St. Francis 8th-graders bring home season-opening title

The St. Francis eighth-grade boys basketball team opened its season with the championship at the Indian Creek Early Bird tournament.

St. Francis opened with a 30-17 win over Hinckley-Big Rock. Creighton Barnett had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Jeffrey Hankerson contributed six points and eight rebounds.

Next, the Panthers downed Teward 39-18 in the semifinals. Barnett had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Hankderson had six points and seven rebounds. Anthony Jones contributed five steals.

In the championship match, St. Francis prevailed 33-24 over Indian Creek. Barnett had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Hankerson added 12 points. Jones had five steals.

Ottawa Central 5th-graders win a pair

The Ottawa Central fifth-grade girls basketball team claimed two recent victories.

First, the Lady Cyclones beat Northlawn 12-6. Pazley Jensen had four points for Central.

Next, Central took down Dwight Common School 28-20. Elle Goetz had 12 points while Madalyn Podman scored eight points. Cassidy Beard had four points.

St. Patrick's 8th-graders finish third in Peru

The St. Patrick's eighth-grade girls basketball team finished third in the annual Peru Catholic Tournament.

St. Patrick's opened with a 46-16 win over Trinity Catholic. Jasmin Bailey had 21 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Lady Irish. Quinn Kistenfeger had 16 points, six steals and five assists. Ashley Bretag added four points and six rebounds.

The Lady Irish then fell 38-22 to Oglesby Holy Family. Bailey had 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals for St. Pat's. Kistenfeger contributed five points and three steals, while Bretag had four points and two steals.

St. Patrick's closed its tournament with a 39-36 win over Morris Immaculate Conception. Bailey had a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Kistenfeger had four points and five assists. Michaela Neurohr added three points and seven rebounds.

Also, the Lady Irish took down Marseilles 37-8 in a regular-season contest. Bailey had a big game with 24 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Kistenfeger tallied 12 points, four assists and four steals. Neurohr added 10 rebounds and three steals.

Illinois Power volleyball to host informational meeting on Sunday

The Illinois Valley Power volleyball organization will hold an informational meeting on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Illinois Valley Community College upper gym. Tryout information, practice schedules and tournament information will be discussed at that time.

Tryouts will be held on Sunday, Nov. 15 for all teams. Registration for the 17U and 18U teams will begin at 9 a.m. in the upper gym. Tryouts then will take place from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The birthday cutoff is Sept. 1.

Registration for the 15U and 16U teams will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the upper gym. Tryouts then will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. in the lower gym.

There is a nonrefundable tryout fee of $35, which includes a T-shirt. Parents must be present at registration in order to complete all required USA Volleyball forms. For more information, call Julie Sherbyn at 815-303-3006 or Eric Zimbelman at 815-326-5882.

DREAMWAVE Wrestling welcomes former WWF World Champion to La Salle

DREAMWAVE Wrestling will welcome another WWE/WWF legend when it hosts "National Security" on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the La Salle Knights of Columbus.

Sgt. Slaughter will appear in the main event and will greet fans. He made headlines in the 1980s for appearing in the G.I. Joe cartoon series, as well as appearing as a regular character in the comic book series.

Slaughter is the first former WWE/WWF World Champion to appear in La Salle, having won the title at the "Royal Rumble" over the Ultimate Warrior in January of 1991. He also headlined Wrestlemania VII in a title defense against Hulk Hogan the same year. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in March of 2004.

Slaughter will appear as the guest enforcer for the tag team match featuring Prince Mustafa Ali and "Legendary" Dan Lawrence vs. DREAMWAVE World Champion "Silent Intensity" Austin Roberts and "The B-O-Z" Steve Boz.

In addition to wrestling action, there will be a training seminar for beginners 18 and older held prior to the show by "The B-O-Z" Steve Boz.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.dreamwavewrestling.com.