SEC Boys’ Basketball All-Conference List: Payton Hagans Tabbed SEC Player of the Year

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 at 12:29 pm CDT

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference (SEC) released their All-Conference teams for Boys’ basketball today and Mt. Pleasant and Keokuk highlighted the First Team.

Mt. Pleasant ended the season with a 13-8 overall record and an 8-2 conference record to capture their second conference title in a row, going undefeated at home in conference play.

Payton Hagans was the star of the SEC, taking home a unanimous First Team All-Conference honor along with SEC Player of the Year. Hagans ranked 1st in the conference in points per game at 22.8, 2nd in steals with 2.3 per game, 5th in assists per game, 1st in three pointers made per game, and second in free throws made per game. His 22.8 points per game ranks 5th in Class 3A, and 24th in the state of Iowa. Hagans also finished his career with 1,205 points.

Also clinching a spot on the First Team for the Panthers was sophomore guard Christian Stacy. He took a big step forward in his development as he went from averaging 2.5 points per game as a freshman to the 4th most in conference at 14.6 points per game. Stacy also boasted the best free throw percentage in the conference with 78.4% clip from the charity stripe.

Senior Nate Stroud earned Second Team All-Conference as the anchor of the Panthers post game. He ranked 13th in points per game at 10.1, 3rd in rebounds per game at 7 per game, and 4th in blocks per game at 0.9.

Receiving All-Conference Honorable Mention was Noah Lange and Avin Truong. Lange was effective on the offensive glass with 2.3 offensive rebounds per game, which ranked 5th, and efficient in making his shots with a field goal percentage of 56.4%.

Truong distributed the ball well with 2.5 assists per game and played tough defense, stealing the ball 1.3 times per game.

Fort Madison and Keokuk finished with the same conference record of 7-3, but the Bloodhounds won the tiebreaker to finish second in the conference standings.

Hunter Cresswell was a unanimous choice for First Team All-Conference for Fort Madison. He scored the 5th most points in the conference with 13.9 per game, ranked 2nd in rebounding, and 4th in free throws made per game.

Nolan Guzman and Dayton Lamar grabbed spots on the Second Team. Lamar was a fierce rim protector, leading the conference in blocks per game at 2.5 and ranking 2nd in offensive rebounds per game at 3.3.

Guzman knew how to score as his effective field goal percentage of 57.6 ranked 4th in the SEC.

Leif Boeding and Julian Dear were named All-Conference Honorable Mentions. The Bloodhounds finished with an 11-10 record.

Keokuk had senior Diego Garcia and sophomore Jaxon Clark, unanimous, selected to the SEC First Team.

Garcia was the de facto leader of the Chiefs as he led the conference in assists with 4.2 per game, while taking the ball away 2.1 times per game, which ranked 5th in the SEC.

Clark played to his 6’9 stature, ranking 2nd in the SEC in points per game at 20, led the conference in rebounds per game (11.5), field goal percentage (65.5%), and ranked 2nd in blocks with 2.3 rejections per game.

Brenton Hoard’s conference leading 2.6 steals per game helped nab him Second Team honors. He also ranked 3rd in assists per game and 2nd in free throw percentage.

Chase Eckland and Tramell Smith earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors. The Chiefs finished 17-7 on the year and one game away from the state tournament.

Burlington and Washington finished tied with 4-6 conference records. Shaye Stringer was the lone First Team selection for the Grayhounds as he averaged 11.5 points per game and ranked 3rd in steals per game.

Christos Kantzavelos, unanimous, earned Second Team honors. He ranked second in assists per game and fourth in steals per game. Burlington finished 6-16 overall.

Logan McDole was a unanimous choice for the SEC Second Team for the Demons. McDole averaged 12.3 points per game, while shooting 38% from deep.

Drew Conrad and Roman Roth were named All-Conference Honorable Mentions. Washington finished 6-15.

Lastly, Fairfield finished with a 0-10 record in conference play and a 1-21 record overall. Riley Perkins ranked 8th in points per game at 12.1 and 4th in assists per game, which earned him a unanimous Second Team selection.

