Boys’ State Basketball
The Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) 2026 state tournament is in the books and four new champions were crowned yesterday.
The Class 3A championship went down to the wire to tip-off the day, as #1 Ballard battled back to force overtime and win the title over #2 ADM, 43-39. Parker Miller scored 17 points in the winning effort. It is Ballard’s first state championship.
It was the Cinderella story versus a perfect season for the Class 4A championship and #6 Johnston’s magic ran out despite sprinting out to a 22 to 7 lead after the first quarter as the Dragons fell to #1 Cedar Falls, 56-48. Will Gerdes scored 19 points to help lead the comeback. The Tigers claimed their third state championship.
For the third straight season, #6 Marquette Catholic played in the Class 1A state championship contest and for the third straight year they were denied, as #1 St. Edmond won their program’s second state championship in a 54-42 final. The Defenders held a slim lead entering the final quarter, but the Gaels went on an 18 to 3 run to seal the victory. Hunter Horn, the All-Tournament Team captain, collected a 21 point and 10 rebound double-double.
Burlington Notre Dame’s Shay Stephens was also placed on the Class 1A All-Tournament team as the Nike averaged 22 points, nine rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 4.5 assists in his two state tournament games.
In the Class 2A nightcap, #2 Unity Christian outlasted #1 Kuemper Catholic, 67-64, for their program’s fifth state championship. Tyler VanDonge tallied 25 points in the win.
Girls’ High School Basketball
A handful of local athletes will be participating in the Larry Niemeyer Senior Girls All-Star basketball tournament scheduled today.
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 wrapped up yesterday with Classes 1A and 2A getting the chance to compete and the Southeast Iowa Super Conference produced a dominant performance.
The New London boys’ team set the tone by finishing tied with Iowa Valley for Class 1A runner-up, securing 48 points, with Van Buren County taking 7th place with 30 points.
London Franklin had a terrific day for the Tigers, snatching the gold in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet and 4.5 inches, joining Brigham Porter, Cale Westerbeck, and Gavin Strawhacker to win the 4×100 meter relay with a time of 44.32 seconds, and claiming the silver medal in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.14 seconds.
Van Buren County had Lincoln Bainbridge take home a pair of 1st place finishes, winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.28 seconds and the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes. Additionally, the Warriors took 3rd place in the 4×400.
Danville’s 1600-meter sprint medley team of Drake Biesler, Byers Nealey, Ty Frazier, and Noah Horn snatched 2nd place with a time of 3 minutes and 46 seconds. For WACO, Jude Dykstra finished with the bronze medal in the 800-meter run with the 4×800 meter relay team also taking 3rd place. Cruz Hagmeier led Winfield-Mt. Union with a 9th place finish in the 60-meter hurdles.
On the girls’ side, Alaina Gourley of Danville grabbed 1st place in the 400 and 800-meter events, while helping the 4×400 meter relay team take home the bronze medal. WACO’s Carlee Lunsford finished right behind Gourley in the 800-meter run. Moreover, the Warriors claimed 4th place in the 4×400 meter relay.
Jumping to Class 2A for the boys’ teams, Mediapolis and Columbus each finished in the top 10 with the Bulldogs securing 5th place with 30 team points. Mediapolis’s 4×400 team of Nathan and Will Schmidgall and Henry and Will Luttenegger finished with the gold medal. Moreover, Simon Wendel claimed the bronze in the 3200-meter run.
Columbus had Lamar Ceant and Alex Rees finish in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles. The girls’ team saw Ella Howell take 8th in the 400-meter dash and Bella Forbes claimed 8th in the shot put with a heave of 33 feet and 8.5 inches.
Southeastern Community College
The baseball team lost to Delgado Community College yesterday, 5-3. Gavin Awbrey smacked a three-run homer for the Blackhawks. SCC will continue their three-game road series today.
The softball team will take on Lewis & Clark Community College on Monday, March 16th, for home doubleheader.
College Basketball
The #7 Iowa and Iowa State women’s teams will see their postseason fate determined on the Selection Sunday Show tomorrow, March 15th, at 7 pm.
The #7 Iowa State men’s team fell to #2 Arizona on a buzzer beater in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals last night, 82-80. Milan Momcilovic drilled eight threes for 28 points in the effort. The men’s Selection Sunday Show is scheduled for 5 pm tomorrow.
This Day in Sports History
1962 – Red Wings’ forward Gordie Howe becomes the second player in NHL history to score 500 career goals in Detroit’s 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers.
1972 – NBA’s Cincinnati Royals, plagued by poor home attendance, announce they are moving the franchise to Kansas City. They renamed the team to “Kings” to avoid confusion with the baseball team.
2017 – World’s oldest golf club Muirfield in Scotland, votes to admit women as members for the first time in 273 years.