Des Moines, IA- The Mt. Pleasant Youth Wrestling Club has been making a name for itself the last couple of years and with the hard work success was found in Des Moines last weekend at the USA Wrestling Preseason National Tournament.

The club sent six wrestlers to one of the most competitive tournaments in the country and by the end of the weekend two All-Americans were crowned. The wrestlers to make the trip were Levi Evans (10^th grade), Regan Hamilton (6^th grade), Kenai Mason (4^th grade), Karter Ettinger (4^th grade), Kamden Ettinger (2^nd grade), and Cooper Mason (2^nd grade).

Kenai Mason’s marquee match of the weekend was his last of the tournament as he defeated the #3 nationally ranked wrestler in the 7^th place match to finish with the All-American honor and with a 4-2 record. Head coach Nick Ettinger had this to say about Mason,

“Kenai is a work horse and a very talented young man, he has a high level of discipline and tenacity that make him an excellent athlete and leader on our team, his ability to overcome challenges has highlighted his commitment and accomplishments. I’m very grateful to have Kenai on our team!”

The other All-American was Kamden Ettinger as he battled through adversity on a first-round loss to secure four straight pins, including wins over the #2 and #5 nationally ranked wrestlers. Unfortunately, Ettinger fell in the 3^rd place match to finish in 4^th place.

“Kamden is a generational talent on the mat, he has received the hardest worker award in our club two consecutive years and it’s a big reason for his success” said coach Ettinger. “Kamden wants to outwork everyone he comes into contact with. At 8 yrs old he is already an incredible leader in wrestling and in the classroom. As he figures out how to mix hard work and talent for the best results, I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

(Picture Courtesy of Nick Ettinger)

As an appetizer for the rest of the season, coach Ettinger is excited about the direction the program is heading,

“I’m very grateful to everyone involved in our program! Putting Mt. Pleasant wrestling on the map as a powerful wrestling team has always been the ultimate goal.  Now that it is happening, I’m very optimistic of our future and humbled by the amount of support we are receiving from community members, parents, and friends! Lastly it wouldn’t be possible without the help of the coaching staff at MPYWC. Program director Anthony Blint, and coaches Karla Maher, Corey Hamilton, Jordan Norton, and Mick Manning are pivotal resources for our athletes and the success of this team! I’m looking forward to this season.”

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference (SEC) released their All-Conference list for volleyball for the 2025 season and Washington and Burlington led the conference with six All-Conference nods.

Player of the Year

It takes a special player to repeat as Conference Player of the Year and Washington’s Leighton Messinger is that special kind of player as the senior defended her Player of the Year honors.

The senior led the conference in kills with 320 and finished second in efficiency with a mark of 0.271. She also finished in the top 15 of the conference in blocks and digs and tallied 25 aces for the season. Messinger finished her career with 1,142 kills.

The honor also placed her on the All-Conference 1^st Team.

Burlington

It seems appropriate to start with the conference champion as the Grayhounds yanked the crown away from Washington after a three-set thriller (23-25, 25-17, 15-12) to start the second day of the conference tournament. The Grayhounds have now won 31 games in back-to-back seasons after eclipsing 20 wins in a season once since 2010.

Helping the Grayhounds reach those heights was two senior 1^st Teamers: middle hitter Daphne Brown and Lily Newell, the libero. Brown had a solid season protecting the net with 183 kills and a conference leading 65 blocks. She also ranked 6^th in aces with 45.

Newell was just as impressive serving as she totaled 33 aces for the season on a 94.7% serve efficiency rating. Additionally, the senior ranked second in the conference with 407 digs for the season.

Gemma Plummer was named to the 2^nd Team with 141 kills along with the freshman Lauren Schrader, as she finished 3^rd in the conference with 54 blocks. Sydney Schroeder led the conference in aces, and Meliah Ertz tabbed All-SEC Honorable Mention honors.

Washington

The Demons actually held a better overall conference record with their loss to Burlington, marking their only loss against the SEC this season. Washington finished the year with a 21-14 record.

Joining Messinger on the 1^st Team was junior Layla Green. The middle hitter led the conference with a 0.318 kill efficiency, as she nabbed 172 kills for the year. She also finished 7^th in blocks with 45 to go along with her 31 aces.

Taylor Miksch, who finished with 205 kills, and Reagan Miller, who finished second in the conference in aces, grabbed a spot on the 2^nd Team. Ellie Farmer and Carys Miller made the All-SEC Honorable Mention Team.

