WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – It’s Friday!

With Spring Break behind us, high school matchups are picking up again.

7News Sportscasters Mel Busler and Rob Krone take a look at standout teams and athletes as we get deeper into the spring sports season.

The duo also talks about upcoming wrestling and MMA fights in the North Country.

Tune in to their discussion, a 7News Extra, below.

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AROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine (WAGM) – Washburn High School is on a three game home stretch this week.

Yesterday the co-op teams hosted the Southern Aroostook Warriors.

We’ve already seen Damien DuMont hit well for his team with runners in scoring position, this hit will bring one runner home, and advance another runner to third base, runners on the corners for Washburn.

A couple balls in the dirt would score one run and bring DuMont to third base.

Gabe Espling at the plate for the Beavers with a runner on third.

A base hit would bring that run home and Washburn is hot to start the game.

Southern Aroostook’s defense comes up big to cap off a big inning for the Beavers.

The Warriors trying to get some offense of their own going, this walk would load the bases for Southern Aroostook.

Trafton Russell was walked so one run scored, Daniel Kuindersma at the plate, a rip to the outfield, two runs will come to the plate to score, Southern Aroostook with runners on second and third.

Ethan Collier would drive home another run, 20 total runs scored in this one, the Warriors come out on top 12-8.

Onto the softball fields in Washburn, Hope Curry is going to get the party started for the Warriors with a hit to the outfield, she’ll turn that into a double in the top of the 1st.

Olivia Ellingwood will drive in the first run of this game, getting the scoring started early, 1-0 Lady Warriors.

Brielle Taveras was able to reach first through a walk, and eventually made her way over to third.

A pass ball would give Washburn their first run of the game in the bottom of the first.

Top of the second… Bethany Schmidt with a chance to drive a runner home and she will do exactly that… Alexa Hersey will be the runner to cross the plate.

The Washburn/Easton Lady Beavers put together their best offensive performance with 16 runs.

But the Lady Warriors come up with 28 to beat the Lady Beavers at home.

Southern Aroostook is off to a hot start at 3-1

Head coach Paul Sherman said, “We don’t really worry about that too much, we mostly enjoy playing the game, being together. We mostly measure it by are we hitting the ball hard, are we catching it. You only control what you can do and then there’s also what they are but they enjoy playing the game and enjoy being together, we’re learning and we’re happy about that.”

Southern Aroostook’s next games will be a doubleheader in Fort Kent Saturday at 11 and 1.

The Northern Maine Moose boys lacrosse team is into the win column.

The Moose met with John Bapst on Husson’s fields last night.

They won 8-5 behind Isaiah Ervin’s 3 goals and 3 assists, Colton Simoes’ 2 goals, Brayden Drake, Eli Brown, and Damion Stuart each scored once.

Head coach Adam Simoes said “A slower start than we wanted but once we gained momentum the team worked well together today. When multiple players have success that’s a good sign. “My offensive players clicked today. We did a lot of reps in practice and it paid off. I hope this gives my offensive players some confidence in their skills. Our defense did well tonight holding shots to the outside and protecting Carter. A great group effort.”

The Lady Moose hosted Bangor, the team put up a good fight against the Rams.

The team lost 18-6 behind four goals for Tori Ervin.

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In baseball

➜ Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 11, Watseka 3. A solid six innings on the mound and a pair of hits at the plate by Anderson Thomas helped the Blue Devils (16-8) continue their hot streak. Cruz Dubois tallied a trio of doubles, which earned him three RBI and three runs scored. Chaz Dubois had two hits and two RBI. Andrew Shoemaker shined for the Warriors (6-13), ending the game with three hits and two RBI.

➜ Mahomet-Seymour 5, Heyworth 0. Miles Woolsey nearly went the distance, pitching 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and only one hit allowed before giving way to the bullpen. Not the flashiest day offensively for the Bulldogs (15-6), totaling just five hits, but they made it work. Cam Heinold led the way with a double and two RBI.

