Hillsboro High Sports | The Journal-News

Senior Melissa Bell picked up a straight set win over Taylorville's Lydia Hopkins, 6-2, 6-2, during the Toppers' home match on Tuesday, Sept. 19.

Bad Luck, Close Matches The Story For Hillsboro

So far this season, winning has been less of a problem for the Hillsboro High School girls tennis team than actually getting the opportunity to play. In between picking up their fourth victory of the … more

9/25/23

Hillsboro Girls Pick Up Sixth South Central Win

The Hillsboro girls basketball team overcame a slow start to pick up their sixth South Central Conference win of the season on Monday, Feb. 5, as they defeated Pana 54-26. The Panthers scored … more

2/8/24

Lady Redskins Slip Past Toppers

The Hillsboro and Nokomis softball teams entered the Montgomery County Softball Tournament on Saturday, April 13, with quite a few similarities. Both teams were floating around .500 for the season, … more

4/15/24

Litchfield's Harrison Thomas (#52) and Carson Saathoff (#11) try to clear out Hillsboro's Elliott Lentz (#54) and the other Topper defenders to give A.J. Sypherd some running room on Friday, Sept. 22. Sypherd had Litchfield's only touchdown, but that and a Cooper Martin field goal were enough as the Panthers scored a 9-7 win on homecoming.

Panthers Win Battle Over Toppers

Anyone who went to the Hillsboro/Litchfield South Central Conference football game held on the Purple Panthers’ home field Friday night, Sept. 22, expecting to see offensive plays up and down the … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 9/25/23

Toppers, Redskins Duel It Out In Semis

Because not many high school baseball games evolve into a pitcher’s duel, county baseball fans who came to Hillsboro’s Sports Complex for the Nokomis Hillsboro semi-final game witnessed a … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 4/15/24

The three senior members of the Hillsboro High School wrestling team were honored, along with their parents on Wednesday, Jan. 17, before the Toppers’ match with Highland. From the left are Zander Wells, with parents Mike and Haley Wells; Ian Anderson, with parents Jacqui Anderson and Adam Anderson; and Treyton Kuhl, with parents Todd and Rachel Kuhl.

Toppers Honor Senior Trio On Wednesday

Wednesday was senior night for the Hillsboro High School wrestling team as the Toppers faced off against Highland in their final home meet of the season. Zander Wells, Ian Anderson and Treyton Kuhl … more

1/22/24

Hillsboro Bass Fishing Club Gets Donations

The Hillsboro High School Bass Fishing Club, established in 2019 by several students who sought and received board approval, has grown to have a dozen members, several volunteer coaches and many … more

2/26/24

Carlinville Holds On To Beat Hillsboro

The Hillsboro High School softball team nearly handed Carlinville their first conference loss of the season on Friday, April 12, but came up just short in a 2-1 loss against the Cavies. The … more

4/15/24

Hillsboro's Mark Mattson (#24) guards Dillon Clark (#5) of Taylorville during the ninth place game at the Rick McGraw Memorial Invitational in Litchfield on Saturday, Jan. 20. The Tornadoes led 23-10 after the first quarter, then held on for a 75-62 victory over Hillsboro to take ninth.

Strong Opener Sends Tornadoes Past Toppers

Taylorville, a team showing improvement as injured players return, won their fourth game of the season and second in the Rick McGraw Memorial Invitational Tournament held in Litchfield for the 56th … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 1/22/24

Three Toppers, Three Panthers On All-SCC Volleyball Teams

Hillsboro and Litchfield both landed three players on the South Central Conference volleyball all-conference team, which was released last week. Hillsboro’s Kennady Clayton and Addison … more

11/6/23

Senior Cole Lenczycki, pictured with his parents Jenny and Jason Lenczycki, was honored during the Hillsboro track senior night festivities on Tuesday, April 9, at Sawyer Field.

