New London, IA- A week removed from Highland’s decision to forfeit their season due to injuries sustained through the first two weeks of the season, New London has come to the same decision after a 20-12 loss against Wapello in their week four contest.

This decision comes a day after the program’s decision to forfeit their contest against Columbus this upcoming Friday night. New London School District Superintendent Chad Wahls stated in a Facebook post,

“This decision was not made lightly. Unfortunately, a growing number of injuries among our players has significantly reduced our roster, raising serious concerns about the health, safety, and well-being of our student-athletes. While we value competition and school spirit, ensuring student safety must remain our top priority.”

This is not the first time New London has dealt with issues pertaining to roster health. Two seasons ago in 8-player football, the Tigers forfeited their week four contest against Central City due to mounting injuries. They would go on to finish the season after giving a presentation to the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) explaining how they would safely finish the season.

In their first season playing 11-player football since 2018, the Tigers managed a roster size of just 16 players.

Superintendent Wahls stated in his post that New London will still celebrate Homecoming and honor their seniors. New London’s Homecoming is scheduled to start on Sunday, September 28th, while senior night will be October 7th.

Mt. Pleasant, IA- It was a star-studded cast at the Mt. Pleasant High School grounds for the Panthers’ invitational last night. A cast that included that included six Iowa Association of Track Coaches (IATC) teams and 12 top 30 runners for their respective classes.

Yet, it was an unranked runner that helped the host team sweep the large class division individual titles. Here’s how everything shook out.

(Avery Fedler celebrating with her family)

In the girls’ large class division, Mt. Pleasant took 2nd place as a team, finishing behind Fort Madison, thanks to #3 Avery Fedler’s top time of the meet at 18 minutes and 53 seconds. The freshman has greatly added to her workout routine to keep her pace up,

“I think one thing I’ve really worked on is building my mileage. So, in middle school I probably wasn’t running more than 10 miles a week, and I’ve built it up to like 30 miles a week, 10 miles is not ideal for any kind of mid distance runner, so building my mileage is definitely the key factor in my success.”

The race was tight with #12 Avery Rump running side-by-side with her for most of the race until Fedler pushed away for a 10-second cushion. This competitive field of southeast Iowa has pushed Fedler to improve her mental game,

“Yeah, I think it really helps my probably mental space almost the most because I’m not used to racing other people, so being able to race other people really helps me because it’s not really an easy thing to do. So, it gets kind of scary when you never have to do it. So bracing people every week is really making me mentally stronger.”

Panther head coach Lyle Murray was happy with his team’s success for the home meet,

“So we had, with the exception of Avery Fedler, season bests across the board. She was pretty close. So, it’s not like she had a bad race. Our course is legit. It’s the right distance. So, she probably did season best as well. I thought they all ran well. They got out quick. Avery Fedler said her first mile was a little quick. But we’re going to go to state here in a few weeks. And so she’s got to know it’s going to feel like, because it’s going to be fast at state and state qualifier. I thought they all did well.”

Mt. Pleasant’s Quintrie Lee finished right outside the podium with a 4th place time of 20 minutes and 10 seconds. Nelle Peterson, a senior, clocked a time of 23 minutes and 37 seconds and Molly Baker finished inside the 25-minute plateau.

Alex Jo Steward of Fairfield claimed 10th place with a time of 22 minutes and 32 seconds as the Trojans finished in 4^th place with 87 points.

In the small class division for the girls’, WACO’s Josie Dykstra nearly broke the 20-minute barrier with a time of 20 minutes and 2 seconds, which was good enough for the bronze. Macie Carter also had an excellent day for the Warriors with a 5^th place time of 20 minutes and 50 seconds.

Danville’s Alaina Gourley turned in a 4th place time of 20 minutes and 30 seconds.

Central Lee finished in 3rd as a team as they were anchored by Aubree Bunnell and Macy Anderson’s top 10 finishes. Avery Dietz led Mediapolis with a time of 22 minutes and 52 seconds. Gabriela Duran and Iris Garza finished with an identical time of 23 minutes and 48 seconds for Columbus, while Irelynn Kelly of New London clocked a time of 28 minutes and 39 seconds.

#1 Mid-Prairie snatched the title with 24 points as #7 Brooklyn Stutzman won the race with a time of 19 minutes and 13 seconds. The Golden Hawks were missing three of their top 15 runners.

On the boys’ side of the large class division, Mt. Pleasant’s Silas Hulett shocked the field, besting a ranked runner in Fort Madison’s #28 Riley Tripp with a time of 17 minutes-flat and the gold. Surprisingly, Hulett did not feel well heading into the race,

“I just kind of went out, I wasn’t feeling really good today and I just wanted to run my own race. I wasn’t trying to go that hard, and I figured if I don’t PR, it’s room for another day.”