➜ Monticello 6, Rantoul 3. The Sages (23-4) battled through a tough one with the Eagles (12-11) for the win. Carter Foran got the win on the mound, going six innings with five strikeouts, and had two hits at the plate. Illinois signee Ike Young notched three hits, including two doubles, and drove in two runs. Holden Cargo had two hits and an RBI for Rantoul.

➜ Paxton-Buckley-Loda 4, Pontiac 0. Luke Krumwiede pitched six innings of seven-strikeout, one-hit ball for the Panthers (12-10). Kayden Vance and Jack Wesslund had PBL’s only hits, but two, along with three Pontiac errors, is all the Panthers needed.

➜ St. Joseph-Ogden 10, Unity 0. The Spartans (27-2) left no doubt in securing an undefeated, outright Illini Prairie Conference championship. Asher Pruemer pitched a six-inning complete game and only allowed two hits. Bryson Houchens collected two hits, including a home run, and three RBI, and Kodey McKinney had three hits and two RBI. Nolan Remole and Coleton Langendorf logged Unity’s (14-10) two hits.

In softball

➜ Centennial 8, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 2. The Chargers (5-9) came back from their loss to crosstown rival Champaign Central with a vengeance. Zoe Goodreau pitched a gem, going the full seven innings with 17 strikeouts and only two hits allowed. Annie Loschen paced the offense with two hits and two RBI. Bailey Bunting and Thais Rodriguez had the Falcons’ (10-16) two hits.

➜ Champaign Central 10, Oakwood/Schlarman 0. Haley Helm strikes again, this time striking out seven batters and only allowing one hit in six innings for the Maroons (19-1). She, Kaitlyn Helm, Molly Kloeppel, Maisie Bowers and Grace Bandy all recorded two hits in the winning effort. Lainee Smith had the lone hit for the Comets (13-9-1).

➜ Iroquois West 12, St. Anne 11. A wild game that saw just as many walks as it did runs ended in dramatic fashion, with the Raiders (7-13) winning on a walkoff. They gave up three runs in the top of the seventh inning to lose the lead, but two more runs in the bottom half won it. Amelia Scharp logged three hits and two RBI, Neveah Medina hit a pair of doubles with three RBI and Kyla Dewitt had two hits and two RBI.

➜ LeRoy 15, Hoopeston Area 0. Big day for the Panthers (25-4), picking up a convincing win in four innings. Jacey Hageman tossed a one-hitter with nine strikeouts in the circle while also notching two hits at the plate. Kendyl Spratt hit a home run and had three RBI. Annie Conn paced the offense with three hits, Molly Scheuer tallied two hits and three RBI and Laila Carr had two hits and two RBI. Tough day at the dish for the Cornjerkers (7-11), whose only hit came off the bat of Maddie Barnes.

➜ Marshall 16, Westville 9. The Tigers (23-4) lost an offensive showcase in which they put up 12 hits, led by Laney Cook‘s three. Lani Gondzur hit a home run, and she, Lilly Kiesel and Jazmyn Bennett all drove in two runs.

➜ Monticello 14, Rantoul 1. The Sages (22-5) clinched a share of the Illini Prairie Conference championship for the first time since 2014, and they have many to thank for it. Sadie Walsh collected three hits, four runs scored and two RBI. Thea Key blasted a home run and drove in four runs. Isa Beery had two hits and two RBI. Cassidee Stoffel pitched a five-inning complete game with four strikeouts and only four hits allowed while adding two RBI at the plate. Georgia Miller-Cheek drove in lone run for the Eagles (7-13).

➜ Salt Fork 8, Seeger 1. The Storm (20-4) bounced back from their first loss in a month with a solid win on the back of Karli McGee‘s complete game in the circle, in which she racked up seven strikeouts. Bella Kurtenbach tallied two hits, and Brilynn Barnett had two RBI.