Sam Weaton and Luke Konczal earned SEC Honorable Mention.

Academic All-Conference

Evan Hecox Burlington

Adam Johnson Burlington

Christos Kantzavelos Burlington

Nehemiah Lewis Burlington

Tomas Rascon Burlington

Julian Dear Fort Madison

Cade Denning Fort Madison

Carson Rashid Fort Madison

Henry Morris Fort Madison

Leif Boeding Fort Madison

Jan De Gracia Hernandez Fort Madison

Mario Gomez Gutierrez Fort Madison

Cooper Polonsky Fairfield

Ryan Giberson Fairfield

Riley Perkins Fairfield

Luke Konczal Fairfield

Ben Boatright Fairfield

Player Team

Jolie Crile (Manager) Fairfield

Chloe Frescoln (Manager) Fairfield

Hunter Cresswell Fort Madison

Chevy Barnes Keokuk

Drew Campbell Keokuk

Chase Eckland Keokuk

Brenton Hoard Keokuk

Gracie Thompson (Manager) Keokuk

Avin Troung Mount Pleasant

Logan McDole Washington

Luke Schiebel Washington

Brendan Taylor Washington

Noah Greiner Washington

Roman Roth Washington

Seth Shepherd Washington

Andrew Shepherd Washington

Body Found Near Water Tower in Mount Pleasant

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 at 11:32 am CDT

On February 24th, at approximately 8:01 in the morning, the Mt Pleasant PD was advised of a female on the ground near a vehicle at the water tower on E Winfield Ave in Mt Pleasant IA.

It was determined that the female was deceased at the scene. It is believed it was a medical situation. The investigation is still ongoing.

The Mt Pleasant PD was assisted by the Henry County Sheriffs Office, The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office, Henry County Ambulance, and Breuer’s Towing.

The name is not being released at this time to make sure all family are notified first.

Merrill Peterson

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 at 11:14 am CDT

Dr. Merrill A. Peterson, 73, of Indian Trail, North Carolina, formerly of Mount Pleasant, died Thursday, February 22, 2024, at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Merrill was born December 21, 1950, in Mount Pleasant, IA, the son of Warren and Berniece (Bozarth) Peterson. He graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1969. He continued his education at the University of Iowa where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science & Master’s Degree, he then went on to earn his PhD at Iowa State University. On December 23, 1971, Merrill married his high school sweetheart Carol Kitch in Mount Pleasant, IA. The couple had three children and spent 38 wonderful years together before Carol’s death in 2009. Merrill was an environmental engineer for HNTB and Parsons Corp. He served as a project manager and southern region (United States & South America) Senior Vice President of operations. His work took him all across the country spending time in Tampa, FL, Indianapolis, IN, and Charlotte, NC. Merrill married Gertraud Krieger, on November 2, 2013, in Indianapolis, IN. Merrill enjoyed cooking and was a talented wood worker – crafting cabinets, furniture and butcher block tabletops. For years friends and family looked forward to a Christmas package full of homemade cookies and candies.

Merrill is survived by his wife Gertraud of Indian Trail, NC; three children Megan Peterson of Indian Trail, NC, Erin Peterson of Indianapolis, IN, Aric (Amanda) Peterson of West Melbourne, FL; three granddaughters Annabelle, Alivia, Abigail of West Melbourne, FL; two sisters Janis Smith of Encinitas, CA, Carol (Randy) Ruggles of Mount Pleasant, IA; brother Don (Karen) Peterson of Madison, WI; sister-in-law Mary (Jerry) Zerm of South Lake, TX; brother-in-law Ralph (Valerie) Kitch of Cedar Rapids, IA, sister-in-law Linda Brock of St. Petersburg, FL; two step children Shannon Mulrooney of Seattle, WA, Ryan Mulrooney of Scottsdale, AZ, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife Carol, infant brother Lynn Peterson, Uncle Everett Peterson, niece Sharon Smith, four brothers-in-law Duane Kitch, Bill Tinsman, Reid Brock and Ted Oliver, dog Gibson and grand-dog Tetley.

