Prep Track: Drake Relays Finals
The Drake Relays closed up on Saturday from the Blue Oval in Des Moines and it was a great showing for southeast Iowa.
New London junior Kade Benjamin finished 4th in the high jump, Friday.
The bouncy Tiger cleared 6’7′ as his sights get set on a 1A state field that could be his for the taking.
His teammate Carter Allen ended his trip with a 10th place finish in the shot put.
Allen’s best throw Friday was 50 feet, 9.5 inches.
On Saturday, New London’s 4×100 relay team of Boden Pickle, Joel Lacy, Reean Seberg and Josh Catala finished 57th.
That team went 44.68.
Mount Pleasant finished 48th in the same event, running 44.50.
Comprising Mount Pleasant’s group was Colton Huston, Will Davidson, Morgan Van Nyhuis and Avin Truong.
WACO junior Simeon Reichenbach ended his Drake Relays trip with a 28th place finish in the 110m hurdles.
The all-state running back, who led WACO to the state quarterfinals, ran 15.92.
In relay action from Mediapolis, the distance medley team of Cole Lipper, Kadin Salek, Anthony Isley and Logan Rosas finished 20th.
The Bulldog quartet ran 3:38.24.
That same group placed 11th in the 4×400, as well.
They ran a huge seasons best of 3:25.88
Prep Wrestling: Postseason Changes Headline New Look Wrestling
In a major shakeup this year, Iowa High School wrestling will drop sectional tournaments in Classes 1 and 2A and move the annual State Dual Team tournament to that previously occupied date.
As a result of those changes, all three classes will now compete solely in district tournaments to determine individual qualifiers to the state tournament.
Eight additional wrestlers will be added to each field, bringing the number of qualifiers up to 24 per weight class.
A new facility for the state dual team tournament has not yet been determined.
The traditional individual state tournament will continue to run over four days on its previously scheduled week.
College Golf: CAC Championships Begin
The Continental Athletic Conference men’s and women’s golf tournament will begin today at Burlington Golf Club in Burlington.
The event is being hosted by Iowa Wesleyan.
The Wesleyan men are led by former Mount Pleasant standout Trace White, while the women are paced by Karli Kirchner.
The two day tournament will feature two, 18-hole rounds per day.
Houston-Victoria was last year’s champion.
College Baseball: Tournament Field Set for CAC Baseball
The season will continue for teams from four states selected to compete in the Continental Athletic Conference’s inaugural baseball championship tournament, scheduled May 7-9 at Georgia Gwinnett College’s Grizzly Baseball Complex in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Joining the host Grizzlies will be Edward Waters University (Florida), Fisher College (Massachusetts) and Iowa Wesleyan University in the double-elimination tournament.
Seeds and opening-round matchups will be announced later by conference officials.
The 2022 CAC baseball tournament begins Saturday, May 7, with games scheduled at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Three games are scheduled Sunday, May 8, with the final two teams playing Monday, May 9, for the championship.
The tournament champion and runner-up will receive automatic bids to represent the CAC in the NAIA Opening Round.
NFL Draft: Three Clones, One Hawk Hear Names on Draft’s Final Day
Three Iowa State Cyclones and one Iowa Hawkeye heard their names called on the NFL Draft’s final day.
Defensive tackle Eyioma Uwazurike went in the fourth round to Denver, All-American tight end Charlie Kolar was selected in the fourth round by Baltimore, while decorated quarterback Brock Purdy was the final pick in the draft selected by San Francisco.
Iowa safety Dane Belton was a fourth round choice by the New York Giants.
The Green Bay Packers inked All-Big Ten running back Tyler Goodson to an undrafted free agent deal.
Other Hawkeyes who signed undrafted deals include Zach VanValkenburg with Las Vegas, cornerback Matt Hankins with Atlanta, Jack Koerner with New Orleans and kicker Caleb Shudak with Tennessee.