Boys’ State Basketball
The Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) state tournament has completed all of its semifinal matchups and is now gearing up for all four championships today. Here’s how yesterday shook out.
For Class 4A, #1 Cedar Falls sprinted past #4 Dowling Catholic, 59-46, to lead off the day. Will Gerdes put up another impressive state line, collecting 28 points in the winning effort.
It might be the year of the #6-seed, as Johnston’s 10 three-pointers downed #2 Waukee, 57-49. Joshua Jones knocked down four threes, while Tino Daye led the scoring with 17 points.
#1 Cedar Falls will duel #6 Johnston for the Class 4A championship today at 3 pm.
In Class 1A, #1 St. Edmond’s 14 to 2 run to start off the 3rd quarter buried #4 Burlington Notre Dame, 74-55. Shay Stephens led the Nikes with an 18 point and 10 rebound double-double. Notre Dame head coach Dan Kies knows this loss will sting for the senior class,
“So, it’s rough for him [Shay Stephens], and it’s very disappointing for these guys. But they still gotta be proud of what they’ve done this year…I mean, unfortunately, we didn’t come here to just participate. We came here to try and get to Friday and see what we could do after that. So obviously we did not overlook anything, and we prepared, we thought. We just didn’t execute very well, and they did, so.”
Notre Dame finished the season with a 25-3 record.
The slipper still fits for #6 Marquette Catholic as they pulled off the upset against #2 MMCRU last night, 65-56. Louis Gonner netted 17 points for the Defenders.
For the third straight season, #6 Marquette Catholic will be playing for the Class 1A title and this time it will be against #1 St. Edmond at 5 pm tonight.
In Class 2A, #4 Treynor had a shot to upset #1 Kuemper Catholic, but the Knights came away with a late steal to seal their 58-57 victory. Ryan Clair tabbed 27 points in the winning effort.
Lastly, #2 Unity Christian pulverized #3 Regina Catholic in the nightcap, 72-46. Dylan Bosma claimed 27 points for the Knights.
#1 Kuemper Catholic will face off against #2 Unity Christian for the Class 2A championship tonight at 7 pm.
The Class 3A championship between #1 Ballard and #2 ADM is scheduled for today at 1 pm.
Girls’ High School Basketball
A handful of local athletes will be participating in the Larry Niemeyer Senior Girls All-Star basketball tournament scheduled tomorrow, 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 IATC Indoor Track Championships commenced yesterday for Classes 3A and 4A and the Mt. Pleasant girls’ team earned some early hardware, finishing as the runner-up in Class 3A with 44 points.
In her Panther debut, Avery Fedler collected a pair of gold medals after winning the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 21 seconds and joining Kiyah Sanders, Kynlee White, and Alex Scott in the sprint medley to finish in 1st place with a time of 1 minute and 50 seconds. The freshman also grabbed 2nd place in the 400-meter dash.
Scott also had a trio of top 10 finishes with the senior grabbing 6th in the 60-meter dash, 9th in the 200-meter with a time of 27.04 seconds, and 4th in the 4×100 meter relay with Ellie Freeman, Sanders, and White. Lastly, the Panthers displayed their skill in the field events with Izzy Sloat leaping 16 feet and 1.25 inches for 7th place, followed closely by Delaney Anderson in 10th place n the long jump, while Ella Ensminger’s toss of 37 feet and 8.5 inches earned her the bronze medal with Paityn Ensminger snatching 10th place in the shot put.
On the boys’ side, Mt. Pleasant’s Kayle Brown finished in 19th place in the long jump with a distance of 19 feet and 0.25 inches. In the shot put, Jaymisen Rich launched it 43 feet and 10.75 inches for 20th place. Lastly, Griffen Jones sprinted to a time of 7.35 seconds in the 60-meter dash for 23rd place.
For the Fairfield boys’ team, Eli Zillman took 4th place in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet and 1 inch and the long jump with a distance of 20 feet and 7.25 inches. Ethan Bisgard sprinted to a 9th place time of 23.29 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Bisgard joined Spencer McCready, Eli Hoffman, and John Miller for the 1600-meter sprint medley, which took 7th place.
Classes 1A and 2A will compete in the IATC Indoor Championships today.
College Signing
Southeastern Community College added another local talent to their Track and Field program as WACO’s Eli Cavin signed his letter of intent to become a member of the Blackhawks as a sprinter.
Cavin ran the 100 and 200-meter dashes last season and turned in season best times of 12.73 and 26.65 seconds, respectively.
Southeastern Community College
The baseball team will travel to Delgado Community College tomorrow, March 14th.
The softball team will take on St. Louis Community College on Monday, March 16th, for a road 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’s run in the Big Ten tournament came to an end yesterday after losing to Ohio State, 72-69. Bennett Stirtz was the only Hawkeye to finish in double figures as he scored 17 points. Iowa will learn their postseason fate during the Selection Sunday show at 5 pm.
The #7 Iowa State men’s team shut down #16 Texas Tech in the second half, outscoring the Red Raiders 39 to 20 on their way to a 75-53 victory to advance to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. Joshua Jefferson stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. The Cyclones will take on #2 Arizona at 6 pm tonight with the winner advancing to the Big 12 championship game.
This Day in Sports History
1915 – Brooklyn Robins manager Wilbert Robinson tried to catch a baseball dropped from an airplane, but the pilot, Ruth Law, substituted a grapefruit, which exploded on impact and left Robinson temporarily believing that he was seriously wounded.
1954 – Braves’ Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron.
2022 – After a 40-day retirement, Tom Brady announces he will play at least one more season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.