Hillsboro Boys Take First At Home Meet

The Hillsboro boys track team finished in the top three 23 times and set 26 personal records on Tuesday, April 9, as they finished first in a three-team meet on their home track. The Toppers … more

4/15/24

Toppers Get Past Pana For McGraw Win

It takes a special person to fill the minor but still important roles on a basketball team: play defense, don’t turn the ball over, help the shooters score … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 1/22/24

Senior Hanna Hughes, pictured with her mom, Audra Moore, was honored during Hillsboro track senior night festivities as Sawyer Field on Tuesday, April 9.

Hughes Leads Lady Hiltoppers On Senior Night

It was senior night on Tuesday, April 9, for the Hillsboro High School track team, so it was only fitting that the lone senior on this year’s team contributed greatly to the Lady … more

4/15/24

Hillsboro's Amya Greenwood closely guards Litchfield's Kyndal Law during the match-up between the two Montgomery County foes on Monday, Dec. 11. Law and company gave Hillsboro all they could handle for three quarters, before the Toppers used a 17-0 fourth quarter to pull out a 49-24 win.

Hillsboro Tops LHS After Early Scare

At first glance, Hillsboro’s 49-24 win over Litchfield looks exactly like what you would have predicted if you just looked at the team’s records before the game. The Toppers were 5-5 … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 12/14/23

Hillsboro's Dylan Lessman (#32) had 69 yards on 14 carries before an injury knocked him out of the Toppers' game at Vandalia on Friday, Oct. 6. Hillsboro held a 3-0 halftime lead against the Vandals thanks to a Hunter Payne field goal, but Vandalia scored 27 unanswered points to escape with their fifth win of the year.

Injuries, Vandals Take Down Toppers

The Toppers versus Pana game in Hillsboro last Friday, Sept. 29, had the Hillsboro fans at least mildly depressed at halftime but enthused by the end of the game. That enthusiasm carried over through … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 10/10/23

County Dual Heads North To Mt. Zion

For several years, the annual regular season meeting between the Litchfield and Hillsboro wrestling teams took place in one of three places: Hillsboro, Litchfield or Mt. Olive, who was the customary … more

12/14/23

Cumberland's Kelby Bierman (left) and Hillsboro's Nathan Matoush fight for possession during the third place game of the St. Elmo Holiday Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 16. The pair led their respective teams in scoring, with Bierman scoring 13 and Matoush finishing with 15, as the Pirates escaped with a 53-46 come-from-behind victory over the Hiltoppers.

Toppers Can't Close Gap With Cumberland

Poor free throw shooting and eight fourth quarter turnovers were the primary reasons Hillsboro’s boys basketball team fell to the Cumberland Pirates 53-46 in the third place game at the St. … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 12/18/23

Toppers Start Tourney With A Win

As the top seed in the St. Elmo Christmas Tournament, the Hillsboro Hiltoppers had two distinctions; they were selected to play the opening game on Tuesday, Dec. 12, and they were pitted against the … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 12/14/23

Beating the throw from the outfield to Lincolnwood-Morrisonville catcher Kaci Bethard, Hillsboro’s Audrey Shultz slides into home plate for the Lady Hiltoppers’ eighth run of the game. Hillsboro went on to score two more after Shultz’s sprint to the plate as they defeated the Lady Lancers 10-5 in Hillsboro on Monday, March 11.

Hillsboro, Lincolnwood Square Off In Softball Season Opener

It’s usually a toss-up when it comes to early March weather in Illinois, but the Lincolnwood and Hillsboro softball teams had about as good of conditions as you can get for their season opener … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 3/14/24

Hillsboro senior Ellie Miller (#12) sets up Addison Lowe for the attack during the Toppers' home game on Oct. 5, against Staunton. The Bulldogs picked up their 38th straight win in the South Central Conference, beating the Toppers 25-10, 25-21.

Staunton Still Top Dog In SCC

With a 4-0 South Central Conference record in 2023 and a 37-game SCC win streak dating back to 2019, Staunton was the consensus favorite to win the conference title for a fourth straight year in … more

10/10/23