IGHSAU- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) has selected their sixth executive director after announcing Erin Gerlich to succeed Jean Berger yesterday.

Gerlich, a native of Panora, Iowa, has more than 15 years of experience in athletics and servant leadership as she was most recently the associate director and sport administrator within the IGHSAU. Additionally, she has led the IGHSAU Student Athletic Advisory Committee for the past couple years.

Recently, Gerlich was recognized for her dedication to introducing girls’ wrestling to the state of Iowa by receiving the Charlotte Bailey Award from the Iowa Wrestling Coaches & Officials Association along with the AAU Wrestling Women’s Empowerment Award in 2023.

“I am deeply honored to be selected as the next IGHSAU Executive Director,” said Gerlich. “I am committed to leading the organization towards continued success. In my new position, I look forward to championing the growth and empowerment of female athletes across Iowa.”

Girls’ Soccer

The IGHSAU also released another round of soccer rankings yesterday and for southeast Iowa has been knocked out of the rankings after Fort Madison, ranked 13^th last week, was replaced by Iowa Falls-Alden.

The move comes after the Bloodhounds were taken down in penalty kicks 1-0 after the game remained locked at 0, even after extra time. Fort Madison has gone on to beat Washington 3-0 with that singular goal being the only mark against the senior goalie, Taylor Johnson, for the season.

High School Track and Field

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team traveled to Washington last night and grabbed third place with 81 points in a waterlogged night. Bailey Jalas took first in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet and 9 inches. Alex Scott raced to a first place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.75 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.98 seconds. 

Mediapolis’ top finisher was Kendall VanWinkle with a fourth place time of 1 minute and 16 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles, which helped the Bulldogs finish with 15 points. The Demons won the Invitational with 100 points.

The Mediapolis and Mt. Pleasant boys’ teams traveled west to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont yesterday to compete in the Ike Ryan Relays and here are the highlights. For Mediapolis, Solomon Zaugg has continued to dominate the 1600-meter run with a first place time of 4 minutes and 26 seconds as Logan Rosas and Will Schmidgall finished in second and fourth place, respectively. Ben Wolter took the win in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.48 seconds. Lastly, the 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle team grabbed the gold with a time of 1 minute and 5 seconds. 

The Mt. Pleasant 4×400 meter relay team took second place with a time of 3 minutes and 41 seconds. Jude Dykstra snatched fourth place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 7 seconds.

The Mt. Pleasant and Central Lee boys’ and girls’ teams will travel to Fort Madison High School for a meet on Tuesday, April 23rd, for the Keokuk Invitational.

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ and boys’ teams got to celebrate their senior night last night but it was two road teams that escaped with the wins as the West Burlington girls’ team totaled 108 points and the Burlington boys’ team grabbed 112 points. 

On the girls’ side, Winfield-Mt. Union took home 62 points, which placed the Wolves in fifth, WACO grabbed sixth place with 54 points, and Danville finished with 26 points. The Falcons were led by the distance running prowess of Kaitlyn Kipp as she took first in the 1500-meter with a time of 5 minutes and 26 seconds and the 3000-meter run with a time of 11 minutes and 42 seconds.

The Wolves found their success with the hurdles as Winfield-Mt. Union captured the podium in the 100-meter hurdles as Josie Nelson raced to a first place time of 16.94 seconds followed by Aurey Meeker and Tessa Huston. The Wolves also took the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle with a time of 1 minute and 13 seconds. Nelson grabbed the silver in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 13 seconds. 

WACO’s top individual finisher was Zoey Dennler in the 400-meter hurdles as she captured third place with a time of 1 minute and 14 seconds. The Warriors also finished second in the 1600 medley relay. 

Macie Wagner of Danville raced to a fifth place finish in the 400-meter dash to lead the Bears.

On the boys’ side, Danville took second place with 85 points, Winfield-Mt. Union captured 81 points for fourth place, West Burlington took home 66.5 points, and WACO finished with 24 points. 

