Hillsboro High Sports | The Journal-News

Toppers Welcome Rochester, Lutheran North To Town

After making a return to the football playoffs last year, the Hillsboro Hiltoppers got the opportunity to learn some lessons from two teams that know a thing or two about winning in the postseason on … more

7/13/23

About 60 children from the Hillsboro School District and other local communities joined the fun with the Topper football staff and players to learn the fundamentals of football at the Troy Helton Memorial Youth Topper Football Camp.

Youth Enjoy Inaugural Troy Helton Football Camp

The family of the late Troy Helton, who passed away in January 2022, hosted the inaugural Troy Helton Memorial Youth Topper Football Camp June 7-9 at Hillsboro High School. About 60 children … more

6/12/23

Hillsboro High School tennis players Ryder Hoover (left) and Aubrey Reincke (right) got a little time on the courts with Alexandria Rayford recently. Rayford, the new weekday morning anchor at WICS-TV in Springfield, played tennis for Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL, and talked to the girls about her experience there.

WICS Anchor Rayford Talks Tennis With Lady Hiltoppers

Four members of the Hillsboro High School girls tennis team had the chance to pick the brain of a former college player and welcome a new face to the Midwest recently. Auburey Reincke, Ryder … more

6/8/23

Members of the Hillsboro High School girls soccer team who earned spots on the all-conference team were honored by Coach Dave Mattson during an end-of-season awards banquet on Tuesday, May 30, at the Hillsboro Sports Complex. From the left are third team all-conference members Ava Pollard and Allie Kuhns; second team all-conference members Avery Walden, Sierra Compton and Isabella White; and first team all-conference honorees Sally Mattson and Kinley Richardson.

Ten From County Earn All-SCC

Seven Hillsboro players and three Litchfield players earned all-conference accolades from the girls soccer coaches of the South Central Conference by virtue of their play this past season. … more

6/1/23

With the O'Brien Field press box in the background, Hillsboro High School senior Tanner Clayton goes up for one of his attempts at clearing 3.8 meters in the pole vault at the IHSA Class 1A State Finals track meet in Charleston on Thursday, May 25.

Hard Work Pays Off For Toppers With Trip To State

Brayden Fowler, Tanner Clayton and Blaze Helton knew their track season was going to come to an end last week, but the question for the three Hillsboro High School seniors was whether it would be the … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 5/30/23

2023 A Test For Hillsboro Baseball Team

When a team in any sport on any level wins only 10% of their games, multiple reasons come together, and all are hard to separate. The physical, statistical reasons are easier to sniff out than the … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 5/30/23

After finishing fifth at state last year in the high jump, Hillsboro Junior High eighth grader Jaida Linn cleared 5'1" and beat Beardstown's Jenny Bongo in a jump-off to claim the state championship in the event on Saturday, May 20, at the IESA State Finals in East Peoria.

Linn Reaches New Heights At State Meet

For the fifth time since 1985 and the first time since 2017, Hillsboro Junior High is the home of an IESA track state champion. Hillsboro eighth grader Jaida Linn cleared a 5’1” in … more

5/25/23

Hillsboro's Dylan Lessman (center) sprints toward the finish line in the 200 meter dash at the Gillespie Sectional on Thursday, May 18. Lessman finished 10th in the 200, but also scored points for the Toppers in the 100, where he finished sixth, and 400, where he finished third.

Topper Track Has A Senior Moment At Sectional

There is a lot of young talent on the Hillsboro boys track team, but on Thursday, May 18, at the Gillespie Sectional, the night belonged to the three seniors on the Hiltoppers’ roster. … more

5/22/23 | 1 comment

Sixteen young athletes from Hillsboro Junior High will be in East Peoria on May 19-20 for the IESA State Finals track Meet after qualifying for state at the sectional in Gillespie on May 13. In front, from the left, are Aubrey Baldwin, Jaida Linn, Briley Kirby, Amya Greenwood and Kamdyn Putnam. In the second row are Kaelin Cress, Aubrey Huber, Bailey Chappelear, Sophia Watkins and Piper Walk. In the back row are Joseph Lanter, Hunter Davis, Jermaine DeClue, Tytin Wells and Sawyer Hindle. Not pictured is Elijah Patton.