➜ Unity 5, St. Joseph-Ogden 3. The softball matchup between the rival Rockets (23-4) and Spartans (19-10) was a little closer than the baseball one, with Lindy Bates outdueling Timera Blackburn-Kelley in the circle. Bates, Jenna Adkins, Grace Bickers and Shelby Smith all notched two hits for Unity, with Bates hitting a home run. Kenzie Atwood, Ashlee Jannusch and Thea Smith each had two hits for SJ-O, with Atwood driving in two runs.

➜ Watseka 9, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 7. A close game that saw the Blue Devils (13-13) fall just short of completing a comeback ultimately ended in a Warriors victory. Christa Holohan mashed a home run for Watseka (8-12) while Emma Klopp and Noelle Schroeder each hit two doubles. Ella Acton homered for BHRA, and Ava Acton tallied three hits.

In girls’ soccer

➜ Champaign Central 9, Bloomington 0. Thanks to hat tricks and two assists apiece from Rylie Schulze and Chloe Sikora, the Maroons (11-5) cruised to a lopsided win, scoring all nine of their goals in the first half. Joining in the scoring efforts were Halle Youse, who netted two goals, and Elie Liay von Bodman. Youse and Maya McCaffrey each added an assist, and Evie O’Brien didn’t have to make a save to earn a shutout.

➜ Mahomet-Seymour 3, Taylorville 0 (FF). The Tornadoes were unable to field a full team with a number of injuries, so the Bulldogs (12-4-2) claimed the win along with a share of the Apollo Conference championship.

In boys’ track and field

➜ At Meridian. Tuscola and Clinton battled to the end of the night, but the Warriors ended up winning the Central Illinois Conference team championship, 21 placement points ahead of the Maroons. Event winners for Tuscola included Kamden Flenner in the 100- (11.15 seconds) and 200-meter dashes (22.41), Blake McLeese in the 1,600 (4:39.40), Carter Simpson in the 110- (15.87) and 300-meter hurdles (41.74), Sawyer Woodard in the discus (166 feet, 6 1/2 inches) and Kam Sweetnam in the triple jump (43-1). The Warriors also won the 400-meter relay with Dylan Graves, Simpson, Flenner and Kade Wilcox (44.13); the 800 relay with Sweetnam, Simpson, Flenner and Wilcox (1:30.98); and the 1,600 relay with David Hornaday, Graves, Calvin Cook and Wilcox (3:37.86). Clinton got wins from Dalton Bell in the 400 (51.45), Cayden Bostic in the 3,200 (10:00.50) and the 3,200 relay of Justin Droke, Brockton Sumner, Colin Jameson and Nolan Rhodes (9:00.38).

➜ At Taylorville. Mahomet-Seymour fell just 11 placement points short of Mt. Zion and had to settle for a hard-fought runner-up finish to the Apollo Conference Championships. The Bulldogs got individual event wins from Augustus Gaudio in the 800-meter run (1 minute, 55.07 seconds) and Travis Hoffman in the 110 hurdles (14.97) and 300 hurdles (39.28). They also won the 400-meter relay with Hoffman, Steffen Keller, Wade Manuel and Dylan Smith (43.60) as well as the 3,200 relay with Lukas Nykaza, Adam Smigielski, Blake Dillman and Ethan Ramirez (8:16.82).

➜ At Westville. Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin won the Vermilion Valley Conference championship with a team score of 120, clear of runner-up Salt Fork by 29 points. Oakwood finished third, Georgetown-Ridge Farm took fourth, Westville placed fifth, Hoopeston Area was sixth, Watseka was seventh, Armstrong-Potomac was eighth, Iroquois West was ninth, Milford was 10th and Schlarman was 11th. Event winners for the Blue Devils were Mason Cunningham in the 100- (11.23 seconds) and 200-meter dashes (22.98), Micah Tidwell in the 800 (2:09.17) and Dylan Davis in the long jump (21 feet, 0 1/4 inches). They also won the 400 relay with Davis, Cunningham, Gavin High and Dylan Farr (43.76); the 800 relay with Isaac Cahill, High, Davis and Cunningham (1:31.77); and the 3,200 relay with Payton Wallace, Lincoln Dulin, Memphis Johnson and Hunter Black (9:11.68). The Storm got wins from Ian Church in the 300 hurdles (41.70) and Maddax Stine in the shot put (50-11 1/4) and discus (173-2 3/4). Winning for the Comets were Lucas Tyas in the 400 (50.98), Thomas Wells in the 1,600 (4:44.40), Nathan Young in the high jump (6-2), Sailer Harrison in the triple jump (41-3 1/4) and the 1,600 relay of Tyas, Jaethan Perez, Macen Phillips and Jakob Rupp (3:33.18). Other winners included Watseka’s Drew McTaggart in the 3,200 (10:43.32) and G-RF’s James Cody in the 110 hurdles (15.62).

