DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - WAND News has announced that Adeena Balthazor will lead the WAND Sports Department, effective immediately.
Balthazor joined WAND in 2023 after spending time covering sports in West Virginia and North Dakota.
A Peotone, Illinois, native, Balthazor is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University.
She takes over the sports director position after Tyler Jachnicki stepped down earlier this month.
Balthazor has spent time at WAND covering University of Illinois athletics, including traveling to postseason bowl games and the NCAA Tournament. She's also anchored WAND's long-running Friday Frenzy, crisscrossed the state covering high school sports, and shared stories featuring the area's top athletes and teams.
"The sports landscape across central Illinois features some of the best teams and remarkable athletes," said Balthazor. "I can't wait to highlight and feature that across the WAND News platforms. I'm also excited to continue to grow Friday Frenzy and our Frenzy 15 extra show on WAND Now."
Balthazor will also produce several Illini sports specials heading into the football and basketball seasons.
"Adeena is a tremendously hard worker who has a great pulse on the central Illinois sports scene," said WAND TV News Director Rod Hissong. "She has a fantastic foundation to work with in the sports department and we can't wait for our viewers to see even more of her passion and dedication to highlighting the very best of what sports has to offer."
Jake Bedell, a sports reporter and producer with WAND since 2022, will move to anchoring and reporting sports on the weekend. Bedell will also co-anchor Friday Frenzy and continue the weekly Athlete of the Week series. Ben Machi, WAND News @ 4 anchor, will continue working as a sports reporter with the team.
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