Fairfield

The Trojans knocked off Burlington earlier in the regular season and handled Mt. Pleasant down the stretch to solidify their claim for 3^rd in the conference, going 7-3 against the SEC and 22-13 overall. This earned the team two 1^st Team members in senior Faith Jones and junior Natalie Steele.

Jones had a year to learn from Maddie Jones, another prolific setter for the Trojans currently playing at Southeastern Community College, and she made good use of her time, collecting 751 assists this season to not only lead the conference by over 200 assists but also finish top 40 in the state. She will end her career with 1,419 career assists.

Jones also added 65 kills and 31 aces to the season totals.

It’s not often that you have to divide your time amongst two sports in the same season, but that was the task for Natalie Steele. She ended up finishing with 1^st Team honors in volleyball and 8^th place at state in tennis. The junior led her team with 217 kills with a kill efficiency of 0.204 for the year. Steele also grabbed 38 aces.

Leah Helmick, who tabbed 216 kills for the season, took home 2^nd Team honors. Isabel McCready and Elyse Setterstrom collected All-SEC Honorable Mention honors.

Mt. Pleasant

The Panthers handled Fort Madison and Keokuk for fourth place in the conference race as they finished 4-6 in the SEC and 22-15 overall, their first winning record since 2021. Their season included a win in their Regional as they swept Keokuk to advance to the semifinals for the second year in a row.

Head coach Alicia Schrader talked about what this season meant for the program,

“We just had a talk, and I told them that I think they really raised the standard for volleyball, for Mount Pleasant this year. I kind of told them a story back when that way back when I was in 8th grade and how, you know, at that time we had a new coach and we had these shirts that said we were doormats and a few years later after that we had three consecutive trips to the state tournament and I told them that’s what I see in them and they don’t know that all these middle school girls talk about them at home. They look up to them, they’ve really inspired a whole group of kids. So, making sure they know that they are just a huge part. I hope a huge part of change and lifting the standard for Mount Pleasant.”

Helping turn the program around was senior hitting Alex Scott, the lone Panther to earn 1^st Team honors. Despite missing six matches, Scott finished fourth in the conference with 245 kills on a kill efficiency of 0.104. She finished her career with 686 kills and 136 aces, a stat she led the team in the last three years.

Addison Clark, who finished second in the conference in kills with 281, grabbed a spot on the 2^nd Team. The senior finished her career with 640 kills and with her second 2^nd Team nod. Jenna Schwartz, who was second in blocks for the conference, and Abby Carthey, who finished with 1,399 assists, finished All-SEC Honorable Mention.

Fort Madison

The Bloodhounds won two conference games this year—both against Keokuk—and were ousted by Burlington in the first round of the regional to finish the year with a 13-21 record. Dayonna Davis, a senior, made the 2^nd Team for Fort Madison.

Davis collected 264 kills on an efficiency of 0.172 to go along with 18 blocks for the year. Jaycee Fullenkamp and Kylie Lumino grabbed a spot on the All-SEC Honorable Mention squad.

Keokuk

In a tough season for Keokuk, the Chiefs went winless against the conference and finished 6-24 overall. Kendra Boatman, who was All-SEC Honorable Mention last year as a setter, made it on the 2^nd Team this year as an outside hitter, swatting 0.196 for 225 kills. She also tallied 43 aces.

Kylie Sisk, a senior, and Nevaeh Logan, a junior who also defended her conference crown in tennis, made the Honorable Mention list.

