Illinois
Stark County relay wins state title, leading Western Illinois girls track results
The IHSA state girls track meet was held Thursday through Saturday, May 21-23, at Eastern Illinois University, with championships handed out on the final day of the meet in all three classes of competition.
Several schools in Western Illinois had strong finishes to the season, and the Stark County 4×800-meter relay leads the way back with a first-place finish.
The Rebels had the top time in the preliminaries and backed that up with a rally in the final leg to win the Class 1A title. Anchor leg Dusti Smith ran an eye-popping 2:10.44 over the final two laps to give Stark County the title. Her split was by far the fastest of anyone in the field, nearly five seconds better than the last leg of Shelbyville’s Tessa Bowers, whose team finished third.
Several other athletes had runner-up finishes, and Galesburg High placed in three relays.
In 1A, Sherrard had the area’s best team score, finishing seventh with 26 points. Galesburg got 17 points in 2A to tie for 17th place.
Here’s a look at all the top 10s for Western Illinois, including notes on season best (SB) and personal best (PB) times, noted by athletic.net.
Class 1A local results
800
6. Cheyenh Smith, Sr., Stark County, 2:16.79
7. Emily Downing, Sr., Ridgewood, 2:17.86 (SB)
8. Anna Churchill, Jr., Sherrard, 2:18.33 (PB)
1600
7. Dusti Smith, Jr., Stark County, 5:04.70
10. Emily Downing, Sr., Ridgewood, 5:08.03 (SB)
3200
3. Emily King, Sr., Knoxville, 10:59.20 (PB)
8. Jana Vande Kemp, Jr., Ridgewood, 11:12.81 (PB)
10. Alyssa Higgins, Sr., Knoxville, 11:17.71 (PB)
100 Hurdles
5. Marryn Ferguson, Fr., Bushnell-Prairie City, 15.40
300 Hurdles
7. Alayna Mitchell, Jr., Mercer County, 45.58 (PB)
4×400 Relay
6. Sherrard, 4:06.34 (Cami Anderson, Sophia Bradarich, Piper Russell, Anna Churchill)
4×800 Relay
1. Stark County, 9:24.77 (Cheyenh Smith, Norah Rorem, Paytin Terwilliger, Dusti Smith)
6. Mercer County, 9:47.26 (Emalyn Millar, Brookelyn Clark, Jorgi Arnold, Helen Baldwin)
10. Ridgewood, 9:57.64 (Jolene Blackert, Hannah Ames, Jana Vande Kemp, Emily Downing)
Discus
2. Saidie Shemek, Sr., Sherrard, 40.73m
4. Ellie Doubet, Sr., Ridgewood, 40.36m (PB)
Pole Vault
2. Aliza Dominique, Sr., Sherrard, 3.30m (SB)
T5. Marryn Ferguson, Fr., Bushnell-Prairie City, 3.20m (PB)
T5. Khloe Kunz, Fr., Sherrard, 3.20m (PB)
Long Jump
10. Grace Grothaus, Jr., West Hancock, 5.09m
Triple Jump
2. Grace Grothaus, Jr., West Hancock, 11.14m
Class 2A Local Results
3200
8. Brooklyn Smith, Jr., Geneseo, 11:06.88
4×100 Relay
7. Galesburg, 49.06 (Ella Herchenroder, Rachelle McCellan, Taylor Herchenroder, Ava Marty)
4×200 Relay
4. Galesburg, 1:41.47 (Ella Herchenroder, Rachelle McCellan, Taylor Herchenroder, Ava Marty)
4×400 Relay
3. Galesburg, 3:57.73 (Ella Herchenroder, Grace Herchenroder, Taylor Herchenroder, Lily Furrow)
Shot Put
5. Makaylynne Correa, Sr., Canton, 11.72m (PB)
8. Isabella Brown, Jr., Geneseo, 11.53m
Discus
7. Dakota Thorman, Sr., Macomb, 36.97m
High Jump
4. Aubrey Holthaus, Jr., Macomb, 1.55m
Pole Vault
7. Allison Tice, Fr., Geneseo, 3.45m (PB)
Illinois
Georgia man saved rare 1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV from Illinois just in time before it was destroyed
This guy had to rush from Georgia to Illinois to save a rare 1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV.
The Lamborghini Diablo is rare to begin with, and the Diablo SV is even rarer.
In a way, this guy did a service to the automotive world.
But it wasn’t easy, and the car barely made it.
What makes this Diablo SV even more special
Ed Bolian, co-founder of VINWiki, was trying to track down a rare 1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV that was famously featured in (and sold through) the Victoria’s Secret Christmas catalog that year.
Bolian had been searching for this unique car for years, but it had essentially disappeared after being sold at auction in 2011, it had vanished from public records with no registration or insurance updates for 14 years.
Then, much later and with the help of a guy whose nickname is ‘barn find king’, the 1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV was eventually tracked down in 2025.
But there was a problem, mainly because this Lambo was months or maybe weeks away from becoming a write-off.
The Victoria’s Secret Lamborghini barely survived a tornado
The Victoria’s Secret Lamborghini Diablo SV was eventually located in private airport hangar in small town in Illinois about one hour away from Chicago.
So far, so normal.
Bolian and his team were expecting rust, dust, saggy tires – the usual.
But then, in June 2026, a series of tornadoes struck this town and the exact hangar where the Lamborghini had sat for 14 years was destroyed in the storm.
The Lambo was bruised and damaged but, amazingly, it was still in one piece.
Bolian was able to find the car and buy it, and then he managed to bring it back to Georgia to restore it.
At the time of writing, the Victoria’s Secret Lambo is in great shape.
But a few more weeks, or maybe even days, of hesitation could’ve sealad its fate.
Illinois
8 people displaced, children rescued after fire in Springfield’s Six Corners
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – Before 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 4th, firefighters at the Springfield Fire Department responded to a call for a fire at a multi-family home at 479 Central Street in Springfield.
When crews arrived, they had noticed flames shooting from the windows of the home. When crews began their attack of the fire, they had also spotted a teenager and an infant trapped inside the home, both of them were rescued safely.
The fire was quickly put out and without any injuries. 8 people were displaced as a result of the fire and are currently being assisted by the Springfield American Red Cross.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad.
Copyright 2026 Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.
Illinois
Illinois Launches Holiday DUI Crackdown
Illinois transportation and law enforcement officials are reminding drivers to make safe choices during the busy Independence Day holiday travel period.
The Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois State Police, and local law enforcement agencies have launched the annual Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, which runs through the early morning hours of July 6.
According to provisional IDOT data, Illinois recorded 17 fatal crashes and 18 traffic deaths during last year’s Independence Day holiday travel period. Four of those crashes involved drivers who had been drinking.
In addition to looking for impaired drivers, officers across the state will be increasing enforcement of seat belt, speeding, and distracted driving laws.
Officials encourage anyone planning to drink alcohol or use cannabis to arrange for a sober driver, use a rideshare service, or stay where they are instead of getting behind the wheel.
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