Funeral service will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 9, 2024, at Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory. Burial will follow in the Forest Home Cemetery. The service will be livestreamed on Powell Funeral Homes Facebook page and at our website. Visitation be held prior to the service beginning at 9:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the American Heart Association, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory is caring for Merrill and his family. www.powellfuneralhomes.com

 

 

Lynn Cochran

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 at 11:12 am CDT

Lynn J. Cochran, age 84, of Mount Pleasant, passed away February 23, 2024, at his home.

Lynn was born in West Chester, Iowa, on January 2, 1940, son of Vaun Wesley and Pearl Ida (Robertson) Cochran. He graduated from grade school and high school in Mount Pleasant, participating in many sports activities. A member of the Boy Scouts and the Army National Guard, Lynn received appointments to the US Air Force Academy and the US Military Academy. He attended the Air Force Academy and Northeast Missouri State Teachers College. He began his career as a survey party chief on federal highway construction projects in California, Arizona, and Nevada. After training to program computers at IBM in San Francisco, Lynn was employed at the Valley Area Transportation Study in Tempe, Arizona, as a Systems Analyst planning the freeway system for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Subsequently, Lynn was employed at General Electric Company in Bethesda, Maryland, as a Transportation Planning Consultant, advising the Transportation Departments of several states on the use of the urban freeway planning software and procedures. Mr. Cochran returned to Phoenix, as a Systems Analyst with the Arizona Departments of Administration, overseeing the software development for several state departments. Lynn was appointed Data Processing Manager at the Arizona State Retirement System in 1972. In 1978, he was promoted to Assistant Director, assuming responsibilities for the data processing, general accounting, and records management operations. Lynn retired in 1992, and returned to Mount Pleasant, at which time he married Sandra K. (Nelson) Dolph, a classmate throughout grade school and high school. He served on the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Committee, Mount Pleasant Airport Advisory Committee, and Henry County Solid Waste Management Commission.

Lynn is survived by two sons Ross Robertson of Mesa, Arizona, Randy Cochran of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; two stepdaughters Tamara Kirgan of Maquoketa, Kathryn Christiansen of Tucson, Arizona; stepson Allen (Karen) Dolph of Marietta, Georgia; sisters-in-law Rosalie Martin (Cochran) Thompson of Fairfield; Barbara (Stotts) Cochran of Glenwood and seven grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Sondra, sisters Ellen (Luther) French, Phyllis (John) Roach, Avon (Don) Burgess and brothers Roger Wesley Cochran and Malcolm Lowell Cochran.

Funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 11, 2024, at Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory. Burial will follow in the Forest Home Cemetery. Visitation will be held 2:00-5:00 p.m. Sunday, March 10, at Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory. Memorial funds have been established for American Heart Association and Henry County Health Center Foundation.

Driver Leads Police on Pursuit Through Iowa and Illinois

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 at 8:31 am CDT

A highspeed pursuit swept through Keokuk before continuing through Illinois on Sunday morning. At approximately 10:02 am, an officer with the Keokuk Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a Chevrolet near North 5th Street and Grand Avenue. The driver of the vehicle was identified by the officer as Travis E. Scott, 45, of Keokuk. Scott was known by the officer to have active felony arrest warrants as well as a suspended driving status.

Scott would ignore visual and audible emergency signals, leading the officer on a pursuit into Illinois. Illinois authorities were requested to provide assistance. The pursuit would continue on North Highway 96 into Nauvoo, before Scott would then reverse course, traveling back towards Keokuk on North Highway 96.

The pursuit would continue back to the Keokuk/Hamilton bridge. The highest speed reported during the pursuit was 90 miles per hour.

Another Keokuk officer successfully deployed a tire deflation device on the vehicle driven by Scott on the Iowa side of the Keokuk/Hamilton bridge, significantly disabling the vehicle and preventing the vehicle from continuing at high speeds. Scott would continue on Main Street, colliding with a vehicle at 7th and Main Street. There were no injuries reported at the time of that collision.

