The daily pitch from Sports Editor : May 21, 2026
May 21—➜ . The eighth-grade girls' track and field standout at St. Matthew in Champaign won three IESA Class 2A state titles last Saturday in East Peoria.
Kaufmann sprinted to wins in the 100-meter dash (13. 10 seconds), the 200 (26. 47) and the 400 (59.
20). Her efforts helped St. Matthew place second as a team.
➜ in the discus also won IESA 2A state titles in eighth-grade girls' track and field. ➜ won state titles in the 110 hurdles and 800. career wins has as the Eastern Illinois baseball coach.
The Danville native and former Illini, who pitched for the Yankees, Mets and Cleveland from 2003-05, has coached the Panthers since 2016. His current EIU team is 31-19 and begins play in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament starting on Thursday at Mtn Dew Park in Marion as the No. 2 seed.