Boys’ State Basketball
The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) tipped-off the 2026 state tournament yesterday and there was one upset through the first day of action.
In Class 3A, #1 Ballard displayed why they are the top seed after dismantling #8 Gilbert, 70-40, to lead off the day. Jude Gibson led the floor with 20 points in the winning effort.
It appeared #4 Pella was going to steal the game away from #5 Carroll after nabbing a late lead; however, the Tigers were able to snatch it back and advance to the semifinals in a 50-49 final. Jared Mohr netted 17 points in the winning effort, while Jack McGuire led the Dutch with 24 points.
Ballard and Carroll will play tomorrow, March 11th, at 5:30 pm.
On the bottom half of the bracket, #2 ADM sprinted to a 15-point lead at halftime over #7 Xavier and never looked back in a 68-59 victory. Hudson Lorensen was unstoppable, tabbing 34 points.
In one of the closest battles of the night, #3 Storm Lake and #6 Solon needed overtime to decide the outcome and the Spartans were unable to complete the upset, losing 68-60. Jaidyn Coon notched a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
ADM and Storm Lake will tangle tomorrow at 7:15 pm.
Starting the Class 4A quarterfinals, #4 Dowling Catholic clobbered #5 Dubuque Senior, 63-45. Noah Martens led the Maroons with 18 points.
Lastly, #1 Cedar Falls kept their bid for a perfect season alive after steamrolling #8 Urbandale last night, 73-53. Will Gerdes notched a 28 point and 15 rebound double-double in the winning effort.
Cedar Falls will face off against Dowling Catholic on Thursday, March 12th, at 10:30 am in the semifinals.
For Class 1A, #4 Burlington Notre Dame will face off against #5 Bellevue today with tip-off at 3:45 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 3:30 pm.
Other Class 1A matchups include: #1 St. Edmond facing off against #8 Woodbine, #2 MMCRU taking on #7 Boyden-Hull, and #6 Marquette Catholic looking to upset #3 Bishop Garrigan.
Mt. Pleasant Girls’ Basketball
The Panthers celebrated their team banquet last night, reminiscing on the season and handing out the team awards.
Earning Most Improved was freshman Emma Humble. A pair won the Coaches Award and Panther Award. Taking the Coaches Award was Kaylen Hunold and Delania Hourihan, who are both seniors, while Myah Starr and Ruby Syfert earned the Panther Award.
Abby Carthey, who finished her career with 471 points, was named Offensive MVP, while Kynlee White took home Defensive MVP, as she was often tasked with taking on the opponent’s best player.
Lastly, Paityn Ensminger was named Team MVP. She averaged 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game on a team high 45.8% shooting as was named All-Conference Honorable Mention. Coach Watson was impressed with how she controlled the paint for the Panthers,
“Yeah, she did. I think she had four double-doubles, and she fought like crazy in the lane to get rebounds and stuff. And she, like I said, probably was the shortest post we played in all the games we played this year. But she battled, and she just got better as the year went on. And I’m looking forward for her next year to have a big year.”
Girls’ High School Basketball
A handful of local athletes will be participating in the Larry Niemeyer Senior Girls All-Star basketball tournament scheduled for Saturday, March 14th.
In Class 2A, Danville’s Alaina Gourley will play on the Gray Team with their game at 1 pm.
Over in Class 3A, Adalyn Long of Washington will join a trio from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference in Kenna Sandoval of Central Lee and Grace Holsteen and Ellah Wagenbach of Mediapolis on the White Team. They will play at 10:30 am.
Lastly, Kendra Boatman of Keokuk and Burlington’s Mylee Stiefel will join sides for the Gray Team in a combination of Class 3A/4A/5A talent. They will square off at 9:15 am.
High School Track and Field
The Indoor Track and Field season started yesterday with the Dickinson Relays at the UNI-Dome and three of our local schools sent a team to compete on the boys’ side, resulting in a couple of top 10 finishers.
WACO led the charge with two top ten finishers, as Hayden Shelman notched a 54th place finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.36 seconds then outleapt Mt. Pleasant’s Kayle Brown, who is just a freshman, in the long jump with a mark of 21 feet and 4.75 inches to take 8th place, while the Panther snatched 9th.
Jude Dykstra will be looking to pace southeast Iowa in the 800-meter run, as the Warrior claimed 4th place with a mark of 2 minutes and 6 seconds. Locken Henderson, Gavin Slagel, and Garrett Landau joined Dykstra for the 4×800 and the squad nabbed 17th place.
Some other top finishers for Mt. Pleasant saw Jaymisen Rich throw the shot put 45 feet and 8 inches for 34th place. Brown also took 30th place in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 24.11 seconds. Lastly, the 4×200 (33rd place) and 4×800 (38th place) each finished inside the top 40.
Columbus will again be leaning on Lamar Ceant and Alexander Rees in the hurdles, as the pair qualified for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles. Ceant’s time of 8.15 seconds was fast enough for 4th place, while Rees claimed 8th place.
The girls’ teams will compete today.
Southeastern Community College
The baseball team swept Anoka-Ramsey Community College in their home doubleheader yesterday, 18-7 in game one and 14-7 in game two. Jackson Petsche clouted two doubles and a home run for eight RBIs between the two contests. The Blackhawks will travel to Delgado Community College on Saturday, March 14th.
The softball team will travel to St. Louis Community College on Monday, March 16th, for a doubleheader.
College Basketball
The #7 Iowa and Iowa State women’s teams will see their postseason fate determined on the Selection Sunday Show on March 15th at 7 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will take on either Maryland or Oregon at 11 am tomorrow, March 11th, to begin their path in the Big Ten Tournament.
The #7 Iowa State men’s team earned a bye in the Big 12 tournament and will play tomorrow at 11:30 am.
This Day in Sports History
1985 – Dallas Maverick coach Dick Motta is the 4th NBA coach to win 700 games.
1991 – Eddie Sutton of Oklahoma State becomes the first coach to lead four schools into the NCAA tournament.
2022 – After a 99-day lockout, Major League Baseball and MLB Players Association reach a new collective bargaining agreement; MLB teams set to play a full 162 game season in 2022.