In case you were questioning if that was a great time, look no further than his head coach Mitch Anderson’s prognosis of Hulett’s run,

“[Hulett] Had a monster race tonight to win the large class division.  Best race of his career. Ran like you want to at your home meet.”  

Fort Madison still ran away with the team title with 26 total points. Fairfield’s John Miller claimed 12th place with a time of 18 minutes and 53 seconds. Mt. Pleasant took 4th place as a team with 93 points followed by Fairfield with 97 points.

It was a tight finish in the boys’ small class division, Mediapolis’ #5 Simon Wendel led for most of the race until #11 Jude Dykstra of WACO flew in to steal the win on the final straightaway by three seconds with a time of 16 minutes and 23 seconds. Dykstra always loves the home reunion,

“Not really. I think I am more motivated coming back to Mount Pleasant just to, I don’t know the home crowd. I know so many people here and it’s a great environment.”

Locken Henderson’s time of 17 minutes and 17 seconds and Garrett Landau’s mark of 17 minutes and 34 seconds, both top 10 times helped the #11 Warriors usurp #5 Columbus by nearly 20 points.

Despite Will Schmidgall taking the bronze with a time of 16 minutes and 49 seconds, Mediapolis finished in 3^rd place as a team with 73 points.

Isaac Shinn of Danville finished in 9th place with a time of 17 minutes and 37 seconds, while Ryan Villa of Columbus rounded out the top 10. Kevin Villa, Drake Marin, Victor Tovar, Cade Storm, and Elia Gonzalez, Bravo finished in 12^th through 16^th place, respectively.

Central Lee’s Caden Crozier claimed a time of 18 minutes and 52 seconds and Brayden Cline led Winfield-Mt. Union with a time of 20 minutes and 5 seconds. Lastly, Zayden Lawrence of New London clocked a time of 21 minutes and 5 seconds.

Coach Murray loved seeing the community spirit with Mt. Pleasant getting to host a race,

“It’s awesome to have all the Mount Pleasant folks out. You know, the kids always get a little jacked up for it. We saw that in the start of the races a little bit on both sides, but it’s just great. You know, a lot of maroon and gold out here and we’ve got great fans, great helpers. You know, people are helping us run the course and the meet and stuff and can’t do it without them.”

Up Next

Van Buren County, Wapello, Mediapolis, and Burlington Notre Dame will run at the Grayhound Invite tomorrow, September 25th.

New London and Winfield-Mt. Union will make the trip to Clear Creek Amana for an invitational on Monday, September 29th.

Mt. Pleasant and Danville will participate in the Williamsburg Invitational on Tuesday, September 30th.

WACO and Fairfield will compete at the Washington Invitational on Tuesday.

High School Volleyball

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield engaged in a five-set epic last night that saw the Panthers rally from a two-set-to-one deficit to win an emotional fourth set but come up short in the tiebreaker to fall to the Trojans 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 7-15). Addison Clark finished the night with double-digit kills for the Panthers. Faith Jones dished out 48 assists with Natalie Steele (17 kills) and Elyse Setterstrom (18 kills) combining for 35 kills in the win. For Panther head coach Alicia Shrader, it’s about staying positive,

“I think just we’re gonna have to keep our heads up and know that we were in that and that everything we did, everything pretty much right, you know, with a few little things, the ball rolling over the net, I mean, some things we just are out of our control and then heads up that we can come back Tuesday and still fight and win, and know that we’re still a good team. It’s going to be the hardest thing to keep our confidence, but I know that they’re a good team. I know that they’re good, so we’ll keep building them up all week. You’re ready for Tuesday.”

Mt. Pleasant will get another chance at home on Tuesday, September 30th, against Burlington at 7:15 pm. 

Fairfield will take their momentum back home to host Keokuk on Tuesday at 7:15 pm.

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference Tournament pool play is scheduled to start tomorrow, September 25th, with Wapello, New London, Burlington Notre Dame, and WACO acting as the hosts.

The Wapello pod will see Pekin, Louisa-Muscatine, and Mediapolis facing off against one another. Over in New London, the Tigers will play host to Danville, Winfield-Mt. Union, and Holy Trinity Catholic. Burlington Notre Dame will be taking on Highland, Columbus, and Central Lee. Lastly, WACO will see Van Buren County, West Burlington, and Hillcrest Academy. 

High School Cross Country

Mt. Pleasant protected their turf for their home invitational last night as they walked away with two champions and a litany of personal records. Here’s a breakdown of the action last night.

In the girls’ large class division, Mt. Pleasant took 2nd place as a team, finishing behind Fort Madison, thanks to Avery Fedler’s top time of the meet at 18 minutes and 53 seconds. The freshman talked about how her increased training has allowed for her to stay on top of the older competition,

“I think one thing I’ve really worked on is building my mileage. So, in middle school I probably wasn’t running more than 10 miles a week, and I’ve built it up to like 30 miles a week, 10 miles is not ideal for any kind of mid distance runner, so building my mileage is definitely the key factor in my success.”

