Mt. Pleasant Fall Season Preview
The Mt. Pleasant Panthers are looking forward to a successful fall season with a lot of talent returning to the three major sports, here’s a reminder of what they accomplished last year and who will be returning.
The Panther football squad knocked down a couple of walls last year, snapping a 23-game losing streak, a four-year home and district matchup losing streak on their way to a 4-5 record. The team will have to replace a future St. Ambrose Bee in Payton Walker, who has led the team in rushing and tackles. Look for Ramzy Davis to step up in his senior season as he rushed for 312 yards and six touchdowns in the final five games of the season.
The volleyball team will be loaded with experience after a mostly junior-led team totaled 12 wins, including a playoff victory over Fort Madison in four sets. The Panthers will be leaning on Addison Clark and Alex Scott, two 2nd Team All-SEC members from last year, as they combined for 390 kills. Abby Carthey, who led the team in assists, will also return.
The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams will be looking to make some waves after the two teams graduated a combined three runners. The boys’ team will be leaning on Silas Hulett as he was able to put up a sub-18 minute time. Expect this young team to improve throughout the season.
The girls’ team will be exciting to watch with fresh talent coming onto the scene along with a returning state qualifier in Quintrie Lee, as she finished with a time of 20 minutes and 20 seconds, which was good enough for 63rd place. The Panthers are excited to welcome Avery Fedler, who competed in Seattle for the Brooks PR Invitational in June and took 3rd place in the 800-meter junior division with a time of 2 minutes and 12 seconds.
Local Athletic Camps
Some upcoming camp starting dates to keep an eye on include:
Fairfield’s high school volleyball camp will start tomorrow, August 6th, and run through the 8th with a 6 pm start time. The camp will cost $40 and take place at Fairfield High School.
The Van Buren County football camp will also start on August 6th for 3rd all the way through 12th graders. 3rd through 8th graders will also have camp on the 7th starting at 10 am with a $30 cost, while the high schoolers will go until the 8th from 7 am to 10 am with a $45 cost.
Lastly, at Danville High School, the Soukup Basketball camp for all boys and girls entering 3rd through 8th grades will take place on August 8th and run through the 10th. The cost will be $60 per camper and you can sign up at www.soukupbasketballcamp.com.
College Football
Iowa State’s long snapper Drew Clausen has been placed on the 2025 Patrick Mannelly Award watch list, the award given to the nation’s best long snapper. He joined the Cyclones before the 2024 season after three years at the University of Northern Iowa. He played in all 14 games last year.
The special teams unit will have a spotlight on them as Kyle Konrardy was named to the 2025 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award watchlist after breaking Iowa State’s freshman record 21 field goals and the school record for kicking points last season at 109.
The Preseason Coaches Top 25 released yesterday and Texas sits atop the standings with Ohio State, Penn State, and Georgia rounding out the top four. The SEC leads the conferences with nine teams within the top 25 followed by the Big Ten with six teams and the Big 12 with five teams, including Iowa State at #21. Iowa was not ranked within the top 25.
Prospect League
The Cape Catfish will travel to face off against the Lafayette Aviators tonight at 7 pm for game one of the three-game Prospect League Championship series.
This Day in Sports History
1921 – KDKA Pittsburgh presents first radio broadcast of MLB; Pirates beat Phillies, 8-0; Harold Arlin first play-by-play broadcaster for the MLB.
1979 – Pete Rose collects the Nation League record 2,427th career single in a 5-2 home loss versus the Pirates.
2006 – Warren Moon becomes the first Black quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio; joined by Troy Aikman, John Madden, Rayfield Wright, Harry Carson, and Reggie White.