Scott would continue to 8th and Main, striking one of the Keokuk Police Department squad cars, causing damage. Scott would then turn north on North 8th Street, where he would eventually lose control of the vehicle, striking a stop sign at Grand Avenue. As officers boxed the suspect vehicle in, Scott would strike another Keokuk squad car in an attempt to flee, causing significant damage. Officers were able to take Scott into custody at that time.

Certified narcotics K9 Officer Zsolt was deployed, performing a free-air sniff on the outside of the suspect vehicle. Zsolt would alert on the vehicle, resulting in the vehicle being searched by law enforcement for illegal narcotics. Items that support the charges were collected.

Scott is charged with Driving While Suspended, a simple misdemeanor; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor; Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd Offense (Marijuana), a serious misdemeanor; Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd Offense (Methamphetamine), an aggravated misdemeanor; Interference With Official Acts Causing Bodily Injury, a serious misdemeanor; Eluding, a class D felony; a felony warrant for Escape From Custody out of Des Moines County; and a felony warrant for Violation of Probation out of Lee County. Scott was also cited for various traffic offenses related to this incident.

The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton Police Department, Fort Madison Police Department, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lee County Consolidated Dispatch assisted the Keokuk Police Department during this investigation.

An arrest is merely an accusation supported by probable cause; all defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.

Wapello Fire and Rescue: Same Fire, Different Days

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 at 8:30 am CDT

Wapello Fire and Rescue have been busy. A fire from Sunday continued into Monday afternoon, where they requested the assistance of the Morning Sun Fire Department.

Called to an area along US 61 north of Wapello, fire crews found that the high winds yesterday caused the fire from Sunday to grow. While contained to an area, fire crews worked tirelessly to ensure it did not spread to the adjacent grassland.

Fire crews remained on scene for approximately four hours. This fire will continue to burn in the timber and firefighters will continue to monitor the situation in an attempt to prevent the fire from spreading further. High winds and changing wind directions in the upcoming days could complicate these efforts.

While crews were on scene at the US 61 fire, an additional fire was reported in the area of Klum Lake Wildlife Management Area. Wapello Fire and Rescue was requested to respond for automatic mutual aid. An attack truck and a fire engine cleared the US 61 scene and arrived on scene to find a grassland area and wooded fencerow on fire. The high winds were causing the fire to rapidly spread into a wooded area. Fire crews quickly controlled the fire from further spreading into the densely wooded area. Additional crews from Grandview and Fruitland arrived on scene and assisted in extinguishing the remaining fire.

This fire was possibly caused by an improperly discarded cigarette. Wapello Fire crews cleared this scene and responded back to US 61 to assist the remaining crews on that scene. All units were back at base by 6:00 PM.

Conditions are extremely dry and it’s going to take a large precipitation event to change that. We are empathetic to those who need to perform prescribed land management burns but ask that you please avoid burning during periods of high winds or when high winds are forecast before your fire is completely extinguished.

Sports, February 27th

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 at 6:31 am CDT

Girls’ State Basketball

Classes 5A and 3A tipped-off the 2024 State Tournament yesterday and here’s how the seven quarterfinal games shook out.

#1 Johnston cruised to a dominant 60-31 final after holding Valley to a 12-point second half. Jenica Lewis led the way for the Dragons with 18 points. 

#5 Ankeny Centennial almost avenged their two regular season losses to #4 Waukee by outscoring them 23 to 18 in the second half but a missed game-tying layup with less than five seconds remaining, which gave the win to Waukee 46-44. Johnston and Waukee will face off at 10 am on Thursday, February 29th, in the semifinal.

On the bottom half of the bracket, #7 Cedar Falls pulled off the major upset against #2 Davenport North 71-65. Grace Knutson was unstoppable, draining eight threes to finish with 34 points in the game.

