Last year Dan Lilly broke the season record for most points scored by a Uni boys basketball player. More importantly, he helped his team to a 16-8 record and a share of the conference title. Now a senior, Lilly is ready to lead the Illineks to an even better season, which gets underway Monday at Kenney Gym with the Central Illinois Turkey Tourney.

Sophomore Jamie Blue picked up where she left off from her spectacular freshman season by recording a triple-double in Uni's 2009-10 debut Thursday night. Freshman Emma Hoyer proved that she will be a force to be reckoned as well, adding a double-double and leading the team in both points and rebounds.

The girls varsity basketball season begins Thursday night with a road game against Atwood-Hammond. Coming off a successful 16-9 season, the Illineks will sport a new look with first-year head coach Jeff Blue and captains Michelle Wong, Rachel Harmon, and Jamie Blue.

Sophomore Milee Nelson will be competing the IHSA girls swimming state meet thanks to her sectional victory in the 500-yard freestyle Saturday. Nelson led Uni to a fifth-place finish as a team. This will be Nelson's second consecutive appearance at the state meet.

The 2009 swim season is drawing to a close, and for the team's four senior captains, that also means the end of their high school swimming careers. Recently, Eunjung Kim sat down with the foursome and asked them to share some of their memories of Uni High swimming.

The News-Gazette released its all-area selections this week, and senior Dan Lilly was again named to the first team while freshman Tarik Koric made second team. Senior Nile Hamer, senior Neil Pearson, and freshman Patrick Wong received honorable mentions.

The Uni High Booster Club hosted an awards dinner Sunday in Uni Gym to mark the end of the fall sports season. The event honored the success of this year's fall athletes representing boys and girls cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming, and girls volleyball. Check inside for more as Uni bids farewell to the fall season and gets ready for winter sports.

Last year, Lisa Boyce broke one record after another as she swam for the Uni Killer Whales. Although she isn't swimming for Uni anymore, she's still in the pool racing at the national level. As her senior year unfolds, she's taking on the challenges of heavy practices, competitive meets, and college recruiting.

Freshmen Alex Mestre and Edo Roth recently helped their Midwest champion Illinois team finish in eighth place in the 14-and-under advanced division at the recent U.S. Tennis Association National Championships. Mestre went 4-1 at the three-day tourney in Mobile, Ala., while Roth went 2-3. Check inside for more details.

[Updated with photos and audio] Competing in what might have been the toughest sectional in Class 1A, the Illineks on Saturday qualified for the IHSA state finals for the second consecutive year. With 121 points, Uni finished third out of 20 teams at the Decatur St. Teresa sectional meet.

[Updated with photos] The Uni girls cross country season ended on Saturday with an 11th-place finish at the Class 1A Decatur St. Teresa sectional meet. The top Illinek finisher was senior Elizabeth Russell, who placed 45th. Overall, the team improved by 28 points and two places over last year's sectional.

The Illineks will be among 20 teams competing in the Class 1A girls sectional meet Saturday in Decatur. At stake is a trip to the Nov. 7 state finals in Peoria. But to qualify for sectionals, the Uni girls had to place in the top five of last weekend's regional meet at Kickapoo State Park. As this photo essay by Will Fernandez shows, the weather wasn't ideal, but the Illineks pushed forward and grabbed fourth place, good enough to advance to the penultimate stage of the postseason.

When the Uni girls cross country team qualified for sectionals last weekend, four Illineks placed in the top 25. Consisting of Elizabeth Russell, Sarah Vaughen, Emma Coverdill, and Christina Harden, this foursome has come on strong for the resurgent Illineks.

The 2009 Illineks are a step closer to returning to the IHSA Class 1A state finals thanks to their weekend victory at the St. Joseph regional meet. The boys' next challenge will come Saturday, when they take on 19 other teams at the Decatur St. Teresa sectional. The meet will be held at the Hickory Point Golf Course.

Led by Elizabeth Russell's 10th-place performance, Uni came in fourth out of eight teams at Saturday's Class 1A St. Joseph regional meet, qualifying for the upcoming sectional in Decatur. Besides Russell, three other Illineks placed in the top 25: Sarah Vaughen (16th), Emma Coverdill (20th), and Christina Harden (22nd).