattoon: 181
Champaign Central: 224
Champaign Centennial: 247
Decatur Eisenhower: No Team Scores

Mattoon Individual Scores: Blair Powers 39, Jorun Haldorsen 45, Marley Vanhoveln 46, Adrienne Muchow 49, Julia Morton 51

Mattoon is now 6-0 this season.

08/31/2023

Sophomore Vanessa Freitas drilled 16 kills and had 10 digs to help Lake Land sweep past host Frontier Community College, 25-16, 25-16, 25-20, on Wednesday

Middle blockers Brianna Hewing and Avery Bruns dominated at the net with a total of 11 combined blocks. Brielle Crose led the team in digs with 14, followed by Mia Wade with 11. Luciana Araujo controlled the offense with 22 assists for the night.

Lake Land plays its first home match Sept. 6 against Lincoln Trail.

08/30/2023

Wesley Paul scored his fourth goal of the season, but Charleston High lost 8-1 to Teutopolis in boys soccer Tuesday. Russell Applegate had a breakaway opportunity saved by the goalkeeper. The shot deflected to Paul, who passed it into the open net. CHS is now 1-2.

08/29/2023

Mattoon High’s Blair Powers earned medalist honors during a four-team girls golf event at a Meadowview Golf Course on Monday. Here are the rest of the scores.

Mattoon 190, Effingham 199, Charleston 221, Champaign Central 230.

Mattoon -- Blair Powers 42, Marley Vanhoveln 47, Adrienne Muchow 49, Julia Morton 52, Jorun Haldorsen 59

Charleston -- Alex Clayton 50, Bailey Wolf 56, Brie Tomlinson 56, Macie Babbs 59, Morgan Smallhorn 62

Effingham -- Ella Tuman 45, Elena Niebrugge 48, Makenna Maybrook 53, Grace Harper 53, Natalie Amrstrong 56

Champaign Central -- Makenna Gray 48, Addison Jones 49, Nieman Shivers 64, Avery Hall 69, Veronica Grassman 70

08/28/2023

An unfortunate rebound off a strong save on a penalty kick prevented CHS from sweeping its two games in the Red and Gold boys soccer tournament Saturday. Here are both the story and stats.

Charleston goalkeeper Drew Dow initially made the stop in a shootout Saturday during the Red and Gold soccer tournament at Sister City. The Trojans had tied Effingham, 3-3, during regulation of the…

08/28/2023

Kam Lathrop took third at No. 2 singles to help Mattoon High finish fourth overall among 16 teams in last weekend's St. Anthony girls tennis tournament.

Ava Butler and Avery Gill teamed to place fourth in No. 2 doubles while Gracie Willingham (No. 1 singles), Ellie Miller (No. 3 singles) and Lily Gregory/Avery Boyer (No. 2 doubles) each placed fifth in they respective divisions.

The Greenwave play their first home match Tuesday against Effingham, beginning at 4 p.m.

08/26/2023

An early Mattoon lead evaporated quickly as the Green Wave lost the season opener 56-20 at Triad on Friday night.

On a hot, steamy evening on a turf field, Mattoon lacked the depth and size of Triad, who rattled off 42 straight points to cruise to a 56-20 win.

Read the full story with stats on the website.

By Greg Powers An early Mattoon lead evaporated quickly as the Green Wave lost the season opener 56-20 at Triad on Friday night. On a hot, steamy evening on a turf field, Mattoon lacked the depth a…

06/06/2023

Charleston High is offering buses for fans to attend the Trojans’ state tourney softball games in Peoria later this week. See below.

CHS will take a student fan bus for the softball game Friday! Leave time 9:30 AM at Baker Gym. Students are responsible for their own ticket (instructions emailed to them after sign up). 20 Student minimum for bus to go. Call CHS (217) 639-5006 to sign up by Thursday at 10 AM