Academic All-Conference

Lily Newell Burlington

Savannah Lambert Burlington

Daphne Brown Burlington

Ednine Saint Aime Burlington

Sydney Schoreder Burlington

Vanessa Woodsmall Burlington

Sophia Young Burlington

Meliah Ertz Burlington

Gemma Plummer Burlington

Emma Hutchinson Burlington

Sela Rascon Burlington

Koertlynne Karver Burlington

Emmelia Miller Fairfield

Frances Miller Fairfield

Maddy Martin Fairfield

Isabel McCready Fairfield

Bella Buckley Fairfield

Faith Jones Fairfield

Iris Lane Fairfield

Ella Bentler Fairfield

Mallory Wigle Fairfield

Natalie Steele Fairfield

Jaden Haynes Fairfield

Elyse Setterstrom Fairfield

Maleena Bentley Fort Madison

Dayonna Davis Fort Madison

Mackenzie Huebner Fort Madison

Adelyn Lampe Fort Madison

Kylie Lumino Fort Madison

Alaina Schwerin Fort Madison

Cally Leenerts Keokuk

Alayna King Keokuk

Neveah Logan Keokuk

Carrigan Morris Keokuk

Lizzy Mason Keokuk

Kendra Boatman Keokuk

Kyndra Ryland Keokuk

Kylie Sisk Keokuk

Meadow Carter Mt. Pleasant

Abby Carthey Mt. Pleasant

Addison Clark Mt. Pleasant

Kate Musselman Mt. Pleasant

Paige Newton Mt. Pleasant

Alex Scott Mt. Pleasant

Myah Starr Mt. Pleasant

Sophia Walderbach Mt. Pleasant

Breana White Mt. Pleasant

Sarah Berdo Washington

Keagyn Coleman Washington

Kendall Conway Washington

Ellie Farmer Washington

Layla Green Washington

Elyse Nichols Washington

Layla Swift Washington

Lily Brown Washington

Leighton Messinger Washington

Taylor Miksch Washington

Addison Miller Washington

Carys Miller Washington

Postseason High School Volleyball

In Class 1A Region 2, #4 Holy Trinity Catholic and Wapello engaged in a classic last night as the Arrows stormed back after losing the first two sets to force a tiebreaker set, and after exchanging the first 13 points for each team, the Crusaders survived to win 15-13 and advance to their 5th straight regional championship. Holy Trinity Catholic’s Presley Myers played out of her mind, tabbing a career-high 24 kills in an emotional contest for the senior,

“It feels, you know, great. This is my last game at this gym on this court. So, you know, I wanted it more than anything tonight. And obviously we want it more than anything to go to state. I mean, we’re such a young group of girls and I’ve really just been like hyping up to them the experience of this journey and making it far. And I think that like me, you know, just getting them excited really motivates them to keep us going.”

Helping the effort was another 24 kills from Adalyn Kruse, also a career high for the junior. Wapello’s Taeya Wagner put together a double-double performance with 22 assists and 11 kills in the loss last night. The Arrows finished the season with a 25-12 record. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will venture up to West Liberty High School to take on Dunkerton for the Class 1A Region 2 championship tomorrow, October 29th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

In Class 2A Region 8, West Burlington hung in against Regina Catholic last night, but was ultimately thwarted by the Regals in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-16). The Falcons finished the season with a 19-16 record. 

Postseason High School Football

In Class 3A, Mt. Pleasant was placed in Pod C where they will travel to West Delaware for their first playoff game in 15 years on Friday, October 31st, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

Solon will get to host Benton on Friday at 7 pm.

For Class 2A, Mediapolis will get a rematch against district-foe Mid-Prairie in a road showdown on Friday with kickoff at 7 pm.

In Class A, Pekin will take on North Linn at home on Friday at 7 pm in a rematch of last year’s first-round postseason matchup.

For Eight-Player, Iowa Valley will be looking to continue their undefeated season when the Tigers face off against Janesville on Friday at 7 pm at home.

High School Cross Country

The state meets for Classes 2A and 3A are scheduled for Friday, October 31st, while Class 1A will run on Saturday, November 1st, at Fort Dodge. 

For a full breakdown of who will be running at state, follow the links:

–Classes 1A and 2A

–Class 3A

High School Cross Country Rankings

The Iowa Association of Track Coaches (IATC) released their final team and individual rankings of the season yesterday and five local runners found a spot within the top 30 ahead of the state meet.

In Class 3A, Mt. Pleasant’s Avery Fedler was the only runner ranked as the IATC placed the Panther at #6 after winning her state qualifier. 

Over in Class 2A, the Mediapolis boys’ team rounded out the top 15 with the help of two Bulldogs getting a spot in the top 30: #7 Simon Wendel and #24 Will Schmidgall. 

The Columbus boys’ team slotted themselves right above Van Buren County in the Class 1A rankings at #9, followed by the Warriors at #10. Van Buren County is aided by Lincoln Bainbridge as he was slotted in at #13. 

On the girls’ side, Josie Dykstra of WACO was ranked at #18, while the Van Buren County girls’ team took the #13 ranking. 

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will close out the regular season with a home match against Central Community College tomorrow, October 29th, at 7 pm.

The men’s soccer team will host Central Community College in the Region 11 semifinals tomorrow.

College Football

Iowa State will host Arizona State on Saturday, November 1st, at noon. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

Iowa is on a bye week. 

This Day in Sports History

1890 – “World Championship” Baseball Series, Washington Park, NY: the Louisville Colonels beat the Brooklyn Bridegrooms 6-2 in Game 7 to tie the series 3-3-1; the deciding game was never played.

1934 – The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates play first of only four penalty free games in NFL history; Dodgers win 21-3 at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn.

1997 – The NBA announces the hiring of Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer as the first women to officiate a major-league all-male sports league.