Dragons Have Medals In Mind At State

Two relays and two high jumpers from the Hillsboro Junior High girls track team advanced to the IESA Class 3A State Finals after their success at the Gillespie Sectional on Saturday, May 13. The … more

5/18/23

Hillsboro Boys Send Five To State

The Hillsboro Junior High boys track team qualified for state in five events on Saturday, May 13 at the IESA Class 3A sectional in Gillespie. Four of the five events are on the eighth grade … more

5/18/23

Bailey Leach of Pleasant Plains (#17) tries to shield Hillsboro's Sierra Compton from the ball during the first half of the sectional semifinal game in Riverton on Tuesday, May 16. Leach had one of the Cardinals' six goals in their 6-0 win over the Hiltoppers that moved them on to face Sacred Heart-Griffin in Friday's championship game.

Plains Ends Toppers Season In Sectionals

Suffocating. That was how the Hillsboro defense played on Tuesday, May 16, in the Riverton Sectional semifinal soccer game against Pleasant Plains, especially in the first half. Unfortunately, the … more

5/18/23

Litchfield's Emma Walch takes a cut at Anika Camp's offering from the circle during the regional quarterfinal game between the Purple Panthers and Hillsboro on Monday, May 15. Walch, one of four seniors on the Litchfield squad caught the pitch square and sent it over the fence for the final two runs in the Panthers' 7-3 victory over the Lady Hiltoppers in Greenville.

Panthers Knock Off Hillsboro At Regional

It took a few innings, but once the Litchfield-Mt. Olive softball team got rolling on Monday in Greenville, they were hard to stop. The Panthers overcame an early 1-0 deficit to score seven runs … more

5/18/23

Roxana Rallies To Beat Hiltoppers

An old fashioned pitcher’s duel erupted Monday afternoon, May 15, in Roxana when Hillsboro’s baseball team traveled there to face the Shells in the opening game of the Breeze Central … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 5/18/23

Sectionals for the three Montgomery County girls track teams were on Thursday, May 11, in Carlinville as Hillsboro, Litchfield and Nokomis all invaded Cavalier Country. Above, from the left, Hillsboro's Layne Rupert, Riverton's Brandy Petitt, Nokomis' Irene Vandenbergh and Litchfield's Gracie Boden go around the final turn into the backstretch of the "fast heat" in the 400 meter run at the sectional. The quartet took the top four spots in the race, all running personal records, as Vandenbergh took first, followed by Petitt, Boden and Rupert.

Toppers Just Miss Moving On To State

The Hillsboro girls track team wrapped up their season on Thursday, May 11, at the Class 2A Carlinville Sectional. The Lady Hiltoppers finished 11th in the 18-team sectional, with nine finishes in … more

5/15/23

Members of the Hillsboro High School soccer team celebrate with their regional championship trophy after defeating Litchfield 9-1 in Greenville on Friday, May 12. The Lady Hiltoppers will now play Pleasant Plains on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Riverton Sectional.

Hillsboro Beats Litchfield For Regional Title

In certain soccer circles, mainly those inhabited by fans of the Men In Blazers podcast, there is a theory that scoring early can actually be bad for teams. While the result of a game depends on … more

5/15/23

Hilsboro senior Brayden Fowler picked up one of the Toppers' two wins at the Gillespie Invitational on Friday, May 12, winning the 300 meter hurdles in a time of 42.25.

Toppers Third At Gillespie

With 11 personal records and a third place finish as a team despite some missing pieces, the Gillespie Invitational was great warmup for sectionals for the Hillsboro boys track team. The Toppers … more

5/15/23

Lady Hiltoppers Knock Off Alton Marquette

It was a busy last week of the regular season for Hillsboro as the Lady Hiltoppers wrapped things up with four games in four days. After beating Litchfield on Tuesday, May 9, Hillsboro fell to South … more

5/15/23

Gillespie Stays Unbeaten With Win Over Toppers

The Hillsboro baseball Toppers’ 17-7 six-inning loss at Gillespie means that unless the Hiltopppers win the state title in their classification, they will finish with a 20 loss season. … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 5/15/23

With 31 goals going into the regional semifinal game against Greenville on Tuesday, May 9, Hillsboro's Kinley Richardson drew more than her fair share of attention from Comet defenders. That didn't stop Richardson from scoring twice in the game as Hillsboro defeated Greenville 3-2 to advance to the regional championship game in Greenville on Friday, May 12, at 4:30 p.m.

Second Half Sends Toppers To Title Game

“Go win it.” Those were the last words Hillsboro Girls Soccer Coach Dave Mattson said as he walked off the field after consulting with officials and Greenville’s head coach, … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 5/11/23

Litchfield Picks Up Third Win Over Toppers

Litchfield High’s baseball team faced Hillsboro three times in the 2023 baseball season – once in the county tournament, once in conference play and Tuesday, May 9, in Litchfield as the … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 5/11/23