Girls’ Regional Basketball
For Class 3A Region 5, Washington lost to Tipton last night, 55-35. The Demons touted a 12-11 record for the season.
In Region 6, #8 Mediapolis will be playing for a regional championship on Saturday, February 21st, after dismantling Davis County last night, 76-42. The Bulldogs will travel to #6 PCM with tip-off at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
For Class 4A Region 4, Mt. Pleasant was unable to avenge an early season loss to Oskaloosa last night, falling 51-43. Paityn Ensminger cashed in for 10 points and controlled the boards for the Panthers. Mt. Pleasant finished the season with a 4-18 record.
Burlington was unable to hold off North Scott last night, falling to the Lancers, 73-65. The Grayhounds finished the season with a 12-9 record.
In Region 6, Fort Madison had swept Keokuk during the regular season for the first time since 2020, but proved it is hard to beat a team three times in one year as the Chiefs escaped with a 46-44 victory last night. Kendra Boatman and Halle Menke dueled for an identical 20 points. The Bloodhounds collected a 13-9 record for the season.
Keokuk will venture to #6 Central DeWitt on Saturday at 7 pm.
In Class 2A Region 8, Danville will travel to Regina Catholic on Friday, February 20th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
High School Wrestling
The 2026 Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) opened up the state tournament last night with the opening rounds of the Class 3A tournament, which saw three local athletes from Burlington competing.
In the 132-pound weight class, #22 Roy Brown finished the day 0-2, losing by technical fall and major decision, respectively. Brown finished the season with a 27-20 record.
In the 175-pound weight class, #17 Adrian Perez-Hall collected 19 points in his opening match for a win by technical fall, advancing to wrestle #1 Jaxon Miller of Carlisle. The Grayhound would struggle from there being pinned in the first round and losing his subsequent match in the consolation bracket by a 12-5 decision. Perez-Hall collected a 36-7 record for the season.
Lastly, #11 Owen Difederico was on the wrong end of two upsets in the 190-pound weight class, falling in two lopsided decisions. He finished with a 28-12 record for the season.
Classes 1A and 2A are scheduled to start today with KILJ keeping tabs on 29 local wrestlers. One of them being Mt. Pleasant’s Levi Evans. The first Panther state qualifier in the past six years and he’s looking to represent the program with dominance,
“I really just want to wrestle as hard as I can, and I want to place at state this year. I want to make the top 10 and show that even though I’m the only one from Mount Pleasant that made it, I still can wrestle.”
To listen to the full interview, follow this link: MP’s Levi Evans
For a full look at everyone’s first round matchup and seeding, click on this link: Local First Round Matchups
Boys’ District Basketball
In Class 1A Substate 5 District 9, #4 Burlington Notre Dame will host Danville tonight at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
Holy Trinity Catholic will travel to Pekin tonight for tip-off at 7 pm.
In Class 2A Substate 5 District 9, West Burlington will fly to Central Lee tonight at 7 pm.
In Substate 5 District 10, Mediapolis will search for their first victory over Mid-Prairie since 2011 tonight at 7 pm on the road.
In Class 3A Substate 4, #5 Mt. Pleasant will venture to #4 Davenport Assumption for their first round matchup on Monday, February 23rd, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
Substate 5 houses the rest of our local teams with #8 Fairfield traveling to #1 Pella. #4 Burlington will host #5 Washington, while #3 Keokuk will take on #6 Fort Madison at home for a pair of Southeast Conference clashes.
High School Bowling
Keokuk’s Chase Hemann will compete in the Class 2A individual state tournament on Wednesday, February 25th.
College Signing
Mt. Pleasant’s Kellen Kohorst signed his letter of intent yesterday to play football at St. Ambrose University and follow the family tradition of getting his degree in education.
Kohorst discussed what went into the decision to become a Bee,
“You know, I just wanted to look at culture and overall, like the university as itself. It had a lot of just values that I really liked, and I appreciated. And you know, I had an older brother that went there, so comfortability, and then Payton [Walker] last year went there. So, it was just a super comfortable place, felt at home, not too far away from home, and it was just really comfortable, and I really enjoyed my time up there.”
Kohorst was named 1st Team All-District offensive line this past season, as the Panthers clinched a berth to the postseason for the first time since 2010. While he enjoyed the ride, he hopes that success becomes contagious,
“I mean, it was awesome. It kind of started with, you know, before the first game even just being named captain was something that I thought was really cool and special. And then, you know, just, you know, you string together, you go 3-0. That’s the first time we’ve been 3-0 in quite a while. And then, you know, just keeping that together and just going 1-0 every week. And you know, you get to the spot where you’re in the playoffs for the first time in 15 or so years. And, you know, it’s something that we liked right now, but we hope that even for future generations, future teams, that they continue to build off that to where we’re state champions.”
Southeastern Community College
The women’s basketball team fell to Marshalltown Community College, 48-45. Ariana Aguilar touted a 13 point/10 rebound double-double in the loss. The Blackhawks will travel to Northeast Community College on Saturday, February 21st, at 1 pm.
The men’s basketball team let Highland Community College slip away last night, losing 67-65. Brady Martin scored 18 points in the effort. The Blackhawks will host Moberly Area Community College on Saturday at 7 pm.
College Basketball
The Iowa State women’s team rejoiced Addy Brown’s return to the lineup with a dominant 90-64 thrashing of Arizona State last night. Audi Crooks bullied her way to a double-double, scoring 28 points and securing 12 rebounds. The Cyclones will look to upset #12 TCU on Sunday, February 22nd, at 3 pm on the road.
The #13 Iowa women’s team will stay on the road to play Purdue tonight at 6 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will travel to #24 Wisconsin on Sunday for their 3rd straight ranked opponent with tip-off at 3 pm.
The #6 Iowa State men’s team will travel to BYU on Saturday, February 21st, at 9:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.
This Day in Sports History
1946 – New York Giants outfielder Danny Gardella is the first major leaguer to announce that he is jumping to the “outlaw” Mexican Baseball League for a fee of $10,000.
1965 – The NFL adds a 6th official – the line judge.
1996 – Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns) got his 10,000th career rebound. He became only the 10th NBA player to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in a career.