#3 Dowling Catholic ensured a new Class 5A state champion after defeating #6 Pleasant Valley 53-48 last night. Ava Zediker led the winning effort with 29 points. #7 Cedar Falls will compete against #3 Dowling Catholic on Thursday at 11:45 am.

For Class 3A, #1 Estherville-Lincoln Central did not have much issue with #8 Forest City, winning 61-47. Haylee Stokes almost outscored Forest City by herself, scoring 44 points.

#4 Mt. Vernon clobbered #5 Harlan Community 67-25. The Mustangs outscored the Cyclones 45 to 11 in the second and third quarters as four of the five starters finished in double figures. #1 Estherville-Lincoln Central will take on #4 Mt. Vernon.

#2 Des Moines Christian got revenge for their postseason loss last year against #7 Benton, defeating the Bobcats 49-46. Abby Hall finished with 17 points as she nailed three three-pointers. 

Today will be led off by #3 Solon going against #6 Dubuque Wahlert at 10 am. For Class 4A, #1 Clear Creek-Amana will take on #8 Gilbert. #4 Dallas Center-Grimes will face off against #5 North Polk. #2 Waverly-Shell Rock will compete against #5 Sioux Center at 3:15 pm. Lastly, #3 Bishop Heelan will take on #6 Lewis Central. 

The day will end with two Class 2A games in #1 Dike-New Hartford competing against #8 Cascade and #4 Sioux Central taking on #5 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at 8:30 pm.

Boys’ State Basketball

#4 Winfield-Mt. Union will take on #5 Lynnville-Sully on Monday, March 4th, at 12:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at noon.

#4 West Burlington will face off against #5 Treynor on March 4th at 7:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7 pm.

Williamsburg won the Class 3A Substate 5 championship last night 51-40 against Keokuk as the Chiefs fourth quarter push was not enough. Keokuk finished the season with a 17-7 record. 

College Basketball

The #4 Iowa women’s team will travel to Minnesota tomorrow, February 28th, at 8 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team will face off against #10 Kansas State tomorrow at 6:30 pm.

The #8 Iowa State men’s team will compete against Oklahoma tomorrow at home at 7 pm.

The Iowa men’s team will take on Penn State in a road matchup tonight at 8 pm.

Conference Player of the Week

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark keeps adding on to her resume as she earned her 28th weekly award after being named Big Ten Player of the Week. She tallied her 16th career triple-double against Illinois over the weekend and is only 51 points away from surpassing Pete Maravich, the men’s scoring champion. 

Audi Crooks for Iowa State was not only named Big 12 Freshman of the Week but Big 12 Player of the Week as this is the first time this season a Big 12 player has won both awards. Crooks totaled 44 points and 21 rebounds over two games as she broke the all-time freshman scoring record. 

This Day in Sports History

1959 – Boston Celtic Bob Cousy sets a then-NBA record with 28 assists as the Boston Celtics score 173 points against Minneapolis Lakers.

1966 – 8th Daytona 500: Polesitter Richard Petty comes from two laps down to win the event after 198 laps were completed because of rain.

1987 – The NCAA cancels SMU’s entire 1987 football schedule for violations of NCAA rules regarding athletic corruption.

Don’t Drink and Drive: Mt. Pleasant Man Charged After Rolling Pickup Truck

By Yorke Prough · Monday, February 26th, 2024 at 4:16 pm CDT

After a report of an overturned truck in a ditch, the Mount Pleasant Police Department and Henry County Sheriff’s Department responded to the intersection of E Harvest Drive and S Locust St.

Upon arrival, a Ford Pickup was found lying in the ditch with an unconscious male inside the vehicle. The male, identified as Colton Atchley of Mount Pleasant, became conscious and was assisted out of the overturned truck. He was then transported to the Henry County Health Center for assessment.

Upon investigation, it was determined that Colton had been operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, lost control, and rolled into the ditch. He was then taken into custody after being released from HCHC.

Colton Atchley was charged with Operating While Intoxicated 3rd Offense and Driving While Barred. He received citations for failure to maintain control and failure to provide proof of financial liability/accident.