Mt. Pleasant’s Quintrie Lee finished right outside the podium with a 4th place time of 20 minutes and 10 seconds. Alex Jo Steward of Fairfield claimed 10th place with a time of 22 minutes and 32 seconds.

In the small class division for the girls’, WACO’s Josie Dykstra nearly broke the 20 minute barrier with a time of 20 minutes and 2 seconds, which was good enough for the bronze. Danville’s Alaina Gourley turned in a 4th place time of 20 minutes and 30 seconds. 

Central Lee finished in 3rd as a team as they were anchored by Aubree Bunnell and Macy Anderson’s top 10 finishes. Avery Dietz led Mediapolis with a time of 22 minutes and 52 seconds. Gabriela Duran and Iris Garza finished with an identical time of 23 minutes and 48 seconds for Columbus, while Irelynn Kelly of New London clocked a time of 28 minutes and 39 seconds.

On the boys’ side of the large class division, Mt. Pleasant’s Silas Hulett shocked the field, besting a ranked runner in Fort Madison’s Riley Tripp with a time of 17 minutes-flat and the gold. Surprisingly, Hulett did not feel well heading into the race,

“I just kind of went out, I wasn’t feeling really good today and I just wanted to run my own race. I wasn’t trying to go that hard, and I figured if I don’t PR, it’s room for another day.”

Fairfield’s John Miller claimed 12th place with a time of 18 minutes and 53 seconds. Mt. Pleasant took 4th place as a team with 93 points followed by Fairfield with 97 points.

It was a tight finish in the boys’ small class division, Mediapolis’ Simon Wendel led for most of the race until Jude Dykstra of WACO flew in to steal the win on the final straightaway by three seconds with a time of 16 minutes and 23 seconds. Dykstra always loves the home reunion,

“Not really. I think I am more motivated coming back to Mount Pleasant just to, I don’t know the home crowd. I know so many people here and it’s a great environment.”

Isaac Shinn of Danville finished in 9th place with a time of 17 minutes and 37 seconds, while Ryan Villa of Columbus rounded out the top 10. Central Lee’s Caden Crozier claimed a time of 18 minutes and 52 seconds and Brayden Cline led Winfield-Mt. Union with a time of 20 minutes and 5 seconds. Lastly, Zayden Lawrence of New London clocked a time of 21 minutes and 5 seconds.

Panther girls’ head coach Lyle Murray loves seeing the community spirit when Mt. Pleasant gets to host a race,

“It’s awesome to have all the Mount Pleasant folks out. You know, the kids always get a little jacked up for it. We saw that in the start of the races a little bit on both sides, but it’s just great. You know, a lot of maroon and gold out here and we’ve got great fans, great helpers. You know, people are helping us run the course and the meet and stuff and can’t do it without them.”

Van Buren County, Wapello, Mediapolis, and Burlington Notre Dame will run at the Grayhound Invite tomorrow, September 25th. 

New London and Winfield-Mt. Union will make the trip to Clear Creek Amana for an invitational on Monday, September 29th. 

Mt. Pleasant and Danville will participate in the Williamsburg Invitational on Tuesday, September 30th.

WACO and Fairfield will compete at the Washington Invitational on September 30th.

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will look to bounce back against Washington on Friday, September 26th, at home at 7:30 pm for their Homecoming. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

West Burlington/Notre Dame and Central Lee will both be looking to get back in the win column at 7 pm on Friday with the Hawks acting as the hosts.

Due to injuries, New London opted to forfeit their contest against Columbus.

Van Buren County will travel to Pekin on Friday at 7 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will square off against Iowa Valley on Friday at 7 pm at home. 

Mediapolis will celebrate their Homecoming on Friday at 7 pm against Wilton.

Wapello will host North Cedar on Friday at 7 pm.

WACO will hit the road to take on Belle Plaine on Friday at 7 pm.

Fairfield will host Solon on Friday at 7:30 pm.

High School Girls’ Tennis

Fairfield will square off against Camanche at home today.

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team was swept by Indian Hills Community College last night 3-0. The Blackhawks will take on Hawkeye Community College tonight at 6 pm on the road. 

The men’s soccer team will host Marshalltown Community College today.

The women’s soccer team will travel to Iowa Lakes Community College on Saturday, September 27th.

College Football

Iowa will look for an upset against #11 Indiana on Saturday, September 27th, at 2:30 pm at home. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the call.

#14 Iowa State will host Arizona on Saturday at 6 pm fresh off a bye week. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

This Day in Sports History

1920 – Babe Ruth becomes the first player to hit 50 home runs in a season.

1929 – New York Yankee pitcher Tom Zachary ends the season 12-0, the record for the most pitching wins without a loss in one season.

1977 – Ken Hinton of the CFL British Columbia Lions returns a punt 130 yards, a record that still stands.