High School Track and Field
The Mediapolis girls’ team will head to Wartburg College for a meet today.
The Central Lee boys’ team will head to Central College on Thursday, March 19th, for an indoor meet.
The Mt. Pleasant, West Burlington, Mediapolis, and Danville girls’ teams will travel to Central College for an indoor meet on Saturday, March 21st.
High School Basketball
Basketball talent from all over the state will be heading to Dallas Center-Grimes High School for the 2026 Pizza Ranch All-Star Games on Saturday, March 28th, with seven local players and two coaches making the trip for the southeast Iowa squad.
On the girls’ side, the Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) will be represented by Mediapolis’ Grace Holsteen and Madison Kellogg of Winfield-Mt. Union. Holsteen was named SEISC-South Player of the Year, while Kellogg battled through injury to lead her team with 14.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Joining Kellogg will be her Wolves head coach Mendy McCreight.
Joining the pair will be Kendra Boatman of Keokuk and Mylee Stiefel of Burlington. The two have both taken home Conference Player of the Year awards during their high school careers.
On the boys’ side, Washington’s Collin Stark will be patrolling the sideline with three local players running the court. Burlington Notre Dame’s Shay Stephens, the SEISC-South Player of the Year, will be flanked by two-time Southeast Conference Player of the Year in Keokuk’s Jaxon Clark and All-Substate talent Max Griffin of Mediapolis. Clark and Stephens have each tabbed at least one season double-double, which is scoring at least 500 points and securing 250 rebounds.
Southeastern Community College
The baseball team lost a heartbreaker to Baton Rouge Community College, getting walked-off in the bottom of the 9th inning to lose, 8-7, yesterday. The Blackhawks will get a rematch today on the road.
The softball team will take on Dyersburg State Community College on Wednesday, March 18th, for a road doubleheader.
The ICCAC released the men’s basketball All-Region awards for Division I yesterday and Southeastern’s Prophet Fields and Jaleel Donley each captured a spot on the First Team. Fields led the team with 3.4 assists per game, while putting up 10.4 points per game. Donley led the team with 12.1 points as he was the only freshman on the list.
Aric Hines found a spot on the Second Team, while Khalyn William-Thomas and Brady Martin were named Honorable Mentions.
March Madness
The KILJ Bracket Challenge brought to you by The Press Box is back for the 2026 March Madness men’s bracket with the same rules as last year. A printable bracket was posted to KILJ’s Facebook page. The bracket must be filled out and turned in to sports@kilj.com or our station by the end of the day tomorrow, March 18th.
For a full list of rules and prizes follow this link: KILJ Bracket Challenge
College Basketball
The Iowa women’s team will be the #2-seed and will clash with #15 FDU on Saturday, March 21st, at 3 pm.
The Iowa State women’s team claimed the #8 seed and will play #9 Syracuse on Saturday at 4:30 pm. The Cyclones will be leaning on Audi Crooks, who was named Second Team All-American by the Sporting News. Crooks, a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selection, is averaging a conference-best 25.5 points per game. Additionally, she became the fastest Big 12 women’s basketball player to reach 2,000 career points, passing the mark in 89 games.
The Iowa State men’s team will be the #2-seed in the Midwest Region as they will take on #15 Tennessee State on Friday, March 20th, at 1:50 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will look to pull off the upset as the #9-seed for the South Region with a first round matchup against #8 Clemson on Friday at 5:50 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1908 – Canadian champion Tommy Burns knocked out Irish challenger Jem Roche in 1 minute and 28 seconds of the first round at the Theatre Royal in Dublin, setting a record for the quickest world heavyweight boxing title fight at the time.
1955 – After Maurice Richard is suspended for the remainder of the season, riots break out in Montreal. 37 people are injured and over 100 are arrested. The following morning, Richard goes on the radio to ask citizens to stop vandalizing the city.
2022 – Claude Giroux, the Philadelphia Flyers’ longest-serving captain, becomes only the second player in franchise history to play 1,000 games for the team, joining Bobby Clarke.