In girls’ track and field

➜ At Meridian. Tuscola earned a comfortable Central Illinois Conference championship, 36.5 points ahead of second place, and Clinton finished in third. Winning Warriors included Tuscola’s winners included Lia Patterson in the 100- (12.47 seconds) and 200-meter dashes (25.01) along with the 100- (14.77) and 300-meter hurdles (44.06), Kate Foltz in the 1,600 (5:04.06) and 3,200 (12:04.20), Kali Gilpin in the high jump (4 feet, 11 3/4 inches) and Rylie Vanausdoll in the long jump (16-5 1/4) and triple jump (36-0 1/4). Makayela Sexson, Kenna Clodfelder, Reese Davis and Vanausdoll also teamed up to win both the 400- (52.22) and 800-meter relays (1:49.84).

➜ At Taylorville. Mahomet-Seymour came away with a second-place team finish at the Apollo Conference Championships, 66 points shy of Mt. Zion. Winners for the Bulldogs included Madalyn Marx in the 100- (12.37 seconds), 200- (25.54) and 400-meter dashes (56.76) and Emily Anand in the 3,200 (11:27.85). Marx also anchored the winning 400-meter relay team with Selma Tilton, Kara Carney and Kira Smith (49.89).

➜ At Westville. Salt Fork won the Vermilion Valley Conference championship with a team score of 154 points, 17 ahead of Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin in second. Westville finished third, Watseka placed fourth, Armstrong-Potomac took fifth, Iroquois West was sixth, Schlarman and Milford/Cissna Park tied for seventh, Hoopeston Area was ninth and Oakwood and Georgetown-Ridge Farm tied for 10th. Winners for the Storm included Bracie Hird in the 800-meter run (2 minutes, 31.80 seconds) and Callie Richardson in the 1,600 (5:52.46) and 3,200 (12:20.42). Salt Fork also won the 400 relay with Maya Smith, Taylor Remole, Ella Cary and Brycie Hird (51.66); the 800 relay with Smith, Remole, Cary and Lainey Ehler (1:53.44); and the 1,600 relay with Smith, Zoe Moudy, Richardson and Bracie Hird (4:24.88). The Blue Devils got wins from Nevaeh Scott in the 100- (12.97) and 200-meter dashes (27.30), Natalie Thomason in the 400 (1:03.32) and high jump (5 feet, 2 1/4 inches), Emily Dice in the 100- (17.81) and 300-meter hurdles (51.93) and the 3,200 relay of Aleah Potter, Addie Hensold, Lilly Johnson and Alivia Reifsteck (11:02.19). Other winners included Watseka’s Megan Martin in the shot put (35-10 1/4), Iroquois West’s Phylicity Leonard in the discus (104-7), Westville’s Kaitlyn Sapp in the pole vault (6-6) and Milford/Cissna Park’s Addison Lucht in the long jump (17-2 1/4) and triple jump (34-5 1/4).

Jockey Junior Alvarado celebrates after riding Sovereignty to victory in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

(AP)- Just a few days after winning the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty was ruled out of running in the Preakness Stakes.