Danville won three relays: the 4×100, 4×800, and the 1600 medley relays. The Bears also dominated the distance events with Nick Powell claiming first in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5 minutes and Isaac Shinn grabbing first in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11 minutes and 9 seconds.

Winfield-Mt. Union’s Kohlby Newsom took first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, while Gabriel Hemsworth captured first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.22 seconds. The 4×400 meter relay team also took first with a time of 3 minutes and 36 seconds. 

Lastly, West Burlington won the 4×200 meter relay with a time of 1 minute and 35 seconds and WACO’s Isaac Rich was the top individual finisher with a fifth place time of 57.47 seconds in the 400-meter dash. 

The Winfield-Mt. Union, WACO, and Van Buren County boys’ and girls’ teams will travel to Sigourney for a meet on April 23rd. 

The New London boys’ and girls’ teams will host a meet on April 23rd with Danville, Mediapolis, and West Burlington attending. 

High School Soccer

The WACO boys’ team will host Sigourney-Keota on Monday, April 22nd.

Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday, April 23rd, with the girls’ team playing first at 5 pm. 

The Mediapolis girls’ team defeated West Branch last night 4-1. The boys’ team will take on WACO on April 23rd at 5 pm, while the girls’ team will take on Burlington at 5 pm on the same day.  

Mt. Pleasant had their matchups against Fort Madison last night postponed due to weather. The games will be made up on April 30th with the boys on the road and the girls at home. The Panthers will take on Fairfield on Monday with the boys on the road and the girls at home. 

The Danville boys’ team fell to Hillcrest Academy last night 2-1. Micah Gerber scored both goals for the Ravens. The Bears will host Wapello on April 25th.

High School Tennis

Mt. Pleasant’s competition against Keokuk yesterday was postponed. The matches will be made up on April 30th with the girls’ team at home, while the boys’ team will be on the road. The Panthers will take on Fort Madison on Monday, April 22nd, with the boys at home and the girls on the road. 

High School Golf

Winfield-Mt. Union’s meet against Louisa-Muscatine has been rescheduled to April 29th. The Wolves will travel to Kalona on Monday, April 22nd, for a meet. 

The WACO boys’ and girls’ will host Louisa-Muscatine on Monday.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel Flint Hills Golf Course on Monday for an SEC meet, while the boys’ team will head to Fairfield today for a makeup meet. 

New London and Central Lee’s meet scheduled for yesterday was postponed. A makeup date has not been announced yet. The Tigers boys’ team will face off against Holy Trinity Catholic and the girls will take on Van Buren County on Monday. 

Central Lee will compete against Danville on Monday.

Mediapolis will take on Holy Trinity Catholic on April 26th after their meet yesterday was postponed. The Bulldogs will take on Burlington Notre Dame on Monday at Heritage Oaks Golf Course.

Southeastern Community College

SCC baseball will host Des Moines Area Community College today.

The SCC softball team will take on Indian Hills Community College in a doubleheader today. 

This Day in Sports History

1897 – 1st Boston Marathon (B.A.A. Road Race), won by John J. McDermott in 2:55:10; the world’s oldest annual marathon inspired by the success of the first marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics.

1971 – 75th Boston Marathon: Álvaro Mejía of Colombia wins in 2:18:45; Sara Mae Berman is the 1st woman to win for the 3rd straight year in 3:08:30 (unsanctioned).

1990 – Pistons & 76’ers get into a fight accruing $162,500 fines.

High School Track and Field

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel to Washington today with Mediapolis also in attendance. The boys’ team will travel for the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Ike Ryan Relays today with Mediapolis participating. 

The track meet held at Louisa-Muscatine today has been postponed.

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ and boys’ teams will host their senior night meet today with Danville, New London, West Burlington, and WACO bringing both teams. 

High School Soccer

The WACO boys’ team will host Highland tonight.

Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union versus Central Lee scheduled for tonight has been postponed. A makeup date has not been announced yet. 

The Mediapolis boys’ team will take on WACO on April 23rd at 5 pm, while the girls’ team will compete against West Branch tonight at 5 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant had their matchups against Fort Madison tonight postponed due to weather. The games will be made up on April 30th with the boys on the road and the girls at home.

The Danville boys’ team will travel to take on Hillcrest Academy tonight. 

High School Tennis

Mt. Pleasant’s competition against Keokuk today has been postponed. The matches will be made up on April 30th with the girls’ team at home, while the boys’ team will be on the road. 

High School Golf

The Wapello boys’ and girls’ teams hosted an invitational yesterday and the Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team came out on top with a team score of 348 as Hillcrest Academy took second place with a team score of 357, while Highland persevered on the girls’ side with a team score of 400 followed by Louisa-Muscatine with a team score of 423.

On the boys’ side, the Ravens touted the top golfer in Rowan Miller with an impressive 18-hole score of 75 (+3). Nevertheless, the Wolves had five golfers finish in the top eight with Carter Loyd (+11) and Justin Knipfer (+14) finishing as the second and third best golfers of the day, respectively. Danville shot a 427 as Alex Holtkamp led the way for the Bears as he shot a 95.

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team’s score of 515 placed the Wolves in fourth place with Lily Freeman finishing with the seventh best score of the day at 105 (+32). Burlington Notre Dame did not have a complete team score, but Emersyn Hopkins had a nice round of golf with a score of 105, which placed her in fifth individually.

Winfield-Mt. Union’s meet against Louisa-Muscatine has been rescheduled to April 29th.

The WACO boys’ and girls’ teams’ meet against Columbus tonight has been canceled. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel to participate in a tournament today at Edmundson Golf Course, while the boys’ team will head to Fairfield tomorrow, April 19th, for a makeup meet. 

New London and Central Lee’s meet scheduled for tonight has been postponed. A makeup date has not been announced yet. 

Mediapolis will take on Holy Trinity Catholic on April 26th after their meet tonight was postponed.

Southeast Iowa Playbook

Mt. Pleasant was the school of focus for last night’s episode and our special guests were Ellie Situmeang of girls’ Tennis and Avin Truong of boys’ Track and Field. Ellie believes that the team has fallen right into place and that’s hard to argue as the Panthers tout a 5-1 record.

“The team has been really good. I think having Jana here pushing us down a level has kept us in a spot where we can actually be competitive. Last year, everyone who was the top of our team graduated and everyone who was the top of all the other teams was still there. So, it was a rough season for us, but everyone is now, I think, in the right spot and we’ve all been really determined and we’ve just gotten through.”

Avin’s motivation lies outside of just having success at the high school level, so he’s setting his aspirations high,

“Yeah, I definitely have bigger goals beyond just high school track. And so, I think that’s what keeps me motivated. Coach Striegel and I talk about it all the time like, we can’t set goals because like you only live up to that goal. We have to set like landmarks that we build to and then build past. And then we always talk about like World Championships, how they hold up a flag whenever they win and stuff like that. So like that’s, like, where I want to be.”

New episodes premiere on Wednesdays during the school year at 6 pm on KILJ 105.5 FM and kilj.com. If you missed last night’s episode follow this link to our archive: Southeast Iowa Playbook

Southeastern Community College

SCC baseball will host Des Moines Area Community College tomorrow, April 19th.

The SCC softball team had their doubleheader against Indian Hills Community College moved to tomorrow.

This Day in Sports History

1964 – LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax strikes out the side on 9 pitches, for a major league best third time in his career. One of three to have ever pitched an Immaculate Inning three times.

1966 – Bill Russell becomes the first African American coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics).

1987 – Gregory Robertson does 200-mph free fall to save an unconscious skydiver near Coolidge, Arizona.