It is the second time in four years the owner and trainer of the Derby champion opted to skip the Preakness in favor of the Belmont Stakes in June. Rich Strike also bypassed the Preakness in 2022 after winning at Churchill Downs at odds of 80-1.

Country House did not run in 2019 because of illness after getting elevated to Derby winner when Maximum Security was disqualified for interference, the races were run out of order in 2020 and Medina Spirit ran and finished third in the 2021 Preakness after being DQed from his first-place finish in the Derby for a positive drug test.

That means this is the fifth time in seven years that the Preakness gates open at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore without even a chance at a Triple Crown. That was only the case once in the previous 33 years from to 1986-2018, and that happened because a horse was retired because of injury after taking the Run for the Roses.

Why is this happening?

Horse racing has changed from its heyday, when stars of the sport like War Admiral, Secretariat and Seattle Slew were used to running every couple of weeks. Breeding, money and other factors have changed that, and the top 3-year-old horses eligible for the Triple Crown race far less often, with bigger stretches in between.

“Most trainers hate running their horses back in two weeks,” NBC Sports analyst Randy Moss said. “They feel like it’s bad for the horses.”

Beginning in the early 21st century, many of the Derby horses who finish between second and 20th started getting more rest to wait five weeks for the Belmont. It was essentially automatic that the Derby winner would go, though not anymore.

“The trainers of Derby winners that do run back in the Preakness do it out of a sense of tradition — not because they like it,” Moss said.

Sovereignty’s Bill Mott made that clear the morning after his horse passed Journalism down the stretch in the mud at Churchill Downs with a record audience watching, casting doubt on the Preakness.

“We want to do what’s best for the horse,” Mott told reporters in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday. “Of course, you always think about a Triple Crown, and that’s not something we’re not going to think about.”

Does something need to change?

The debate has been raging for decades about horses not being able to handle the grind of three premier races over a span of five weeks. That was primarily because no one swept the Triple Crown between Affirmed in 1978 and American Pharoah in 2015, a 37-year drought that made industry stakeholders question tradition versus modern-day changes.

Justify doing it in 2018 to give the sport a pair of Triple Crown champions in four years quieted that talk. The recent uncertainty about Derby winners going to the Preakness reignited the chatter.

Prominent owner Mike Repole shared a proposal on social media Tuesday that would move the Belmont up to second in the rotation and shift the Preakness back to provide more spacing. Others have suggested moving the Preakness back to the first Saturday in June and the Belmont to the first Saturday in July.

What is the solution?

No one really knows. And does there need to be seismic change like the pitch clock in baseball?

Maybe, maybe not. After all, the previous two Derby winners — Mystik Dan last year and Mage in 2023 — wheeled back after two weeks to finish in the money at the Preakness.

They didn’t win, but their trainers wanted to give it a shot. And Bob Baffert-trained American Pharoah and Justify completing the Triple Crown showed it was possible.

“We’ll see Triple Crown winners because there will occasionally be horses like American Pharoah and like Justify who are good enough to blow up any of the current thoughts about spacing,” Moss said.

And trainers who aren’t worried about it. Baffert and 89-year-old fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas have shown a willingness to go for it after winning the Derby — and even when they don’t. Lukas intends to run American Promise in the Preakness after a 16th place finish in Kentucky.

Others have chosen to play it more safe, which, if that becomes the trend, puts the future of the Preakness in peril.

(25News Now) – In Mid-Illini softball, Dunlap earns an exciting 5-2 win over East Peoria to stay atop the conference. Washington and Metamora each posted shutout conference wins.

Also in Softball, Olympia clinches a share of the Sangamo Conference title with a win over PORTA. Normal West also earns a Senior Day win.

Normal West wins the Raider Relays team title, thanks to 1st place finishes in the 4 x 60, 4 x 100, 4 x 200, 4 x 400, and 800 m medley.

Dunlap baseball gets back in the win column with a win over Canton- Brimfield is a winner over Delavan. Normal West soccer also gets back in the win column with a win over Urbana.

Today was also Signing Day at East Peoria and Normal Community.

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